A Midsummer Night’s Dream
John E. Fitzgerald Jr.
Frank Williams
English III ISP Honors
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Love is a feeling that can almost simultaneously be turn on and off with a quick thought. It turns on when you don’t need it, when you do need it, and when you already have love. It is just a confusing nature of us humans. Same thing happened with the confusion of love within “A Midsummer’s Nights Dream.”
• Theseus
• Hippolyta
• Egeus
• Germia
• Lysander
• Demetrius
• Helena
• Robin Goodfellow
• Oberon
• Titania
• Nick Bottom
• Peter Quince
• Francis Flute
• Robin Starveling
• Tom Snout
• Snug
• Philostrate
• Peaseblossom
• Cobweb
• Mote
• Mustardseed
John E. Fitzgerald Jr.
Frank Williams
English III honors
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A Midsummer’s Nights Dream is about a love quadrilateral. The main characters are Puck, Oberon, Titania, Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, Helena, Egeus, Theseus, Hippolyta, Nick Bottom, Peter Quince, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, Snug, Philostrate, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, and Mustardseed. Puck “Also known as Robin Goodfellow, Puck is Oberon’s jester, a mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals. Though A Midsummer Night’s Dream divides its action between several groups of characters, Puck is the closest thing the play has to a protagonist. His enchanting, mischievous spirit pervades the atmosphere, and his antics are responsible for many of the complications that propel the other main plots: he mistakes the young Athenians, applying the love potion to Lysander instead of Demetrius, thereby causing chaos within the group of young lovers; he also transforms Bottom’s head into that of an ass”(Sparknotes).
The character Oberon, “The king of the fairies. Oberon begins the play at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom she has kidnapped, but whom Oberon wants for a knight. Oberon’s desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Robin to obtain the love-potion flower that creates so much of the play’s confusion and farce”(Sparknotes). My favorite character is Lysander, he is, “A young nobleman of Athens in love with Hermia. Although Hermia’s father refuses to let her marry Lysander, Lysander believes that love must conquer all obstacles, so he persuades Hermia to run away from her home and family with him, into the forest”(Sparknotes). Lysander is like an average teen love story. He loves a girl whos father doesn’t like him and they plan to run away to be together. Even though most of the time it doesn’t work, it is still noble of him.
Demetrius is a player in modern slang, or he just can’t make up his mind. He is, “A young nobleman of Athens. In the past, Demetrius acted as if he loved Helena, but after Helena fell in love with him, he changed his mind and pursued Hermia. Emboldened by Egeus’s approval of him, Demetrius is undeterred by the fact that Hermia does not want him” (Sparknotes). Hermia the girl he loves but has no change with is, “Egeus’s daughter. Hermia is a beautiful young woman of Athens, and both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with her. Hermia defies her father’s wish that she marry Demetrius because she is in love with Lysander. She is unusually strong-willed and independent—refusing to comply even when Theseus orders her to obey her father—and resolved to elope with Lysander. Hermia is also the childhood friend of Helena (Sparknotes).
Helena the girl that Demetrius acted as though he loved is, “A young woman of Athens in love with Demetrius. Helena has been rejected and abandoned by Demetrius, who had claimed to love her before he met her best friend, Hermia. Consequently, Helena tends to speak in a self-pitying tone. Moreover, she puts herself in dangerous and humiliating situations, running through the forest at night after Demetrius even though Demetrius wants nothing to do with her”(Sparknote). Egeus, the father of Hermia, “A respected nobleman in Theseus’s court. Egeus complains to Theseus that his daughter, Hermia, refuses to marry Demetrius, Egeus’s choice for her. Egeus’s wish to control his daughter is quite severe—he asks Theseus to impose the death penalty on her if she refuses to marry Demetrius. Theseus, however, reduces the penalty for noncompliance from death to life as a nun” (Sparknotes).
