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Love And Deception In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Illusion is a Golden Cage

Society is a pigeon in a utopian, golden cage. It does not have to worry about reality. When the door is unlocked, the bird will think it has been liberated, but only then will he realize the fear and struggles of the outside world. In the comedic play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare, the characters live in a world with entertainment, marriages, and small problems of their own with complicated love circles. Love and imagination are what keep the people of Athens happy. For that reason, illusion and deception are pivotal in society as it creates a prison that alters the truth to keeps humans content while away from the brutleness of reality.

Humans in the past, present, and future will continue to blindly chase whom he or she is after, creating a false sense of satisfaction. Illusion changes the appearance of others in order to fulfill the cravings of love. In the play, Helena comments on Demetrius' passion for Hermia, saying that it is blind, since Helena’s beauty matches Hermia’s. She believes that “love can …show more content…

Sometimes one’s fantasy is enough to paint another reality where all is well. In the case of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, imagination is used to make the citizens happy. For example, the amatuer actors do not act well, but Theseus knows that “the best in this kind are but shadows”(5.1.210). He knows the best plays are because we imagine it as the greatest. If “we imagine no worse of [the actors]”(5.1.213), then they might be the best themselves. Furthermore, imagination also removes fear of the unknown, for when the ladies think that the sword is not real. Another instance is when Puck removes the fear of the audience by saying if they have been scared by the act, think of it “no more yielding but a dream”(5.1.419). Reality may be filled with anxiety and discomfort, but imagination and deception are what make the unknowns in life comfortable enough to

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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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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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Toba Beta once said: "“Justice could be as blind as love.”   Shakespeare 's play A Midsummer Night 's Dream captures the blindness of both love and justice.   Egeus, a respected nobleman in Athens, arranged for his daughter, Hermia, to marry nobleman Demetrius.   Egeus tells his daughter that she must obey his wishes: If she does not, she can either choose to become a nun, or die.

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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

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