In "A Midsummer Night´s Dream", Shakespeare portrays a concept of love that heavily influences the lovers´ behaviour. Therefore, love parallels a kind of madness, not only making people look foolish and blind but also being the only motivation behind their actions. Considering this, one important aspect of love in the play is its irrationality. This paper serves to shed light on aspects of the play which reveal the irrational nature of love. It takes a closer look at who, why and how the four lovers love, all under the perspective of irrationality.
Those aspects will not only be dealt with by looking at the passages of the play that reveal details about the lovers´ ideas of love but also by including claims of various authors of critical essays on the topic. The first chapter serves to find out how the nature of love manifests itself without the fairies´ intervention. In the second chapter, the focus will be on the irrationality of love which is mocked at in the enchanted wood. The paper will conclude by summarizing the most important aspects.
CONTENTS
Introduction
1. The Irrationality of Love without the Fairies´ Intervention
2. The Irrationality of Love in the Enchanted Wood
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
In A Midsummer Night´s Dream, Shakespeare portrays a concept of love that heavily influences the lovers´ behaviour. Therefore, love parallels a kind of madness, not only making people look foolish and blind but also being the only motivation behind their actions. Considering this, one important aspect of love in the play is its irrationality. This paper serves to shed light on aspects of the play which reveal the irrational nature of love. It takes a closer look at who, why and how the four lovers love, all under the perspective of irrationality. Those aspects will not only be dealt with by looking at the passages of the play that reveal details about the lovers´ ideas of love but also by including claims of various authors of critical essays on the topic. The first chapter serves to find out how the nature of love manifests itself without the fairies´ intervention. In the second chapter, the focus will be on the irrationality of love which is mocked at in the enchanted wood. The paper will conclude by summarizing the most important aspects.
1. The Irrationality of Love without the Fairies´ Intervention
Hermia resisting her father´s will can be considered as the introduction of love´s irrationality in the play. If she does not obey Egeus´ will to marry Demetrius the other options are “either to die the death, or to abjure / For ever the society of men” (MND, 1.1.65-66). Hermia still stays true to her love, having in mind that “if then true lovers have been ever cross´d, / It stands as an edict in destiny” (MND, 1.1.150-151). Hermia´s love for Lysander rebels against the authority of her father, who favours Demetrius as her husband and even invokes the authority of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to have his way. Considering that Hermia risks her life to be with Lysander, her love for him is displayed as rather irrational. Her rational choice would be to bow to her father´s will and, therefore, to marry Demetrius.
However, even situations which are lying outside the play and which partly get revealed when the lovers appear in the play, create the early impression of an irrational nature of love. Demetrius, who has “made love to Nedar´s daughter, Helena” (MND, 1.1.107) and then shifted his love to Hermia. There is no reason for his behaviour given, nor do we know whether there exists a reason for the transfer of his love. It would be logical and easier for him to stay with Helena since he probably loved her once and she loves him still. Nevertheless, Demetrius now loves Hermia for some reason, leading into two men loving the same woman. What goes hand in hand with Demetrius´ transfer of his love from Helena to Hermia, is Helena becoming emotionally unstable or mad. So, Demetrius´ rather selfish decision is under the guise of love´s irrationality.
Furthermore, Egeus, who favours Demetrius over Lysander, doubts the truthfulness of Lysander´s love for Hermia and Egeus´ accusations can be interpreted as a series of crimes Lysander should have committed (Garner, 1998): “bewitched the bosom” (MND, 1.1.27) of Hermia, “stol´n the impression of her fantasy” (MND, 1.1.32) “filch´d” (MND, 1.1.36) her heart. Egeus´ word choice suggests that Lysander´s intentions weren´t honourable, not those of true love. The impression is conveyed that Lysander stole Hermia´s heart and, therefore, deprives her of being able to make a rational choice about whom to love. According to Egeus, Lysander´s has cast a spell over Hermia, so her love for him cannot be considered as true or rational love, but as “suddenness of desire” (Kott, 1998, p. 111). As a reader, judgements about the origin of Lysander´s and Hermia´s love cannot be made, for the play only gives insight into the state of affairs when they already are in love.
Being in line with the impression of love to be simply the result of a magical spell, Hermia and Lysander are speaking of being “enthrall´d” (MND, 1.1.136) to love. By that, their “sympathy in choice” (MND, 1.1.141) is “made momentary as a sound” (MND, 1.1.143), “short as any dream” (MND, 1.1.144). The impression of love thereby created is heightened throughout the play and, as claimed by Porter and Clarke, it can be said that this would “be the fate of all the lovers in the play” (1999, p. 350). So “the brisk bit of dialogue between Hermia and Lysander […] forebodes the plot” (Porter & Clarke, 1999, p. 350). Considering that Demetrius´ heart seems or is inconstant, and this also before they all enter the enchanted wood, his sympathy in choice can be described as being made momentary. Since the fairies eventually interfere, it is Lysander´s inescapable fate that his bright love and affection for Hermia “come to confusion” (MND, 1.1.149).
