No Fear Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Characters A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 1, Scene 1 Theseus The duke of Athens. Theseus is a hero from Greek mythology—he refers to the fact that he’s Hercules' cousin at one point—so his presence signals to the reader that the play takes place in a mythical Greek past. At the beginning of the play, Theseus has recently returned from conquering the Amazons, a race of warrior women, and is about to marry the conquered Amazon queen, Hippolyta. Because of this impending wedding, the mood of the play is one of holiday festivity, characterized by a heightened sense of erotic expectation and anticipation. Theseus himself projects confidence, authority, and benevolent power. Hippolyta The legendary queen of the Amazons, engaged to marry Theseus. Although Hippolyta is marrying Theseus because he defeated her in combat, she does not act at all like an unwilling bride. Theseus is very courtly in his manner toward Hippolyta, and she is unfailingly deferential toward him. Egeus A respected nobleman in Theseus’s court.

Egeus complains to Theseus that his daughter, Hermia, refuses to marry Demetrius, Egeus’s choice for her. Egeus’s wish to control his daughter is quite severe—he asks Theseus to impose the death penalty on her if she refuses to marry Demetrius. Theseus, however, reduces the penalty for noncompliance from death to life as a nun. Hermia Egeus’s daughter. Hermia is a beautiful young woman of Athens, and both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with her. Hermia defies her father’s wish that she marry Demetrius because she is in love with Lysander. She is unusually strong-willed and independent—refusing to comply even when Theseus orders her to obey her father—and resolved to elope with Lysander. Hermia is also the childhood friend of Helena. Lysander A young nobleman of Athens in love with Hermia. Although Hermia’s father refuses to let her marry Lysander, Lysander believes that love must conquer all obstacles, so he persuades Hermia to run away from her home and family with him, into the forest. Demetrius A young nobleman of Athens.

In the past, Demetrius acted as if he loved Helena, but after Helena fell in love with him, he changed his mind and pursued Hermia. Emboldened by Egeus’s approval of him, Demetrius is undeterred by the fact that Hermia does not want him. Helena A young woman of Athens in love with Demetrius. Helena has been rejected and abandoned by Demetrius, who had claimed to love her before he met her best friend, Hermia. Consequently, Helena tends to speak in a self-pitying tone. Moreover, she puts herself in dangerous and humiliating situations, running through the forest at night after Demetrius even though Demetrius wants nothing to do with her. Robin Goodfellow A “puck” or mischievous fairy who delights in playing pranks on mortals; he is sometimes referred to simply as Puck. Robin is Oberon’s jester, and his antics are responsible for many of the complications that propel the play. At Oberon’s bidding, Robin sprinkles “love juice” in the eyes of various characters to change who they love, but he makes mistakes in his application that create conflicts Oberon never intended.

Though Robin claims to make these mistakes honestly, he enjoys the conflict and mayhem that his mistakes cause. Oberon The king of the fairies. Oberon begins the play at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom she has kidnapped, but whom Oberon wants for a knight. Oberon’s desire for revenge on Titania leads him to send Robin to obtain the love-potion flower that creates so much of the play’s confusion and farce. Titania The beautiful queen of the fairies. Titania resists the attempts of her husband, Oberon, to make a knight of the young Indian prince whom she has taken. Until Oberon gives up his demand, Titania has sworn to avoid his company and his bed. She is less upset by the fact that she and Oberon are apart than by the fact that Oberon has been disrupting her and her followers' magic fairy dances. Nick Bottom The overconfident weaver chosen to play Pyramus in a play that a group of craftsmen have decided to put on for Theseus’s wedding celebration. Bottom is full of advice and self-confidence but frequently makes silly mistakes and misuses language.

His simultaneous nonchalance about the beautiful Titania’s sudden love for him and unawareness of the fact that Puck has transformed his head into that of an ass mark the pinnacle of his foolish arrogance. Peter Quince A carpenter and the nominal leader of the craftsmen’s attempt to put on a play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Quince is often shoved aside by the abundantly confident Bottom. During the craftsmen’s play, Quince plays the Prologue. Francis Flute The bellows-mender chosen to play Thisbe in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Forced to play a young girl in love, the bearded craftsman determines to speak his lines in a high, squeaky voice. Robin Starveling The tailor chosen to play Thisbe’s mother in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Robin Starveling ends up playing the part of Moonshine. Tom Snout The tinker chosen to play Pyramus’s father in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration. Tom Snout ends up playing the part of Wall, dividing the two lovers. Snug The joiner chosen to play the lion in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’s marriage celebration.

