Being a person who has had very little exposure to the works of William Shakespeare I found A Midsummer Night’s Dream a delightful introduction to his works. I found myself laughing at many of the small jokes between the fairies and cringing as Helena stood and took abuse from Demetrius.
The one thing I wanted to address in my blog for the week is the crazy love square going on between Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena. To begin with I want to talk about Hermia’s choices and her punishment. Her choice to marry a man she despises or face death/the life of a nun is absurd and tragic. I was stunned by the cruelty a father could show towards his own daughter. I know when I was little and did something my dad didn’t like he’d just yell at me and send me into my room, but that seems like a paradise compared to what Hermia would be faced with. Just following her own heart could make that same heart stop beating. Besides Hermia’s choice another thing that intrigued me is the absurd character of Helena. This woman really baffled me and I pitied her as much as I despised her. On one hand I felt sorry for her that she loved Demetrius with all her heart, yet he showed only hate towards her. People can’t help who they fall in love with, yet maybe Helena should at least try to not like him. On the other hand I despise Helena and find her character annoying. Why? Because she just stands there following Demetrius through the forest like a lost puppy and listens to him say “I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes, And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts (212-213).” Why would anyone stay around, let alone love someone after something like that is said? Helena took so much abuse from Demetrius in the forest yet still loved him. I guess what they say is true that love is blind deaf. Helena is an interesting character, I kind of even think of her as the main characters even. She has a relationship, either good or bad with everyone, and by the end of ACT 2 is the apple in Lysander’s eye. It should be interesting to see where that ends up as I haven’t finished the story yet, but I only hope that Helena’s character shows some improvement and gains some wit.
I’ll end my blog this week saying that from what I’ve read of Shakespeare it seems that love and tragedy are major themes in his works and I wonder if he has ever loved someone who he couldn’t have or even hated him. This is something I’d like to take some time to look into and maybe gain some insight into what made William write about such topics, what could have inspired such stories like this.
3 comments:
I wanted to comment on your post because I don't have much experience with Shakespeare either. Your post was interesting and brought up a lot of good points. I agree with you about being shocked about the cruelty a father could show to his daughter but unfortunately I still feel that there are parents out there presently who act the same way if they don't approve of a child's significant other, I don't think it is as extreme as killing them but it still happens which is unfortunate and sad. There are a lot of Helena's in our world which is another sad thing! How can you love someone more when they despise you, disrespect you and abuse you!! It makes no sense to me whatsoever. I almost view Helena as someone wanting for someone else to love them and even though he doesn't love her, she has convinced herself that he does. I am right there with you, I would love to know if some of these plays are personal experiences of Shakespeare, I feel like they must be!
I wanted to comment because I agree with your post completely. I think it is horrible that Hermia's choice in choosing the man she loves would result in the death of her and that her own father would make that happen. Also I find it really funny how Helena loved Demetrius so much but he showed no affection towards her but despising her. She made herself look so desperate and sad.
Thinking about the love square, as you aptly called it, I feel that Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demtrius are all manifestations of love to some degree. Hermia, is that stubborn love which stays strong in the face of persecution. Lysander, is loyal and honorable love. Demetrius is reasoned and rational. Helena is wild-abandoned love. She represents that irrational side of love that forces to act against reason. If Helena were a character today she would be sending thousands of text per day, play "their" song until her neighbors called the police or drive by Demetrius' house all night while calling him. Even though they are all different, these types of love balance the play.
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