A Midsummer Nights Dream
In William Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, Shakespeare shows the darker side of love. In most love stories, there are problems that the lovers must face and conquer, but the dilemmas presented in this play are much more complex than those depicted in the original fairy tales. Everyone is in love with the person and is manipulated into loving someone other than the one they want.
The story starts out with Hermia arguing with her father about who she wants to be with, Lysander, and who her father wants her to be with, Demetrius. Lysander and Demetrius are both in love with Hermia, but she only loves Lysander. Then there is Helena, who loves Demetrius and does not understand why he is in love with Hermia instead of her. This right here is enough of a love triangle without the complexities of the love potion Puck is told to use. Although there is a happy ending, it takes a long time to get there and with a lot of issues. Hermia and Lysander have the dilemma of not being allowed to be together, so they decide to run away and get married because they are in love, which is one sign of problems. Helena is in love with Demetrius who is in love with Hermia. Helena and Demetrius had a relationship previous to the play itself and she is still head over heels in love with him, but he really wants nothing to do with her.
Another example of how twisted this love story is, involves the fairies that are presented in the story. Oberon and his wife Titania are having marital issues over a blue Indian boy. They both feel that they should have the child in their custody. The issue with the boy is never truly resolved and the reader never really learns about what happens to the child, but the status between Oberon and his wife are resolved. Oberon has Puck collect the love potion from the magical flower and put it into his wifes eyes so that she will fall in love with the first thing she sees and it happens to be Bottom who has the head of a donkey. Oberon does this as a joke and revenge on his wife, which is twisted, and he continues the joke till the end of the play.
Oberon knows the story of Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius, and he wants to set it straight so that they are all happily in love, so he sends Puck out with the love potion and tells him to put it in the one of the guys eyes, which he describes as dressed in Athenian clothes. Puck is mistaken and puts it in Lysanders eyes and Lysander then falls in love with Helena. Once Puck realizes what he did, he goes back and puts it in Demetrius eyes as well and he too falls in love with Helena. So now instead of both men being in love with Hermia, they love Helena and Hermia is left with no one. Helena becomes very annoyed and thinks that they are all playing a sick joke on her and becomes frustrated with Hermia. They are all lost in the woods and the men are searching for Helena and Hermia is following them dazed and confused. Making the love triangle even more complicated. After fighting and arguing, Puck realizes the mess he has made and is forced to correct the situation. He goes back and puts the potion in Lysanders eyes once again and Lysander falls back in love with Hermia. Demetrius stays in love with Helena, who finally decides it is not a trick.
Oberon finally feels horrible about what he did to his own wife so he decides to go back and correct it. She believes that what happened with Bottom was a dream and Oberon does not tell her otherwise, probably to keep himself out of trouble. Their relationship changes from what you saw at the beginning of the play because they are no longer fighting over the child that the reader does not know where he went. They go back to being in love and all of the elements of the world go back to normal.
This story is a romantic comedy for many reasons, but it is a complicated and dark romance story. They all love the wrong people in the beginning and although they do end up with the right people, it takes them a while to get there. The comic relief comes from Bottom and his friends, the confusing and complex love square, and Oberon and Titania, yet at the same time the reader cant help but to feel sorry for all of them at one point or another throughout the story. This is why the story shows the dark side of love in all the complexities.
Already have an account? Log In Now
5425