Theseus is, “The duke of Athens. Theseus is a hero from Greek mythology—he refers to the fact that he’s Hercules' cousin at one point—so his presence signals to the reader that the play takes place in a mythical Greek past. At the beginning of the play, Theseus has recently returned from conquering the Amazons, a race of warrior women, and is about to marry the conquered Amazon queen, Hippolyta. Because of this impending wedding, the mood of the play is one of holiday festivity, characterized by a heightened sense of erotic expectation and anticipation. Theseus himself projects confidence, authority, and benevolent power” (Sparknotes). Hippolyta is a very strong woman, “the legendary queen of the Amazons, engaged to marry Theseus. Although Hippolyta is marrying Theseus because he defeated her in combat, she does not act at all like an unwilling bride. Theseus is very courtly in his manner toward Hippolyta, and she is unfailingly deferential toward him” (Sparknotes).
Nick Bottom is an innocent civilian that got dragged into every by mistake, “The overconfident weaver chosen to play Pyramus in a play that a group of craftsmen have decided to put on for Theseus’s wedding celebration. Bottom is full of advice and self-confidence but frequently makes silly mistakes and misuses language. His simultaneous nonchalance about the beautiful Titania’s sudden love for him and unawareness of the fact that Puck has transformed his head into that of an ass mark the pinnacle of his foolish arrogance” (sparknotes). Peter Quince is, “A carpenter and the nominal leader of the craftsmen’s attempt to put on a play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Quince is often shoved aside by the abundantly confident Bottom. During the craftsmen’s play, Quince plays the Prologue (Sparknotes).
Francis Flute is one of those manly men that aren’t afriad to look weak. He’s the, “The bellows-mender chosen to play Thisbe in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Forced to play a young girl in love, the bearded craftsman determines to speak his lines in a high, squeaky voice” (Sparknotes). Robin Starveling is really not a big part in “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream”. He is the costume designer/tailor in the craftsmen’s play for the marriage. The wall in the play within a play is Tom Snout, “The tinker chosen to play Pyramus’s father in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Tom Snout ends up playing the part of Wall, dividing the two lovers” (Sparknotes).
Snug, a lion is just a caring loving man, too caring, “The joiner chosen to play the lion in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Snug worries that his roaring will frighten the ladies in the audience” (Sparknotes). Philostrate, “Theseus’s Master of the Revels, responsible for organizing the entertainment for the duke’s marriage celebration” (Sparknotes). The fairies whom are Peaseblossom, Cobew, Mote, and Mustardseed can all be categorized at once. They all wait on Nick Bottoms every whim because Titania tells them to do so.
The play was composed between 95-96, and I mean 1595-1596. This is an old piece of artwork that the author William Shakespeare wrote. Before we get into that though, let’s get a basis to which Shakespeare was and still is. He was born about 1564 and passed 1616 on his 52 birthday. We cannot totally pin point a date he was born because they did not keep records of births then. The earlier record was when he was baptized on the 26th of April 1564. So typically his baptized date is considered his birth date also. During his life, he wrote about 37 plays and 154 sonnets. We all know what plays are, but sonnets are, “poems of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line” (About.com).
Now “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the base of three love couples. Theseus who is the duke of Athens and Hippolyta who is the queen of the Amazons. Theseues dethroned Hippolta to take over their land and now he is marring her to create a superior race. Lysander who is in love with Hermia but Hermia’s father doesn’t want her to marry him. Helena who is in love with Demetrius but Demetrius does not love her, he is in love with Helenas good friend Hermia. These are the three love couples and you can already see the problems going on in the relationships.
Now since Theseus over throne Hippolyta, why would she want to marry him? She doesn’t; she is being forced too but does not act hostile nor negative towards him. She just goes with the flow of the relationship. This may be because she knows she and her people are in the grasps of the Athenians. In modern time, something like this would never happen. My theory of why she is doing this is to save her people. Saving them by soothing what Theseus does with the land. She knows after awhile from being married, she can persuade Theseus to do certain things. Or this can seen a forced true love where someone is forced to marry someone else and eventually feeling grow and the couple stop pretending to like each other and really start too.
Lysander and Hermia are so called Romeo and Juliet of the play. Their love is true and pure, pure as a teenagers love carelessly thrown around. Since Hermia’s father doesn’t want her to marry Lysander, she is either destined for death or to be a nun. Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius who her father thinks is a very noble man. Her father has the authority to choose who she marries because she is his property. He also has the power to do what he wants with her, either to behead her or make her a nun for life.
