Theme of Love in Midsummer Night Dreams

Theme of love in Midsummer Night Dreams
Introduction:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, estimated to have
been written in 1595/96. It tells the story of the reconciliation of two pairs of lovers, as well as the
wedding of King Theseus and his bride Hippolyta. The play is one of Shakespeare’s most
influential works. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around
the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian
lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to
perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who
manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. The play consists of five
interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and
the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, which are set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm
of Fairyland, under the light of the moon.
Definition of love in the Midsummer Night Dreams:

Love is an emotion that has never been fully defined. Nobody really understands what love is.
True love often brings challenges and obstacles between couples. If the love is one which is
unrequited, it leads to hatred, jealousy, as well as weakness, when the love is requited, it appears
as being strong and happy. Shakespeare depicts true love and its corresponding obstacles in the
novel A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare in this novel indicates the characters Hermia
and Lysander, Pyramus and Thisbe and lastly desperate Helena and Demetrius in their quest of
love and the challenges they underwent. Love can be cunning at times as well as it does hurt. This
is observed in the characters Hermia and Lysander who cannot live together due to the father of
Hermia, Theseus, dissenting the love between these lovers, they instead elope together. The
intentions of Theseus are to marry her daughter to Demetrius because of his liking of this
gentlemen. The pursuit and exploration of love as depicted in the novel reveals the nature of
romantic love as one that in its pursuit causes individuals be irrational foolish idiots.
Conflicts in love between Hermia and Lysander:

In reference to the love between Hermia and Lysander, the love between this couple hurts them
due to the father of the lady disapproving this relationship. This is because the factors
surrounding them hurt more than the emotions of love they share between them. The decision of
this couple to elope places them in further danger as they are likely to face obstacles as a result of
this decision. This indicates the inherent problems that are faced by couples that love each other
when their families stand on the way of their love. A probable solution to this problem would be
Lysander to challenge (Menaldi 1) Demetrius through a duel, this was a common practice during
the times of Shakespeare. Demetrious at the start of the play indicates however he does not love
Lysander by him stating that, "Lysander, keep thy Hermia I will none. If e'er I loved her, all that
love is gone. My heart to her but as guest- wise sojourned, and now to Helen is it home returned,
there to remain" (34). Victory by Lysander in this duel would mean no more worries between him
and his lover Hermia and this could lead to both of them wedding.
Flaw in love:
However, there is a flaw in this solution, love lacks a proper understanding of consequences that
lay ahead of it since it has no real gray area. Individuals know if they are in love or in not and
love is just an occurrence which occurs naturally without forcing it. Love often times comes at
odd moments and at times it is an uninvited guest which leads to it not being returned in equal
measure in couples that are in love. When love is requited back, it is a source of blessing, and this
leads to experiencing several years of prosperity and joy when it is respected between the couples.
Often times love is otherwise deceitful and may stop at a dime leading to disastrous consequences
between the couples involved and their families and friends.
Difference between infatuation and love:

The historical underpinning of the novel A Midsummer Night’s Dream has often suggested the
novel was written for wedding. This explains why the central theme that revolves around the
novel is love. Shakespeare differentiates the dissimilarities between infatuation and love between
the couple Nick Bottom and Titania. The character Oberon placed a spell on Titania so as to make
her love him and fall for him as the first thing when she awakes from her sleep. On the other
hand, Robin Good has turned Nick Bottoms head into a donkey’s head while he is in the forest
rehearsing for a play. Accidentally, Nick Bottom awakens Titania from her sleep with his song
and the evidence implicates the feelings of infatuation being at play rather than the feelings of
true love being observed. An observation of this is made in the following text, “I pray thee, gentle
mortal, sing again. Mine ear is much enamored of thy note. So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape.
And thy fair virtue’s force perforce doth move me. On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee”
(27). This view is repeated again in the passage, “Out of this wood do not desire to go. Thou shalt
remain here whether thou wilt or no”. In both these texts, Shakespeare depicts infatuation as
being the emotion at play. This is because infatuation is powerful and occurs instantly rather than
true love. This is what the character Titania experienced the moment she first heard the voice of
the character Nick Bottom and immediately fell in love strongly with him. The feelings of
infatuation prosper on an idealized perfect image of one’s partner and that it only highlights the
positive side of the partner. This flaw is seen in Tatiana who only sees the perfections of Nick
Bottoms such as his voice and seems to care less about the flaws and imperfections that are
evident such as him having a donkey’s head. Infatuation as an emotion is one which is selfish and
makes one partner be the center of what he or she wants rather than what the other partner wants
(Menaldi 2). This is evident when the character Nick Bottoms wanted to leave the forest, Titania
forbid him to do so since she wanted to be with him.
Shakespeare distinguished love infatuation from love on the couples Lysander and Helena. The
character Robin Good fellow had accidentally placed the love as being at first spell on the
character Lysander instead of Demetrius due to the character Oberon had described Demetrius
as being an Athenian youth. The character Helena stumbles on Lysander on the forest and awakes
him from sleep. The evidence on the novel suggests that Lysander had feelings of infatuation
towards Helena through the words spoken by him as follows “I’d even run through fire if you
told me to. Radiant, beautiful Helena! I feel like Mother Nature has allowed me to see into your
heart, as if by magic. Where is Demetrius? Oh, I’d kill that name with my sword if I could” (21).
This displays that Lysander is infatuated towards Helena since he is controlled by the brain
chemistry and not his heart, his loss of ability of making rational choices of what is true, worthy
and valuable.
In summary, it is evident from the arguments above the theme of love is one that is complicated.
The characters in the novel have demonstrated true love and infatuation as being elements of
love. Young couples should be weary in discerning infatuation from true love and instead focus
in building romantic relationships on grounds that are solid.
Conclusion:
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, love is a force that characters cannot control, a point amplified
by workings of the love potion, which literally makes people slaves to love. And yet, A
Midsummer Night's Dream ends happily, with three marriages blessed by the reconciled fairy
King and Queen. So even as A Midsummer Night's Dream makes fun of love's effects on both
men and women and points out that when it comes to love there's nothing really new to say, its
happy ending reaffirms loves importance, beauty, and timeless relevance.

Theme of Love in Midsummer Night Dreams

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Theme of love in Midsummer Night Dreams

Definition of love in the Midsummer Night Dreams:

Conflicts in love between Hermia and Lysander:

Difference between infatuation and love:

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