Snug worries that his roaring will frighten the ladies in the audience. Philostrate Theseus’s Master of the Revels, responsible for organizing the entertainment for the duke’s marriage celebration. Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, and Mustardseed The fairies whom Titania orders to wait on Bottom after she falls in love with him. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Act 1, Scene 1 Summary 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Act 1, Scene 1 Summary Updated September 01, 2015. Act 1 Scene 1 Theseus, the Duke of Athens enters with Hippolyta who he is betrothed to and Philostrate the Master of the Revels among others. Theseus is impatient for his nuptials , he promises Hippolyta that their wedding will be a triumph and that everyone will enjoy it. Egeus enters with his daughter Hermia and Lysander and Demetrius. Egeus is angry with Hermia because she does not want to marry his chosen suitor Demetrius. Hermia wants to marry Lysander, Lysander and Demetrius are both in love with Hermia.

Egeus asks Theseus if he can dispose of his daughter if she does not do as he says. Theseus advises Hermia that her father’s word is final and that Demetrius is a good choice of suitor. Hermia argues that Lysander is just as good. She asks Theseus what her fate would be if she refuses to wed Demetrius. Theseus explains that she may be killed or she may have to live like a nun and have no contact with men whatsoever. Theseus tells Hermia to take her time to think about her options and on his wedding day she must decide whether she must die or marry Demetrius or swear to live a single austere life. continue reading below our video Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream Overview Lysander tries to appeal to Demetrius to give Hermia up but Egeus interjects and tells him that he has chosen Demetrius. Lysander beseeches Egeus to change his mind professing his love for Hermia and his equal status and fortune to Demetrius. He then explains that Helena is deeply in love with Demetrius. Theseus says that he has heard about Helena’s love for Demetrius.

He asks Egeus and Demetrius to go with him to discuss some urgent business. He reminds Hermia about her options; marriage, death or a vow to live a single life. All leave the stage but Lysander and Hermia. Hermia tells Lysander how upset she is about the situation. Lysander comes up with a plan; he tells Hermia that he has a widow aunt who treats him as if he were her own. She lives far away from Athens and they could go there and be married no one would ever find them. He says to meet him in the wood where they once celebrated May morning. Hermia promises to meet with Lysander as Helena enters. Helena is upset about Demetrius being in love with Hermia. She longs to be like Hermia in order for Demetrius to take notice of her. Hermia tells Helena that the more she disparages Demetrius the more he likes her, Helena says the more she loves him the more he hates her. Hermia tells Helena that she and Lysander plan to elope and when that happens she will have Demetrius to herself.

Hermia explains that she once loved Athens but now it is like hell. Hermia tells Helena that she will meet Lysander in the wood where she and Helena would go and tell each other their secrets and from there they will seek new friends and ‘stranger companies.’ Hermia wishes Helena luck with Demetrius and they leave. Helena explains that she is as good as Hermia and before he was in love with her, Demetrius loved Helena. Helena resolves to tell Demetrius of Hermia’s plan to elope. Knowing that Demetrius will go into the woods to find Hermia, Helena plans to follow him and hopes that Demetrius will thank her for telling him about Hermia’s plan and will fall in love with her again. Looking for the next scene? Please visit our Study Guide , where you can find a full list of all scene by scene guides to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This scene by scene guide is designed to read alongside the play and act as a companion to the original text.

A Midsummer Night's Dream eBook by William Shakespeare - 1230000211733 | Kobo Show more Show less A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and Hippolyta. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors, who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world. The play features three interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, which is set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon. In the opening scene, Hermia refuses to follow her father Egeus' instructions to marry Demetrius, whom he has chosen for her, because she wishes to marry another man named Lysander.

