SparkNotes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Important Quotations Explained Important Quotations Explained Ay me, for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth. . . . Lysander speaks these lines to soothe Hermia when she despairs about the difficulties facing their love, specifically, that Egeus, her father, has forbidden them to marry and that Theseus has threatened her with death if she disobeys her father (I.i.132–134). Lysander tells Hermia that as long as there has been true love, there have been seemingly insurmountable difficulties to challenge it. He goes on to list a number of these difficulties, many of which later appear in the play: differences in birth or age (“misgrafted in respect of years”) and difficulties caused by friends or “war, death, or sickness,” which make love seem “swift as a shadow, short as any dream” (I.i.137, I.i.142–144).

But, as Hermia comments, lovers must persevere, treating their difficulties as a price that must be paid for romantic bliss. As such, the above lines inaugurate the play’s exploration of the theme of love’s difficulties and presage what lies ahead for Lysander and Hermia: they will face great difficulties but will persevere and ultimately arrive at a happy ending. 2. Through Athens I am thought as fair as she. But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so. He will not know what all but he do know. And as he errs, doting on Hermia’s eyes, So I, admiring of his qualities. Things base and vile, holding no quantity, Love can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. Helena utters these lines as she comments on the irrational nature of love. They are extremely important to the play’s overall presentation of love as erratic, inexplicable, and exceptionally powerful (I.i.227–235).

Distressed by the fact that her beloved Demetrius loves Hermia and not her, Helena says that though she is as beautiful as Hermia, Demetrius cannot see her beauty. Helena adds that she dotes on Demetrius (though not all of his qualities are admirable) in the same way that he dotes on Hermia. She believes that love has the power to transform “base and vile” qualities into “form and dignity”—that is, even ugliness and bad behavior can seem attractive to someone in love. This is the case, she argues, because “love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind”—love depends not on an objective assessment of appearance but rather on an individual perception of the beloved. These lines prefigure aspects of the play’s examination of love, such as Titania’s passion for the ass-headed Bottom, which epitomizes the transformation of the “base and vile” into “form and dignity.” 3. Lord, what fools these mortals be! Puck makes this declaration in his amazement at the ludicrous behavior of the young Athenians (III.ii.115).

This line is one of the most famous in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for its pithy humor, but it is also thematically important: first, because it captures the exaggerated silliness of the lovers’ behavior; second, because it marks the contrast between the human lovers, completely absorbed in their emotions, and the magical fairies, impish and never too serious. 4. I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about t’expound this dream. Methought I was—there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, and methought I had—but man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream. It shall be called ‘Bottom’s Dream’, because it hath no bottom.

Bottom makes this bombastic speech after he wakes up from his adventure with Titania; his human head restored, he believes that his experience as an ass-headed monster beloved by the beautiful fairy queen was merely a bizarre dream (IV.i.199–209). He remarks dramatically that his dream is beyond human comprehension; then, contradicting himself, he says that he will ask Quince to write a ballad about this dream. These lines are important partially because they offer humorous commentary on the theme of dreams throughout the play but also because they crystallize much of what is so lovable and amusing about Bottom. His overabundant self-confidence burbles out in his grandiose idea that although no one could possibly understand his dream, it is worthy of being immortalized in a poem. His tendency to make melodramatic rhetorical mistakes manifests itself plentifully, particularly in his comically mixed-up association of body parts and senses: he suggests that eyes can hear, ears see, hands taste, tongues think, and hearts speak. 5.

If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended: That you have but slumbered here, While these visions did appear; And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon, we will mend. Puck speaks these lines in an address to the audience near the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, extending the theme of dreams beyond the world of the play and putting the reality of the audience’s experience into question (V.epilogue.1–8). As many of the characters (Bottom and Theseus among them) believe that the magical events of the play’s action were merely a dream, Puck tells the crowd that if the play has offended them, they too should remember it simply as a dream—“That you have but slumbered here, / While these visions did appear.” The speech offers a commentary on the dreamlike atmosphere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and casts the play as a magical dream in which the audience shares.

