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A Midsummer Night's Dream

The idea expressed by Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream that "the course of true love never did run smooth" (I.i.134) represents a theme the runs through many of Shakespeare's plays and indeed through much of world literature. The statement itself embodies several ideas. First, it assumes that there is such a thing as true love and that it is a conception based on the idea that two people are literally meant for each other. Second, it states that these two people, though meant for each other, may have to endure a good deal before they can actually achieve the love they feel. Shakespeare works these ideas through in several of his works, and the theme can be seen clearly in Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, and the Sonnets.

The Taming of the Shrew brings the idea of endurance and suffering in love to the fore in a story in which the characters battle their way to a loving relationship. There are two couples in this play, two male suitors pursuing the sisters Bianca and Kate. The matter is complicated in that the development of a relationship between the males and the females depends on more than simple attraction. Lucentio loves Bianca, and even if he can woo her, he will have to wait unless Kate is married first. This conflict is created by the wishes of the father:

Gentlemen, importune me no farther, For how I firmly am resolv'd you know;

That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter

Before I have a husband for the elder. (I.i.55-58)

This creates the conflict for Lucentio and Bianca and spurs Petruchio to woo Kate.

The conflict between Petruchio and Kate is more fundamental and shows how true love has to be won. Petruchio resolves to win Kate though he knows this will be difficult. He has been warned by Lucentio about her demeanor and her personality. Petruchio is not seeking love when he starts out--he is seeking a rich wife. Kate also is not seeking love--she is in fac...

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A Midsummer Night's Dream. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 15:51, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1692421.html