English
The theme of love is crucial in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ as the plot revolves around love. Without love there would not be any lovers for the play to be based on. I feel that love in the play is personified and has two personalities, comforting and cruel- comforting within civilisation, but cruel within the woods where characters are insecure.
The woods have a very negative effect on the lovers and love plays with this insecurity. The magic juice represents mischief but its ultimate affect is love. When the men’s love interests’ change, the women don’t accept it, instead it throws them into a frenzy of questions and confusion and so something that should be unexpected but amazing for Helena, instead is a nightmare as she thinks she is being mocked. “O spite! O Hell! I see you all are bent to set against me for your merriment” (3, 2,145-146). This shows Helena’s frustration and how even though all she longs for is love, the woods can still change her perception of it.
Love seems to consume the lovers, and makes them lose their rational mind. As Freud said “you are always mad when you are in love” and this is strongly shown in the play as love seems to rule the lovers heads and leads to mad decisions. For instance Helena has a perfect opportunity as Hermia is planning to elope with Lysander, leaving Demetrius for her. However her insane love for Demetrius means that she acts entirely irrationally by telling Demetrius “of fair Hermia’s flight”. This idea is also shown in the dream that Hermia has in the woods, the madness of love is portrayed through the imagery of the serpent eating her heart “Methought a serpent ate my heart away” (2, 2,155). Although the idea of a snake eating a human’s heart is absurd, within that image is the harsh reality of the fact Hermia will be heart broken when she realises Lysander no longer loves her, and this is hinted to by the following line “And you sat smiling at his cruel pray” (2, 2, 156) said by Hermia as she tries to explain
The woods have a very negative effect on the lovers and love plays with this insecurity. The magic juice represents mischief but its ultimate affect is love. When the men’s love interests’ change, the women don’t accept it, instead it throws them into a frenzy of questions and confusion and so something that should be unexpected but amazing for Helena, instead is a nightmare as she thinks she is being mocked. “O spite! O Hell! I see you all are bent to set against me for your merriment” (3, 2,145-146). This shows Helena’s frustration and how even though all she longs for is love, the woods can still change her perception of it.
Love seems to consume the lovers, and makes them lose their rational mind. As Freud said “you are always mad when you are in love” and this is strongly shown in the play as love seems to rule the lovers heads and leads to mad decisions. For instance Helena has a perfect opportunity as Hermia is planning to elope with Lysander, leaving Demetrius for her. However her insane love for Demetrius means that she acts entirely irrationally by telling Demetrius “of fair Hermia’s flight”. This idea is also shown in the dream that Hermia has in the woods, the madness of love is portrayed through the imagery of the serpent eating her heart “Methought a serpent ate my heart away” (2, 2,155). Although the idea of a snake eating a human’s heart is absurd, within that image is the harsh reality of the fact Hermia will be heart broken when she realises Lysander no longer loves her, and this is hinted to by the following line “And you sat smiling at his cruel pray” (2, 2, 156) said by Hermia as she tries to explain