The course of true love never did run smooth The course of true love never did run smooth William Shakespeare Quotes Home "The course of true love never did run smooth" - A Famous Quote by William Shakespeare This famous quote originated in the play by William Shakespeare. This section provides answers to the following questions about this famous Shakespeare quote: Who said that? Which play the quote come from? What was the name of the speaker? In which Act or Scene can the whole quote, or saying, be found? Shakespeare Quote - "The course of true love never did run smooth" Lysander: Ay me! for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth; But either it was different in blood A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 1, Scene 1 Famous Shakespeare Quote Although set in different times many of the most famous quotes about life and love by William Shakespeare are still relevant today. Did you know that William Shakespeare is credited by the Oxford English Dictionary with the introduction of nearly 3,000 words into the language.

It's no wonder that expressions from his works in literature, including the "The course of true love never did run smooth" quote, are an 'anonymous' part of the English language. Many people continue to use this "The course of true love never did run smooth" quote by William Shakespeare in famous quotes about life. "The course of true love never did run smooth" "The course of true love never did run smooth" Who said that? Which play did the quote come from? What was the name of the speaker? In which Act or Scene can the whole quote, or saying, be found?

Short Famous Quotes about life from Famous Shakespeare Quotes The course of true love never did run smooth The course of true love never did run smooth - Famous Shakespeare Quote - Book - Speaker - Play - Line - Lines - Quote - Qoute - William Shakespeare - Act - Scene - Soliloquy - Origin - Saying - Name - Meaning - Quotation - Phrase - Book - Speaker - Play - Line - Lines - Book - Speaker - Play - Line - Lines - Quote - Qoute - William Shakespeare - Act - Scene - Soliloquy - Origin - Saying - Name - Meaning - Quotation - Phrase - Book - Speaker - Play - Line - Lines - The course of true love never did run smooth - Written By Linda Alchin The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth - GCSE English - Marked by Teachers.com The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth Extracts from this document... Introduction The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth One of the most important aspects in A Midsummer Night's Dream is love. The play contains all of the aspects that love consists of and this is represented in the constantly twisting plot line. Shakespeare seems to mock the idea of love and questions whether there really is such a thing.

Throughout the play we can see evidence of Shakespeare questioning the nature of love and how it is frequently changes, as he shows with the relationships that develop between Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius. At the start of the play Lysander and Hermia are in love with each other, Helena is in love with Lysander and Demetrius is in love with Hermia. But as the play develops Lysander's affections turn towards Helena as do Demetrius's. Shakespeare is showing us how easily people can change their minds about love. To emphasise this point further, when Lysander tells Helena he is in love with her she wont believe him and thinks that he is making fun of her. ...read more. Middle Another problem we see encountered in this play is people falling in love due to mistaken identities. People can be made to fall in love with the first person they see when a magic love-juice that is found in a flower is applied to their eye. This is trying to show the idea that love is blind. This is represented in two different ways throughout the play.

In one example Titania falls completely in love with Bottom who has the head of an ass, I think that this represents the way people try to kid themselves that someone is something they are not. It is also shown in another sense when Helena falls in love with Demetrius, even though he treats her horribly. But as Titania and Bottom never were truly in love they break up, while Helena and Demetrius end up together as they were in fact in love with each other. Shakespeare is pointing out that, as in Helena and Demetrius' case people still manage to love each other despite people's faults. ...read more. Conclusion It gives the impression that the members of the audience are also fairies. Although we see that the course of true love encounters many barriers and pitfalls, lovers will ultimately end up together if they are truly in love, as is shown with Oberon and Titania and Lysander and Hermia. Shakespeare is showing that it can exist but it must endure hardships if it is going to stand the test of time. Couples such as Titania and Bottom who are together entirely by the influence of "magic" will never last as they are not truly in love with each other.

Throughout the play we can see Shakespeare toy with the theme of love as he changes peoples idea of who they love very frequently. He shows the audience how what appears to be true love can be changed and manipulated. This changing of love shows us that the course of true love never does run smooth but when there is actually true love then love will prevail. Sam Tiernan 11P ...read more. The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Love Poetry section. Found what you're looking for? Start learning 29% faster today 150,000+ documents available No Fear Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act 1, Scene 1, Page 5 A Midsummer Night’s Dream I must confess that I have heard so much And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof, But being overfull of self-affairs, My mind did lose it.—But, Demetrius, come. And come, Egeus. You shall go with me.

