Fairies In A Midsummer's Night Dream
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream a play centering around lovers, performers, and mischievous fairies in a forest outside of Athens. There are 3 subplots within the play that take place throughout the night: a love rectangle, preparation for a play for the Duke’s wedding, and a feud between the king and queen of the fairies. These subplots however, all become intertwined with one another as the play goes on. Two of the subplots have very distinguishable characters, but one of them, specifically the love rectangle, seems to have interchangeable characters. The lovers can be interchangeable, as it does not matter who ends up with who at the end of the play since they get switched around so much. It seems that the only ones who are concerned about “who-ends-up-with who” are the lovers themselves.
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Lysander and Demetrius are both Athenian men who start the play with both being in love with Hermia.
However, the conflict is that the only mutual love is between Hermia and Lysander, but her father, Egeus, is against the two’s love for one another. He instead demands that she marries Demetrius or live off as a nun for the rest of her life. Both men are shown to be in love with Hermia. That love is very much a prominent trait between the men. Even more so as they are in love with the same woman in the beginning and middle of the play! Their love for Hermia is a prominent part of their personalities. Both men have a lack of personality and a lack of a distinguishable appearance as well. The appearances of the men are not distinguishable to the audience. Even Puck had gotten the two men mixed up when going through with Oberon’s orders of using the “love-in-idleness”. He had them mixed up through Oberon’s orders of finding an Athenian man who is disgusted with the love of another
woman. It is not only the men that can be interchangeable, but the women are as well. The only difference between the women are the men they love, their feelings of love itself, and their height. The women can be interchangeable, as their names are similar and they both experience love from both men. In the beginning the play, Hermia was the woman of Lysander’s and Demetrius’s affection. Later on, Helena becomes the woman who both Lysander and Demetrius love. The lovers are interchangeable because it represents the illusion of love. Love is presented as an illusion through the use of the juice from the “love-in-idleness” flower. The juice is put into someone’s eyes and they are meant to fall in love with the first person they see. The eyes are what helps determine and see through illusions. However, they can be susceptible to illusions as well. Love being an illusion in the play is meant to show as that everyone but the one who is in love can see the illusion of love. Love can give someone rose colored glasses view of the object of their affection or life, while those outside that person’s perspective can see the reality of the situation at hand. Such as the resolution of Demetrius’s and Helena’s relationship; the audience knows that Demetrius does not love Helena, but is instead forced to through Oberon. By the end of the play, Demetrius is in love with Helena and does not question anything about it. The lovers: Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena can be interchangeable with one another. As they all do not carry any distinguishable characteristics aside from being in love with one of the other lovers.
Lysander and Demetrius are both Athenian men who start the play with both being in love with Hermia.
However, the conflict is that the only mutual love is between Hermia and Lysander, but her father, Egeus, is against the two’s love for one another. He instead demands that she marries Demetrius or live off as a nun for the rest of her life. Both men are shown to be in love with Hermia. That love is very much a prominent trait between the men. Even more so as they are in love with the same woman in the beginning and middle of the play! Their love for Hermia is a prominent part of their personalities. Both men have a lack of personality and a lack of a distinguishable appearance as well. The appearances of the men are not distinguishable to the audience. Even Puck had gotten the two men mixed up when going through with Oberon’s orders of using the “love-in-idleness”. He had them mixed up through Oberon’s orders of finding an Athenian man who is disgusted with the love of another
woman. It is not only the men that can be interchangeable, but the women are as well. The only difference between the women are the men they love, their feelings of love itself, and their height. The women can be interchangeable, as their names are similar and they both experience love from both men. In the beginning the play, Hermia was the woman of Lysander’s and Demetrius’s affection. Later on, Helena becomes the woman who both Lysander and Demetrius love. The lovers are interchangeable because it represents the illusion of love. Love is presented as an illusion through the use of the juice from the “love-in-idleness” flower. The juice is put into someone’s eyes and they are meant to fall in love with the first person they see. The eyes are what helps determine and see through illusions. However, they can be susceptible to illusions as well. Love being an illusion in the play is meant to show as that everyone but the one who is in love can see the illusion of love. Love can give someone rose colored glasses view of the object of their affection or life, while those outside that person’s perspective can see the reality of the situation at hand. Such as the resolution of Demetrius’s and Helena’s relationship; the audience knows that Demetrius does not love Helena, but is instead forced to through Oberon. By the end of the play, Demetrius is in love with Helena and does not question anything about it. The lovers: Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena can be interchangeable with one another. As they all do not carry any distinguishable characteristics aside from being in love with one of the other lovers.