Essay on Love In A Midsummer Night’s Dream - 524 Words

True love’s path is paved with every step. Through the assistance of fanciful elements as well as characters Puck and Oberon, the true message of love in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is revealed. The four lovers know the direction in which their hearts are inclined to turn, but when the love potion is administered, the bounds of their rectangle are thrashed without knowledge or consent. The rapid shifts in affection between the play’s â€Å"four lovers† is representative of the idea that love isn’t a conscious choice, but a cruel game in which we are the figurines, being controlled by whomever the player may be, relating the characters’ karmic fates. In the beginning Helena vouches to be madly in love with Demetrius†¦show more content†¦Yet after being influenced by the love potion, Demetrius completely reverses the stand he so fervently took. He then begins to refer to the once revolting Helena as being... â€Å" [†¦] godess, nymph, perfect, divine!† (III.ii. 137). Could this alteration in devotion be a metaphorical transference by Shakespeare of what we presently refer to as karma? Hermia, originally the Apple of all Athens’ eye, put on an impossible pedestal by both Lysander and Demetrius, seems to trade social standings with the outcast Helena. It seems that Hermia doesn’t fully appreciate the quality of her state. She complains that her father will not allow her to merry her true love Lysander, and pawns her off to the inadequate Demetrius. Never can she accept the flattery of Demetrius’ unrequited love which her best friend would do anything to sincerely receive. Instead she revels in wonderment: â€Å"The more I [Hermia] hate, the more he [Demetrius] follows me† (I.i.198). Her unhappiness is far heightened when her two followers are given the love potion, turning them against her and beckoning to Helena. The cruel swap of fates lets the tw o female characters feel as though in the others’ shoes. It’s Hermia’s karma for being ungrateful at the attention bestowed upon her all these years that leads her to this harsh lesson. When all is said and done, the potion is reversed, seeming only as an unsettling dream to all but Demetrius who (perhaps as a consolation prize for Helena)Show MoreRelatedLove in A Midsummer Night’s Dream1043 Words   |  5 PagesLove in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Throughout the events which unfold in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare delivers several messages on love. Through this play, one of the significant ideas he suggests is that love is blind, often defying logic and overriding other emotions and priorities. 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