In response, Egeus invokes before Theseus an ancient Athenian law whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong chastity while worshipping the goddess Diana as a nun. At that same time, Peter Quince and his fellow players gather to produce a stage play, "the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe", for the Duke and the Duchess.[2] Quince reads the names of characters and bestows them to the players. Nick Bottom, who is playing the main role of Pyramus, is over-enthusiastic and wants to dominate others by suggesting himself for the characters of Thisbe, the Lion, and Pyramus at the same time. He would also rather be a tyrant and recites some lines of Ercles. Quince ends the meeting with "at the Duke's oak we meet". Meanwhile, Oberon, king of the fairies, and his queen, Titania, have come to the forest outside Athens. Titania tells Oberon that she plans to stay there until she has attended Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding.

Oberon and Titania are estranged because Titania refuses to give her Indian changeling to Oberon for use as his "knight" or "henchman," since the child's mother was one of Titania's worshippers. Oberon seeks to punish Titania's disobedience, so he calls for his mischievous court jester Puck or "Robin Goodfellow" to help him concoct a magical juice derived from a flower called "love-in-idleness", which turns from white to purple when struck by Cupid's arrow. When the concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person, upon waking, falls in love with the first living thing they perceive. He instructs Puck to retrieve the flower with the hope that he might make Titania fall in love with an animal of the forest and thereby shame her into giving up the little Indian boy. He says, "And ere I take this charm from off her sight, / As I can take it with another herb, / I'll make her render up her page to me."[3] Hermia and Lysander have escaped to the same forest in hopes of eloping.

Helena, desperate to reclaim Demetrius's love, tells Demetrius about the plan and he follows them in hopes of killing Lysander. Helena continually makes advances towards Demetrius, promising to love him more than Hermia. However, he rebuffs her with cruel insults against her. Observing this, Oberon orders Puck to spread some of the magical juice from the flower on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Instead, Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius, not having actually seen either before, and administers the juice to the sleeping Lysander. Helena, coming across him, wakes him while attempting to determine whether he is dead or asleep. Upon this happening, Lysander immediately falls in love with Helena. Oberon sees Demetrius still following Hermia and is enraged. When Demetrius decides to go to sleep, Oberon sends Puck to get Helena while he charms Demetrius' eyes. Upon waking up, he sees Helena. Now, both men are in pursuit of Helena. However, she is convinced that her two suitors are mocking her, as neither loved her originally.

Hermia is at a loss to see why her lover has abandoned her, and accuses Helena of stealing Lysander away from her. The four quarrel with each other until Lysander and Demetrius become so enraged that they seek a place to duel each other to prove whose love for Helena is the greatest. Oberon orders Puck to keep Lysander and Demetrius from catching up with one another and to remove the charm from Lysander. Lysander returns to loving Hermia, while Demetrius continues to love Helena. Meanwhile, Quince and his band of six labourers ("rude mechanicals", as they are described by Puck) have arranged to perform their play about Pyramus and Thisbe for Theseus' wedding and venture into the forest, near Titania's bower, for their rehearsal. Bottom is spotted by Puck, who (taking his name to be another word for a jackass) transforms his head into that of a donkey. When Bottom returns for his next lines, the other workmen run screaming in terror, much to Bottom's confusion, since he hasn't felt a thing during the transformation. Determined to wait for his friends, he begins to sing to himself.

Titania is awakened by Bottom's singing and immediately falls in love with him. She lavishes him with attention and presumably makes love to him. While she is in this state of devotion, Oberon takes the changeling. Having achieved his goals, Oberon releases Titania, orders Puck to remove the donkey's head from Bottom, and arranges everything so that Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena will believe that they have been dreaming when they awaken. The fairies then disappear, and Theseus and Hippolyta arrive on the scene, during an early morning hunt. They wake the lovers and, since Demetrius does not love Hermia any more, Theseus overrules Egeus's demands and arranges a group wedding. The lovers decide that the night's events must have been a dream. After they all exit, Bottom awakes, and he too decides that he must have experienced a dream "past the wit of man". In Athens, Theseus, Hippolyta and the lovers watch the six workmen perform Pyramus and Thisbe.

