Do you agree that A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play full of different types of love?
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy, written in 1595 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. This was when the society was dominated by men. During the period, England was ruled by a powerful and well respected queen.
One of the many themes of the play is that of love. Many different types of love are depicted in the book. There is: Parental Love (Egeus and Hermia, Titania and Little Indian Boy), Friendly Love (Helena and Hermia, The Workmen), Unrequited Love (Helena and Demetrius), Official Love (Hermia and Demetrius), Argumentative Love (Oberon and Titania), Mad Sexual Love (Bottom and Titania),Passionate Love (Hermia and Lysander). Each type of love would be discussed to support the point that the play is full of different types of love.
Parental Love
This is the type of love that exists between parents and their children. A parent would go to any length for their children to show their love to them. This is shown in the love between Egeus and Hermia. Egeus wants the best for his daughter. He wants her to marry a man of his choice and does his best to make her see things his way. He declares to those present that
". . . As she is mine, I shall dispose of her;
Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death, according to our law
Immediately provided in that case."
.1. 42-45
On the other hand, Hermia has to love her father no matter what he says or does to her. Children are brought up to respect their parents and love them. Theseus tells Hermia
"What say you, Hermia? Be advised fair maid.
To you your father should be as a god,
One that composed your beauties; . . ."
.1. 47
Hermia has no say in her life and who she marries. She does not like her father's decision and wants to fight against it. Although she is advised to do as her father wants, the love she feels for Lysander is to strong for her to ignore.
In modern day society, parents tend to know what is best for the children and try to lead ...
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"What say you, Hermia? Be advised fair maid.
To you your father should be as a god,
One that composed your beauties; . . ."
.1. 47
Hermia has no say in her life and who she marries. She does not like her father's decision and wants to fight against it. Although she is advised to do as her father wants, the love she feels for Lysander is to strong for her to ignore.
In modern day society, parents tend to know what is best for the children and try to lead them into doing what they want. It all goes to show their love but sometimes it is taken too far.
Hermia lived in a male-dominated society hence her father had the authority to do with her as he likes.
Friendly Love
This type of love exists between friends could have developed over a period of time and it can exist between different kinds of people.
Helena and Hermia have this kind of love and would do anything for each other. It happens that Helena is in love with Demetrius who Hermia is being forced to marry. Demetrius does not want Helena but Hermia.
Helena loves her friend Hermia but at the same time wants to get her man. By telling Demetrius of the planned elopement between Lysander and Hermia, she mind get her man and help her friend in the process.
On the other hand, we have the workmen who put the play together. Although they all have different professions, they know each other well and able to tell which character would fit them well.
When it was being decided who plays who, there is a bit of argument between them. For instance, Quince was giving out the parts and Bottom wants to play the lion too. Quince replies by saying,
"And you would do it terribly, you would fright the Duchess and the ladies that they would shriek; and that were enough to hang us all." 1.2.60-62
Another thing is that they call each other by name and that gives indication that they know each other well.
Unrequited Love
Unrequited, love is another aspect to the theme of love in the play. This is when A loves B, but B does not love A. This is the situation between Helena and Demetrius. Helena is deeply in love with Demetrius but he has not noticed her. Helena says of him,
". . . And as he errs, doting on Hermia's eyes,
So I, admiring of his qualities. . . ."
.1.230-231.
Helena wants to make sure that she gets Demetrius to notice her and would do anything to make him see that she loves him. She would then leak the plans of the elopement to Demetrius knowing that there would be trouble.
In addition, Helena is getting desperate to have Demetrius. She says,
"I'll follow thee, and make a heaven of hell,
To die upon the hand I love so well."
2.1.243-244
Official Love
This kind of love comes about where two states are brought together by marriage. In this instance it is between Hippolyta and Theseus.
It had happened that Theseus is the Duke of Athens while Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons, a nation of female warriors.
Theseus had defeated the Amazons at war and had taken their queen as wife. The practise in those days was to take prisoners and since they had a queen, he took the queen of the Amazons as wife. This is a way of making a country stronger and bigger by joining them through marriage. Theseus says to her,
". . . Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword,
And won thy love doing thee injuries;
But I will wed thee in another key,
With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling."
.1.16-19
Official love takes place in everyday lives. Children of rich people marry each other to strengthen the business or to keep companies together. We might find children of big companies like Sainsbury's and Tesco marrying to make one very big store.
Argumentative Love
Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the fairies, argue, just like any normal couple.
"How canst thou thus, for shame Titania,
Glance at my credit with Hippolyta,
Knowing I know thy love to Theseus?"
2.1.74-76
In the play, they are accusing each other of being in love with the mortals, Theseus and Hippolyta. This then leads to the matter of the little human Indian boy, that was left in Titania's care after his mother died. Oberon wants this boy because he want s to make him his knight, but Titania insists that because of the love she had for the boy's mother, she has to take care of him and protect him.
Mad Sexual Love
In the play, Bottom and Titania have the shortest relationship, but the time they spend together is long enough to show how ridiculous love can sometimes turn out to be.
"And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me
On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee."
3.2.117-118
Titania falls madly in love with Bottom, due to the "Love Juice" that Oberon put on her eyes. Straight after she sees him, she is ready to jump into bed with him. Today, many people would find this disgusting and outrageous. But it is fiction, so anything can happen. Especially when you are under a magical spell.
Passionate Love
"So will I grow, so live, so die my lord,
Ere I will yield my virgin patent up
Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke
My soul consents not to give sovereignty."
.1.79-82
Hermia does not love Demetrius. She would rather die or become a nun, than marry him. She only has eyes for one man, Lysander. And he feels exactly the same way about her. When they are together, you can see that the love between them is really strong. So she is quite surprised when he is suddenly in love with Helena. As a result of the "Love Juice", Lysander falls in love with Helena, and becomes infatuated and obsessive.
Anita Akinlade
