Fate In A Midsummer Night's Dream
Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control. This is a key term that develops many important events in both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet. Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we are shown how true love can only be determined by fate, despite obstacles that can obstruct it. In Romeo and Juliet, love through fate is shown as well, but the story mainly focuses on how fate can cause negative outcomes. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hermia and Lysander truly love each other, but there are constant obstacles that came between them. Despite this, fate brought them together in the end. In 1.1, Hermia’s father, Egeus, wanted her to marry Demetrius rather than Lysander. This is an obstacle that came between
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Within this story, the tragedy of both the lovers’ death is shown through the amount of foreshadowing about it, showing that it was fated to happen. The first occasion a foreshadow about death is made is when Juliet states, “Go ask his name.—If he be married. My grave is like to be my wedding bed.” (1.5.134-135). This foreshadows that she will eventually die, despite marrying Romeo. In 3.5, Juliet tells Romeo about a vision that she had of her finding him dead in a tomb. This also supports that fate is bringing them to their death, since she continuously foreshadows about it. Finally, in 5.1, Romeo states that he had a dream where Juliet found him lying dead. Since this corresponds with Juliet’s vision, it also shows that fate may be bringing them to their death. This story concludes with the two lovers dead, showing that their dreams and visions served as signs that fate did in fact bring them to their death. Overall, both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet show events that were caused due to fate. In both stories, Shakespeare develops true love due to fate by bringing two characters together—Romeo and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Hermia and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Despite this similarity, Romeo and Juliet also shows how fate worked in a negative way, by including how fate brought the lovers to their
Within this story, the tragedy of both the lovers’ death is shown through the amount of foreshadowing about it, showing that it was fated to happen. The first occasion a foreshadow about death is made is when Juliet states, “Go ask his name.—If he be married. My grave is like to be my wedding bed.” (1.5.134-135). This foreshadows that she will eventually die, despite marrying Romeo. In 3.5, Juliet tells Romeo about a vision that she had of her finding him dead in a tomb. This also supports that fate is bringing them to their death, since she continuously foreshadows about it. Finally, in 5.1, Romeo states that he had a dream where Juliet found him lying dead. Since this corresponds with Juliet’s vision, it also shows that fate may be bringing them to their death. This story concludes with the two lovers dead, showing that their dreams and visions served as signs that fate did in fact bring them to their death. Overall, both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet show events that were caused due to fate. In both stories, Shakespeare develops true love due to fate by bringing two characters together—Romeo and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and Hermia and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Despite this similarity, Romeo and Juliet also shows how fate worked in a negative way, by including how fate brought the lovers to their