I have some private schooling for you both.— For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself To fit your fancies to your father’s will, Or else the law of Athens yields you up (Which by no means we may extenuate) To death, or to a vow of single life.— Come, my Hippolyta. What cheer, my love?— Demetrius and Egeus, go along. I must employ you in some business Against our nuptial and confer with you Of something nearly that concerns yourselves. THESEUS I have to admit I’ve heard something about that, and meant to ask Demetrius about it, but I was too busy with personal matters and it slipped my mind.—Anyway, Demetrius and Egeus, both of you, come with me. I want to say a few things to you in private.—As for you, beautiful Hermia, get ready to do what your father wants, because otherwise the law says that you must die or become a nun, and there’s nothing I can do about that.—Come with me, Hippolyta. How are you, my love?—Demetrius and Egeus, come with us.

I want you to do some things for our wedding, and I also want to discuss something that concerns you both. EGEUS With duty and desire we follow you. EGEUS We’re following you not only because it is our duty, but also because we want to. Exeunt. Manent LYSANDER and HERMIA They all exit except LYSANDER and HERMIA. LYSANDER How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale? How chance the roses there do fade so fast? LYSANDER What’s going on, my love? Why are you so pale? Why have your rosy cheeks faded so quickly? 130 Belike for want of rain, which I could well Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes. HERMIA Probably because my cheeks' roses needed rain, which I could easily give them with all the tears in my eyes. 135 Ay me! For aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth. But either it was different in blood— LYSANDER Oh, honey! Listen, in books they say that true love always faces obstacles.

Either the lovers have different social standings— A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 1, Scene 1 A Midsummer Night's Dream : Act 1, Scene 1 THESEUS: Duke of Athens HIPPOLYTA: Queen of the Amazons betrothed to Theseus PHILOSTRATE: Master of the Revels to Theseus Location: Theseus's castle in Athens Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, 1 Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour 2 Draws on apace; four happy days bring in 3 Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow 4. lingers: delays the fulfillment of. 4 This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires, 5. step-dame: stepmother. dowager: a widow who has rights to revenue from an estate during her lifetime. Hippolyta and Theseus 11. solemnities: i.e., marriage rites. 13. pert: lively, brisk. 15. companion: fellow (contemptuous). pomp: ceremonial splendor. 5 Like to a step-dame or a dowager 6 Long withering out a young man's revenue.

7 Four days will quickly steep themselves in night; 8 Four nights will quickly dream away the time; 9 And then the moon, like to a silver bow 10 New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night 11 Of our solemnities. 12 Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments; 13 Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth; 14 Turn melancholy forth to funerals; 15 The pale companion is not for our pomp. [Exit PHILOSTRATE.] 16-17. I woo'd thee with my sword, / And won thy love, doing thee injuries: Theseus captured Queen Hippolyta during his military conquest of the Amazons. 16 Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword, 17 And won thy love, doing thee injuries; 18 But I will wed thee in another key, 19. triumph: public festival and spectacle. 19 With pomp, with triumph and with revelling. Enter EGEUS and his daughter HERMIA LYSANDER: loved by Hermia DEMETRIUS: suitor to Hermia and LYSANDER and DEMETRIUS.

22 Full of vexation come I, with complaint 23 Against my child, my daughter Hermia. 24 Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord, 25 This man hath my consent to marry her. 26 Stand forth, Lysander: and my gracious duke, 27 This man hath bewitch'd the bosom of my child; 28 Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes, 29 And interchanged love-tokens with my child: 30 Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung, 31 With feigning voice verses of feigning love, 32. stol'n the impression of her fantasy: stealthily and dishonestly stamped . . . more 33. bracelets of thy hair: Hair bracelets were a common love token . . . more 34. Knacks: knickknacks. 38. harshness: i.e., disobedience. 39. Be it so: if.