The man known as Demetrius is seen as a mischievous and womanizer because he is said to wooed Helena with his moves but this left her. He did all the work necessary to make the girl fall in love with him but then he changes his mind and decided to pursue Hermia who is already in love with Lysander. How did Demetrius get Hermia’s father’s approval knowing about Helena? My best bet is your best bet.
Since Hermia’s father doesn’t approval of Lysander, he gives her a month to think about it and if she changes her mind then they will go on with the wedding, if not then who knows what will happen. Then Lysander tells Hermia about his aunt that lives in the woods. The woods that are outside of Athens. If you are outside of Athens, then Athenian law does not apply to you. She would then be able to marry Lysander no matter what.
Hermia and Lysander sneaks into the woods at night fall so it is less noticeable. Hermia also tells Helena about her and Lysander’s plans are. Helena wishes her the best of luck and off is Hermia. Helena then tells Demetrius about what Hermia and Lysander have in plan. Demetrius then runs off into the forest too. He thinks he can win over Hermia from Lysander. Since Helena is in love with Demetrius, she also runs into the forest after him.
In the forest the men from Athens sets up their play for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Mean while the super natural characters start to come into action. Oberon is angry at Titania because she stole an Indian boy from a kings and wants to do what she wishes with him. Oberon wants the boy for himself to accompany him through the dangers of the forest. All Titania does is put flowers in his hair. After Titania walks away, Oberon tells one of the fairies to get a flower on the other side of the world. The flower was the creations of cupid’s arrow that was misguided by a moon beam that was head towards a virgin. The flowers used to be white, but are now purple from the arrows poison. If the flower is obtained and the juices from it are put into the eye lids of someone, the first living creature that they see they will fall in love with.
Oberon also tells the fairies to put the juice into the Athenian boy’s eyes. Oberon is talking about Demetrius, but the fairy sees Lysander instead. While Lysander is sleeping on the ground, Helena walks by and doesn’t know if he is dead or alive. She wakes him up and he falls in love.
Mean while, one of the fairies also changes the head off one of the play actors to that of an ass; a donkey. While walking, he trips over Titania and she falls in love with him. They make love and tell the fairies to take care and get him anything he needs. The love poison also finds its way into Demetrius eyes and makes him fall in love with Helena once again.
This is not the end of the play even, there is still much to go. The poison from cupid’s arrow represents love at first sight. Also that love is like a child, always making foolish mistakes. The people in the play believe in love at first sight. To believe in cupid is a sign that they do not believe they have control over their love emotions.
Works Cited
“Also known as Robin Goodfellow, Puck is Oberon’s jester, a mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals. Though A Midsummer Night’s Dream divides its action between several groups of characters, Puck is the closest thing the play has to a protagonist. His enchanting, mischievous spirit pervades the atmosphere, and his antics are responsible for many of the complications that propel the other main plots: he mistakes the young Athenians, applying the love potion to Lysander instead of Demetrius, thereby causing chaos within the group of young lovers; he also transforms Bottom’s head into that of an ass”(Sparknotes).
