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How Does Shakespeare Use Eyes In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Eyes are often thought of as the windows to the soul that can help you see the truth. William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, explores this idea by integrating the themes of love and truth into a story about human life. It follows the lives of characters who are not willing to look at life through another person’s eyes. These characters, blinded by their own desires and judgements, make decisions based only on their own truths. Throughout the play, the manipulation of their sight hinders their ability to separate dreams, or appearances, from reality. Shakespeare uses eyes as a symbol for truth. They are used to represent a character’s sight, but they are also used to help the reader understand the contrasting perspectives of the main characters. Eyes act as a symbol that is used to further convey the themes of love and the difference between appearance and reality. In the beginning of the play, Hermia is distraught because her father will not allow her to marry Lysander, the man she is in love with. Her father, Egeus, …show more content…

Many of the characters’ actions are inspired by love. Hermia and Lysander believe that the only way to be married is to leave Athens, so they attempt to leave Athens and escape to the forest. Helena is motivated by her love for Demetrius to divulge their plan to him. The judgements of these characters are impaired by their desire for love, “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is wing’d Cupid painted blind,” (Shakespeare 248-249). Eyes are a symbol for the truth, and these characters recognize that love is not based on what they see with their eyes. When it comes to love, characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream often choose not to see the truth. Hermia refuses to accept the truth of her father’s demands, and Helena betrays her closest friend for love. Their actions prove that love is

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