Analysis A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare The story of A Midsummer Night's Dream was mainly about love and its abnormal dealings. In the play, Shakespeare tried to show that love is unpredictable, unreasonable, and at times is blind. The theme of love was constantly used during the play and basically everything that was said and done was related to the concept of love and its unpredictable ness. Shakespeare made all of the characters interact their lives to be based on each other’s. At first, everything was very confusing, and the characters were faced with many different problems. In the end, however, they were still able to persevere and win their true love, the love they were searching for in the first place. …show more content…
Hermia was not going to give up her growing passion and desire for Lysander. She decided to run off into the woods with Lysander and get married. The two ran in the woods, got lost, and settled down to rest until the morning. Hermia's love was still deep for Lysander, but she was not comfortable sleeping directly next to him. This showed that she still had her morals in tact and she made him sleep further away from her. As morning came, Lysander awoke before Hermia and, abandoned her because he was under the spell. When Hermia woke up and saw that her true love was missing, she quickly went to find him. Hermia never gave up on her love for Lysander. She only wanted him and nothing was going to stop her. Astonishingly she was able to pass all of the obstacles in her way and still retain the love for Lysander. Lysander on the other hand was not able to hold on to his love for Hermia during the time in the woods. In the beginning he started out madly in love with Hermia and unable to hide his true feelings for her. He was forced by the spell to forget about Hermia and instead he wanted her friend Helena, because of the nectar in his eyes, which made him fall in love with the first person he sees (intervention of supernatural, to change destiny). Lysander chased Helena and begged for her love. The spell from the nectar caused Lysander to take a totally different view on his life. Now, he wanted Helena and he could not even stand to look at
First, Hermia went through many different issues and conflicts throughout the story. Hermia was put in the situation of being forced to marry either Lysander or Demetrius. They both loved Hermia, but Hermia only loves Lysander and despises Demetrius. Egues comes to the decision of Hermia marrying Demetrius. Hermia states “If then true lovers have been ever cross'd,It stands as an edict in
Lysander and Hermia also portray true love. Refusing to marry her suitor, Demetrius, she willingly gives up everything and runs away from Athens with her lover, Lysander, “There my Lysander and I shall meet, and thence from Athens turn away our eyes.” In the play within the play, Pyramus and Thisbe also present us with true love. Their situation
Lysander shows the human flaws of disloyalty and aggression and also shows the human strength of being comforting in the play. Lysander shows the human flaw of disloyalty in act 3, scene 2, lines 184-190. In these lines Lysander tells Hermia he no-longer loves her and has fallen in love with Helena, meaning he wasn’t loyal to Hermia. Aggression is shown by Lysander in act 3, scene 2, lines 336-337. “Now follow, if thou dur’st, to try whose right, of thine or mine, is most in Helena” In these lines Lysander wants to fight Demetrius to show his love for Helena is stronger than Demetrius, in turn showing his aggression. The human strength of being comforting is shown by Lysander in act 1, scene 1, lines 128-149. In these lines Lysander comforts Hermia after she is told she cannot marry him. He tells her that ‘the course of love never did run smooth’ (act 1, scene 1, line 134). Throughout the play Lysander is clearly shown to demonstrate the flaws and strengths of
In act 3 scene 2, Hermia cried out to Lysander, who had betrayed her, “Why are you grown so rude? What change is this, Sweet love?” but Lysander says, “Thy love! Out, tawny Tartar, out! Out, loathèd med'cine! O hated potion, hence!” (3.2.172-175) Because Lysander falls in love with Helena because Puck mistakenly put his love potion on Lysander, Hermia, the actual lover of Lysander, got hurt by him. She could not believe that Lysander did not love her anymore. This was wrong. Helena was not the true love of Lysander. However, because of the blind love effect of the love potion, Lysander forgot his true love.
