Types of love in Shakespeares Midsummer Nights Dream free essay sample

The types of love in Midsummer Nights dream by William Shakespeare To begin with ,we have the love story of Theseus and Hippolyta. Theseus has fought many battles and risked his life in order to win Hippolyta: wood thee with my sword / And won thy love, doing thee injuries. Next we have the pair of romantic lovers Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius who undergo many trials before they are united Finally, we have the fairy couple Oberon and Titania who are finally reconciled after a long period of separation. What is common to all these different love stories is the fact that the course of true love never did run smooth. Shakespeare reveals to us that love at all levels, whether it is the royalty or the ordinary folk, or in the supernatural has to undergo a rigorous trial before it succeeds. True love will succeed if the lovers are faithful to their partners and remain patient during their time of separation and trial. We will write a custom essay sample on Types of love in Shakespeares Midsummer Nights Dream or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page From the vicious, yet very real, love of Oberon and Titania to the youthful obsessive love that Helena has for Demetrius (and the false love the fairies cause Demetrius to have for Helena), love is a primary subject in William Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream. Though the King and Queen of Fairies are violent in their love for one another, their anger shaking the ground when the two fght, they most assuredly do love each other. Not so withHelena and Demetrius, however. In the case of Helena and Demetrius, Helena is in such a deep state of obsessive love for Demetrius that she truly shames herself hen trying to catch him going so far as to compare herself with a Spaniel dog , available exclusively for Demetrius use. All the while, Demetrius scorns Helenas affections, preferring instead to chase after Hermia. In fact, Demetrius does not show any love or interest in Helena until the fairy Robin Goodfellow, or Puck , puts a spell on him. This is not a true love on either side. Helena does not love Demetrius, but rather obsesses over him affording Demetrius all worth and herself none unless he returns her affections. On Demetrius side, the only reason that he begins to love Helena at all is the fairy spell not from any affection of his own heart. This is not a healthy , mature love in any sense, with one person in a self-degrading obsession and the other under an enchantment. On the other hand, the King and Queen of the Fairies, Oberon and Titania, have a much healthier, a much truer love relationship between them. Though spiteful at times because Titanias possessions take her attention away from him, Oberon certainly loves his queen. However, this spite drives Oberon to play tricks and put spells on the Queen of the Fairies in order to remove that which so distracts the lady from her husband. On Titanias side, the queen is not above using her power to make Oberon Jealous fawning over her possetions to point of ignoring him. However, once these tricks and intrigues are finished, Oberon and Titania meet in a spectacular reunion that once again reaffirms their love for one another. This is a healthy sort of love, with each partner exerting his or her own will s opposed to one giving all control over to the other person and compromises being made between the two. Furthermore, the couple is not afraid to fght one another when it is appropriate and the relationship seems stronger tor the arguing and making up. The two couples of Oberon and Titania and Helena and Demetrius show the striking contrasts in the types of love evidenced in A Midsummer Nights Dream, though multiple other types are present in the play as well. Ranging from a youthful dalliance to a mature and healthy love, Shakespeare shows the full gamut of the love spectrum.