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A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer NightÆs Dream is a play that revolves around love, sex and marriage. The plot revolves around two sets of lovers (Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius), whose complicated romantic relations are made more complex by their arrival in the fairyland woods. Here the King and Queen of the Fairies (Oberon and Titania) rule and are involved in a battle themselves, over the custody of a young changeling boy in TitaniaÆs care. A majority of critics contend that the play reflects certain characteristics of Elizabethan male-dominated society. Some critics like Howard Bloom argue the play shows how womenÆs existence, especially their emotional and sexual life, is controlled by powerful males. While we see such elements in the play like EgeusÆ domination and control of his daughter Hermia and OberonÆs trickery against Titania, it is the women in the play like Titania who actually dominate the men and control their own destinies. We see this in TitaniaÆs refusal to allow Oberon to take the changeling boy as well as in HelenaÆs castigation of Lysander for being fickle in his love for Hermia. In actuality, the playÆs main message is that to find real love human beings must reach out to one another, come together, and mutually work on the challenges relationships often present.

The relationships between the two sets of couples in A Midsummer NightÆs Dream are further complicated by their arrival in the fairyland woods, presided over by Oberon and Titania. Egeus demands that his daughter marry Demetrius. However, Hermia desires marriage to another Athenian youth, Lysander. Hermia refuses to obey her fatherÆs wishes, but he informs her of Athenian law that she must marry the man he prefers or remain single for the rest of her life. We see in her refusal to follow her fatherÆs dictate that Hermia is not controlled by powerful males, though they may try. Instead, we see that family and love relationships can be...

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A Midsummer Night's Dream. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:28, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1710700.html