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Examples Of Manipulation In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Throughout Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are multiple examples of manipulation between different characters taking place within the play which adds layers of depth and complexity to the iconic theatrical work. This is done in an assortment of various ways in the play such as adding and creating complex interconnections between characters and the plot, changes in characters' relations due to the controlling nature of all the characters, and the complex love relationships that overall, drive the entirety of the story along. These plot developments more than help create a play full of power struggles and intertwined love relationships which is fun for anyone watching and is what really adds a lot to the original play. To summarize, the recognizable work of William Shakespeare would, as a …show more content…

This plays out through, almost in the entirety of the middle and final parts of the play where the story gets increasingly interactive as the different characters from the two separate plots merge with each other. A clear and obvious example of this from the play with the character of Oberon, king of the fairies, who disrupts the two plots by interacting or more appropriately, controlling the lovers by sending Puck to make Demetrius fall in love with Helena. This comes about in the narrative when Oberon gives an order to Puck, after he watched Helena discuss her love for Demetrius, inserting himself with the other characters. Puck's order was to gather the flower petals and place the juices of the flower on the eye of Demetrius, which would make him fall in love with Hermia. This all plays out when Oberon says to Puck: “A sweet Athenian lady is in love with a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes, but do it when the next thing he espies may be the lady. (Act 2, Scene 1)” This line helps demonstrate how the controlling behavior of Oberon over Helena and Demetrius causes the two different plots and characters to collide with each

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888 Words | 4 Pages

Most of the time, when a person thinks they can control another person, they are mistaken. A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare is a play that demonstrates the subject of control. Several Characters in the play attempts to make another person do what they want. An example in the story is when a woman named Helena is tries to force a man named Demetrius to love her by chasing him in the woods trying to persuade him. At the end, Shakespeare makes the case that it is not possible to control another person’s actions, because the results are unwanted and tragic.

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735 Words | 3 Pages

Again they are deliriously in love because of the love drug. In the beginning of the play neither of the males want anything to do with Helena, she is blindly chasing after Demetrius desperate for his attention, but he brushes her off. Oberon orders puck to put the spell on Demetrius. “Thou shalt know the man by the Athenian garments he hath on.” (II, i ln 42 & 43)

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291 Words | 2 Pages

Additionally, Oberon also controls the actions of the four lovers in the play. He uses his fairy servant Puck to cast a spell on the eyes of Lysander and Demetrius, causing them to fall in love with Helena and Hermia,

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1182 Words | 5 Pages

Even though Oberon claims to love Titania, he proves this inaccurate when he proclaims, “Having once this juice,/ I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep/ And drop the liquor of it in her eyes./ The next thing then she waking looks upon— / Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull,/ On meddling monkey or on busy ape—/ She shall pursue it with the soul of love. ”(Shakespeare 2.1.160-168). This is an example of Titania being bullying by false love.

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725 Words | 3 Pages

The most significant issue that Oberon caused was when he tried to make the lovers fall in love with each other. He trusted Puck and made him have the responsibility to put the love potion on Demetrius. However, Puck being Puck, he makes a mistake and puts it on Lysander instead. In Act 2 Scene 1, Oberon says to Puck, “A sweet Athenian lady is in love With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes”(Line 260~265).

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502 Words | 3 Pages

The authors use the plot to develop the theme of deception. In the play, Titania gets deceived by Oberon because he orders Puck to put a love potion into Titania's eyes. He did it because he wanted her attention and wanted the child for himself. This shows that Oberon is deceiving Titania by having her believe she is in love with someone else to get her mind off the little boy. Similarly, in “PAP”, the character Ripley Givens shows the theme of deception by deceiving the Princess into thinking that the Lion is his.

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879 Words | 4 Pages

If someone can control you, chaos and disaster can break out, at least that is what happened in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play by William Shakespeare, is a comedy that centers on Hermia, who develops feelings for Lysander, and her father, Egeus, who disapproves of the relationship and wants her to wed Demetrius. He offers her three options which she disagrees with, so she decides to flee to live with the aunt of Lysander so they can get married outside of Athens. However, she first tells Helena, her best friend, who is envious of her since she wants to marry Demetrius, but Demetrius prefers Hermia. Helena then snitches to Demetrius believing he would fall in love with her for her noble act.

