As suggested by the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream[,]” written by William Shakespeare, and the Article “A Midsummer Night's Dream: Key Passages[,]” written by James Wells, the theme of love is but a game of chance is delineated through Helena’s speech. This is made apparent in scene i of act I, during Helena’s soliloquy, when she professes, “‘How happy some o'erother some can be! Through Athens I am thought as fair as she. But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so; he will not know what all but he doth know’” (1.1.232-235). During her piece, Helena ponders why Demetrius loves Hermia over herself “given that their beauty is equal” (Wells). She states that according to “‘Athens’” she and Hermia are thought to be “‘as fair’” as the other. However, Helena is distraught due to the fact that there is but one person who sees past this: her true love, Demetrius. …show more content…
With this in mind, the diction of Helena’s soliloquy exemplifies her sorrow. As stated by James Wells, “This analysis resides in the term she chooses as a point of comparison, the word happy. As it does now, the word then could mean a state of contentment, but the stronger connotation in Shakespeare's day was that of being "fortunate" or having been randomly selected by chance. In other words, Helena is arguing that happiness in love is mere chance” (Wells). In regards to this, Wells claims that through Helena’s choice of words, specifically “the word happy[,]” the theme of “love is [a] mere chance” is exhibited. The implication that, by the use of this word, Helena meant “fortunate” would further display her self-conscious
Hermia, originally the Apple of all Athens’ eye, put on an impossible pedestal by both Lysander and Demetrius, seems to trade social standings with the outcast Helena. It seems that Hermia doesn’t fully appreciate the quality of her state. She complains that her father will not allow her to merry her true love Lysander, and pawns her off to the inadequate Demetrius. Never can she accept the flattery of Demetrius’ unrequited love which her best friend would do anything to sincerely receive. Instead she revels in wonderment: “The more I [Hermia] hate, the more he [Demetrius] follows me” (I.i.198). Her unhappiness is far heightened when her two followers are given the love potion, turning them against her and beckoning to Helena. The cruel swap of fates lets the two female characters feel as though in the others’ shoes. It’s Hermia’s karma for being ungrateful at the attention bestowed upon her all these years that leads her to this harsh lesson.
First of all, Helena and Demetrius are two lovers who have a very complicated love life. Helena is a young woman who falls in love with Demetrius and cares about nothing more than indulging in his presence. Helena follows Demitrius into the woods one day and conveys her love by stating that “the more you beat me, I will fawn on you” (II.i.205). Helena wants to be with the man she loves more than anything; she is ready to take any risk just to see his face and be next to him. However Demetrius despises Helena. He acts ill-natured towards her and makes it very clear that she means nothing to him. Demetrius tells Helena about his hatred towards her and states “for I am sick when I look on thee” (II.i.213). He wants Helena to know how much he loathes her and how he would never want anything to do with her. Notwithstanding their original relationship, Demetrius begins to fall in love Helena and starts seeing her in a new vision as the play progresses. Demetrius receives a spell which makes him fall deeply in love with Helena and praise her. However, even after the spell stops being effective, Demetrius develops a desire to be with Helena and even marry her. The relationship between Demetrius and Helena has many erratic times and misunderstandings until the couple finally begins to truly love each other.
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.
Love is a very common theme that is seen in literature, and love is one of the most powerful things that can be felt for someone or something. Love can drive a person to do incredible or horrible things, and we see many forms of love that take place in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This is demonstrated in the book by many characters including Hermia and Lysander who demonstrate true love. Titania and Bottom show magical love. In the play, love is also the cause of a few broken hearts. While there is no one common definition of love that suits all of the characters, the romantic relationship in the play all leans to one simple rule laid out by Lysander, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”
Love is one of the most difficult mysteries of life. The difficulty of love is shown throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the play, the characters have to deal with jealousy that comes along with being in love. Love’s difficulty in the play comes from love being out of balance. Love being out of balance is a romantic situation where a difference gets in the way of happiness in the relationship. William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream demonstrates these conflicts with a little bit of humor and buoyancy. The four young Athenians have many difficulties with love. Hermia loves Lysander and Lysander returns the feelings; Helena loves Demetrius but Demetrius loves Hermia. The two men love the same women, which leaves Hermia
When Demetrius becomes more infatuated with Hermia’s beauty and kicks Helena to the curb, her heart and self-confidence become pulverized. She thinks that she is no longer beautiful, compared to Hermia at least. “No, no, I am ugly as a bear,/ For beasts that meet me run away for fear” (2.2.100-101). If Demetrius is no longer enamored by her beauty, then she convinces herself that she has none. Also, since, in her eyes, Demetrius is some righteous, benevolent man, she believes that she is ineligible of anyone so perfect.
