Shakespeare Finds Love On A Midsummer Night
The forest outside Athens is filled with changelings, magic, and ancient myth: in other words, the stage is set. The night is silent and still as four mortals alternately hate and love, monarchs of the faerie world clash wills, and the mischief of one irrepressible woodland sprite weaves a spell over all. The breath of the darkness is lit with the glow of foxfire; hearts are broken and mended within the span of short hours. In the bower of the Faerie Queen a man transformed by magic slumbers peacefully. The pen of William Shakespeare has captured the imagination and hearts of audiences and readers alike across the world and through the decades, but his classic romantic comedy, A Midsummer ...
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through their moves and dialogue. The first and most obvious characters are the four mortal lovers. The women, Helena and Hermia, are respectively tall and fair, short and dark; there are no other notable differences between them. The men, Lysander and Demetrius, have no differences in personality that are remarked upon in the text of the play. Outside the walls of Athens, inside the enchanted forest, the courts of Oberon, king of the faeries, and Titania, his queen, hold sway. The two magistrates quarrel often, but know they are meant for each other, no matter how they scowl. Their adventures include Bottom, a town actor turned into an ass by Oberon to seek revenge on Titania. The last major role in Dream is Robin Goodfellow, more commonly known as Puck. He is mischievous and playful; his role in the faerie court is to entertain Oberon and run his errands, as he tells the faeries in Act 2 when he is introduced.
In human nature and all its facets, there is a certain amount ...
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and rational thinking. William Shakespeare lets his characters deliver this message in several different manners.
The four lovers show no distinguishing features or personalities. By presenting the lovers as interchangeable, Shakespeare displays and probes the mysteries of how lovers find differences- compelling, life-shaping differences- when there seem to be only likenesses. Helena and Hermia differ only in height and complexion, and both are thought to be beautiful:
Helena
How happy some o’er other some can be!
Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.
Helena remarks, commenting on her sad situation when Demetrius forsakes her for Hermia. The male lovers are so devoid of ...
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"Shakespeare Finds Love On A Midsummer Night." Essayworld.com. January 11, 2004. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Shakespeare-Finds-Love-On-Midsummer-Night/1311.
"Shakespeare Finds Love On A Midsummer Night." Essayworld.com. January 11, 2004. Accessed November 22, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Shakespeare-Finds-Love-On-Midsummer-Night/1311.
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