Irrational Love In A Midsummer Night's Dream By William Shakespeare

Love has the effects of a drug. One can become an addict to love and act irrationally, just like the effects of a drug addiction. In the Elizabethan era romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare reveals with a motif of the magic of a special violet flower the effects of love make people irrational, and can happen to anyone.
Love has effects that make one irrational. The play shows several times with the magical effects of two different flowers how irrational love can make people. The characters under the effects of the magic flower, Demetrius, Queen Titania, and Lysander , fall in and out of love throughout the events of the story and show great irrationality. The Athenian Duke Theseus states when being told of these
events, “Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,/such shaping fantasies, that apprehend/More than cool reason ever comprehends” creating a metaphor between madmen, a group known for their irrational thinking, and the lovers of the story (Shakespeare V.i.4-6). The hobgoblin Puck, in a conversation with King Oberon where he decides to stop the effects of the love potion, states “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” in confusion over the chaos of the love potion. Both contribute to Shakespeare's message with insight on how love makes one irrational. Shakspeare uses the effects of the magical flower juice to show the irrationality of love.
The harmful effects of love can affect anyone.
Shakespeare shows the indiscriminate nature of love by having a common man and a supernatural queen of fairies fall under the effects of the love potion. Love even applies to nobles, such as with Duke Theseus, but with much less drama than other relationships within the play. When the effects of the love potion take hold on Queen Titania, she falls in love Nick Bottom, who has the head of an ass. Queen Titania states, “I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again./Mine ear is much enamoured of thy note,/So is mine eye enthrallèd to thy shape,/And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me/On the first view, to say, to swear, I love thee” a highly irrational statement, as an animal would be unable to sing well, nor would an animal have a shape that would appeal to one (Shakespeare III.i.139-143). Even though it is highly irrational, the Queen loves Bottom while under the effects of the magic flower. Also, the common man can fall prey to love, with Demetrius and Lysander as an example. Lysander rejects Hermia with the statement, “Thy love? Out, tawny Tartar, out!/Out, loathèd med'cine! O. hated potion, hence!” which demonstrates Lysander under the effects of the magical flower, and becomes fickle to the nature of love. Shakespeare uses a variety of characters to demonstrate that love affects all. Shakespeare shows with a supernatural fairy queen and two common men that anyone can fall prey to the effects of
love. William Shakspeare in his Elizabethan era romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, shows with the effects of a magic flower how irrational love is and that everyone can under the effects of love. The effects of the magic flower are very drug-like in nature, by characters under the effects of the flower behave irrationally for a short time, and then recover from the effects. Shakespeare uses different characters to say for him his message on the irrationality of love. Shakespeare warns to be wary over the effects of love, and that one doesn’t come under its effects.