Control In A Midsummer Night's Dream By William Shakespeare

Have you ever wondered where control came from; Well, it comes from the simple idea of magic. In the story, Egeus does not use magic, and he can not gain control, but Oberon uses magic, and he gains power. In A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, the theme of control is shown by Oberon and Egeus, as Egeus attempts to manipulate Hermia, and Oberon tries to exploit Titania. One main plot is about the love triangle between Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius, but Helena is attempting to interfere with them. Egeus states that Hermia can not marry who she loves (Lysander) but that she must marry Demetrius. Meanwhile, Oberon is attempting to get the little Indian boy that Titania has. By writing this story, Shakespeare makes the claim that

In the play, we see this when Egeus tries to interfere with the love of Hermia and Lysander. Egeus states that Hermia must marry Demetrius, become a nun, or get killed. Egeus trying to control Hermia leads to the decision of Hermia and Lysander deciding to run away. In scene one, it states, "It’s true, rude Lysander, I do love him. That’s why I’m giving him my daughter. She’s mine, and I’m giving her to Demetrius.” (Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 1, page 3)In the quote, Egeus expresses his hate towards Lysander and his love for Demetrius. Egeus is giving Hermia to Demetrius so that they can get married. The excerpt proves that you cannot control other people because Hermia proceeds to rebel against Egeus. Another example of Shakespeare's claim that shows you that you cannot control other people is, “So here’s the plan. If you love me, sneak out of your father’s house tomorrow night and meet me in the forest a few miles outside of town.” (Shakespeare, Act 1, Scene 1, Page 6) This quote shows that you cannot control another person without magic because Lysander is talking with Hermia, and they plan to elope. Egeus found that trying to control someone doesn’t work as they might do something drastic, like when Hermia and Lysander run

In the play, we see this when Oberon uses magic to control Titania and get the little Indian boy. In Midsummer Night’s Dream, it states, “When I have the juice of that flower, I’ll trickle some drops of it on Titania’s eyes while she’s sleeping. She’ll fall madly in love with the first thing she sees when she wakes up—even if it's a lion, a bear, a wolf, a bull, a monkey, or an ape. And before I make her normal again—I can cure her by treating her with another plant—I’ll make her give me that little boy as my page.” (Shakespeare, Act 2, Scene 1, Page 7) In this quote, Oberon is explaining to Puck that he is going to use the “love-and-idleness” magic flower to make Titania fall in love with someone. Then Oberon is gonna get the little boy from her. Another example of Shakespeare’s claim that shows you that using magic is the only way to control another person is, “...I asked her for the stolen Indian child. She said yes right away.” (Shakespeare, Act 4, Scene 1, Page 3) This quote shows that Oberon uses the magic flower and then Titania gives Oberon the child immediately. Oberon found that trying to control someone else works, but only if you are using