The Theme of Love in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare is one of the most influential poets, playwrights and actors not only in the English-speaking world but around the globe. He is mostly known as a creator of “Hamlet”, “Macbeth”, “Romeo and Juliet”. However, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is also among his celebrated and famous pieces of work. The play has been performed on various stages across the globe.

The writer bases the setting of the play in Athens. In the play, he develops various themes including magic, dreams, conflicts between parents and their children. However, the dominant theme within the play is that of love. The work contains numerous twists that keep the audience glued to the plot. In the play Shakespeare depicts various characters, Theseus, the Duke of Athens, Egeus, the father of Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius who are both in love with Hermia. Also, Robin Goodfellow, a puck, and Helena, Hermia’s friend, are among the leading characters. There are numerous challenges presented within the play. However, Shakespeare, through his great comic skills, makes his audience laugh at the way the strong feeling of love can influence people’s decisions and perceptions towards others. The play’s ability to make the audience happy despite the challenges that different couples experience distances the audience from the hurtful feelings of the characters.

The main characters that represent the theme of love are Hermia and Lysander. The two are the most vulnerable couple in the play. At the beginning of the play, Hermia’s father declares that

“Full of vexation come I, with complaint

Against my child, my daughter Hermia.—

Stand forth, Demetrius.—My noble lord,

This man hath my consent to marry her.—

Stand forth, Lysander.—And my gracious duke,

This man hath bewitch'd the bosom of my child.—

Thou, thou, Lysander, (Act I Scene I, 23-29).

These words show Egeus’ will for Hermia to marry Demetrius, and thus the father threats her love with Lysander. Moreover, we see that love for Egeus is of no importance and only good marriage is significant for him. Further in the play, Hermia’s affection for Lysander grows stronger despite the fact that her father invokes the ancient Athens law (Act I Scene I, 42). The law stipulated that a girl is forced to marry a suitor of her father’s choice; otherwise, she may suffer death or a life of chastity as she worships the gods. However, nothing can break the bond between the two, and as a consequence they decide to flee into the forest where they would live happily together. The move was also as a precautionary measure to secure the life of Hermia. While at the forest, love between the couple faces the test of time when Puck enchants Lysander making him hate Hermia and fall in love with Helena. In Act II Scene II (113-114), Lysander exclaims “Content with Hermia! No: I do repent/ The tedious minutes I with her have spent”. The comments made by the character break the heart of Hermia and in her turn she replies “What! Can you do me greater harm than hate?” (Act III Scene II, 279). Nevertheless, the girl continues to love Lysander.

The insecurity of their relationship and the fact that love can be ruined so easily with the help of magic contribute to Shakespeare’s idea that this feeling is irrational and has nothing to do with reason. Besides, during their runaway to the woods, we see that Lysander seeks mostly a physical bound with Hermia. This is the main reason why his love to Helena is accepted without astonishment. Accordingly, we can suppose that the only character who truly experiences the feeling of love is Hermia.

Moreover, the playwright depicts that love has its dark side and has the ability to threaten relationships between characters. This idea is justified with the help of the characters of Hermia and Helena as they engage in conflicts that pose a considerable risk to their lifelong friendship. Further, Shakespeare seeks to establish that love is a very strong and powerful force which even humans themselves cannot control. It has been depicted as a feeling that can enslave those whom it has possessed. Additionally, Lysander expresses his feelings saying the following “Ay me, for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth” (Act I Scene I, 132). The comments made by the character help to illustrate the challenges that come with love. Finally, at the end of the play, Shakespeare presents three blissful marriages. Having ended the play happily, he wanted to show the brighter side of that feeling. The last scene depicts that love can bring inner peace, beauty, and appreciation of other people contrary to the events previously illustrated in the play.

In conclusion, it can be said that the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare is developed around the eternal theme of love and its influence on humans’ lives. There are a lot of obstacles both external and internal that can prevent two from being together and the characters of Lysander and Hermia illustrate this idea. Though, love brings not only joy but suffering as well, one must be patient and try to protect this feeling from demolition.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, W. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Millennium Publications, 2014.