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A Midsummer Night's Dream Compare And Contrast

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Love is Not an Easy Course The two couples love in this play are tested numerous times. In the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare reveals how love is not a straight narrow road. He proves this by purposely creating problems between them. The first couple consists of, Helena and Demetrius. The other couple is Hermia and Lysander. As the author creates chaos between the lovers, it shows how love is a bumpy road. These two couples compare and contrast each other in multiple different ways. Three comparing and contrasting examples include, Hermia and Helena are best friends, Demetrius and Lysander both love Hermia, and, Helena is jealous of Hermia. Throughout the play, these relationships change immensely when many different obstacles are thrown upon their course of love. Shakespeare attempts to communicate this recurring theme of, true love is an unpredictable journey that follows no reason. Helena and Hermia are best friends. When Shakespeare insights chaos between the two best friends by involving a love potion to help fix the current struggle, yet it opposes what he actually meant for the outcome. This causes a fight to break out between Hermia and …show more content…

This reveals another way the author is attempting to stir up chaos between the two best friends. One example is when Helena says, “Call you me “fair”? That “fair” again unsay. Demetrius loves your fair. O happy fair!” (1.1.184-185). This quote reveals how Helena is reacting to her love, Demetrius, who no longer loves her, but, her best friend. For another example, Helena expresses her jealousy when talking to herself by saying, “For, ere Demetrius looked on Hermia’s eyne, He hailed down oaths that he was only mine; And when this hail some heat Hermia felt, So he dissolved, and show’rs of oaths did melt.” (1.1.248-251). This portrays Helena's hurt feelings by Demetrius leaver her to be with Hermia by blaming her for being prettier than she

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Despite the line, Through Athens I am thought as fair (1.1.233), I always had the impression of Helena and Demetrius being the ugly pair of lovers. So when I saw the movie I thought, why is Helena not ugly! This was a good move by the director because if she was ugly, I think that the audience wouldn’t be routing for her as much as we were in this movie. Though Helena did look a little bit crazy, one could tell that her character was crazy for love. Making Helena

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Consequently, she reveals Hermia’s plan to elope to Demetrius. She then follows him into the forest, despite knowing the consequences: “If I have thanks, it is a dear expense: But herein mean I do enrich my pain, To have his sight thither and back again.” ( Act 1, Scene 1, lines 249-251). Additionally, this play was set in a time where men were made to “woo,” while women must passively wait for their dream lover to regard them.

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(Shakespeare 3.2.210-211). Helena metaphorically compares their relationship to a double cherry; a “union” but also distinct and in “partition.” (Shakespeare 3.2.214-215). This contrasting comparison reinforces the concept that they were physically individual but ideologically connected. Because no one cherished Hermia any longer, Helena’s envy for her dissolves and is transposes into loathing as a result of a misconception; Helena wants to preserve their relationship, but ironically, holds and justifies her feelings of revulsion towards Hermia, solely because she believes that the lover is unhappy of

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376 Words | 2 Pages

Firstly, Demetrius is characterized as a cold hearted, ghastly person. This is evident when Demetrius treats Helena in a very disrespectful, cruel manner. Demetrius: “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit. For I am sick when I do look on thee.’ In this quote, Demetrius tells Hermia

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516 Words | 3 Pages

I find this in particularly, very problematic. They seem to always have an issue or interference standing in their way of peace. But, as stated by Lysander, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” (1.1.134-35). The first problem is Demetrius not loving Helena back, next it is Lysander interfering by also loving Helena, and finally Helena not believing that Demetrius truly loves her.

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899 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction: Love is defined in many different ways. As shown in the play, comedy and conflict are two main factors of love. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare breaks down the two main themes of the story, comedy in conflict, into smaller more condensed themes to show how the uses of these themes define the nature of love through the actions and relationships of the Athenians, Rude Mechanicals, and Fairies. Thesis:

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Throughout their adventure in the forest, Helena and Demetrius continue to banter. But as they argue, Helena does not see how special she truly is. She has become dependent on hearing words of love from Demetrius. It is confirmed as so when Helena tells him: I am your spaniel, and Demetrius,/The more you beat me, I will fawn on

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Theseus and Hippolyta wake up Lysander, Hermia, Helena, and Demetrius because Hermia has to make her final decision. With the love juice on his eyelids still, Demetrius confesses that he no longer loves Hermia and wants Helena to be the love of his life. Theseus overrides Egeus’s wishes, and he says the three couples will have a triple wedding. After Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus leave, all of them are unclear what exactly happened. Helena even says, “And I have found Demetrius like a jewel,/mine own, and not mine own” (4.1.176-177).

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The power of true love is evident in the play, the depiction of love reveals its true nature as in its pursuit it causes the characters to become irrational. True love in this play stems conflict from the troubles of romance by the actions of the lovers. The friendship between Hermia and Helena is at stake because of the romantic love that exists between the different parties in the play. Helena mistakes her obsession with Demetrius with love even though he is very rude to her.

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After all the chaos and hard work these lovers put into being together, fate was truly unpredictable cause they could have easily escaped and fled off to live happily but things took a turn for the worse. In the play, Shakespeare shows that love doesn't always have a perfect ending, it can be a mess and

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They are the perfect example of difficulty of love, that is, passionate circumstances in which an injustice or discrepancy interferes in the consistency of the engagement. Finally, the habitual happy end in comedies is produced, although they have had problems to achieve it like the love potion; the second are Demetrius and Helena. Their relationship has evolved during the play. At first, Demetrius is in love with Hermia, but it is at the end when his love for Helena appears. However, Helena has been always in love with him.

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710 Words | 3 Pages

Theseus and Hippolyta wake up Lysander, Hermia, Helena, and Demetrius because Hermia has to make her final decision. With the love juice on his eyelids still, Demetrius confesses that he no longer loves Hermia and wants Helena to be the love of his life. Theseus overrides Egeus’s wishes, and he says the three couples will have a triple wedding. After Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus leave, all of them are unclear what exactly happened. Helena even says, “And I have found Demetrius like a jewel,/mine own, and not mine own” (4.1.176-177).

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895 Words | 4 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream the circumstances surrounding love have been put into question, this occurs when a magical nectar is put in the eyes of three major characters, and changes their feelings towards the people in their lives. Titania, Lysander and Demetrius all have had the nectar put into their eyes, though Demetrius avoids having this done to him in act 2 scene 2 which is the scene that the focus of this paper will be looking at. Throughout the play, we focus largely on the love life of Helena, which unfortunately does not seem to exist. She is in love with Demetrius, whom does not care for her in the same way, he does not cherish her at all before he is under the influence of magic. Once Lysander declares

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483 Words | 2 Pages

Love is Difficult “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare is filled with many mixed emotions and lots of different themes. Although there are many different themes that readers can interpret, one that really stands out is that love is difficult. This theme is supported when Hermia 's father tries to tear Hermia and Lysander apart and they decide the best decision is to run away together. Also Oberon and Titania can 't stand each other and always get into arguments. The love potion throughout the play messed up Titania and Oberon’s true love.

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When I was in Junior high school and Senior high school, lecture style was pretty common at the English class. The teachers were always in front of students, and some students did not listen to what teachers said. English class at Junior high school was better than the class at Senior high school. The teachers at Junior high school were trying to make students speak in English. They always pointed out some students and asked questions.

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