32 And stol'n the impression of her fantasy 33 With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits, 34 Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats, messengers 35 Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth: 36 With cunning hast thou filch'd my daughter's heart, 37 Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me, 38 To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke, 39 Be it so she will not here before your grace 40 Consent to marry with Demetrius, 41 I beg the ancient privilege of Athens, 42 As she is mine, I may dispose of her: 43 Which shall be either to this gentleman 44 Or to her death, according to our law 45. Immediately provided in that case: i.e., as the law expressly provides for in such a case. 45 Immediately provided in that case. 46. Be advis'd: consider well. 46 What say you, Hermia?

Be advis'd fair maid: 47 To you your father should be as a god; 48 One that composed your beauties, yea, and one 49. a form in wax: i.e., an impression in a wax seal, of the kind that would be attached to an official document to prove its authenticity. 51. leave: i.e., leave unchanged. disfigure: obliterate. 49 To whom you are but as a form in wax 50 By him imprinted and within his power 51 To leave the figure or disfigure it. 52 Demetrius is a worthy gentleman. 58 I do entreat your grace to pardon me. 59 I know not by what power I am made bold, 60. how it may concern: whether it befit. 60 Nor how it may concern my modesty, 61 In such a presence here to plead my thoughts; 62 But I beseech your grace that I may know 63 The worst that may befall me in this case, 64 If I refuse to wed Demetrius. 65. die the death: be put to death by judicial sentence.

abjure: to renounce on oath, forswear; to withdraw, retract, recant (a heresy or other opinion or position formerly held). 65 Either to die the death or to abjure 66 For ever the society of men. 67 Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires; 68. Know of your youth: inquire of your youthful feelings. blood: passions. 68 Know of your youth, examine well your blood, 69 Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice, 70. livery: habit, distinctive garb. 70 You can endure the livery of a nun, 71. aye: ever. mew'd: shut up, confined. 71 For aye to be in shady cloister mew'd, 72 To live a barren sister all your life, 73. Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon:Diana, the goddess of chastity, is also the moon . . . more 73 Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon. 74 Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood, 75.

maiden pilgrimage: i.e., journey through life as a virgin. 75 To undergo such maiden pilgrimage; 76. earthlier happy: happier on earth. the rose distill'd: metaphorically, a . . . more 77. thorn: a thorny stem of a rose bush. 78. single blessedness: "divine blessing accorded to a life of celibacy" (Oxford English Dictionary). 76 But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd, 77 Than that which withering on the virgin thorn 78 Grows, lives and dies in single blessedness. 79 So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord, 80. virgin patent: ownership of myself conferred by virginity. "unwished yoke" 81-82. whose unwished yoke / My soul consents not to give sovereignty: i.e., whose unwished union, my soul refuses his reign as husband. 80 Ere I will yield my virgin patent up 81 Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke 82 My soul consents not to give sovereignty.

83 Take time to pause; and, by the next new moon 84 The sealing-day betwixt my love and me, 85 For everlasting bond of fellowship 86 Upon that day either prepare to die 87 For disobedience to your father's will, 88. Or: either. as he would: as he desires. 88 Or else to wed Demetrius, as he would; 89. protest: vow. 89 Or on Diana's altar to protest 90 For aye austerity and single life. 91 Relent, sweet Hermia: and, Lysander, yield 92. crazed: cracked, unsound, flawed. title: claim to possession. 92 Thy crazed title to my certain right. 93 You have her father's love, Demetrius; 94 Let me have Hermia's: do you marry him. 95 Scornful Lysander! true, he hath my love, 96. render him: give to him. 96 And what is mine my love shall render him. 97 And she is mine, and all my right of her 98.

estate unto: settle or bestow upon. 98 I do estate unto Demetrius. 99. well deriv'd: well born. 99 I am, my lord, as well deriv'd as he, 100. As well possess'd: endowed with equal wealth. 100 As well possess'd; my love is more than his; 101. My fortunes every way as fairly rank'd: my situation and prospects are, in every way, just as good as. 102. with vantage: better. 101 My fortunes every way as fairly rank'd, 102 If not with vantage, as Demetrius'; 103 And, which is more than all these boasts can be, 104 I am beloved of beauteous Hermia: 105 Why should not I then prosecute my right? 106. head: i.e., face. SparkNotes: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Themes, Symbols, & Motifs A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

