In the Shakespearean play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, all of the characters are unique, and has their own significance throughout the play. Despite the fact that there are many different characters, Helena is the one that sticks out the most to me. Shakespeare makes Helena appear to be a person who nobody loves or really cares about, which makes her a great representation of unrequited love. She is not loved by Demetrius, whom she is madly in love with, and because of this she self-pitys herself and whines for his love. Although everything she wanted did not go her way, the way she handled everything was very different. Therefore, if I had to pick one adjective that best describes Helena, it would be divergent. Divergent means to be different or to move away from what is expected. Helena shows this characteristic throughout the play strongly. Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helena did many things opposite from what was expected, and handled things from her perspective of what love is. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helena is greedy and desperate for Demetrius’ love, and she handles this different from what usually happens when someone is experiencing unrequited love. Although Helena is in love with Demetrius, he is in love with her best friend Helena, who was ordered by her father to marry him. To try and make Demetrius love her, she chases after him and tells him how much she is in love with him. This is shown when the two go into the woods, to find Hermia and
Helena is a tall Athenian women who is quite beautiful, based off the opinions of others. She is shy, timid, and very insecure due to the lack of attention she gets from men, more specifically Demetrius. The reason she is so insecure is because the one thing she acquires most in life, to be loved by Demetrius. However this is something she can’t seem to get no matter how hard she tries. As seen in the story, Helena is treated awful by Demetrius who makes it very clear that he wants nothing to do with her, cursing her out, yelling at her, and constantly insulting her, but not matter how much hatred is shown by him, her love for Demetrius continues to grow. This shows that Helena even though she is fragile at times,
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare detailed the story between warring characters. From couple conflicts to love quadrilaterals and the interference of outsiders, the story played out as a comedy, with Helena on the receiving end of a running joke. Introduced in Act One as the jealous friend of Hermia, as she was in love with Demetrius, who decided to marry Hermia despite Hermia’s love for Lysander. Hermia appears rather guilty as she confirms her distaste to Demetrius to her friend. However, her father disapproves of her relationship with Lysander. Despite her co-dependent aspirations, Helena exemplifies progressive ideals that counter the societal norms of Midsummer’s era.
Therefore, no marvel though Demetrius. Do, as a monster, fly my presence thus.” (2.2.110-13). Helena reveals that a beast more fearsome than a bear would run from her tormented self. Her comparison to Demetrius acting as a monster flying from her may represent an underlying and unrecognized disdain felt for him not loving her in return. These are majorly complex emotions running through my favorite afflicted female in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Helena’s comparison to Hermia is particularly relevant. Humans have a tendency of comparing and questioning why they should bother to contend with someone. Helena complains of a “wicked and dissembling glass” which made her compete with Hermia’s beauty (2.2.104-5). In A Midsummer Night's Dream, there is the presence of unrequited love, which is shown by Helena and Demetrius' relationship: "The more I love, the more he hateth me" (1.1.199). This evidently shows Helena's love for Demetrius, and yet her love for him is not returned for he is blinded by his love for Hermia. This unrequited love shows the cruel nature of love which is represented when Demetrius say, “Tell you I do not nor I cannot love you” (2.1.201). “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, for I am sick when I do look on thee” (2.1.211). Demetrius ignores Helena in an attempt to push her away, when she is madly in love with him. However, his plan backfires and only causes her love and desperate desire for him to grow,
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
Occurring in Act 2 scene 1, Helena informs Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander’s plans to run away together in hopes of winning Demetrius’s heart. After hearing about their plan, Demetrius is determined to stop Hermia and pursues after her into the woods. Helena isn’t far behind and tries to reason with Demetrius. Once again she expresses her love for him and even offers him to do anything
Four lovers each with his or her own challenge in love, Lysander and Hermia who love each other but may never be together, and Demetrius who loves Hermia and rejects Helena’s truthful devotion. Shakespeare’s writing style is the essence that brings forth the emotions within his works. Throughout a Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, commonplace literary devices are used to emphasize his style of writing. , Shakespeare depicts the theme of love’s difficulty, especially with the use of figurative language, such as metaphor and personification, to show that though complications arise in complex situations, the ability to overcome becomes the true meaning of love. wise
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.
Both female lovers, Helena and Hermia, feel the loss of their male companions love at one point within the comedy. In the beginning Demetrius cannot stand the sight of Helena. To prove his hatred he says, “I love thee not, therefore pursue me not fair Helena”(II.i.173). Accordingly Lysander ,further into the play, loses his love for Hermia. To her he says “Ay, by my life, find never did desire thee more, therefore be out of hope of question of doubt, be certain, nothing truer, ‘Tis no jest that do hate thee and love Helena”(III.i.284-287. Both
Threatened by the one she loves, fighting her best friend, and marrying unexpectedly are all acts done by Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream By William Shakespeare. This timeless play features four young adults going into the woods for a day. During their stay in the woods, Helena shows her true self. Helena is a person who comes off as desperately longing for Demetrius. One can realize this because she is skeptical, deeply in love, and mean at times.
In this point in the play we find Helena begging to be loved by Demetrius. She constantly follows Demetrius around but he is madly in love with Hermia a long with Lysander. Hermia is the daughter of Egeus and he demands she marries Demetrius even though she is in love with Lysander. Even though Helena knows Demetrius does not love her she will forever try to win him over. Demetrius tries to tell Helena that he loves Hermia.
It is important that in our lives we are able to understand the difference between the ugly and the true. William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream captures love in such a literal, yet whimsical sense, which is why it is able to stay relevant even in this day and age. The bad love of Demetrius and Helena showcases the dark side of love, the side of love that isn’t really love at all.
The two are immensely in love, yet aren’t allowed to even be together. Instead, they are faced with some strongly unbearable options. In addition, Demetrius and Helena’s love never ran the way they wanted and portrayed the difficulties of love with their painful love encounter. Ever since Helena and Demetrius had ended things between them due to Demetrius falling for Hermia, Helena has continued to be deeply in love with Demetrius.
Helena has always loved Demetrius and at one point in time he loved her as well, but as soon as he met Hermia, he left Helena behind in pursue of Hermia. However, Helena could not get over the lost of her love so she became desperate in her attempt to make him love her again. There trial was one not loving the other, but loving another; making their love rough and hard to look at. When it came to be known that Demetrius wanted to marry Hermia, but Hermia was going to run away, Helena decided to tell Demetrius in hopes that he would want to see her again. Furthermore, Helena hoped to be alone with Demetrius in hopes of convincing him to love her again, “The more you beat me I will fawn on you. Use me but as your spaniel: spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me; only give me leave (unworthy as I am) to follow you”(II.i.211-214). Helena is saying that she wants Demetrius to love her and not Hermia, so she is willing to be his dog. This was this couples biggest trial and there were many more, but there is one last couple to
Although he tries with all his might to win the love of Hermia, his greatest efforts are not good enough to satisfy her needs nor strokes her interest. The same can be said for, however, when referring to Helena pathetic attempts to win the heart of the one she wants; that one is none other than Demetrius. When Helena in informed of Hermia and Lysander’s plan to escape to the wilderness and to marry each other against Egeus’ will, she goes as far as spoiling their plans to Demetrius in hopes of proving her dedication and love to him. This is a perfect example of untrue love.
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.