They may have free will at first, but once they fall, they have no control anymore. Hermia understands the aforementioned concept well; she admits it when she says “I know not by what power I am made bold,” (I. i. 61) when she defies her father’s command to marry Demetrius. Hermia has another experience with the loss of free will when Lysander falls for Helena because someone else meddles with his adoration. Her love for Lysander causes her to feel confusion and hurt, while Lysander’s love for Helena causes him to abandon all reason and thought for Hermia’s feelings to chase Helena. Earlier in the book, Hermia and Lysander feel the pull of teenage rebellion together as their love for each other pulls Hermia away from her father. Lysander suggests, “If thou lovest me then, steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night,” (I. i. 165-166). Together, the two lovers plot to run away together, something Hermia would never do if not for Lysander’s
Hermia’s love for Lysander can be seen as genuine as she states ‘I would my father looked but with my eyes’ which means she wishes her father could see Lysander the way she does. This suggests that she is not under his spell as she truly sees him with her own eyes, and loves him. The audience also sees that she is very passionate about Lysander, as she chooses to ‘yield my virgin patent up’ and live the life of a nun or die rather than ‘wed Demetrius’. We also see the love between Lysander and Hermia is genuine later in Act 1 Scene 1 when ‘Exeunt all but Lysander and Hermia’, as it appears that Lysander is finishing Hermia’s sentences, indicating they are very familiar with each other, and he is comforting her lovingly. Lysander also states ‘true love never did run smooth’ which suggests they truly believe what they feel is true love. Another technique used by Shakespeare to emphasise their love is vivid imagery. Hermia’s speech declaring that she would meet Lysander in ‘the wood’ is filled with imagery suggesting love and passion, such as ‘by Cupid’s strongest bow’ and her reference to the Greek Goddess Venus: ‘By the simplicity of Venus’ doves’, emphasises her passion for Lysander.
Lysander and Hermia represent a love so strong it can make you think irrational. Love can mess with your feelings when you are willing to do anything for each other. This is a couple which refuse to deny their feelings and risk the consequences in order to be together. Hermia is a big personality with her own opinions. Hermia feels that she should be able to choose whom she marries. Hermia’s choice to be her man is Lysander, a charming, kind, hopeless romantic. It is not Hermia’s choice, it is her father’s Egeus who forces her to marry Demetrius. These two react to their situation in the only way they can think of. The two young lovers, while companions don’t agree with this coming together decide to experience life and confront the conflict of growth with one another (Kennedy and Kennedy 272).This love is so strong that they run away from their families. Being told “no” makes them want to be together even more, it’s the forbidden fruit that drives you to do things you wouldn’t normally do. Hermia and Lysander love is young and rebellious. Lysander sums up the meaning of the play and the relationship with Hermia with “Aye me, for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth…” (Shakespeare 1397). Lysander understands that if he and Hermia are to be together then there will be many obstacles they must face but they will face them together. Lysander is
In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream the Athenian lovers are just other lovers. All the lovers share similar personalities, struggles and faults that lead them to be seen as one in the same. Without the distinction between these lovers, William Shakespeare sends a distinct message about young love.
She is able to still love Lysander even after he told Hermia that he no longer loved her. She has proven herself over countless times that she will do anything for her lover. Hermia's sheer will and determination help her get what she deserves in the
Lysander is one of the main characters who are in love with Hermia, but her father –Egeus-
Lysander and Hermia aren’t allowed to be together because of her father Egeus. They follow true love so they find a way to be together, run away from Athens. “I have a widow aunt, a dowager, Of great revenue, and she hath no child. From Athens is her house remote seven leagues, And she respects me as her only son.
Although Hermia had to face her struggles fighting for true love, she could have been killed under the Athenian law. Despite the prevailing circumstances of the danger she had been faced with, the belief in true love and happiness guided Hermia into facing her fears, discovering her abilities and finding happiness within a man. After running away from her father, Hermia was faced with various amounts of conflicts throughout Shakespeare’s novel, however, Shakespeare portrayed her as the type of person that does no give up hope and leads with a heart full of love. As a result of her bravery and passion toward Lysander, the king decided that “fair lovers, you are fortunately met. Egeus, I will overbear your will.
Demetrius is back in love with Helena because he wants to be with Helena. At the beginning of the story Demetrius did not like Helena because he likes Hermia. Demetrius and Lysander get in a fight over Hermia to win her. Demetrius and Lysander both get a spell put on them by Puck that make them love the same girl, Helena. Puck cures Lysander because he made a mistake. By curing Lysander,
Lysander is a young man who falls in love with a beautiful woman named Hermia in a book called shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Lysander who is a lot like Romeo, a character Shakespeare conceived around the time he wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream. Although Lysander faces some major obstacle in his pursuit of love. When we first heard about him he won Hermia’s heart by giving her little things like nick-nacks and
However, their inseparable bond had a flaw. When Lysander broke Hermia’s heart and showed no interest in her anymore, it had a huge impact on the feelings of Hermia. She was filled with grief, sorrow and regret.