Helena Is the Bomb

Throughout the play, Helena practically worships Demetrius, despite his obvious hatred towards her. Demetrius asks Helena, “Or rather, do I not in plainest truth, tell you I do not, nor I cannot, love you?” (Shakespeare 2.1.185-186). in which she responds, “And

When Helena and Demetrius were together, she was perfectly content and satisfied with herself. She knew of her magnificent beauty and high potential. Unfortunately, when Demetrius strayed from her, her self-confidence dropped several notches, and she no longer thinks of herself as desirable nor beautiful. Then, after Puck anoints Demetrius’ eyes with the love potion, he falls back in love with Helena. However, she thinks he is mocking her, and in her eyes, it is a very repulsive deed. Love’s misfortunes consequently vanquish all of Helena’s self-confidence and prompt her judgement to become

At one time, Demetrius loved Helena, and then he fell in love with someone else. Initially, Demetrius had given his love to Helena: “He hailed down oaths that he was only mine, / And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt, / So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt” (MND 1.1.243-245). Helena loved Demetrius, and he promised to be with her forever. However once he met her friend, Hermia, Demetrius left Helena to chase after her friend. Helena’s jealousy of Demetrius’ love drives her to think about what he really wants. Helena believes that Hermia’s beauty is why Demetrius desires her. She tells Hermia, “Demetrius loves your fair”, and she goes further to say, “Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated, / The rest I’d give to be to you translated” (MND 1.1.182, 190-191). Her jealousy of Demetrius’ love has turned into jealousy of Hermia’s beauty. Helena obsesses over having Demetrius back to the point that she continuously follows him around. Demetrius is tired of Helena chasing him: “Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair?” (MND 2.1.199). Demetrius does not understand why she tries so hard to be with him when he does not even compliment her. Demetrius threatens Helena to leave him alone: “I’ll run from thee, and hide me in the brakes, / And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts” (MND 2.1.227-228). At this point, he is beyond exhausted with Helena, and he will do anything to get away from her.

Yes, I do agree that Lady Macbeth is one of the most realized female characters in Shakespeare's work. I base my agreement in opinion on a simple comparison between her and the female characters of the Shakespeare play we have previously read. The women in A Midsummer's Night Dream, particularly Hippolyta, play a compliant role. Even the women who are main characters in the story, Hermia and Helena, are portrayed as insignificant and they do not play a major part in plot progression. The men in the story are in control and they do not listen to the women. Whereas Lady Macbeth plays a more dominant role in the story and in her relationship with Macbeth. For example, During Scenes V through VII in Act 1, we see a completely different side of women in Shakespeare's plays. So far, we see Lady Macbeth being very intelligent and clever. She astutely uses taunts to hit Macbeth where she knows it hurts him with questions like “Are you a man?” (43). She uses her wits to get what she wants, and unlike in A Midsummer's Night Dream, her husband actually listens to her. In addition, her actions are very relevant to the play. Although I do agree that Lady Macbeth is one of the most realized female characters in Shakespeare, I also think that she is not a very likable character. When I think of Lady Macbeth, the line that always first comes to mind is when she says, “I have given suck… I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the

Helena is madly in love with Demetrius and would give her life for just one kind word from him.

Helena and Hermia have this kind of love and would do anything for each other. It happens that Helena is in love with Demetrius who Hermia is being forced to marry. Demetrius does not want Helena but Hermia. Helena loves her friend Hermia but at the same time wants to get her man.

Shakespeare's works have persistently influenced humanity for the past four hundred years. Quotations from his plays are used in many other works of literature and some common phrases have even become integrated into the English language. Most high schoolers have been unsuccessful in avoidance of him and college students are rarely afforded the luxury of choice when it comes to studying the bard. Many aspects of Shakespeare's works have been researched but one of the most popular topics since the 1960s has been the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies, histories and sonnets.

Before someone has the ability to analyze a female character in one of William Shakespeare’s works, one must take into account Shakespeare’s views on feminism, as well as how females were viewed in the time period. Is Shakespeare teaching us that women have no greater value than a breeding mule, or that women are truly property, simply to be owned by men? Obviously Shakespeare’s opinion is that women are inferior to men, seeming that his views are clearly portrayed by Helena’s character in A Midsummers night’s dream.