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942 Words | 4 Pages

so Oberon wanted to use some nectar from that flower to have Demetrius fall in love with Helena. “Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove. / A sweet Athenian lady is in love / With a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes, / But do it when the next thing he espies / May be the lady.

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1027 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck and Oberon utilize their magical powers to manipulate the events that occur during the night. Two of the characters in the play that fall under the effects of their magic are Bottom and Titania. While using these powers, Puck transforms Bottom's head into the head of a donkey, and Oberon uses his magic on Titania by applying a love potion to her eyes to make her instantly fall in love with whoever she sees when she awakens next. The situation these characters get put into sets them up for a love connection. The relationship between Bottom and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream represents the aspect of love that can make an individual act irrationally.

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948 Words | 4 Pages

In our scene, lines 42-179 of Act One, Scene One, the characters who try to force love upon others are seen antagonistically, while Hermia and Lysander, who strive for true, naturally occurring love, are seen as protagonists whose love should be defended. The overlying message of the play is that love should not and cannot be forced. Theseus, Egeus, and Demetrius use their power, both as nobles and men, to try and force Hermia into marrying Demetrius. Egeus, in an attempt to bully Hermia into marrying Demetrius says, ‘‘‘She is mine, and all my right of her I do estate unto Demetrius’’’ (1.1.97-98). He sees his power as Hermia’s father as a way to force her into a marriage that will benefit him.

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659 Words | 3 Pages

Thou hast mistaken quite And laid the love juice on some true-love’s sight. Of thy misprision must perforce ensue Some true-love turned, and not a false turned true. ”(3.2.90-94) This evidence shows Oberon getting angry at Puck as he had used the love potion on the wrong person that already had true love causing more drama. Overall, Oberon wanted to help the Athenian lovers and their problems and really tries his best to do

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845 Words | 4 Pages

Demetrius's love is described by Oberon as false, “instead of this man’s false love being turned into a true love.” (Shakespeare 3.2.93-94). His love being false ties into the fairies' meddling because, in Oberon’s talks with Robin, it seems like they are ok to meddle if it makes a false love true. This type of meddling affects love by implying that there can be made a distinction between true and false love, and by showing that, at the very least, Oberon can tell the difference. It is also interesting that the fairies never explicitly remove the effects of the flower from Demetrius thus keeping his free will in most aspects of love from him, only explicitly freeing Lysander from the effects, “I’ll apply To your eye.

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772 Words | 4 Pages

Her extreme and obvious exclamation of love earns the attention of the fairies, who are carefully watching the situation. The fairies notice that Demetrius and Helena’s one-sided love is disrupting and unacceptable. The fairies have to power to change the feelings of Demetrius, and they do to restore peace to the relationship between Demetrius and Helena. After Demetrius is put under a permanent love charm by Puck, Demetrius reciprocates Helena’s endearment. Demetrius announces, “The object and the pleasure of mine eye, is only Helena...

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762 Words | 4 Pages

And Oberon endures an internal transformation that is completely natural, ironically, he is one of the most unnatural characters in the play. As the topic of transformation takes different form it’s common thread is shown through Demetrius, Bottom, and Oberon, that transformation is the completion of a character in the play, and magic

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895 Words | 4 Pages

In William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream the circumstances surrounding love have been put into question, this occurs when a magical nectar is put in the eyes of three major characters, and changes their feelings towards the people in their lives. Titania, Lysander and Demetrius all have had the nectar put into their eyes, though Demetrius avoids having this done to him in act 2 scene 2 which is the scene that the focus of this paper will be looking at. Throughout the play, we focus largely on the love life of Helena, which unfortunately does not seem to exist. She is in love with Demetrius, whom does not care for her in the same way, he does not cherish her at all before he is under the influence of magic. Once Lysander declares

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