A Midsummer Night's Dream Research Paper

What is love? Love is the most powerful emotion a human being can experience. The strange thing is that almost nobody knows what love is. Why is it so difficult to find love? William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, portrays the adventures of four young lovers and a group of amateur actors. The story takes place in a mythical Athens and an enchanted forest; where a potion is misused causing problems to the lover's lives. This play is performed across the world and is about falling in love; however, falling in love could also make a mockery out of people. Lysander is a handsome young man from Athens who is in love with the beautiful Hermia. Hermia who is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves Lysander. Demetrius, another

At the beginning of the play, Lysander and Hermia both believe they are destined for each other; that they have fallen in love. Hermia’s father, Egeus, wants his daughter to marry Demetrius, not Lysander. Lysander and Hermia decide their best option is to run away and live their lives together, not worrying about the world around them. Hermia explains her plan to Helena who then tells Demetrius believing it would make him love her. Demetrius who loves Hermia follows them to wherever they go. Helena is obsessed with Demetrius and goes with him as well. Everything falls apart when a love potion is placed on Demetrius and Lysander’s eyes making them fall in love with the first person they see first when waking up. Falling in love isn’t easy to do; finding the person who matters most is difficult, but Shakespeare showed that a potion can change someone’s entire perspective of another being. The text states, “Why should you think that I should woo in scorn? / Scorn and derision never come in tears. / Look, when I vow, I weep” (III.ii.122-124). Lysander also states, “Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing, let loose / Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent” (III.ii.259-260). These quotes show how Lysander changed his view of Helena within seconds of opening his eyes due to a potion. He was in love with Hermia and they were always in love with each other. The potion put

What this means is that parents force their children/child to marry someone who is supposed to be “right” for them. Arranged marriage is a very complicating situation that is can be chosen by parents, aunts, uncles grandparents, etc to force a child to be with someone. This is shown at the beginning of the play when Hermia’s father explains to everyone that Hermia has to marry Demetrius even though she is in love with Lysander. The text states, “Full of vexation come I with complaint / Against my child, my daughter Hermia.— / Stand forth, Demetrius.—My noble lord, / This man hath my consent to marry her—” (I.i.22-25). This quote is Egeus talking to the duke about how Hermia has to marry Demetrius. When having an arranged marriages, many situations can occur. You can live through the marriage, but divorce can happen. An article states, Arranged marriages and family interferences in a couple’s relationship is the reason why Qatar has one of the highest rates of divorce in the world even more than in Europe, expressed Hassan Al Jefairi, a Qatari businessman and social activist, to The Peninsula newspaper” (Arranged Marriages: The Cause of Divorce?). Arranged Marriages are one of many situations that lead to divorce. Shakespeare portrays this in A Midsummer Night’s Dream which demonstrates a cause of an unhealthy relationship. Our society decreased this rate of arranged marriage which leads to a decrease