'The course of true love never did run smooth'By what techniques does Shakespeare prove this to be the case in a Midsummer Night's Dream?

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Ellie Robinson        Midsummer Night’s Dream        English Coursework

‘The course of true love never did run smooth’

By what techniques does Shakespeare prove this to be the case in a Midsummer Night’s Dream?

I have been studying A Midsummer Night’s Dream and exploring how the characters within this play deal with love and the consequences resulting from falling in love. I will be answering the question asked by providing quotes and examples of Shakespeare’s technique in showing that ‘The course of true love never did run smooth’ as well as providing answers as to why Shakespeare made this the case in the play.

Shakespeare was born on the 23rd April, in an English town called Stratford-Upon-Avon in the year 1564. He lived for 52 years, and in this time he wrote over 100 plays and sonnets, including ‘Romeo and Juliet’, ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Henry V’. He died on his birthday, St Georges Day. Another interesting thing to consider is that all of Shakespeare’s actors were men because women were not accepted on stage in the 16th century. This would seem quite strange to a modern audience as we have to imagine the lovers’ scenes being acted by men.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s comedies. The main characters in this play are four young lovers – Hermia, who loves Lysander, and Helena, who loves Demetrius. The problem is, both the men love Hermia, which is heartbreaking for Helena. Hermia’s father would rather see her marry Demetrius, but she would rather become a nun than do so. As well as this, the ‘real world’, there is another world which has the fairy King and Queen and their trains. The King and Queen are at war with each other over a young boy, who the Queen believes is hers.

In Act 1, Scene 1, Shakespeare is telling us that other people can sometimes affect the way that love runs it’s course. This is shown at the beginning of the play with Hermia and her father, Egeus. Egeus arrives at the court ‘Full of vexation’ at Hermia’s refusal to marry Demetrius. This is shown with the quote,

‘Come I, with complaint against my child … As she is mine, I may dispose of her;’

An Elizabethan audience would be more inclined to take Egeus’ side than a modern audience, as elder people were considered knowledgeable and fathers had complete control over their daughters. In contrast, in modern society young women are not considered property any more. However, some people in modern society would agree with Egeus’, because in some places in society arranged marriages are still common.

With accusing Lysander of winning Hermia’s affections with underhanded tricks, he feels he can demand his ‘ancient privilege’ to ‘dispose’ of his daughter, which suggest a time when a daughter’s rights would have had little importance. Egeus is too angry to think clearly, and only considers his own point of view, which is another technique that Shakespeare has used to show that love does not always go well - we feel that Hermia has been treated unfairly.

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We are not given any reason to feel sympathy for the young lovers until later on in Scene 1. We see Hermia and Lysander alone together for the first time and the true love between the pair is shown with a loving banter between the two.

Shakespeare uses this technique to conjure empathy for the young couple, as their passion is being ignored because Egeus considers Demetrius ‘a worthy gentleman’. Some of the members of the Elizabethan audience would have felt empathy; possibly because they were in unhappy forced marriages themselves. Even in modern times we feel sympathetic ...

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