A Midsummer Night's Dream - How do events in the play support Lysander's claim that

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream

How do events in the play support Lysander’s claim that “the course of true love never did run smooth”?

     In the following essay I am aiming to show how Lysander’s claim that ‘the course of true love never did run smooth’ is supported by other events in the play.

     “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was written by William Shakespeare. No one knows the exact date it was written but we know it was between 1589 and 1595. He combines romance with comedy to produce this popular story.

     When he was writing the play superstition about nature and spirits played an important part in people’s lives, therefore Shakespeare included these ideas in his play. It was believed that fairies lived in a kingdom of their own and came into people’s houses where they then interfered with the household. The fairies play a major part in the play where we see a particular character trying to help out the couples, but end up making the situation worse.  

     The play is about love and relationships. The different couples never seem to encounter love running smoothly and are or have gone through problems when in love. Shakespeare shows us what love can make you do but at the end we have a traditional ‘fairy tale’ ending where the audience eventually see the couples re-united and harmony restored.

     Love is the main theme and is portrayed by Shakespeare as a kind of ‘madness’. Nowadays love is classed as a good thing, but in the play ‘love and reason keep little company together’.

     The themes and events are very contemporary and this is what keeps the play popular today.  

    “A Midsummer Night's Dream” opens with two romantic conflicts. The first part of the scene features the two characters Theseus and Hippolyta. This relationship is very significant and this is why Shakespeare starts the play with this particular couple.

     Hippolyta is the queen of Amazons and Theseus is the duke of Athens. Because they are of a high class they talk in blank verse. This is a form of poetry that is rhythmic lines without a rhyme. Shakespeare uses this to emphasise their nobility.

     Theseus opens with the lines: ‘Now fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour/ Draws on apace.’ From this we can see that they are getting married and therefore love is running smoothly for them. Their relationship signifies what all the other couples in the play want; to have overcome their problems. However they once had their own problems. ‘I wooed thee with my sword.’ Here we begin to learn that Theseus went to war for Hippolyta’s love. Shakespeare doesn’t go into detail about this event as he assumes we already know the myth. An Elizabethan audience would be more familiar with mythology as entertainment was limited and story telling was popular. We can see that problems can be overcome when love isn’t running smoothly, but every relationship goes through its ‘ups and downs’. This is the first event, which shows the audience the type of irrational thing that love will make you do when in love.

     Later on in the story there is a link between what Theseus has already done and what Demetrius and Lysander threaten to do. ‘I will loose for thee.’ Lysander states he is prepared to die for Helena and offers Demetrius a battle for her love. This is once again very irrational and we can see they are both overcome with different emotions and passion for Helena.

     The second couple we encounter are Hermia and Lysander. Unlike Theseus and Hippolyta, love is not running smoothly for them and in the following scenes Shakespeare explains why.

     Their first dilemma which is keeping them apart is Hermia’s father; Egeus: ‘This man hath bewitched the bosom of my child’. He describes Lysander’s love for Hermia as a spell, which causes her to only see the good things in him, not the bad. Shakespeare’s use of the word ‘bewitched’ emphasises the magical theme that runs throughout the play, however in this case he also uses it to show the evil spell he thinks Lysander has over Hermia.

     Egeus is more concerned about his own status than his daughter because Demetrius is someone from a better background than Lysander is, so for Egeus he realises he would look more superior if his daughter married a highly ranked individual.

     Egeus does want Hermia to marry someone, but not Lysander. He has arranged a marriage between her and Demetrius: ‘Stand froth, Demetrius! – My noble lord/This man hath my consent to marry her.’ Arranged marriages at the time were common and whomever a lady was to marry depended on her father’s consent. ‘I may dispose of her.’ Women had no rights at this time and were forced to do whatever they were told or else they could face the death penalty. This still happens today in some cultures and shows the contemporary relevance in the play.

     Hermia is in a very difficult situation and Theseus knows this so tries to explain that her father’s judgement is better and she shouldn’t be questioning him. He comes across as very understanding and sympathetic and this is because he has been in the situation before when he was prepared to die for Hippolyta’s love.

     He describes Hermia as ‘but a form in wax’, which can be moulded into whatever her father wants. Shakespeare uses this metaphor to emphasise that she should obey her father and has to do whatever he says.

     Theseus tries to help her out by giving her different alternatives. Instead of being put to her death he gives Hermia another option: ‘To live a barren sister all your life.’ He offers her the chance of becoming a ‘nun’. This way her life would be spared and she wouldn’t have to marry Demetrius, however this is at the cost of not being able to be with Lysander. Hermia’s response to Theseus’ offer is simple: ‘So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord’, she turns the offer down and would rather die than have to be a nun and not be with Lysander. This once again echoes the speeches of Theseus, Lysander and Demetrius who are all prepared to put their life on the line when in love and indicates that when love is not running smoothly it can make you irrational and drive you to extremes.

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      At this point a modern audience finds a touch of comedy in the play. Lysander explains how Demetrius has her father’s love and asks ‘Do you marry him?’ Although, at the time the play was written this would be seen as being rude, because a man does should not answer back in such a way, today’s audience would probably find it amusing.

     Lysander shows how much he loves Hermia when he goes to the trouble of trying to win over her father. He tries to persuade him that he is a worthy man, explaining that ...

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