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Duality In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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In the world renowned play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, two couples’ love lives are tampered with in an ironic, comedic and lighthearted manner. Although many quarrels happen along the way, all of the star crossed lover’s dreams come true. The duality many of the characters possess helps to emphasize that love brings out the best, and the worst in everyone. As the soulmates Hermia and Lysander profess their love for each other in the beginning of this play, readers have a sense of the compassion and devote love they have for each other. As the play continues, Lysander (under the control of a spell), falls in love with Helena. The darker, crueler side of Lysander comes to light when he calls Hermia a “Vile Thing”(3.3.270). …show more content…

At the beginning of the book, Lysander seems to show the false persona of a gentleman, but love uncovers his true ill-nature. Yet another set of lovers, Helena and Demetrius, also have many issues along the way. Helena has always had a burning passion towards Demetrius, but he had never felt the same way until under the spell of a love potion. Although Demetrius now wants nothing else but Helena’s love, his new found feelings cause Helena to no longer trust the man who she once told that she was his “spaniel”(2.1.210). Demetrius ironic change in opinion of Helena causes her to no longer believe that anyone could actually love her. In a way, her new opinions bring out the best in her. Helena is no longer dependant on a man, and is starting to become less of a slave to Demetrius. Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies, also have trouble with love. Oberon places a love potion on Titania, forcing her to fall in love with a workman named Bottom (whose head has been turned into that of an ass). At first Titania feels nothing but love towards Bottom, but once the spell is reversed, she realizes that her eyes “do loathe his visage”

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In the play A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare, many of the characters relentlessly pursue their goals in the face of illogical decisions, and, while fictional items such as the “love-in-idleness” flower are used to explain the character’s sudden love for each other, the play does illustrate how love and ambition can lead to unforeseen consequences. For example, when Puck accidently anointed Lysander’s eyes with the “love-in-idleness” juice, he started a chain of events leading to Lysander and Demetrius fighting over Helena while Hermia is treated as though she is worthless. Moreover, at one point, Lysander and Demetrius even threatened to duel each other when Lysander awoke after being anointed with the flower 's juice and said, "Where is Demetrius? O, how fit a word is that vile name to perish on my sword" (61). This shows how the character’s love for certain other characters, and their ambition to pursue said love, can lead to the destruction of previous relationships and lead them to make dangerous decisions.

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  Hermia, much to her father 's dismay, is deeply in a mutual love with a different nobleman, Lysander.   In addition, Hermia 's childhood best friend and Demetrius were in love prior to his sights turning towards Hermia.   This crushed Helena, causing her to lose self-confidence, but still: she yearns for Demetrius 's love.   Hermia and Lysander 's love, Egeus 's harsh rule, and Helena 's unrequited love for Demetrius causes the lovers to leave Athens.

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Oberon places love potion into his wife’s eyes, so that she will fall in life with an unlikely creature. As a result of Oberon having false love for Titania, she oddly falls for a clown with a donkey head. Titania confidently states,” I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again./ Mine ear is much enamored of thy note./ So is mine eye enthrallèd to thy shape./ And thy fair virtue’s force perforce doth move me/

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He does not care at all about her even though in the past they had a relationship. Later on Demetrius even threatens, to leave Helena alone in the dangerous forest, warning her "I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes and leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.(2-1-234-235)" Demetrius did not care about Helena and was willing to leave her alone in the woods even if there was a possibility she gets killed by beasts. Demetrius threatens her again in a more cruel manner by telling Helena "If thou follow me, do not believe but I shall do thee mischief in the wood. (2-1-243-244)" Demetrius’s intent was trying to intimidate Helena by saying that he will physically harm her if she does not leave him alone which shows how insensitive he can be. At the start of the play Demetrius was very cruel and insensitive as he did not care about Helena 's feelings or if she died or not but subsequently

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Hermia and Lysander felt a deep passion and followed through on their feelings with determination. Lastly, Lysander wants to spend the night close to Hermia. At this point, Lysander and Hermia have followed up on their plans and run away into the woods together late at night. “One turf shall serve as a pillow for us both. One bed, two bosoms and one troth”3 (2,2,41-42).

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Shakespeare portrays Helena as being someone who is desperate, naive, and deplorable for love. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream the author states, “I am your spaniel, and Demetrius, the more you beat me I will fawn on you.” (Shakespeare 49) Helena is told numerous times that Demetrius is not fond of her, but she will not give up on making him love her. After Demetrius told her how he felt, he threatened to

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In her telling Demetrius it caused a pursuit in the woods, and with that, all the chaos in the rest of the story ensued proving that jealousy causes the main conflicts of the story.. Later, when Lysander gets the love potion in his eyes, he falls in love with Helena instead of Hermia. When Hermia finds him, so rude and unkind, she becomes jealous of his sudden love for Helena. She says to Helena “O me!/ You juggler, you cankerblossom,/ You thief of love!/ What, have you come by night/

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Lysander’s words and actions from only a few lines of this five act play, tell the reader exactly how he feels about love. The fourth young human character to join the situation is Helena. Helena obsesses over Demetrius, who has no interest for her. Helena discusses her feelings on her situation, and the sacrifices she would make to be with Demetrius in the later part of her

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In Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are three couples who encounter difficulties and obstacles in the pursuit of love. The first couple, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lysander and Hermia are two lovers whose love is forbidden by Hermia's father. This forbidden

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The mischievous Lysander has laced love potion on the characters and quickly take effect, putting the male lovers in a pandemonium by overpowering the characters judgement and reason by liking the opposite couples. As the characters love makes them in despair to be with the opposite couples, Helena gives a metaphor of this situation with cupid, god of love: “Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind. / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. / Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgment taste—” (1.1 234-236). As Helena described in The Midsummer's Night Dream by William Shakespeare, love can reduce our rationality and judgement and overpower one’s feelings by putting the character in constant thought of only love, reducing the sense of reality

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/ O, then, what graces in my love do dwell / That he hath turn'd a heaven unto a hell!'” which is a quote stated by Hermia; I think this quote is discussing what she think may happen to her if she follows her heart to marry Lysander she is unsure whether she will go to heaven or hell for the disobedient actions she has taken. So as you can see the love/hate triangle going on is very somewhat “Out of whack” There’s not much good coming out of how they feel about each other, definitely not a kind of relationship that I would enjoy getting deep into reading about, but I have to be honest this is a story filled with very eager and brave women who will go after what they want with no problem or scarce in their hearts(Sounds exactly like me)!

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In A Midsummer Night’s Dream Shakespeare leads us through an abnormal love. The environment occurs in the distinguished kingdom of Athens where all decisions are conducted by superiority. The four lovers are constrained by the traditions and unable to convey their extensive love for one another they seek for liberation. Meddlesome forces, but majical, taunt their love as they rival their relentless passion driving them apart, but bringing them closer still. William Shakespeare was a renowned English Poet, playwright, and actor.

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Firstly, love was one of the main themes in this play. Love is also a topic that is on most teenagers minds a lot so this way there is a connection with the play. To explain in the play Demetrius was first in love with Helena, but two days later he just left Helena and was ready to marry Hermia. Many teens can relate to this as they could have experienced their past lover leaving them for someone else. Moreover, the theme of magic was also touched upon in this play which I personally found very interesting

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