“The king of the fairies. Oberon begins the play at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom she has kidnapped, but whom Oberon wants for a knight. Oberon’s desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Robin to obtain the love-potion flower that creates so much of the play’s confusion and farce”.(Sparknotes.com)
“The duke of Athens. Theseus is a hero from Greek mythology—he refers to the fact that he’s Hercules' cousin at one point—so his presence signals to the reader that the play takes place in a mythical Greek past. At the beginning of the play, Theseus has recently returned from conquering the Amazons, a race of warrior women, and is about to marry the conquered Amazon queen, Hippolyta. Because of this impending wedding, the mood of the play is one of holiday festivity, characterized by a heightened sense of erotic expectation and anticipation. Theseus himself projects confidence, authority, and benevolent power.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A respected nobleman in Theseus’s court. Egeus complains to Theseus that his daughter, Hermia, refuses to marry Demetrius, Egeus’s choice for her. Egeus’s wish to control his daughter is quite severe—he asks Theseus to impose the death penalty on her if she refuses to marry Demetrius. Theseus, however, reduces the penalty for noncompliance from death to life as a nun.”(Sparknotes.com)
“Egeus’s daughter. Hermia is a beautiful young woman of Athens, and both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with her. Hermia defies her father’s wish that she marry Demetrius because she is in love with Lysander. She is unusually strong-willed and independent—refusing to comply even when Theseus orders her to obey her father—and resolved to elope with Lysander. Hermia is also the childhood friend of Helena.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A young nobleman of Athens in love with Hermia. Although Hermia’s father refuses to let her marry Lysander, Lysander believes that love must conquer all obstacles, so he persuades Hermia to run away from her home and family with him, into the forest.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A young nobleman of Athens. In the past, Demetrius acted as if he loved Helena, but after Helena fell in love with him, he changed his mind and pursued Hermia. Emboldened by Egeus’s approval of him, Demetrius is undeterred by the fact that Hermia does not want him.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A young woman of Athens in love with Demetrius. Helena has been rejected and abandoned by Demetrius, who had claimed to love her before he met her best friend, Hermia. Consequently, Helena tends to speak in a self-pitying tone. Moreover, she puts herself in dangerous and humiliating situations, running through the forest at night after Demetrius even though Demetrius wants nothing to do with her.”(Sparknotes)
“A “puck” or mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals; he is sometimes referred to simply as Puck. Robin is Oberon’s jester, and his antics are responsible for many of the complications that propel the play. At Oberon’s bidding, Robin sprinkles “love juice” in the eyes of various characters to change who they love, but he makes mistakes in his application that create conflicts Oberon never intended. Though Robin claims to make these mistakes honestly, he enjoys the conflict and mayhem that his mistakes cause.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The king of the fairies. Oberon begins the play at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom she has kidnapped, but whom Oberon wants for a knight. Oberon’s desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Robin to obtain the love-potion flower that creates so much of the play’s confusion and farce.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The beautiful queen of the fairies. Titania resists the attempts of her husband, Oberon, to make a knight of the young Indian prince whom she has taken. Until Oberon gives up his demand, Titania has sworn to avoid his company and his bed. She is less upset by the fact that she and Oberon are apart than by the fact that Oberon has been disrupting her and her followers' magic fairy dances.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The overconfident weaver chosen to play Pyramus in a play that a group of craftsmen have decided to put on for Theseus’s wedding celebration. Bottom is full of advice and self-confidence but frequently makes silly mistakes and misuses language. His simultaneous nonchalance about the beautiful Titania’s sudden love for him and unawareness of the fact that Puck has transformed his head into that of an ass mark the pinnacle of his foolish arrogance.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A carpenter and the nominal leader of the craftsmen’s attempt to put on a play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Quince is often shoved aside by the abundantly confident Bottom. During the craftsmen’s play, Quince plays the Prologue.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The bellows-mender chosen to play Thisbe in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Forced to play a young girl in love, the bearded craftsman determines to speak his lines in a high, squeaky voice.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The tinker chosen to play Pyramus’s father in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Tom Snout ends up playing the part of Wall, dividing the two lovers” (Sparknotes.com)
“The joiner chosen to play the lion in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Snug worries that his roaring will frighten the ladies in the audience” (Sparknotes.com).
“Theseus’s Master of the Revels, responsible for organizing the entertainment for the duke’s marriage celebration” (Sparknotes.com)
“poems of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line” (About.com).
Bibliography
Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 2 Jun. 2011.
R. Moore. "A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Introduction." eNotes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ed. Penny Satoris. Seattle: Enotes.com Inc, October 2002. eNotes.com. 2 June 2011..
Friedlander M.D. Ed. “Emjoyinh “A Midsummers Night’s Dream”, By William Shakespeare.” pathguy.com. 2 June 2011.
Bevington, David. "'But We Are Spirits of Another Sort': The Dark Side of Love and Magic in A Midsummer Night's Dream". A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ed. Richard Dutton. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. 24–35.
Buchanan, Judith. 2005. Shakespeare on Film. Harlow: Pearson. ISBN 0-582-43716-4. Ch. 5, pp. 121–149.
Howard, Jean E. "Feminist Criticism". Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide. Eds. Stanley Wells and Lena Cowen Orlin, eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 411–423.
John E. Fitzgerald Jr.