Given a lack of preparation, the performers are so terrible playing their roles to the point where the guests laugh as if it were meant to be a comedy, and afterward everyone retires to bed. Afterward, Oberon, Titania, Puck, and other fairies enter, and bless the house and its occupants with good fortune. After all other characters leave, Puck "restores amends" and suggests to the audience that what they just experienced might be nothing but a dream (hence the name of the play). Buy the eBook William Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 1 Scene 1 | Genius More on Genius About “A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 1 Scene 1” Written around 1595-96, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s sweetest comedies–and also one of his most raucous.

(Many critics have felt that the contradiction is well summed up by Hippolyta’s lines in Act IV: “I never heard / So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.” ) It’s also one of the few Shakespeare plays whose plot is almost entirely original: no major pre-existing version of the story has been found, although Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a likely inspiration. In this first scene, we’re introduced to the duke Theseus and his soon-to-be bride Hippolyta, along with the four lovers whose passions–sometimes stubborn, sometimes changed by supernatural means–will become the center of the comedy: Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius.

Vintage scene summary via Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare, 1878: A Midsummer-Night’s Dream THERE was a law in the city of Athens which gave to its citizens the power of compelling their daughters to marry whomsoever they pleased; for upon a daughter’s refusing to marry the man her father had chosen to be her husband, the father was empowered by this law to cause her to be put to death; but as fathers do not often desire the death of their own daughters, even though they do happen to prove a little refractory, this law was seldom or never put in execution, though perhaps the young ladies of that city were not unfrequently threatened by their parents with the terrors of it. There was one instance, however, of an old man, whose name was Egeus, who actually did come before Theseus (at that time the reigning duke of Athens), to complain that his daughter Hermia, whom he had commanded to marry Demetrius, a young man of a noble Athenian family, refused to obey him, because she loved another young Athenian, named Lysander. Egeus demanded justice of Theseus, and desired that this cruel law might be put in force against his daughter.

Hermia pleaded in excuse for her disobedience, that Demetrius had formerly professed love for her dear friend Helena, and that Helena loved Demetrius to distraction; but this honourable reason, which Hermia gave for not obeying her father’s command, moved not the stern Egeus. Theseus, though a great and merciful prince, had no power to alter the laws of his country; therefore he could only give Hermia four days to consider of it: and at the end of that time, if she still refused to marry Demetrius, she was to be put to death. When Hermia was dismissed from the presence of the duke, she went to her lover Lysander, and told him the peril she was in, and that she must either give him up and marry Demetrius, or lose her life in four days.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream | ﻿Southern Shakespeare Festival Home » About Us » Our History » A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream The play features three interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta, which is set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon. In the opening scene, Hermia refuses to follow her father Egeus’ instructions to marry Demetrius, whom he has chosen for her, because she wishes to marry another man named Lysander. In response, Egeus invokes before Theseus an ancient Athenian law whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong chastity while worshipping the goddess Diana as a nun. At that same time, Peter Quince and his fellow players gather to produce a stage play, “the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe”, for the Duke and the Duchess. Quince reads the names of characters and bestows them to the players.

Nick Bottom, who is playing the main role of Pyramus, is over-enthusiastic and wants to dominate others by suggesting himself for the characters of Thisbe, the Lion, and Pyramus at the same time. He would also rather be a tyrant and recites some lines of Ercles. Quince ends the meeting with “at the Duke’s oak we meet”. Meanwhile, Oberon, king of the fairies, and his queen, Titania, have come to the forest outside Athens. Titania tells Oberon that she plans to stay there until she has attended Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding. Oberon and Titania are estranged because Titania refuses to give her Indian changeling to Oberon for use as his “knight” or “henchman,” since the child’s mother was one of Titania’s worshippers. Oberon seeks to punish Titania’s disobedience, so he calls for his mischievous court jester Puck or “Robin Goodfellow” to help him concoct a magical juice derived from a flower called “love-in-idleness”, which turns from white to purple when struck by Cupid’s arrow.

