Controlling Others And Its Consequences

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

Hermia and Lysander behave irrationally throughout the whole play because they’re head over heels for each other; however, their love is oppressed by both her father Egeus and the strict Athenian law. In Act 1, Scene 1 when Egeus is at court with Hermia he uses a demanding and dominating tone to state, ‘as she is mine i may dispose of her’ This causes them to act spontaneously and irrationally and as a consequence, they run away from Athens to get married. This entertains the audience by adding more conflict and complication to the story. After they elope to the forest, magic becomes the force that turns love to a dramatic and conflict filled experience that is also entertaining. Lysander acts in irrational ways when he is put under the spell of ‘Love in Idleness’ where he states how madly he loves on Helena, and how much he hates Hermia. ‘Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing, let loose, / or I will shake thee from me like a serpent.’ Derogatory language and repetition is used to emphasise his hate toward Hermia and orders her to leave him alone. For example, in Act 3, Scene 2, Lysander has fallen in love with Helena and tells Hermia how he hates her. ‘Out, loathed medicine! O hated potion, hence!’ Conflict between characters create comedy in the play which entertains the audience because of the dramatic irony. Lysander’s insults in the statement are repetition as it is the same meaning but in different words. This language technique emphasises that Lysander wants Hermia to leave him alone.

Egeus tells the Duke that his daughter can marry Demetrius, not Lysander. Hermia replies ". . . If I refuse to wed Demetrius," Egeus replies "Either to

Oberon conjures up a plan in order to get a young child away from Titania, queen of the fairies, whilst doing this he is met with two of our other characters, Helena and Demetrius, “A sweet Athenian lady is in love/ with a huge disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes with the flower as well,” (II.i.268-269) in this point of the story Oberon encounters Helena who is trying to get the attention of Demetrius, who is completely ignoring her. This displays his need to place forceful authority because he is trying to controls Demetrius’s love, by putting him under a spell and making him fall in love with Helena. Unlike Egeus though, Oberon takes control over more than just one character, we see this in act 2 scene 1 lines 83-85 which says “Having once this juice,/ I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep/ And drop the liquor of it in her eyes,” out of the two Oberon would have to be the most controlling, because he in these three lines it shows yet another character Oberon is controlling. In this line though he is attempting to manipulate Titania in order to get the young changeling boy. Thereupon showing that in the face of love, control still will not

In conversation with Puck, he declares “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.” Due to his hunger of power, Oberon tricks Titania into giving him the Indian Boy. This shows that he concerns himself more with having greater power over Titania than caring and loving her. In addition to that point, Oberon gives no reasons as to why he desires custody over the Indian boy, leaving the readers to assume that above all else, he wants to demonstrate his power over

Furthermore, the lines earlier shows Oberon’s plan to control and submit Titania to his will. His plan to make her fall in love with animals by using a potion indicates that he wants to embarrass Titania. He wants to use his power to manipulate her feelings. He craves the control that he did not have earlier in the play when Titania did what she wanted to do. Therefore, his desire to gain control results in the changing of Titania’s fate. Titania’s actions are based on Oberon’s power. Likewise, Oberon gains satisfaction by executing his plan which empowers him and gives authority. Further, not only does Oberon make plans to control Titania, but he also becomes the cause of the conflict among Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena. Oberon’s decision to meddle in their affairs directly impacts their fate as they become powerless over their situation. Oberon’s overwhelming sense of entitlement for utter control affects the events that transpire in their lives. Specifically, Oberon’s interference changes how two of the main characters, Lysander and Hermia interact with each other. Their mutual attraction to each other is altered as a result of Lysander’s will becoming influenced by Oberon. Thus, Lysander professes his love for Helena. Then, Hermia verbally attacks Helena:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a masterful piece of literature that both directly and indirectly comments on the reality of control and power in Western cultures. Shakespeare’s ability to depict human nature gives us insight into how English society functioned in his lifetime, but more importantly allows us to analyze our own perspective of ourselves and the world around us. One way Shakespeare articulates his ideas is through well constructed metaphors and similies, resulting in more powerful writing. One very significant metaphor is spoken by Theseus early on in Act 1, scene 1. Egeus has brought his daughter, Hermia, to the royal court to for Theseus’s opinion on Hermia’s marriage. Egeus has arranged for Hermia to marry Demetrius, a very worthy suitor, but Hermia is truly in love with another man, Lysander. This dilemna is explained to Theseus and he states, “To you your father should be as a god;/ One that composed your beauties, yea, and one/ To whom you are but as a form in wax/ By him imprinted and within his power/ To leave the figure or disfigure it” (I.i.51-55). In summary, Theseus is defending Egeus by saying Hermia was created by Egeus and his will determines her fate. Behind this metaphor is a simple idea that proves how a desire to control can have many unintended consequences as well as negative effects. In order to understand this concept more effectively, it is crucial to analyze how influence is structured socially. The quote demonstrates

