A Midsummer Night's Dream Beauteous Analysis

Lysander references the word “beauteous” in 1.1.104 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare when describing the splendor of Hermia. This comment not only sets the tone for how Lysander loves Hermia, but also what their love is built on. Lysander’s confession, “I am beloved of beauteous Hermia” (1.1.104), is a bold one made in front of Egeus and gives insight to the budding couple’s love. By stating this, Lysander, and therefore Shakespeare, gives the reader an understanding of how language could have been used and manipulated in that time. Beauteous is a critical word used in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream not only because of the literary insight it gives, but also the detail it illuminates in the flaws of Lysander

This suits Lysander’s feelings and poetic love for Hermia. The etymology of beauteous is an interesting one. Coming from the root word beauty with the suffix –ous, beauteous is most likely influenced by other words like luscious, sensuous, and voluptuous. The second definition of beauteous is: “highly attractive or admirable in character”, which is another adjective, however, not the one that Lysander intends. The reader can understand that the relationship between Lysander and Hermia is a physical one, not one that would base its entire affection off character. The third definition is used as a noun and references Beauteous people, or, more commonly, the Beauteous people as a class standing. This is also not what Lysander means when he references Hermia. Hermia is of the same standing as him, in money and, presumably, in beauty. This leaves the reader with only one option in understanding Lysander as meaning the first definition. Beauteous, with its origin rooted in English and derived from beauty, is used in its most common sense by Lysander when describing his young