Love’s Difficulty “The course of true love never did run smooth,” comments Lysander, articulating one of A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s most important themes—that of the difficulty of love (I.i.134). Though most of the conflict in the play stems from the troubles of romance, and though the play involves a number of romantic elements, it is not truly a love story; it distances the audience from the emotions of the characters in order to poke fun at the torments and afflictions that those in love suffer. The tone of the play is so lighthearted that the audience never doubts that things will end happily, and it is therefore free to enjoy the comedy without being caught up in the tension of an uncertain outcome. The theme of love’s difficulty is often explored through the motif of love out of balance—that is, romantic situations in which a disparity or inequality interferes with the harmony of a relationship.

The prime instance of this imbalance is the asymmetrical love among the four young Athenians: Hermia loves Lysander, Lysander loves Hermia, Helena loves Demetrius, and Demetrius loves Hermia instead of Helena—a simple numeric imbalance in which two men love the same woman, leaving one woman with too many suitors and one with too few. The play has strong potential for a traditional outcome, and the plot is in many ways based on a quest for internal balance; that is, when the lovers’ tangle resolves itself into symmetrical pairings, the traditional happy ending will have been achieved. Somewhat similarly, in the relationship between Titania and Oberon, an imbalance arises out of the fact that Oberon’s coveting of Titania’s Indian boy outweighs his love for her. Later, Titania’s passion for the ass-headed Bottom represents an imbalance of appearance and nature: Titania is beautiful and graceful, while Bottom is clumsy and grotesque. Magic The fairies’ magic, which brings about many of the most bizarre and hilarious situations in the play, is another element central to the fantastic atmosphere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Shakespeare uses magic both to embody the almost supernatural power of love (symbolized by the love potion) and to create a surreal world. Although the misuse of magic causes chaos, as when Puck mistakenly applies the love potion to Lysander’s eyelids, magic ultimately resolves the play’s tensions by restoring love to balance among the quartet of Athenian youths. Additionally, the ease with which Puck uses magic to his own ends, as when he reshapes Bottom’s head into that of an ass and recreates the voices of Lysander and Demetrius, stands in contrast to the laboriousness and gracelessness of the craftsmen’s attempt to stage their play. Dreams As the title suggests, dreams are an important theme in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; they are linked to the bizarre, magical mishaps in the forest. Hippolyta’s first words in the play evidence the prevalence of dreams (“Four days will quickly steep themselves in night, / Four nights will quickly dream away the time”), and various characters mention dreams throughout (I.i.7–8).

The theme of dreaming recurs predominantly when characters attempt to explain bizarre events in which these characters are involved: “I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what / dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about t’expound this dream,” Bottom says, unable to fathom the magical happenings that have affected him as anything but the result of slumber. Shakespeare is also interested in the actual workings of dreams, in how events occur without explanation, time loses its normal sense of flow, and the impossible occurs as a matter of course; he seeks to recreate this environment in the play through the intervention of the fairies in the magical forest. At the end of the play, Puck extends the idea of dreams to the audience members themselves, saying that, if they have been offended by the play, they should remember it as nothing more than a dream. This sense of illusion and gauzy fragility is crucial to the atmosphere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as it helps render the play a fantastical experience rather than a heavy drama. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.

Contrast The idea of contrast is the basic building block of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The entire play is constructed around groups of opposites and doubles. Nearly every characteristic presented in the play has an opposite: Helena is tall, Hermia is short; Puck plays pranks, Bottom is the victim of pranks; Titania is beautiful, Bottom is grotesque. Further, the three main groups of characters (who are developed from sources as varied as Greek mythology, English folklore, and classical literature) are designed to contrast powerfully with one another: the fairies are graceful and magical, while the craftsmen are clumsy and earthy; the craftsmen are merry, while the lovers are overly serious. Contrast serves as the defining visual characteristic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with the play’s most indelible image being that of the beautiful, delicate Titania weaving flowers into the hair of the ass-headed Bottom. It seems impossible to imagine two figures less compatible with each other. The juxtaposition of extraordinary differences is the most important characteristic of the play’s surreal atmosphere and is thus perhaps the play’s central motif; there is no scene in which extraordinary contrast is not present.