Helena is a very desperate and aroused woman who loves Demetrius with her life. Even though she shows a great passion of love for him, Demetrius rejects this and therefore piles another burden of sorrow onto Helena’s shoulders. She is fed up with Demetrius rejecting her, but Helena is not tempted to give up yet.

Shakespeare may be the most known playwright of all time, however, you may be surprised at how many unfair stereotypes this very famous writer incorporated into his plays. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy play written by William Shakespeare in the late 1500s that portrays events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to the extravagant Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. Such events included Demetrius jilting Helena at the altar and falling in love with Helena’s rival instead, Hermia. However, Hermia is in love with Lysander, not a disdainful youth known as Demetrius. According to feminist theory, the theory that focuses on gender inequality. A Midsummer Night’s Dream would not be considered a feminist empowerment play because throughout the play Shakespeare portrays women as timid/easily frightened. He shows men having more power than women, and perpetuates the unfair stereotype that all women must act a certain way.

Her reality of love is questioned because there is no significant reasoning to why she loves Demetrius. So, her love is viewed as pure lust. The more she tries to chase Demetrius, the more he will distance himself from her--their love is based on just honest disinterest. Also, she is a fixed character of gender reversal by pursuing love more aggressively than a woman in her era is suppose to because they are meant to be chased, not be the chasers: “We cannot fight for love as men may do:/ We should be wooed, and were not meant to woo”(2.1.241-242). When Helena talks about the difficultness of fighting for love between men and women, she explains that women are not “meant to” have the power or strength to continously to fight for love like men because that chase should be the men’s role. Helena’s perspective can be illustrated as her love not having the same worth as if Demetrious were to chase her. Also, it shows Helena as a paradox of the non-tradition of chasing men but needing the tradition to design the worth of love. Likewise, Helena is persistent in chasing Demetrious until he loves her back. Her perspective of love is viewed as being childish, blinded by love. She attempts to seduce him in multiple occasions but he continously dismisses her and Helena uses comical language to tell him that she will never give up on him: “I am your spaniel, and, Demetrius/ The more you beat me I will fawn on you”(2.1.203-204). Shakespeare explores the subjectivity of the character’s different views of reality when it comes to understanding

Women in Shakespearian plays have always had important roles. Whether they create the main conflicts and base of the plays, or bring up interesting proper and cultural questions, they have always been put in challenging situations. Some women are stronger than others, and their effect on the play is different for each one. One woman who plays a very important role in Shakespeare's plays is Cleopatra, in Antony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra is the dominant force in the play. Cleopatra takes on masculine qualities such as being bold, `alternative masculinity' and manhood of stronger determination. She is also viewed as a perfectionist. During the play many critics notice that Cleopatra and Antony switch roles, by Cleopatra acting more masculine, and Antony acting more feminine. Antony becomes jealous of Cleopatra because sometimes she acts more masculine than he does. Cleopatra is not dependant on anyone. Some critics say that Shakespeare discriminated against women because of his actions. He did not allow women to have a role in his play, nor let them have any say in his writings. He had boys or men play the parts of women until later on in his playwriting. Shakespeare favored men during his time period and was also very sexist.

Female characters, whether they are mothers, sisters, daughters, or lovers, are used as essential roles in every play written by William Shakespeare. In the beginning of both plays, Twelfth Night and Othello, we see strong-willed ladies. Shakespeare enjoys giving women powerful minds and hearts in his works. I think that the female character development between these two plays is that women have the ability to be dominant in a man’s world, but can also lose themselves by becoming submissive to men. While Shakespeare wrote the later play with concepts about consequences of jealousy and not trusting a loved one, he used Twelfth Night to be an example to men to have more compassion for women.

Shakespearean tragedy is a story of one, or at most two persons. As a rule, they are male protagonists. But to say that Shakespeare’s female characters are shallow, undeveloped and used just as a decoration on the stage is very wrong. Women in Shakespeare’s tragedies have no leading role and they are, to paraphrase Northrop Frye,[1] not tragic heroines, but heroines in a tragedy.

    When one considers Shakespeare’s female characters, one has to remember that the plays were written in a time when women were considered weak-minded creatures who were apt to make bad choices if given the freedom.  Shakespeare, for the most