However, it seems that Lysander and Hermia truly love each other as long as magic does not interfere with their fate. We do not know how enduring their love would have been if the fairies had stayed out of the lover´s situation. Initially, Lysander´s and Hermia´s love may not have been one of “full of fast-changing fancies” (Brooke, 1999, p. 367); their love simply has been manipulated. A judgment like the one of Brooke saying that “none of them [the lover´s love] [is] deep or penetrating” (1999, p. 367) is, therefore, difficult to make. Of course, we do not know why Hermia loves Lysander of all people and the other way around, which leaves room for the interpretation of love to be irrational, but we do know that they have definitely loved each other before Lysander was under a magic spell. If we consider Lysander´s transferred affection as magic-made and as a result not being the reflection of his own, real feelings, the depth of his love for Hermia cannot be assessed. In fact, Lysander´s "original" love for Hermia is depicted as enduring, as "neér alter[ing] till [his] […] life end[s]”. (MND, 2.2.61)
Demetrius, in contrast, falls out of love with Helena free from magic´s influence. Taking into consideration that Hermia “frown[s] upon him” (MND, 1.1.194) and “give[s] him curses” (MND, 1.1.196), Demetrius´ love can be said to be irrational. Usually, the love for someone is not strengthened when the person´s affections are not returned, but rather trampled on. Still, “The more [she] hate[s], the more he follows [her]” (MND, 1.1.198). Hermia assures Helena that “His folly […] is no fault of [hers]” (MND, 1.1.200). In this case, Demetrius´ love for Hermia has little in common with the affection for someone which is based on mutual feelings and, therefore, is more reasoned. As a result, Demetrius is considered to be a folly, someone whose actions and feelings make no sense at all.
Similarly, love makes Helena look foolish, too. She pursues Demetrius so desperately that one might think she turned crazy. She says:
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, (MND, 2.1.203-206)
Demetrius tells her that he is sick when he looks at her (cf. MND, 2.1.212); he then even threatens to rape her (cf. MND, 2.1.237). Eventually, Helena goes so far that she imagines “To die upon the hand [she] love[s] so well” (MND, 2.1.243). Demetrius simply “cannot get loose from [her]“ (Garner, 1998, p. 138). Here, Helena seems to be stricken with madness; love is portrayed as fine lunacy, which manifests itself in a completely insane affection for someone who feels the contrary. Helena´s love, therefore, is beyond any rationality. She can be said to act out of her mind.
Helena, without thinking rationally, tells Demetrius about Lysander´s and Hermia´s plan to flee, seeking the chance to be together. Garner suggests that “just as Helena breaks her faith with Hermia to integrate herself with Demetrius, so later she will believe that Hermia has joined with men against her” (Garner, 1998, p. 136). Actually, it is Helena´s initial disloyalty that creates a split between her and Hermia. She is the one who broke faith with her childhood friend in the first place, but then also her distrust is aroused when she is suddenly wooed by Hermia´s lover. Helena is deeply hurt:
All school-days' friendship, childhood innocence?
We, Hermia, like two artificial gods,
Have with our needles created both one flower,
205 Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion,
Both warbling of one song, both in one key;
As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds,
Had been incorporate. So we grew together,
Like to a double cherry, seeming parted
210 But yet an union in partition,
Two lovely berries molded on one stem;
So, with two seeming bodies but one heart;
Two of the first, like coats in heraldry,
215And will you rent our ancient love asunder,
To join with men in scorning your poor friend?
It is not friendly, ’tis not maidenly;
Our sex, as well as I, may chide you for it,
Though I alone do feel the injury. (MND, 3.2.202-219)
Their “one heart“ is broken into two hearts; their long-standing friendship is messed up due to Helena´s betrayal of trust she hoped would bring her closer to Demetrius. At the cost of their friendship, Helena acted only out of love for Demetrius but – by doing so – maybe also out of her mind. “Under love´s cruel driving” (Brooke, 1999, p. 366), their friendship is dissolved.
Before Helena decides to tell Demetrius about Hermia´s and Lysander`s plan, a soliloquy of hers gives insight into her understanding of love:
Love can transpose to form and dignity.
Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.
235 And therefore is wing´d Cupid painted blind.
Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgment taste;
Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste;
And therefore is Love said to be a child,
Because in choice he is so oft beguil´d. (MND, 1.1.233-239)
Kott points at the similarity to the paradox: “Love is blind, because it is above intellect.“ (1998, p. 115) Since Cupid is blind, he is bound to be reckless as a child who lies and breaks promises. According to Kott, “the blindfolded Cupid has been transformed into a blind driving force” (1998, p. 116). Considering that love does not see with the eyes, it could be said that it is irrational as it does not see what everyone else sees, and, therefore, has a higher truth value.
2. The Irrationality of Love in the Enchanted Wood
In the enchanted wood, love becomes even more irrational. Here, “Shakespeare turns to laugh at the folly of youthful love” (Brooke, 1999, p. 366), as it depends only on the juice of a flower. Love does not see with the mind anymore but is portrayed “as if it were only a chance, as if it lay only in the eye” (Brooke, 1999, p. 366).
For Lysander, the love juice is the spring of his no longer affection towards Hermia. He hates the woman he once loved so much, while Demetrius loves Helena who he hated. The irrationality of love is brought to a higher level. One might say: “All is mockery of Love as the maddener, the god of unreason” (Brooke, 1999, p. 366). However, considering love as the god of unreason is not really justified, as it is the fairies who cause the lovers to fall in and out of love with each other in the wood. Neither do the lovers so for a real reason nor do they have an option; they are helplessly dependent on the fairies´ will and pleasure but also on the chance who to see at first, as it is literally "love at first sight". The love for the partner is completely irrational, since “he or she just happens to be the nearest” (Kott, 1998, p. 115).
[...]
- Citar trabajo
- Julia Jenner (Autor), 2019, The Irrational Nature of Love in "A Midsummer Night´s Dream" and How It Is Mirrored in the Lovers´ Behaviour, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1163780
-
-
-
-
¡Carge sus propios textos! Gane dinero y un iPhone X. -
-
¡Carge sus propios textos! Gane dinero y un iPhone X. -
-
¡Carge sus propios textos! Gane dinero y un iPhone X. -
-
¡Carge sus propios textos! Gane dinero y un iPhone X. -
-
¡Carge sus propios textos! Gane dinero y un iPhone X.