"The Things We Do For Love", a literary analysis of the way love is portrayed in Shakespeare’s play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Wouldn’t we all agree with the fact that love is an unpredictable strong force that manages to make fools of us? I believe the word magical would be rather fitting in this case, because love has the power of modifying people and the world around them. Its consequences, however, can be more or less favorable. William Shakespeare has outlined, in many of his plays, the fact that love can either have a happy ending or a tragic one, depending on the story created by the writer’s imagination. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, in contrast with the famous “Romeo and Juliet”, chooses a more lighthearted view, using the troubles of romance as an excuse to mock the idea of losing your ration when being, as they say, head over heels in love with somebody. Although the action of the play revolves around the serious matter of impossible love(typical for tragedies), Shakespeare focuses on poking fun at the lovers’ irrational actions. Even though in the Shakespearian society, we definitely cannot talk about equality in gender, the one aspect of life that does treat everyone equally is love. As we navigate through the storyline, we realize that all the couples in the play have one thing in common: they would go to any lengths in the name of love. 

Firstly, we meet Duke Theseus of Athens and his soon-to-be wife, Hippolyta, the former queen of Amazons. Why are they relevant to the idea of love with no rules? Well, for starters, the thing that captures our attention is the fact that Theseus has earned the right to marry Hippolyta by winning a battle against her army. He makes it clear in one of his lines that their relationship was not always an easy one and he also appears to have quite a strange opinion on love, as violence is the way he believes he won his lover’s heart(1.1. 16-17). Moreover, Theseus and Hippolyta seem to have different reactions concerning their wedding. He doesn’t hesitate to express his excitement to consummate their marriage, evoking the motif of the moon as a force that increases his desires(1.1. 3-4). Hippolyta, on the other hand, shows little enthusiasm about the upcoming event and refers to the moon in a more solemn way(1.1. 9-11).

 At Theseus’s court, Hermia and Lysander, another couple of lovebirds, make their appearance. They are the typical illustration of impossible, but passionate love. Since the Athenian law does not allow them to get married unless their families agree, the couple resorts to a desperate solution, deciding to run away together in the forest at night. They both are aware of the fact that they have to do everything in their powers to be together, because, as Lysander says, love never comes easy(1.1. 134). In Hermia’s case, she is forced either to marry a man she doesn’t love, to be sentenced to death or to become a nun. Despite knowing she would suffer the consequences, Hermia never ceases to stand up to her father and the duke in the name of her love for Lysander. If she isn’t allowed to be with the one she loves, she chooses not to have any man in her life(1.1. 79-80). Moreover, the restrictive, unfair rules of society make no sense to the young couple because they have already understood that love follows no rules. 

Helena and Demetrius prove the fact that love is unpredictable and most often makes no sense. This idea is illustrated in the play by Demetrius’s continuous changes of heart. We know that, at first, he charms Helena, then he decides that he wants to marry Hermia, but, in the end, with a little bit of help from the fairies’ magic, he confesses his love for Helena. As for the girl, she is madly in love with Demetrius and the decisions she makes based on her feelings are completely irrational, as she ends up betraying her friends. While she follows Demetrius in the forest like a faithful dog(2.1. 205-207), I couldn’t help but think about some Carole King lyrics that really speak for the character: “Where you lead, I will follow/ Anywhere that you tell me to” (“Where you lead”, 1971). To some readers, her unconditional love for Demetrius may seem absurd, but I believe Shakespeare’s intentions regarding this couple were to shed light upon the mad things people do for love and to make fun of how foolish some characters become when enamored.

Now, if you think magical creatures don’t have any trouble in paradise, you are going to be proven wrong, as the writer outlines the fact that the power of love affects everyone, even the king and queen of fairies, Oberon and Titania. The main conflict between these two is at the level of ideas: Oberon thinks his wife should obey his demands(2.1. 119), while Titania values her independence and her rights. The queen confronts her husband and refuses to give him the changeling boy, all out of love for her friend who gave birth to that child(2.1. 136-137). It’s also love that determines Oberon to resort to a desperate solution (putting Titania under a spell) when he realizes his wife is immune to his charms and won’t do what he asks(2.1. 183-185). We can also distinguish a sort of jealousy between these two and what amuses us is the fact that Titania accuses Oberon of being attracted to “the bouncing Amazon” Hippolyta (2.1. 60-71), while he accuses her of having feelings for Theseus (2.1. 76). What generates laughter is the idea of two very powerful creatures having the same trivial arguments as a mundane couple. And, when you think of it, why should magical creatures be privileged? Why shouldn’t they have the same issues as normal people do? However, in comparison with the other couples in the play, Titania and Oberon’s relationship affects not only them but also the environment, creating a great imbalance in the world’s weather (2.1. 87-92).

The next couple begins its romantic journey as a consequence of a love spell placed on Titania, which is why we might question whether we can talk about real feelings in this case. Probably not regarding both lovers. Why would a beautiful magical creature as Titania be attracted by a commonplace Athenian? Even Bottom questions the reason for her sudden feelings (3.1.136). However, his next statement is not only relevant to their dynamic but also to the entire play, as it refers to the blindness of love(3.1. 137-138). The foolish Bottom might have actually fallen in love with the fairy queen, but, unfortunately for him, the love story only lasts one night. For me, his sad, but also kind of funny situation brought back memories of some lyrics from the song “Will you still love me tomorrow”(1960) by The Shireless: “Tonight, the light of love is in your eyes/ But will you love me tomorrow?”. The next morning, while Titania simply forgets her love for the mortal, Bottom’s mind seems to be still caught up in last night’s events. It’s still questionable whether he is fully conscious of the fact that he has experienced a love greater than any other he had felt in his life, but he does describe the previous night as a “rare vision” (4.1. 203).

All in all, what I think the play tries to outline is the fact that love has no limits, no rules, and no logic. Theseus’s way of winning Hippolyta’s heart through violence, Hermia and Demetrius’s escape plan, Helena’s blind unrequested love for Demetrius, Oberon’s prank on his wife, Titania’s unjustified love for Bottom represent proof of the fact that, in the end, as they say, all is fair in love and war.