When the concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person, upon waking, falls in love with the first living thing they perceive. He instructs Puck to retrieve the flower with the hope that he might make Titania fall in love with an animal of the forest and thereby shame her into giving up the little Indian boy. He says, “And ere I take this charm from off her sight, / As I can take it with another herb, / I’ll make her render up her page to me.” Hermia and Lysander have escaped to the same forest in hopes of eloping. Helena, desperate to reclaim Demetrius’s love, tells Demetrius about the plan and he follows them in hopes of killing Lysander. Helena continually makes advances towards Demetrius, promising to love him more than Hermia. However, he rebuffs her with cruel insults against her. Observing this, Oberon orders Puck to spread some of the magical juice from the flower on the eyelids of the young Athenian man. Instead, Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius, not having actually seen either before, and administers the juice to the sleeping Lysander.

Helena, coming across him, wakes him while attempting to determine whether he is dead or asleep. Upon this happening, Lysander immediately falls in love with Helena. Oberon sees Demetrius still following Hermia and is enraged. When Demetrius decides to go to sleep, Oberon sends Puck to get Helena while he charms Demetrius’ eyes. Upon waking up, he sees Helena. Now, both men are in pursuit of Helena. However, she is convinced that her two suitors are mocking her, as neither loved her originally. Hermia is at a loss to see why her lover has abandoned her, and accuses Helena of stealing Lysander away from her. The four quarrel with each other until Lysander and Demetrius become so enraged that they seek a place to duel each other to prove whose love for Helena is the greatest. Oberon orders Puck to keep Lysander and Demetrius from catching up with one another and to remove the charm from Lysander. Lysander returns to loving Hermia, while Demetrius continues to love Helena.

Meanwhile, Quince and his band of six labourers (“rude mechanicals”, as they are described by Puck) have arranged to perform their play about Pyramus and Thisbe for Theseus’ wedding and venture into the forest, near Titania’s bower, for their rehearsal. Bottom is spotted by Puck, who (taking his name to be another word for a jackass) transforms his head into that of a donkey. When Bottom returns for his next lines, the other workmen run screaming in terror, much to Bottom’s confusion, since he hasn’t felt a thing during the transformation. Determined to wait for his friends, he begins to sing to himself. Titania is awakened by Bottom’s singing and immediately falls in love with him. She lavishes him with attention and presumably makes love to him. While she is in this state of devotion, Oberon takes the changeling. Having achieved his goals, Oberon releases Titania, orders Puck to remove the donkey’s head from Bottom, and arranges everything so that Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena will believe that they have been dreaming when they awaken.

The fairies then disappear, and Theseus and Hippolyta arrive on the scene, during an early morning hunt. They wake the lovers and, since Demetrius does not love Hermia any more, Theseus overrules Egeus’s demands and arranges a group wedding. The lovers decide that the night’s events must have been a dream. After they all exit, Bottom awakes, and he too decides that he must have experienced a dream “past the wit of man”. In Athens, Theseus, Hippolyta and the lovers watch the six workmen perform Pyramus and Thisbe. Given a lack of preparation, the performers are so terrible playing their roles to the point where the guests laugh as if it were meant to be a comedy, and everyone retires to bed. Afterward, Oberon, Titania, Puck, and other fairies enter, and bless the house and its occupants with good fortune. After all other characters leave, Puck “restores amends” and suggests to the audience that what they just experienced might be nothing but a dream (hence the name of the play).

FREE MonkeyNotes Study Guide Summary-A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare-CHARACTER ANALYSIS/THESEUS/HIPPOLYTA/HERMIA-Free Book Notes Chapter Summary Plot Synopsis Essay Book Report OVERALL ANALYSES CHARACTER ANALYSIS A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy of situations and confusions, which are further complicated by a group of fairies interfering and interacting with human beings. In short, the play resembles a pleasant dream where no one can be sad or disappointed for long. The interest lies not in the evolution of characters but in the development of the actions and the events that contribute to them. Hence, the characterization is rather shallow with most of the characters not changing from beginning to end. Theseus Theseus is the Duke of Athens, whom Shakespeare depicts as a warrior, a good administrator, and a man of action and emotion. He is the first character seen in the play, as he talks to his fiancée, Hippolyta. Although he has met her on the battlefield as Queen of the Amazons, he has fallen deeply in love with her. They are to be married in four days, and Theseus is eager for the time to pass quickly.

