ipl-logo

Examples Of Unrequited Love In A Midsummer Night's Dream

639 Words3 Pages

Have you ever loved someone who didn’t love you back? Imagine experiencing that ten times worse. Unrequited love is a common occurrence among people all over the world. "A Midsummer Night’s Dream", written by William Shakespeare, is a play with a series of different love stories that are all somehow connected and take place over the course of four days. One of them is the one-sided love between Helena and Demetrius. Helena has been obsessively in love with Demetrius since they had a one-night stand, but he is arranged to be married to Hermia, Helena’s best friend. Helena has gotten quite infatuated with Demetrius, despite the hatred he has shown her. She has even jeopardized her friendship with Hermia, a friend since they were kids, to ameliorate …show more content…

In the play, Helena’s relentless pursuit of Demetrius normalizes chasing love until it works out. In act two, Helena tells Demetrius Hermia and Lysander’s plan to run away, so now they are in the forest. Throughout all the threats and requests for her to leave him alone that Demetrius has made towards Helena, she continues to try and help him. Helena replies to Demerius’ insolence, "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" (2.1. 204–206). This quote paints a picture of how love is one-sided and unrequited. Helena is profoundly in love with Demetrius, but he does not return the affection. In spite of his mistreatment, she still loves him …show more content…

Although not everyone who may have feelings for someone (unreciprocated love) is obsessive, Shakespeare has a big influence on the world, especially in English classes all throughout the country. This can have many negative effects on teens' views on love and relationships. Believing that this is “an okay” way to start a connection with a potential spouse. When observing the entirety of Helena and Demetrius’ relationship it was destructive. Demetrius constantly belittled Helena, and although she stayed in love with him, this can cause many mental and self esteem issues when looking in the real world’s view. This essay is not trying to propose banning "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" by William Shakespeare, but only saying that students should know that the relationship between the characters in this play isn't healthy. In the case of Helena and Demetrius, he was manipulated into loving her back, and that shouldn’t be an inspiration for how love should be either given or

Show More
Related
385 Words | 2 Pages

“The school lunch program, begun in the 1970s as a result of bipartisan federal legislation, has been by most measures an enormous success. For lots of poor families it’s become a way to count on at least getting one decent meal into their children, and when it disappears it’s catastrophic,” (page 224) In the essay “Schools out for the Summer” Quindlen writes about the problem of hunger in the USA.

Read More
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)

Read More
757 Words | 4 Pages

  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.

Read More
793 Words | 4 Pages

This shows two of the different kinds of control Shakespeare 's Midsummer’s Night Dream has and also shows two of the controlled relationship that make up the story. Helena and Demetrius are 2 of the 4 teenage characters in Shakespeare 's A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Helena is deeply in love with Demetrius and follows him as if she were his dog. Demetrius, however, does not feel the same way about Helena as he loves someone else.

Read More
1182 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, falling in love twice is conveyed on multiple occasions. The reader is also able to see that love can be portrayed as a bully that victimises those who fall for its games. The people of Athens and the fairies of the mythical fairyland are victimized by false love, falling in love twice, and the emotions that come with falling in

Read More
726 Words | 3 Pages

Though not so long ago he loved her, Demetrius’ feelings have changed drastically. He went form loving Helena to loathing her. He constantly tells Helena that the sight of her makes him sick and even goes as far as to threaten her if she follows him in the night. Just as the more Hermia denies him the more Demetrius wants her, the more Helena wants Demetrius the more he hates her. Even when Helena tells Demetrius that Hermia and Lysander plan to run away together he gives her no sympathy or gratitude, just pure hatred.

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

The strong effects of love makes Helena a bit foolish and blind in the ways she reacts to it. In scene one of act one, the readers learn that Helena still loves Demetrius even though he loves her friend, Hermia, now. When Helena is first introduced, she demonstrates her jealousy and insecurities by asking Hermia for some of her beauty to win Demetrius back. Hermia and Lysander inform her that they are running away, and that

Read More
932 Words | 4 Pages

It is estimated that 35% of teens have an uncommitted relationship through adolescence. Teenagers during the time period in which A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, takes place are the ideal age for courtship and marriage. Within the play, a story of a father, Egeus, who denies the courtship of his daughter, Hermia, and her soulmate, Lysander, results in a runaway couple hoping to elope. Their dreams drown, when Hermia’s best friend, Helena, who tells it to Hermia’s fiance, Demetrius, as she hopes for a relationship with him. The love between the Athenian lovers from A Midsummer Night’s Dream focuses, at a core, on the same themes and clichés of forbidden romance, running away, jealousy/one-sided love, and the infamous fight for someone's love that teens experience when dating in modern days.

Read More
958 Words | 4 Pages

The power of true love is evident in the play, the depiction of love reveals its true nature as in its pursuit it causes the characters to become irrational. True love in this play stems conflict from the troubles of romance by the actions of the lovers. The friendship between Hermia and Helena is at stake because of the romantic love that exists between the different parties in the play. Helena mistakes her obsession with Demetrius with love even though he is very rude to her.

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

If I have thanks, it is a dear expense./ But herein mean I to enrich my pain,/ To have his sight slither back again.” (1.1.232-257) In her plotting, she shows jealousy in her feelings towards Hermia and Demetrius. This envy caused a devious plan to happen that affected the whole play.

Read More
516 Words | 3 Pages

This week’s reading was over William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This play describes several different points of view about love. The idea I got after reading this play is the complicated human nature and a person’s heart’s desire does not always agree. I also get the impression that arranged marriages were common in this time era and are not for reasonable accommodations. When concerning this particular Shakespeare play, in the end no one gets what they yearn.

Read More
1633 Words | 7 Pages

They are the perfect example of difficulty of love, that is, passionate circumstances in which an injustice or discrepancy interferes in the consistency of the engagement. Finally, the habitual happy end in comedies is produced, although they have had problems to achieve it like the love potion; the second are Demetrius and Helena. Their relationship has evolved during the play. At first, Demetrius is in love with Hermia, but it is at the end when his love for Helena appears. However, Helena has been always in love with him.

Read More
710 Words | 3 Pages

The strong effects of love makes Helena a bit foolish and blind in the ways she reacts to it. In scene one of act one, the readers learn that Helena still loves Demetrius even though he loves her friend, Hermia, now. When Helena is first introduced, she demonstrates her jealousy and insecurities by asking Hermia for some of her beauty to win Demetrius back. Hermia and Lysander inform her that they are running away, and that

Read More
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

Read More
483 Words | 2 Pages

With many of the different scenes throughout the play, the theme of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is that love is difficult. In the play when Hermia 's father tries to tear Hermia and Lysander

Read More

More about Examples Of Unrequited Love In A Midsummer Night's Dream

Related Topics

Open Document