Symbols Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. Theseus and Hippolyta Theseus and Hippolyta bookend A Midsummer Night’s Dream, appearing in the daylight at both the beginning and the end of the play’s main action. They disappear, however, for the duration of the action, leaving in the middle of Act I, scene i and not reappearing until Act IV, as the sun is coming up to end the magical night in the forest. Shakespeare uses Theseus and Hippolyta, the ruler of Athens and his warrior bride, to represent order and stability, to contrast with the uncertainty, instability, and darkness of most of the play. Whereas an important element of the dream realm is that one is not in control of one’s environment, Theseus and Hippolyta are always entirely in control of theirs. Their reappearance in the daylight of Act IV to hear Theseus’s hounds signifies the end of the dream state of the previous night and a return to rationality.

The Love Potion The love potion is made from the juice of a flower that was struck with one of Cupid’s misfired arrows; it is used by the fairies to wreak romantic havoc throughout Acts II, III, and IV. Because the meddling fairies are careless with the love potion, the situation of the young Athenian lovers becomes increasingly chaotic and confusing (Demetrius and Lysander are magically compelled to transfer their love from Hermia to Helena), and Titania is hilariously humiliated (she is magically compelled to fall deeply in love with the ass-headed Bottom). The love potion thus becomes a symbol of the unreasoning, fickle, erratic, and undeniably powerful nature of love, which can lead to inexplicable and bizarre behavior and cannot be resisted. The Craftsmen’s Play The play-within-a-play that takes up most of Act V, scene i is used to represent, in condensed form, many of the important ideas and themes of the main plot. Because the craftsmen are such bumbling actors, their performance satirizes the melodramatic Athenian lovers and gives the play a purely joyful, comedic ending.

Pyramus and Thisbe face parental disapproval in the play-within-a-play, just as Hermia and Lysander do; the theme of romantic confusion enhanced by the darkness of night is rehashed, as Pyramus mistakenly believes that Thisbe has been killed by the lion, just as the Athenian lovers experience intense misery because of the mix-ups caused by the fairies’ meddling. The craftsmen’s play is, therefore, a kind of symbol for A Midsummer Night’s Dream itself: a story involving powerful emotions that is made hilarious by its comical presentation. A Midsummer Night s Dream - the Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth Essay - 1441 Words «LOVE, LOVING AND FALLING IN LOVE» Talita Eugenia Sigillo [pic] "The course of true love never did run smooth." Many plays could be written on the theme of love, but ‘A midsummer nights dream’ by William Shakespeare gives a twist to the traditional notion of love. A mid summer nights dream is a museum portraying the various types of love. Parental love, Romantic young love, arranged love, and also ‘forced love’ are amongst the many types of love Shakespeare demonstrates.

In the opening act of the play, Egeus, Hermia’s father, has gone to the Duke of Athens to force his daughter to marry Demetrius whom she refuses to marry due to the fact that she is in love with Lysander. In this act Shakespeare cunningly portrays Parental love of that era that unlike today’s, was a love of possession and power. A Father had the right to dispose of his daughter as he wished without her having any say in it. She was his property and he loved her as he would love an asset, not with the unconditional love of sacrifice. EGEUS: .... I beg the ancient privilege of Athens, As she is mine, I may dispose of her: Which shall be either to this gentleman Or to her death, according to our law Immediately provided in that case. (sceen 1, Act 1 line 41-45) One of the most prevailing themes of love is that of romantic, young love. It is portrayed as an emotion that lacks logical sense, one that is spontaneous, tragic, and disregards consequences. Hermia is madly in love with Lysander whom her father does not approve of.

Because of this Hermia tragically declares that she will give up her life either to the nuns or death rather that marry Demetrious who her father consents to her marrying. HERMIA: So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord, Ere I will my virgin patent up Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke My soul consents not to give sovereignty. (sceen 1, Act 1 lines 79-82) Hermia and Lysander spontaneously decide to run away from Athens to get married, leaving behind their life and families to live out their young love. Similar is the attitude in Helena’s love for Demetrious. Helena is portrayed as a comical-tragic figure that is desperately in love with the wrong man, for Demetrious is in love with Hermia. She is so devoted to dedicate her life in making Demetrious fall in love with her, so much she compares herself to a loyal ‘dog:’ HELENA: And even for that do I love you the more.

