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A Midsummer Night’s Dream Idle Iris

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream Idle Iris
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Paper The play A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare is a comedy that follows a short part in four young lover’s lives, Hermia who is in love with Lysander, and Helena who is in love with Demetrius. The plot thickens when Hermia is forced by her father, Egeus, to a loveless marriage with Demetrius. If Hermia chooses not to marry Demetrius, she would be killed, or forced to become a nun. Not being able to wed the women he is in love with Lysander asks Hermia to run off and elope. Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius, was then left in the cold when Demetrius decided to marry Hermia instead. Attempting to win back Demetrius’ love, Helena tells him of Hermia and Lysander’s plan to elope. This then backfires and Demetrius takes off to chase his “new love” Hermia. A distort, heart-broken Helena follows after her lost love into the forest. In the forest, King of the fairies, Oberon witnesses an altercation between distressed Helena and a determined Demetrius. “I love thee not; There for pursue me not…Hence get, thee gone and follow me no more. (II.i l.195-201)” Felling sorry for Helena, who was doing nothing but showing how loyal, and devoted to Demetrius she was. Oberon showing empathy for Helena commands the fairy Puck ( also referred to as Robin Goodfellow) to use the flower to make Demetrius fall back in love with Helena. “A sweet Athenian lady is in love, with a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes, but do it when the next thing he espies may be the lady. Thou shalt know the man by the Athenian garments he hath on. Affect it with some care that he may prove more found on her than she upon her love… (II.ii l 266-274)” “Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell. It fell upon a little western flower, Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound. And maidens call it “love-in-idleness.”(II.i l 171-175).” The “love-in-idleness” was an ordinary white flower, mistakenly stuck by Cupid’s arrow, the flower then changed color
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