Gianni Figliozzi
Larrimore
English 9
2/21/2023
Shakespearean Free Will
A person's free will cannot be changed, only masked. The characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by, William Shakespeare have the free will to not be influenced by the actions of others. The characters are not changed by magic, death, or mockery. The concept of free will in the play is strongly shown. The characters have the free will to act as they please, they are not manipulated by others.
The character Hermia had free will and is not influenced by death. She had been told to marry a man whom she does not love; Demetrius. Hermia instead wants to marry Lysander. She comes to a choice of “Either…death or abjure For the society of men…either prepare to die…Or else to wed Demetrius” (Shakespeare 11, 13). Even when faced with the consequence of death, Hermia still does not agree to wed Demetrius. “The meaning of free will is the ability to make choices on your own without the influence of others…life has no meaning without the ability to have free will” (William Shakespeare's Macbeth - The Idea Of Free Will). She expresses the free will to act as she pleases, giving no regard for the threat against her life. She chooses to run away with Lysander and elope outside of the city of Athens. The free will of a character
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He had been turned into the head of a donkey by Robin. Once Bottom’s playmates see his state, they mock him and leave him in the forest. Despite Bottom’s friends mocking him due to his appearance, he is not changed of his free will. Bottom decides that he “will sing, that they shall hear that I am not afraid” (Shakespeare 77). He had the free will to overcome the words and actions of his friends. Bottom sings to combat the negative words that his friends had said. Rather than giving in to the mockery, he chooses to have his way and ignore his friends. The actions of others cannot manipulate or influence one’s free