In William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream is about the love quadrangle that develops among Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius. While a group of actors rehearse a play in the woods, and find their lives changed by the doings of Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies. It begins with Hermia refusing to marry Demetrius and her running into the woods with Lysander. When Hermia finds out and reports this to Demetrius in hopes of gaining his attention. Hermia likes him but he does not like her back. These relationships on who likes who all get messed up thanks to Puck, who on Oberon’s orders puts a love potion in Lysander's eyes creating the love quadrangle. The reason for the love potion being Oberon is jealous of Titania and the changeling boy. Matt Groening once said “Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig and then suddenly he turns on you with a miniature machine gun.” and the audience can see this play out in a Midsummer Night’s Dream when things like the love potion come into effect and everyone is falling in love with the people they do not want to.
If she wants his love that much then there is no way on Earth love is smooth when you're talking about Helena. Also, Helena cries endlessly about Demetrius as she exclaims to Hermia, “Demetrius loves your fair. O happy fair! ....... Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated, the rest I'd give to be translated.”
You both are rivals, and love Hermia, and now both rivals to mock Helena…” This tells us that even though she now has what she desired in the first place – Demetrius’ love – she still doesn’t believe she finally has it because she has been denied it for so long. She is also feeling self-pity for herself here; she feels like she has become a joke because she thinks that Lysander and Demetrius are playing a joke on her. This goes to show that she does not believe in things she finally gets which she has wanted for a long time, but instead thinks someone must be playing a joke on
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, love often appears to be a joke to many of the characters, and the characters who are seriously invested in their infatuation are comical to the audience. Bottom, a character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream whose head is transformed into that of a donkey’s, is an actor of rather indelicate comedy, yet he is able to realize the fickleness of love. He says “....to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays.” (3.1.143-144) Another character, Helena, does not appear to have a sense of humor about being in love, or at least it is not revealed to the audience for she is depressed and angry for the majority of the play.
A William Shakespeare play called A Midsummer Night’s Dream is based off how dreams are part of reality, even if they’re not real. The play is a short magical story about four lover that have a conflict of the two men, Demetrius and Lysander, loving the same girl, Hermia, while the other lover, Helena is rejected by Demetrius’ love. Then a group of fairies try to fix this conflict of love by using Cupid’s flower, which when touch to any animal’s eye when their sleeping it makes the animal fall in love with the next creature they see. The conflict of love in this play empathizes the theme of love never running smooth.
2. In the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream ,William Shakespeare, believes that love is exceptionally complex and difficult to articulate as, is just conceivable to be passed on by various cases and utilization of different strategies. One technique he uses, doubling, it is utilized to convey the theme by use of confounded love tangles, differentiating and parallel characters, and various storylines . Shakespeare uses doubling to demonstrate the different kinds of love. In the play, there are various kinds of affection show.
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.
“The course of true love never did run smooth,” comments Lysander of love’s complications in an exchange with Hermia (Shakespeare I.i.136). Although the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream certainly deals with the difficulty of romance, it is not considered a true love story like Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare, as he unfolds the story, intentionally distances the audience from the emotions of the characters so he can caricature the anguish and burdens endured by the lovers. Through his masterful use of figurative language, Shakespeare examines the theme of the capricious and irrational nature of love.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare explores the subjectivity of love. The play shows the absurdity of love through its characters like an episode of “MTV The Real World”: they fall in love, break up, lose friendships, and someone will ultimately look like an ass. Shakespeare’s play examines the combination of both traditional and non-traditional gender roles affecting the character’s perception of their respective romantic relationships. Shakespeare then questions whether love is real through Lysander and Helena. Shakespeare’s play as a whole demonstrates how initial perceptions of love are subject to transformation. Both the characters and the play debunk that love is static, but rather an ever metamorphosing reality.