Frank Williams
English III ISP Honors
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Love is a feeling that can almost simultaneously be turn on and off with a quick thought. It turns on when you don’t need it, when you do need it, and when you already have love. It is just a confusing nature of us humans. Same thing happened with the confusion of love within “A Midsummer’s Nights Dream.”
• Theseus
• Hippolyta
• Egeus
• Germia
• Lysander
• Demetrius
• Helena
• Robin Goodfellow
• Oberon
• Titania
• Nick Bottom
• Peter Quince
• Francis Flute
• Robin Starveling
• Tom Snout
• Snug
• Philostrate
• Peaseblossom
• Cobweb
• Mote
• Mustardseed
John E. Fitzgerald Jr.
Frank Williams
English III honors
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
A Midsummer’s Nights Dream is about a love quadrilateral. The main characters are Puck, Oberon, Titania, Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, Helena, Egeus, Theseus, Hippolyta, Nick Bottom, Peter Quince, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, Snug, Philostrate, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, and Mustardseed. Puck “Also known as Robin Goodfellow, Puck is Oberon’s jester, a mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals. Though A Midsummer Night’s Dream divides its action between several groups of characters, Puck is the closest thing the play has to a protagonist. His enchanting, mischievous spirit pervades the atmosphere, and his antics are responsible for many of the complications that propel the other main plots: he mistakes the young Athenians, applying the love potion to Lysander instead of Demetrius, thereby causing chaos within the group of young lovers; he also transforms Bottom’s head into that of an ass”(Sparknotes).
The character Oberon, “The king of the fairies. Oberon begins the play at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom she has kidnapped, but whom Oberon wants for a knight. Oberon’s desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Robin to obtain the love-potion flower that creates so much of the play’s confusion and farce”(Sparknotes). My favorite character is Lysander, he is, “A young nobleman of Athens in love with Hermia. Although Hermia’s father refuses to let her marry Lysander, Lysander believes that love must conquer all obstacles, so he persuades Hermia to run away from her home and family with him, into the forest”(Sparknotes). Lysander is like an average teen love story. He loves a girl whos father doesn’t like him and they plan to run away to be together. Even though most of the time it doesn’t work, it is still noble of him.
Demetrius is a player in modern slang, or he just can’t make up his mind. He is, “A young nobleman of Athens. In the past, Demetrius acted as if he loved Helena, but after Helena fell in love with him, he changed his mind and pursued Hermia. Emboldened by Egeus’s approval of him, Demetrius is undeterred by the fact that Hermia does not want him” (Sparknotes). Hermia the girl he loves but has no change with is, “Egeus’s daughter. Hermia is a beautiful young woman of Athens, and both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with her. Hermia defies her father’s wish that she marry Demetrius because she is in love with Lysander. She is unusually strong-willed and independent—refusing to comply even when Theseus orders her to obey her father—and resolved to elope with Lysander. Hermia is also the childhood friend of Helena (Sparknotes).
Helena the girl that Demetrius acted as though he loved is, “A young woman of Athens in love with Demetrius. Helena has been rejected and abandoned by Demetrius, who had claimed to love her before he met her best friend, Hermia. Consequently, Helena tends to speak in a self-pitying tone. Moreover, she puts herself in dangerous and humiliating situations, running through the forest at night after Demetrius even though Demetrius wants nothing to do with her”(Sparknote). Egeus, the father of Hermia, “A respected nobleman in Theseus’s court. Egeus complains to Theseus that his daughter, Hermia, refuses to marry Demetrius, Egeus’s choice for her. Egeus’s wish to control his daughter is quite severe—he asks Theseus to impose the death penalty on her if she refuses to marry Demetrius. Theseus, however, reduces the penalty for noncompliance from death to life as a nun” (Sparknotes).