When Egeus interrupts the scene between the lovers, Theseus proves he is capable of immediately changing his role to that of an important and respected leader of the people. Although Egeus is consulting him about a personal problem related to his daughter Hermia, Theseus listens carefully and agrees to enforce an ancient Athenian law at his request. Although he thinks that Egeus is being harsh on his daughter, he knows he must be a fair ruler who enforces the laws that exist. Theseus is not seen again until much later in the play, when he comes into the woods to begin the wedding festivities with a hunting expedition. An expert hunter who is proud of his hounds, Theseus is eager to successfully use his skill; however, he brings the hunting party to an abrupt stop when he notices the two pairs of lovers. When Lysander and Demetrius tell him about their problems, Theseus is not afraid to ignore the protests of Egeus and orders that the weddings of Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius take place along with his own wedding. This action proves that he is a kind, understanding man who is able to share his own limelight. After the marriages take place, Theseus is seen again.

He is in a festive mood and obviously enjoys the marriage celebration, ordering it to continues for a whole week. When Philostane tells Theseus about the entertainment that is available, he chooses to see the play prepared by the craftsmen. He can hardly wait to see a "tragical mirth," even though the master of ceremonies warns him that it is worthless. During the interlude, Theseus is patient with unprofessional actions and gives his full attention to the play, even though he cannot pass up the opportunity to make several witty comments, which shows his good sense of humor. When Hippolyta speaks about the mediocrity of the play, Theseus takes a charitable view. Your browser does not support the IFRAME tag. In summary, Shakespeare has created Theseus as a very likable noble. He is a wise and fair leader of the people, an understanding and kind man, a gentle lover, and an outstanding hunter and warrior. Additionally, he cares about the citizens that he leads, is not too proud to share his limelight, and has a good sense of humor. Hippolyta Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons, a group of woman warriors who had earlier laid siege of Athens, challenging Theseus.

By the beginning of the play, she has surrendered to Theseus and fallen in love with him; her only role is to be his loving fiancée. She speaks little and acts less. In the opening scene, Hippolyta speaks only once, in reply to the love-lorn Theseus; she assures him that the next four days and nights before their wedding will pass quickly. When Hippolyta is seen again in the woods with Theseus, she is portrayed as more of a warrior, speaking about her past experiences with famous heroes, like Hercules and Cadmus. During the wedding festivities, she speaks more than in other parts of the play and has a more assertive tone. When Theseus lightly brushes aside the lovers' version of the previous night as a figment of their imagination, Hippolyta says that however strange the stories may be, they have been corroborated by everyone and must have some truth in them. She also is not as generous as her husband about the quality of the interlude. She finds little pleasure in the play, calling it the "silliest stuff" she has ever heard; she also criticizes the actors, saying they have no imagination. In truth, Hippolyta plays a very insignificant role in this play.

Except for marrying Theseus, she has no part to play. Hermia Of the four young lovers portrayed in the play, Hermia is the liveliest. Bold and intelligent, she has clear-cut views on life, love, and marriage. She is brave enough to oppose her father's choice of her husband and refuses to marry Demetrius, even though Egeus threatens to have her punished if she does not obey. Hermia knows what she wants in marriage and has chosen to make Lysander her husband. In the court of Theseus, she boldly argues with the Duke and defends her love for Lysander, stating that he is a most worthy man. When she finds that her pleas are falling on deaf ears, she wants to know "the worst that may befall me in this case / If I refuse to wed Demetrius." When the Duke pronounces that Athenian law calls for the death sentence, Hermia bravely decides to die rather than yield to man whom she does not love. When Lysander suggests that the two of them run away and get married, she does not hesitate to accept his offer.