Throughout the play, the complications of Oberon and Titania’s relationship enforces gender roles. One way their relationship

Egeus’ connotative and figurative language in this excerpt is a little odd to me. He speaks of Lysander to the Duke negatively when everything Lysander is doing for his daughter is wonderful. He is taking wonderful things that people do when they’re in love and twisting it to make it seem like Lysander is committing a crime. During the time that this was written, women had to listen to their fathers and obey everything they were told to do. Because Egeus already had given his daughter away to Demetrius, it was a low kind of crime that Lysander would come and do this with Hermia, his daughter.

Hermia’s father, Egeus who despises Lysander, ultimately goes “Against my child, my daughter Hermia. — Stand forth,Demetrius.—My noble lord,This man hath my consent to marry her.—”(1.1.23-29). In other words, he states that Hermia is his property, so he can choose who she marries, not thinking of the harsh and unfair repercussions to his daughter and the man of his choice. Despite not being married to someone Demetrius didn’t love, he is seemingly stuck with Helena who willfully pursues his love. When Demetrius starts to question if Helena’s love is legitimate, he states “Do I entice you?

In Athens, women had very little rights. Womens fathers were the ones who got to choose whom they married, and that caused trouble for the lovers. Hermia’s father, Egeus, strongly believed in this rule. At the beginning, Egeus decides that he wants Hermia to marry Demetrius, which is good for Demetrius but bad for Hermia. Hermia, daringly refuses her father’s wishes, so they seek the help of Theseus, the Duke of Athens. Theseus listens to their situation, and being the authority in the situation, tells Hermia: “Either to die the death, or to abjure for the society of men. Therefore, fair Hermia,... if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun...”(24). This shows how authority, in this case the law, gets in the way of “the course of true love…”(28). Egeus’s decision to have Hermia marry Demetrius does not only affect Hermia but also affects Helena. When Hermia’s father chooses Demetris to be her

When Titania accuses Oberon of being jealous, Oberon responds by calling her a “tarry, rash wanton,” which translates into calling her a tar-covered reckless promiscuous woman, and furthermore, he asks, “am not I thy lord?”(14). This reinforces that the men in this society are like lords over women. This also strengthens the theme of gender tensions as they both continue on to accuse each other of infidelity. During the middle of the play, the theme of gender tension is not only shown with humans but with fairies as

First, Shakespeare encompasses dramatic irony, metaphor, and symbolism in the Athenian's world to emphasize the ideology of freedom of choice. In the in the introduction of the play, Hermia and Lysander are proclaimed to by their elders that they cannot pursue a romantic relationship and Hermia is given options that are disadvantageous for her relationship with Lysander. In response to this dreadful ultimatum, Lysander declares “There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee,/ And to that place the sharp Athenian law/Cannot pursue us” .(Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 163-164). The irony is conveyed to the viewers because Egeus believes his disobedient

Egeus tells the Duke that his daughter can marry Demetrius, not Lysander. Hermia replies ". . . If I refuse to wed Demetrius," Egeus replies "Either to die the death,

3. Egeus wants to complain to Theseus about his daughter Hermia. Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius but she is in love with Lysander. He wants her to choose either Demetrius or death.