Comparing The Passionate Shepherd To His Love And The Teenage Crush

Love is an essential feeling and need for anything living being even though it could possibly have its consequences in the end. One of the major themes and storylines in A Midsummers Night's Dream is love. Four young Athenians in a forest filled with love and conflict along with magical fairies and a human donkey pursue each other and their love for one another. Their love is portrayed in many different ways. One poem and one article, ‘The Passionate Shepherd to His Love’ and ‘Adolescence and the Teenage Crush’ both describe love in different ways. While one is fiction and the other nonfiction, they both portray love in real ways. Specifically young love. The nature of young love is romantic, obsessive, and blind which is shown in A Midsummers

In the beginning of the play Hermia stumbles across conflict when her father Egeus is planning her marriage. He wants her to marry someone she doesn’t want to, but Hermia is in love with Lysander. Lysander purposes a romantic plan for them to run away from the Athenian laws and have them love one another without any fear. “There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee. / And to that place the sharp Athenian law / Cannot pursue us. If thou lovest me then, / Steal forth thy fathers house tomorrow night. / And in the wood, a league without the town—” (Shakespeare 161-165) Shakespeare demonstrates the nature of young love is romantic by having this character Lysander do anything to keep his lover happy. This is evident by the usage of phrases like “may I marry thee” and “if thou lovest me then…” because it shows how much he loves Hermia. He will go above and beyond just so they can get married and live happily together. Shakespeare uses these phrases to indict one of the themes and messages of the story which is love. This supports my point because love can be perceived as romantic in this quote. In this poem, The Passionate

As Demetrius is finding Hermia in the forest Helena is following him trying to show Demetrius how much she loves him. Helena says she wants to be Demetrius’ little dog and that the more Demetrius rejects her, the more she will love him. “And even for that do I love you the more. / I am your spaniel. And, Demetrius, / The more you beat me, I will fawn on you. / Use me but as your spaniel—spurn me, strike me, / Neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave, / Unworthy as I am, to follow you.” (Shakespeare 187-192) The nature of young love is obsessive as demonstrated in this quote. Shakespeare uses phrases in this quote like “beat me” “use me” “strike me” and “neglect me.” These phrases are all negative and show how one can become so in love they are obsessed with that person. They become the worst version of themselves like Helena because she has lost all self respect and love within herself. Shakespeare demonstrates obsession to show how love is not always a positive thing. This proves my point, which is that love can be obsessive. In the lines of the poem, The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe, the Shepherd mentions things he will do for his lover if she lives with him. He states that not only will they be happy in love, but he will create her many extraordinary items. “A belt of straw and Ivy buds, / With Coral clasps and