After the mischief of Puck, when both Lysander and Demetrius fall in love with her good friend Helena, Hermia is very upset. Unable to understand the change in her lover, she at first thinks he is teasing her. When she realizes that Lysander's professions of love for Helena are earnest, she turns her anger on her friend, accusing her of stealing away her true love. The two women quarrel, but the self-pity and hysteria, which mark Helena's speech, is conspicuously absent in the words of Hermia. Although upset, she is much more in control of her emotions. When Lysander's spell is broken and he again shows his love for Hermia, she seems to forgive her lover and accept what has happened as a strange dream. Once her marriage to Lysander has been approved by Theseus and Egeus, Hermia has little more to say. She does not speak again until the end of the play. Hermia is in many ways a typical heroine of one of Shakespeare's comedies. Although she is intelligent, lively, and well liked by the audience, she is not a full-fledged heroine, like Viola of Twelfth Night or Portia of Merchant of Venice.

She is limited in the play, because she can only act in one of the three worlds represented by Shakespeare; unable to step out of her world of the Athenian gentry, she must share the limelight throughout with other characters. When Puck plays a trick on her, she does not have the power to outwit him, as Portia could do with Shylock. But in her own limited way, Hermia is the heroine of the play. What are examples of external and internal conflicts in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream? | eNotes What are examples of external and internal conflicts in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream? Tamara K. H. | Middle School Teacher | (Level 3) Educator Emeritus Posted on September 6, 2012 at 12:37 AM An internal conflict is the type of conflict that takes place within a character. It refers to the character's thought process, or the decisions the character must make. An internal conflict is also spurred on by a motive and the resolution is central to the plot. In contrast, external conflict takes place between characters.

It is usually a "fight, argument, disagreement, or simply opposition" between two characters or two opposing sides ( Least Tern, "Literary Terms for English" ). Below is an example of both types of conflict. One example of an internal conflict we see in A Midsummer Night's Dream is Hermia's internal conflict. At the beginning of the story, Hermia is faced with the decision of saving herself from punishment by marrying Demetrius, as her father is commanding, or risking punishment by continuing to refuse, even daring to marry Lysander against her father's will. We see a glimmer of the resolution of this internal conflict when, in the opening scene, Lysander persuades Hermia to leave Athens with him so that they can be married in a neighboring aunt's home, thereby escaping the harsh Athenian laws, as we see in his lines: There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee; And to that place the sharp Athenian law Cannot pursue us. (I.i.162-165) Hermia's defiance of her father can also be seen as external conflict.

Hermia's father, Egeus, wants her to marry Demetrius and is threatening her with death if she continues to refuse, but Hermia opposes this idea. As Hermia states, she does not want to "choose love by another's eyes" (I.i.142). Instead, she wishes to marry the man she actually loves, Lysander. Since Hermia and Egeus both have opposing perspectives on what Hermia should do, we can see that their argument is a perfect example of external conflict. Sources: A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 1 Scene 1 Ways to explore the text: Search through some of the different literary terms we have highlighted and find some other examples for yourself. See what parts of the script the director has chosen to cut by clicking on the 'director's edit'. Find out what certain words mean by hovering your cursor over the underlined word or phrase. Enter Egeus, his daughter Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius. Egeus: Happy be Theseus, our renowned Duke. (20) Theseus: Thanks good Egeus. What’s the news with thee?

Egeus: Full of vexationannoyance come I, with complaint Against my child, my daughter Hermia. – Stand forth, Demetrius. – My noble lord, This man hath my consent to marry her. – (25) Stand forth, Lysander. – And my gracious Duke, This man hath bewitch’d the bosom of my child Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes, And interchanged love-tokens with my child. Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung (30) With feigning voice verses of feigning love. And stol’n the impression of her fantasy With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gaudsshowy toys or ornaments, conceitsfancy articles, Knacksknick-knacks or trinkets, trifles, nosegaysflowers, sweetmeats (messengers Of strong prevailment in unharden’d youth). (35) With cunning hast thou filchedstolen my daughter’s heart, Turned her obedience (which is due to me) To stubborn harshness.

And, my gracious Duke, Be it so she will not here, before your Grace, Consent to marry with Demetrius, (40) 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. (45) Theseus: What say you, Hermia? Be advised fair maid. To you your father should be as a god. One that composed your beauties, yea and one To whom you are but as a form in wax By him imprinted, and within his power (50) To leave the figure or disfigure it. Demetrius is a worthy gentleman. Hermia: But in this kind, wanting your father’s voice, The other must be held the worthier. (55) Hermia: I would my father looked but with my eyes. Theseus: Rather your eyes must with his judgment look. Hermia: I do entreat your grace to pardon me. I know not by what power I am made bold, Nor how it may concern my modesty, (60) In such a presence, here to plead my thoughts.