Theseus is, “The duke of Athens. Theseus is a hero from Greek mythology—he refers to the fact that he’s Hercules' cousin at one point—so his presence signals to the reader that the play takes place in a mythical Greek past. At the beginning of the play, Theseus has recently returned from conquering the Amazons, a race of warrior women, and is about to marry the conquered Amazon queen, Hippolyta. Because of this impending wedding, the mood of the play is one of holiday festivity, characterized by a heightened sense of erotic expectation and anticipation. Theseus himself projects confidence, authority, and benevolent power” (Sparknotes). Hippolyta is a very strong woman, “the legendary queen of the Amazons, engaged to marry Theseus. Although Hippolyta is marrying Theseus because he defeated her in combat, she does not act at all like an unwilling bride. Theseus is very courtly in his manner toward Hippolyta, and she is unfailingly deferential toward him” (Sparknotes).
Nick Bottom is an innocent civilian that got dragged into every by mistake, “The overconfident weaver chosen to play Pyramus in a play that a group of craftsmen have decided to put on for Theseus’s wedding celebration. Bottom is full of advice and self-confidence but frequently makes silly mistakes and misuses language. His simultaneous nonchalance about the beautiful Titania’s sudden love for him and unawareness of the fact that Puck has transformed his head into that of an ass mark the pinnacle of his foolish arrogance” (sparknotes). Peter Quince is, “A carpenter and the nominal leader of the craftsmen’s attempt to put on a play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Quince is often shoved aside by the abundantly confident Bottom. During the craftsmen’s play, Quince plays the Prologue (Sparknotes).
Francis Flute is one of those manly men that aren’t afriad to look weak. He’s the, “The bellows-mender chosen to play Thisbe in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Forced to play a young girl in love, the bearded craftsman determines to speak his lines in a high, squeaky voice” (Sparknotes). Robin Starveling is really not a big part in “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream”. He is the costume designer/tailor in the craftsmen’s play for the marriage. The wall in the play within a play is Tom Snout, “The tinker chosen to play Pyramus’s father in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Tom Snout ends up playing the part of Wall, dividing the two lovers” (Sparknotes).
Snug, a lion is just a caring loving man, too caring, “The joiner chosen to play the lion in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Snug worries that his roaring will frighten the ladies in the audience” (Sparknotes). Philostrate, “Theseus’s Master of the Revels, responsible for organizing the entertainment for the duke’s marriage celebration” (Sparknotes). The fairies whom are Peaseblossom, Cobew, Mote, and Mustardseed can all be categorized at once. They all wait on Nick Bottoms every whim because Titania tells them to do so.
The play was composed between 95-96, and I mean 1595-1596. This is an old piece of artwork that the author William Shakespeare wrote. Before we get into that though, let’s get a basis to which Shakespeare was and still is. He was born about 1564 and passed 1616 on his 52 birthday. We cannot totally pin point a date he was born because they did not keep records of births then. The earlier record was when he was baptized on the 26th of April 1564. So typically his baptized date is considered his birth date also. During his life, he wrote about 37 plays and 154 sonnets. We all know what plays are, but sonnets are, “poems of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line” (About.com).
Now “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the base of three love couples. Theseus who is the duke of Athens and Hippolyta who is the queen of the Amazons. Theseues dethroned Hippolta to take over their land and now he is marring her to create a superior race. Lysander who is in love with Hermia but Hermia’s father doesn’t want her to marry him. Helena who is in love with Demetrius but Demetrius does not love her, he is in love with Helenas good friend Hermia. These are the three love couples and you can already see the problems going on in the relationships.
Now since Theseus over throne Hippolyta, why would she want to marry him? She doesn’t; she is being forced too but does not act hostile nor negative towards him. She just goes with the flow of the relationship. This may be because she knows she and her people are in the grasps of the Athenians. In modern time, something like this would never happen. My theory of why she is doing this is to save her people. Saving them by soothing what Theseus does with the land. She knows after awhile from being married, she can persuade Theseus to do certain things. Or this can seen a forced true love where someone is forced to marry someone else and eventually feeling grow and the couple stop pretending to like each other and really start too.
Lysander and Hermia are so called Romeo and Juliet of the play. Their love is true and pure, pure as a teenagers love carelessly thrown around. Since Hermia’s father doesn’t want her to marry Lysander, she is either destined for death or to be a nun. Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius who her father thinks is a very noble man. Her father has the authority to choose who she marries because she is his property. He also has the power to do what he wants with her, either to behead her or make her a nun for life.