I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius, The more you beat me, I will fawn on you: Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave, Unworthy as I am, to follow you. What worser place can I beg in your love,-- And yet a place of high respect with me,-- Than to be used as you use your dog? (Act2, Sceen1 line 202-210) The above quote shows to what extent young romantic love erases logic and self dignity. Shakespeare demonstrates this through the exaggerated expressions between the four young lovers and their disputes. The love portrayed between Theseus and Hippolyta shows yet another aspect of ‘love.’ Theseus demanded Hippolyta’s love initially without them actually having fallen in love. Hippolyta was a warrior bride; she was clamed by Theseus as his bride, without any mutual feelings on his part. During the course of their relationship though, the love between them grew to be mutual.

Hippolyta started to respect and love Theseus so much that the myth says that she could not bear getting over him once she was replaced with Phaedra. THESEUS: Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword, And won thy love, doing thee injuries; But I will wed thee in another key, With pomp, with triumph and with... "The course of true love never did run smooth." A Comparison of Romeo and Juliet & A Midsummer Night s Dream honors student Essay ...A Midsummer Nights Dream can be compared with the play Romeo and Juliet. They both encompass many of the same themes of love. Love is prohibited, true, lustful, and desired. In A Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander demonstrated the overriding theme of both plays, "The path of love never did run smooth" (1.i.14). The... 614 Words | 2 Pages the Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth Problem-Solving in a Midsummer Night s Dream and the Changeling Essay ...I. Introduction Comparing Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Middleton’s The Changeling seems to be a very unusual topic for the first sight.

The earlier is a festive merry comedy and the latter is said to be a revenge tragedy, moreover, is claimed to be a later transformation of Shakespeare’s Othello. Certainly, if we look at the structure of The Changeling on the surface we see a plot of a conventional drama of revenge, but as we observe... 2726 Words | 7 Pages the Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth Discuss Essay ...‘The course of true love never did run smooth’ Discuss Sorrel Nation Within the play, ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’, the importance of courtship and marriage is indicated, as is that of love and marriage. One of the ideas in the play is that there is a significant... 1046 Words | 3 Pages The course of true love never did run smoothly Essay ...The Course of True Love Never Did Run Smoothly In the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by William Shakespeare, it is true that “the course of true love never did run smoothly”. The two couples Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius both experience many...

464 Words | 2 Pages Love in a Midsummer Night s Dream Essay ...play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, love is impulsive; it changes hearts and minds in an instant. Although magic and fairy mischief is a large part of the play, this theme is still portrayed for the quick changing hearts of young lovers. Shakespeare does a wonderful job of portraying that quickly changing love known to young people. In the play love’s restlessness is shown when the fairy Queen falls in... 821 Words | 3 Pages Love in Midsummer Night s Dream Essay ...﻿Gabriel Elisavetsky 10/15/2013 Per. 3 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Essay In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, the adventurous story of love is clearly apparent throughout the play. The quest for love has the power to make us foolish and irrational. In the play, magic love juice from flowers causes characters to fall irregularly in and out of... 876 Words | 3 Pages Explore the Way the Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth in a Midsummer Night s Dream .

Focus on the Obstacles the Lovers Face and How These Are ...‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ features many aspects of love which connects the three worlds presented in the play; court, workers and fairies. This causes love to be an important theme in the play and it involves several of the characters. Shakespeare orchestrates a situation where love is complicated and this means that the lovers have to face many obstacles in the course of ‘A... 1918 Words | 5 Pages Types of Love in "A Midsummer Night s Dream Essay ... English 1102 10/29/2012 Types of love in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”: In the play, “A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare, several examples of love’s association with a higher power are presented like Theseus arranging a marriage between himself and Hippolyta, Egeus choosing who Hermia should marry and the fairies who have the ability to control love in the... 1846 Words | 5 Pages

Question: """The course of true love never did run smooth"" is a line from which play?"
Answer: Midsummer Night's Dream