Theme Of Duty In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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In his play A Midsummer Night 's Dream, William Shakespeare explores the various themes of opposition, and the effect they have on his characters. One such theme is that of duty as opposed to desire. Duty is a moral or legal obligation, an action or task that one is required to perform. While desire is a strong want or longing for something.
The first example of duty as opposed to desire comes within the first monolog of the play. Theseus, the Duke of Athens expresses his frustration of having to wait four more days before he can get married. He complains that in his opinion, time is moving too slowly. He grows impatient. He desires the nuptial day to arrive so he may wed and then bed Hippolyta. As queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta on the other
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He desires to betroth his daughter, Hermia to Demetrius. Hermia however loves and desires Lysander. Egeus thinks Lysander has falsely won his daughter 's heart and turned her against him. Egeus is Hermia 's father and according to Athenian law has the right to pick who she marries. Egeus has a duty to select the best husband for his daughter and he has chosen Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plead their case, but to no avail. Egeus desires his daughter to obey him, follow the law, do her duty, or suffer the consequences. The Duke sympathizes with them. He has no desire to execute Hermia or banish her to a nunnery, but if she goes against her father 's wishes, he will do his duty and uphold the law. This leaves Lysander and Hermia with no other option but to run away to where the Athenian law cannot find them. In order to fulfill their desire to marry each other, they reject their duty and disobey the law. They confided their plan to Helena, a dear friend of Hermia. Helena should feel a duty to keep her friend 's confidence. However, she deeply desires Demetrius and as a result, informs him of the plan in order to win his favor. Later in the play the four young lovers will have their duties and desires turned upside down by the casing of a love spell. Love turns into hate, hate into love, and friends into enemies. Although outside …show more content…
Oberon and Titania are at odds over a changeling boy. Their quarrel has grown so severe that it is causing chaos and disorder in the world around them. Natural disasters have followed in the wake of their discord. They trade barbs, each accusing the other of infidelity. They are both continually trying to gain the upper hand. Oberon wants to make the boy an attendant. He believes, as his wife, Titania should honor his request and give him the boy. Titania believes that as his wife Oberon should show her more respect. Titania explains that the boy 's mother was a devoted worshipper who died giving birth to the child. Titania now feels a duty to raise the boy as her own. Unmoved, Oberion once again asks Titania to hand over the child. Titania rejects his request and leaves him. The couple is at an impasse. His desires unfulfilled, a vengeful Oberion casts a spell on Titania. Under the influence of this spell, Titania falls in love with Bottom, a country weaver turned into an ass by the mischievous Puck. With all her attention focused on Bottom, Titania neglects her duty to the changeling boy and loses all desire to keep him. When Oberon again makes his request, Titania gives the boy up without a fight. It would appear that Oberon 's first duty is to himself and he is willing to resort to trickery in order to get what he

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