The man known as Demetrius is seen as a mischievous and womanizer because he is said to wooed Helena with his moves but this left her. He did all the work necessary to make the girl fall in love with him but then he changes his mind and decided to pursue Hermia who is already in love with Lysander. How did Demetrius get Hermia’s father’s approval knowing about Helena? My best bet is your best bet.
Since Hermia’s father doesn’t approval of Lysander, he gives her a month to think about it and if she changes her mind then they will go on with the wedding, if not then who knows what will happen. Then Lysander tells Hermia about his aunt that lives in the woods. The woods that are outside of Athens. If you are outside of Athens, then Athenian law does not apply to you. She would then be able to marry Lysander no matter what.
Hermia and Lysander sneaks into the woods at night fall so it is less noticeable. Hermia also tells Helena about her and Lysander’s plans are. Helena wishes her the best of luck and off is Hermia. Helena then tells Demetrius about what Hermia and Lysander have in plan. Demetrius then runs off into the forest too. He thinks he can win over Hermia from Lysander. Since Helena is in love with Demetrius, she also runs into the forest after him.
In the forest the men from Athens sets up their play for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Mean while the super natural characters start to come into action. Oberon is angry at Titania because she stole an Indian boy from a kings and wants to do what she wishes with him. Oberon wants the boy for himself to accompany him through the dangers of the forest. All Titania does is put flowers in his hair. After Titania walks away, Oberon tells one of the fairies to get a flower on the other side of the world. The flower was the creations of cupid’s arrow that was misguided by a moon beam that was head towards a virgin. The flowers used to be white, but are now purple from the arrows poison. If the flower is obtained and the juices from it are put into the eye lids of someone, the first living creature that they see they will fall in love with.
Oberon also tells the fairies to put the juice into the Athenian boy’s eyes. Oberon is talking about Demetrius, but the fairy sees Lysander instead. While Lysander is sleeping on the ground, Helena walks by and doesn’t know if he is dead or alive. She wakes him up and he falls in love.
Mean while, one of the fairies also changes the head off one of the play actors to that of an ass; a donkey. While walking, he trips over Titania and she falls in love with him. They make love and tell the fairies to take care and get him anything he needs. The love poison also finds its way into Demetrius eyes and makes him fall in love with Helena once again.
This is not the end of the play even, there is still much to go. The poison from cupid’s arrow represents love at first sight. Also that love is like a child, always making foolish mistakes. The people in the play believe in love at first sight. To believe in cupid is a sign that they do not believe they have control over their love emotions.
Works Cited
“Also known as Robin Goodfellow, Puck is Oberon’s jester, a mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals. Though A Midsummer Night’s Dream divides its action between several groups of characters, Puck is the closest thing the play has to a protagonist. His enchanting, mischievous spirit pervades the atmosphere, and his antics are responsible for many of the complications that propel the other main plots: he mistakes the young Athenians, applying the love potion to Lysander instead of Demetrius, thereby causing chaos within the group of young lovers; he also transforms Bottom’s head into that of an ass”(Sparknotes).
