A Midsummer Night Dream Essay Research Paper

A Midsummer Night Dream Essay, Research Paper

Jennifer Lopez

Period 7

English Book Report

The Mixed up Troubles of Love

A Midsummer’s Night Dream is one of Shakespeare’s romantic/comedy plays. This play is about love and all the troubles that it brings to people. It also has a side story about a pompous actor who has a mysterious dream in the forest. The four main characters are all trying to find love with one another and when magic is involved it causes more cause between the four than it does to help.

The play is set in Monte Athena, Italy in the nineteenth century. The main characters are the four lovers Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius. The Duke and his fianc?e Queen Hipolyta, Puck the mischievous creature who is half man half goat, the Fairy King Obecca and the Fairy Queen Titania.

It starts out as Egeus, a wealthy Athenian, brings a problem upon Duke Theseus. Egeus wants to marry his daughter Hermia off to Demetrius, but she refuses because she is in love with Lysander, who her father does not approve of. Because Hermia is disobeying her father by not wanting to marry Demetrius, whom she does not love, she will either have to marry Demetrius or die. The other alternative the Duke gives Hermia is to become a prioress for the rest of her life. The couple leaves the meeting with the Duke and they decide to run off together to another town, where they can be wed and live in happiness. The only person they tell about their plan is Helena. Helena agrees to help because she is in love with Demetrius, although he does not return the love for her. She was once seduced by him but he was through with her after their little affair. She follows him everywhere and will not leave him be. So Helena decides to tell Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander’s so she can follow him into the woods and be with him.

In another part of Athena a sign is posted of a dramatic competition with a rewarded prize for the winner. The winners will have to perform their play for the Duke and his wife on their wedding day. Here we are introduced to Nick Bottom the weaver who is a very dramatic pompous actor, who runs away from his wife frequently to flirt with the young damsels. His theatrical group decides to put on the play Pyrimus and Thisby, where Bottom is given the part of Pyrimus. Yet he wants to play every part in the play, trying to show off. The group decides to meet in the woods that night, which is the same night the couple will be running away.

That night Demetrius leaves to find Hermia and Lysander and stop them from getting away. But without his consent Helena follows him the whole way out there, pestering and bothering him. They go off into the forest where Shakespeare brings us to a party all the fairies, spirits and mystical creates are drinking wine and frolicking around. Here we are introduced to the mischievous troublemaker Puck, who is half goat half man. He is the creature who scares maids in the sleep and frightens wives at night. The Fairy Queen Titania soon appears in front of The Fairy King Obecca. They quarrel over a special child that is left in to the queen and she leaves. The King tells Puck to find him a special flower that cupid launched his arrow at. When the dew of this flower is placed into a sleeping creature’s eyes the first person they see when they awake they will fall in love with. He wants to put this dew into the queen’s eyes to teach her a lesson by making her fall in love with a hideous creature.

When Puck leaves, the king spies Helena bothering Demetrius again. He hears her profess her love to him as he denies his love to her and instead professes his hatred to her. The king decides that he wants to help this poor, pitiful mortal girl by making Demetrius fall in love with her. Puck then returns with the flower and brings it to the king. While the king goes to put the dew on the Fairy Queen’s eyes he tells Puck of the two mortals, Demetrius and Helena, and tells him to help her by making Demetrius fall in love with her.

Puck finds Lysander and Hermia sleeping in the forest and mistakes them for Demetrius and Helena. So Puck puts the flower’s dew on Lysander’s eyelids. Helena happens to be passing by and sees Lysander lying on the ground. She thinks he is dead and tries to wake him, doing so he awakens and falls madly in love with her. He then forgets all about his love for Hermia and chases after Helena. Hermia then awakes and frightened that Lysander is gone, thinking that he is either harmed or dead.

Then the theatrical group comes to rehearse their play in a spot in the forest, which is coincidently right under the basket that the Fairy Queen is sleeping in. While Nick Bottom goes off from the group to practice his lines Puck puts a spell on him and transforms him into a donkey. When the other men see him they run off. He then starts talking to himself, which wakes up the Fairy Queen. He is then the first person she sees when she wakes up, which makes her fall in love with him. The Queen captures him and makes the other fairies serve him and give him all that he desires.

Hermia finds Demetrius and goes off with him to find Lysander. The king watches them and realizes that Puck has put the spell on the wrong person. He then sends him to correct the mistake and put things back to normal. He then puts the flower on Demetrius’ eyes while he sleeps which