How does Shakespeare present love in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’? Essay

Shakespeare uses many different themes to present make out relationships, conflict, invocation, dreams and fate. Over each, he presents it as roundthing with the ability to make us act irrationally and foolishly. Within A summer solstice Nights Dream we see many examples of how being in distinguish can campaign someone to change their perspective entirely. The path of true extol never did run smooth is a comment made from one of the main characters, Lysander, which sums up the plays idea that making warmthrs always wait difficult hurdles on the path to happiness and pass on usually turn them into madmen. Shakespeare presents love through and through the relationship shared by Hermia and Lysander.This relationship, at the start of the play, is portrayed as the traditional true love Hermia chooses to become a nun instead of marrying the man her novice has chosen for her much(prenominal) as her stick with Lysander and intentions for him, I will tield my virgin patent up Unt o his lordship, and they decide to elope, Through Athens gates acquire we devisd to steal.However, as the play develops our perception of their love differs, later Lysander is mistakenly put under a spell meant for Demetrius he attempts to pursue his new love, capital of Montana, without any regard for Hermia, not Hermia except Helena I love, he now treats Hermia as if she had always meant nothing to him, Should I hurt her, strike her, fling off her dead? Although I hate her, Ill harm her not so, the magic potion removes any ordained emotions. He also presents love through the dominating relationship through the father-daughter figures shared by Egeus and Hermia in spite of appearance the play. In the time the play was set the father made the decision who his daughter would marry because of the immemorial society they lived in,As she is mine, I may dispose of her, however Egeus did not chose Lysander to marry Hermia, he chose Demetrius, all my right of her I do estate unto D emetrius. Despite how they expected Hermia to obey them, she defied her fathers will and fought for the love that she and Lysander shared, this shows how she was unwilling to follow societys expectations as love empowers people to be unaffiliated and go against social norms, however Theseus, the King of Athens, warned her if you yield not to your fathers choice, you can race the livery of a nun, as he must utilise the law as her fathers words are absolute and if Hermia chooses to go against them she will thrust to face the consequences.Other relationships that portray female power that is suppressed by male authority are the ones shared by Theseus and Hippolyta and Oberon and titania. These deuce relationships share many characteristics, they both hold the title of King and faery Theseus and Hippolyta being the King and Queen of Athens and Oberon and Titania being the King and Queen of the Fairies but also the male ascendence within the relationships. Theseus holds dominance over Hippolyta as he reminds her I wooed thee with my sword, which could lead the reader to assume that Hippolyta held some sort of authority before she was conquered by the man she is now betrothed to.We also see how Oberon holds dominance over Titania by how he questions her am not I thy lord? and how he speaks of her after she has denied him what he wants thou shalt not from this grove Till I torment thee for this injury. Even though, Titania, unlike Hippolyta, retaliates to enforce her power in the relationship Then I must by thy lady and accuses him of versing love to quixotic Phillida, Oberon is very insistent that he remains control of Titania and therefore uses his sure jester, hockey puck, to use magic to humiliate her as a punishment for disrespecting him. This shows how he believes that women should obey men and follow their every look out on he punishes her by forcing her, by using magic, to fall in love with Bottom who, at the time, was fractional human, half donkey . He does this to humiliate and shame her to make her realise that she is nothing without him.Because Oberon believes that women are the inferior grammatical gender he sympathises with Helena, she is in love with Demetrius and is willing to do anything for him I am your spaniel because that is also how she believes relationships should be, he appears to hold up this subservience, therefore he chooses to cause Demetrius to fall madly in love with her. The artificial love wedded by Titania to Bottom demonstrates how magic can duplicate the realist atmosphere given from true love as both of those involved are unable to recognise that it is false. True love can hide judgement and Shakespeare shows how artificial love can do the same, Titania is convinced Bottom is beautiful counterbalance though he has the head of a donkey Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful. Bottom responds to the beautiful, magical fairy queens devotion as nothing out of the ordinary and that all of the trappi ngs of her affection, including having servants attend him, are his proper due.His unawareness of the accompaniment that his head has been transformed into that of an ass parallels his inability to compass the absurdity of the idea that Titania could ever genuinely fall in love with him. However, Shakespeare uses Bottom to draw the audiences attention to serious themes, such as the relationship between reality and imagination. He is also the most down-to-earth character in the play as he does recognise that Titanias statements about him arent true, when Titania devotes her love to him On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee.,Bottoms responds with Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that, also when Titania states Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful Bottom corrects her with Not so, neither but if I had wit copious to get out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine own turn, showing that he knows love and reason dont often work at the same level. Shak espeare also uses Bottom to remind the audience of a hap theme in the play whether love and reason can relate, and should love be based on reason or fantasy? Shakespeare also presents love through conflict, for example, the friendship shared by Hermia and Helena show how even best friends since youth can be turned against each other when love is involved.Shakespeare wants to show the audience the great friendship they share Is all the counsel that we two have shared, The sisters vows, the hours that we have spent, As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds Had been incorporate. So we grew together,, this then allows the audience to understand how severe love can be and how their strong friendship quickly disintegrated when they became involved with the two men their entire childhood together is forgotten in an instant as they both begin to argue, Hermia feeling cheated and thinking Helena was the one to break up O me, you juggler, you canker-blossom, and Helena, thinking it is all a cruel trick against her Lo, she is one of this confederacy. Now I perceive they have conjoined all three To fashion this false sport in spite of me.Shakespeare wanted the audience to realise how the magic within the play isnt all to blame for the conflict as it is not the love potion which has had this effect on the women directly. Their relationship has changed completely, their friendship before the argument contrasts greatly to the detestation afterwards, all caused by a mischievous spirit. Shakespeare presents love through the fairies magic which creates the comedic atmosphere given throughout the play. Shakespeare shows how magic distorts true love by how easily Demetrius and Lysanders hearts are manipulated by Pucks magic potion.At the beginning of the play Shakespeare makes the effort to show the audience the strong and loyal love Hermia and Lysander devote to each other, I am beloved of beauteous Hermia is how Lysander speaks of Hermia before the love juggle is cast upon him. However after it is cast he expresses his feelings for his new true love, Helena, almost immediately, Not Hermia, but Helena I love. When Lysander fights for Helena Shakespeare purposefully makes it almost impossible for the audience to tell the discrimination between the two men, as he wants them to know that all foolish young lovers are alike.