A Midsummer Night's Dream- Remix

In the world of myths and legends, fairies, and young love are different worlds Shakespeare uses in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to display love. With the help of magic love juice, Demetrius, Lysander, and Titania falls erratically in love with the first person seen. Love takes on many views, meanings, and obstacles. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the play brings to light in a comical way how people handle and take love. The film closely ties in the same story line and ideas as the play in some ways the same and some ways a little different.

In the movie, the relationships between men and women conveyed the same ideas. In the play we see Hippolyta portraying the typical traits that men stereotyped a woman. She seemed submissive in allowing Theseus to take her hand in marriage on conditions that weren’t based on love. Although Hippolyta and Theseus characters were not depicted in the film, their relationship in A Midsummer Night’s Dream was expressed in a different way. In the beginning of the play, love is forced and troubled. “I woo’d thee with my sword. And won thy love, doing thee injuries”(I i). Theseus showed love that was obligated and conquered. Because Hippolta was obligated to marry Theseus, it showed how things where forced because of status, title and position. A.D Spencer states, Theseus does not discuss a concept of actual love but of the right to marry the defeated Amazon, the now submissive party. In the movie we see Oberon and Titiania displaying Thesesus and Hippolyta relationship after years have passed. The movie gives an idea how the relationship will be with years past and to come.

During the play Helena’s character was in love with Demetrius who in return was in love with someone else. She sought after his love even after he continually turned her down, “The more I love, the more he hateth me (I i).    One could say Helena was a fool in love; however, Demetrius was also in love with someone who was not in love with him, Hermia.

In the film, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and also the play Hermia stands up to her father and profess her love for another man other than her father (Egeus) choice. As Theseus is explaining Demetrius as worthy gentleman, Hermia replies, “So is Lysander.”(I i) In the time period of the play, men were viewed as superior to women and as Samantha Warren states, in all aspects. For this era, a woman being anything other than submissive to a man was not the norm. Typically the woman was view as the one that displayed feelings while men suppressed their feelings and showed love in other ways then emotionally. The middle of the play entails love that flickers, complications, and confusion. Lysander states, “The course of true love never did run smooth” (I i), and with Oberon and Puck trying to fix love things become more complicated. Throughout Puck’s quest to fill Oberon orders to cause Demetrius to fall in love with Helena, his mistake causes the wrong person to fall in love, Lysander. With this mistake we see love as a farce, Helena utters, “Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born?” (I ii) Puck also says, “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” (III ii) Women are known to think with their emotions before a man. With Lysander and Demetrius falling deeply in love shows traits that are normally associated with females.

Even with all the twist in turns the play makes and the film, love prevails in the end. A Midsummer Night’s Dream investigates and looks at the nature of romantic love and its pursuit. The pursuit can make us foolish. The love comedy showed how to overcome difficulties and how simple falling in love can be. Maybe this is where we get the cliché, “love at first sight.”

Work Cited:

AMidsummer Night’s Dream.28 Nov. 2005. Film.

Shakespeare, William. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Literature Drama: Craft & Voice. Ed.    Delbanco, Nicholas. New York, NY. 2010. (184-219). Print.

Spencer, A D. "An Analysis of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: Does True Love Exist?" Love is for the Fairy Tales. 29 Aug 2009. 7 June 2012.

Warren, Samantha. "Shakespeare On Gender Roles." British/UK  Fiction. 10 Jan 2011.  . 14 June 2012.