But I beseech your Grace that I may know The worst that may befallhappen or become me in this case, If I refuse to wed Demetrius. Theseus: Either to die the death, or to abjure (65) For ever the society of men. Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires, Know of your youth, examine well your blood, Whether (if you yieldsurrender or submit not to your father’s choice) You can endure the livery of a nunclothes of a nun. (70) For aye to be in shady cloister mewedcaged, To live a barren sister all your life, Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon. Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood, To undergo such maiden pilgrimage, (75) But earthlier happy is the rose distilled, Than that which withering on the virgin thorn, Grows, lives, and dies, in single blessedness.

Hermia: So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord, Ere I will my virgin patentright up Unto his lordship, whose unwishèd yoke (80) My soul consents not to give sovereignty. Theseus: Take time to pause, and, by the next new moon, (The sealing-day betwixt my love and me For everlasting bond of fellowship) Upon that day either prepare to die (85) For disobedience to your father’s will, Or else to wed Demetrius, as he would, Or on Diana’s altar to protest For aye, austeritystrict life and single life. Demetrius: Relent, sweet Hermia, and Lysander, yieldsurrender or submit (90) Thy crazèd title to my certain right. Lysander: You have her father’s love, Demetrius, Let me have Hermia’s. Do you marry him. Egeus: Scornful Lysander! True, he hath my love, And what is mine, my love shall render him. (95) And she is mine, and all my right of her I do estate unto Demetrius.

Lysander: I am, my lord, as well derivedborn or brought up as he, As well possessed. My love is more than his. My fortunes every way as fairly ranked (100) (If not with vantageadvantage) as Demetrius’. And, which is more than all these boasts can be, I am beloved of beauteous Hermia. Why should not I then prosecute my right? Demetrius, I’ll avouch it to his head, (105) Made love to Nedar’s daughter, Helena, And won her soul. And she, sweet lady, dotes, Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry, Upon this spottedlacking in morals and inconstant man. Theseus: I must confess that I have heard so much, (110) And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof. But being over-full 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.

(115) For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself To fit your fancies to your father’s will, Or else the law of Athens yieldsurrender or submits you up (Which by no means we may extenuate) To death, or to a vow of single life. (120) 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. (125) Egeus: With duty and desire we follow you. 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? Hermia: Belike for want of rain, which I could well Beteem them from the tempeststorm of my eyes. (130) 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— Hermia: O cross!

Too high to be enthralled to low. (135) Lysander: Or else misgraffèd in respect of years— Hermia: O spiteTo be nasty! Too old to be engaged to young. Lysander: Or else it stood upon the choice of friends— Hermia: O hell! To choose love by another’s eyes. Lysander: Or, if there were a sympathy in choice, (140) War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it, Making it momentary as a sound, Swift as a shadow, short as any dream, Brief as the lightning in the colliedsooted or grimy night, That, in a spleen, unfolds both heav’n and earth, (145) And ere a man hath power to say “Behold!” The jaws of darkness do devour it up. So quick bright things come to confusion. Hermia: If then true lovers have been ever crossed, It stands as an edictcommand or decree in destiny. (150) Then let us teach our trial patience, Because it is a customary cross, As due to love as thoughts and dreams and sighs, Wishes and tears, poor Fancy’s followers.

Lysander: A good persuasion. Therefore hear me, Hermia, (155) I have a widow aunt, a dowager Of great revenue, and she hath no child. From Athens is her house remote se’en leagues, And she respects me as her only son. There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee, (160) And to that place the sharp Athenian law Cannot pursue us. If thou lov’st me, then Steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night, And in the wood, a league without the town, (Where I did meet thee once with Helena (165) To do observance to a morn of May) There will I stay for thee. Hermia:

Question: In the opening scene of which Shakespeare play does Hermia refuse to marry Demetrius, who her father has chosen for her, because she wishes to marry Lysander?
Answer: A Midsummer Night’s Dream