Central Theme of Love in Shakespeares A Midsummer...

Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream central theme of love A common theme in literature is love. Love can take hold in an instant and can make you do things you never would have done otherwise. Love appears in several different ways in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Hermia and Lysander show true love, while Helena demonstrates unrequited love. Titania and Bottom presents us with magic love. In the play, love is also the cause of a few broken hearts. While there is no one common definition of love that suits all of the characters, the romantic relationship in the play all leans to one simple rule laid out by Lysander, â€Å"The course of true love never did run smooth.† True love is shown in various places in the play. On of†¦show more content†¦Their situation is quite similar to that of Lysander and Hermia’s. They both love each other so much that they both gave up their lives for each other, â€Å"Ay, that left pap, where heart doth hop: thus die I, thus, thus, thus.† Demetrius and Helena present us with a different type of love, unrequited love. Devoted to Demetrius, Helena willingly gives him her heart, body and soul, just for his attention. But even when he proclaims his feelings for Helena, â€Å"I love thee not, therefore pursue me not. Hence get thee gone, and follow me no more!† Helena still refuses to leave him and continues to chase after him. Demetrius and Helena also have a situation of unrequited love. No matter how much Demetrius claims his love for Hermia, she still rejects him, â€Å"A privilege – never to see me more. And from thy hated presence part I so, see me no more, whe’r he be dead or no.† In this play, the juice of the magic flower is responsible to all the cases of magical love. It causes the character to fall in love with the first creature they see. Some of the characters that experience this love are due to Puck’s mistakes, â€Å"Believe me, king of shadows, I mistook.† Having the drops of the juice to the flower placed on their eyes, Lysander andShow MoreRelatedWeathering the Storms of True Love1159 Words   |  5 Pages Sitting on a porch swing with ones true love hugging and kissing as the moon smiles down upon them, seems like the perfect situation for true love. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Shakespeare presents the truth about true love in his comical tragedy A Midsummer Nights Dream. Lysander clearly stated loves situation when he told Hermia the course of true love never did run smooth (Griffiths 94). In some ways Lysanders declaration becomes the plays structuralRead MoreA Midsummer Night s Dream And Measure For Measure1341 Words   |  6 PagesTwo of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies are A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Measure for Measure. 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