“The king of the fairies. Oberon begins the play at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom she has kidnapped, but whom Oberon wants for a knight. Oberon’s desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Robin to obtain the love-potion flower that creates so much of the play’s confusion and farce”.(Sparknotes.com)
“The duke of Athens. Theseus is a hero from Greek mythology—he refers to the fact that he’s Hercules' cousin at one point—so his presence signals to the reader that the play takes place in a mythical Greek past. At the beginning of the play, Theseus has recently returned from conquering the Amazons, a race of warrior women, and is about to marry the conquered Amazon queen, Hippolyta. Because of this impending wedding, the mood of the play is one of holiday festivity, characterized by a heightened sense of erotic expectation and anticipation. Theseus himself projects confidence, authority, and benevolent power.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A respected nobleman in Theseus’s court. Egeus complains to Theseus that his daughter, Hermia, refuses to marry Demetrius, Egeus’s choice for her. Egeus’s wish to control his daughter is quite severe—he asks Theseus to impose the death penalty on her if she refuses to marry Demetrius. Theseus, however, reduces the penalty for noncompliance from death to life as a nun.”(Sparknotes.com)
“Egeus’s daughter. Hermia is a beautiful young woman of Athens, and both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with her. Hermia defies her father’s wish that she marry Demetrius because she is in love with Lysander. She is unusually strong-willed and independent—refusing to comply even when Theseus orders her to obey her father—and resolved to elope with Lysander. Hermia is also the childhood friend of Helena.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A young nobleman of Athens in love with Hermia. Although Hermia’s father refuses to let her marry Lysander, Lysander believes that love must conquer all obstacles, so he persuades Hermia to run away from her home and family with him, into the forest.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A young nobleman of Athens. In the past, Demetrius acted as if he loved Helena, but after Helena fell in love with him, he changed his mind and pursued Hermia. Emboldened by Egeus’s approval of him, Demetrius is undeterred by the fact that Hermia does not want him.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A young woman of Athens in love with Demetrius. Helena has been rejected and abandoned by Demetrius, who had claimed to love her before he met her best friend, Hermia. Consequently, Helena tends to speak in a self-pitying tone. Moreover, she puts herself in dangerous and humiliating situations, running through the forest at night after Demetrius even though Demetrius wants nothing to do with her.”(Sparknotes)
“A “puck” or mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals; he is sometimes referred to simply as Puck. Robin is Oberon’s jester, and his antics are responsible for many of the complications that propel the play. At Oberon’s bidding, Robin sprinkles “love juice” in the eyes of various characters to change who they love, but he makes mistakes in his application that create conflicts Oberon never intended. Though Robin claims to make these mistakes honestly, he enjoys the conflict and mayhem that his mistakes cause.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The king of the fairies. Oberon begins the play at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom she has kidnapped, but whom Oberon wants for a knight. Oberon’s desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Robin to obtain the love-potion flower that creates so much of the play’s confusion and farce.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The beautiful queen of the fairies. Titania resists the attempts of her husband, Oberon, to make a knight of the young Indian prince whom she has taken. Until Oberon gives up his demand, Titania has sworn to avoid his company and his bed. She is less upset by the fact that she and Oberon are apart than by the fact that Oberon has been disrupting her and her followers' magic fairy dances.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The overconfident weaver chosen to play Pyramus in a play that a group of craftsmen have decided to put on for Theseus’s wedding celebration. Bottom is full of advice and self-confidence but frequently makes silly mistakes and misuses language. His simultaneous nonchalance about the beautiful Titania’s sudden love for him and unawareness of the fact that Puck has transformed his head into that of an ass mark the pinnacle of his foolish arrogance.”(Sparknotes.com)
“A carpenter and the nominal leader of the craftsmen’s attempt to put on a play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Quince is often shoved aside by the abundantly confident Bottom. During the craftsmen’s play, Quince plays the Prologue.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The bellows-mender chosen to play Thisbe in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Forced to play a young girl in love, the bearded craftsman determines to speak his lines in a high, squeaky voice.”(Sparknotes.com)
“The tinker chosen to play Pyramus’s father in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Tom Snout ends up playing the part of Wall, dividing the two lovers” (Sparknotes.com)
“The joiner chosen to play the lion in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Snug worries that his roaring will frighten the ladies in the audience” (Sparknotes.com).
“Theseus’s Master of the Revels, responsible for organizing the entertainment for the duke’s marriage celebration” (Sparknotes.com)
“poems of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line” (About.com).
Bibliography
Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 2 Jun. 2011.
R. Moore. "A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Introduction." eNotes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ed. Penny Satoris. Seattle: Enotes.com Inc, October 2002. eNotes.com. 2 June 2011.
Friedlander M.D. Ed. “Emjoyinh “A Midsummers Night’s Dream”, By William Shakespeare.” pathguy.com. 2 June 2011.
Bevington, David. "'But We Are Spirits of Another Sort': The Dark Side of Love and Magic in A Midsummer Night's Dream". A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ed. Richard Dutton. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996. 24–35.
Buchanan, Judith. 2005. Shakespeare on Film. Harlow: Pearson. ISBN 0-582-43716-4. Ch. 5, pp. 121–149.
Howard, Jean E. "Feminist Criticism". Shakespeare: An Oxford Guide. Eds. Stanley Wells and Lena Cowen Orlin, eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 411–423.
