Long rides can be unsettling. But, that’s why Lysander and Hermia decided to run away from Athens - to avoid all the obstacles that Egeus would put in the way of the two’s marriage. In the midst of Hermia and Egeus’ conflict over marriage, Lysander tells Hermia that “the course of true love never did run smooth” (I.i.136). He says this to Hermia after her father, Egeus, threatens her livelihood if she decides not to marry Demetrius, who is Egeus’ personal choice for Hermia. Later on in the play, it is found that Hermia’s good friend Helena is in love with Demetrius. But because Demetrius does not love her back (but instead desires Hermia), Helena is treated very poorly. At the end Helena goes through a lengthy process to finally earn Demetrius’
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This shows the control Egeus has over Hermia: even though he knows that Hermia has fallen in love with Lysander, he thinks of Demetrius as the more superior and worthy of his daughter because of his higher class (in comparison to Lysander). Therefore he is forcing his daughter to marry him. In an effort to get Hermia to cooperate, he gets the duke of Athens, Theseus to help.At the end of that meeting, Hermia leaves with a threat to her livelihood. Theseus tells Hermia that “the law of Athens yields you up Which by no means we may extenuate, To death or a vow of single life.”(I.i.121-123) Theseus says that if she decides to not marry Demetrius (against her father’s will) she will either die, or live as a nun (single for the remainder of her life). This supports that “true love never did run smooth” because Lysander and Hermia already have an ongoing relationship, and were deciding to get married, but Egeus got involved and demanded that Hermia should marry Demetrius. This is making the course of true love difficult because it is hindering Hermia and Lysander’s ability to be together. Altogether, the fact that Hermia’s father thought he knew what was best for her supported that “true love never did run smooth.” This is because Hermia and Demetrius would not have true love since Hermia despises him. Instead, Lysander and Hermia would have true love because they love …show more content…
Although they do finally love each other, Helena had crossed along road to be with Demetrius and gain his affection, and to get Demetrius to the point where he wants Helena and not Hermia. For the first act and much of the play, Demetrius only loves Hermia, and gets Hermia’s father to help him marry her. Although he despises Helena and treats her poorly, Helena stays with Demetrius because she has fallen in love with him. In fact, Demetrius gets so irritated by Helena that he threatens her. To which Hermia replies, “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.”(II.i.207-211) This goes to show how much Helena is willing to sacrifice, only to stay with Demetrius. She tells Demetrius that he can do anything to her: beat her, spurn her, neglect her. Only just so she can be with him. She compares herself to a dog, and Demetrius to a dog’s owner- she will always follow her owner. Because she looks at Demetrius in this way, she degrades herself, she thinks of herself as unworthy, and looks at Demetrius as superior and of higher respect. This adds to the phrase, “the course of true love never did run smooth” because although Helena is in “true love” with Demetrius, he has fallen into a state of lust with Hermia. He desires
This shows the control Egeus has over Hermia: even though he knows that Hermia has fallen in love with Lysander, he thinks of Demetrius as the more superior and worthy of his daughter because of his higher class (in comparison to Lysander). Therefore he is forcing his daughter to marry him. In an effort to get Hermia to cooperate, he gets the duke of Athens, Theseus to help.At the end of that meeting, Hermia leaves with a threat to her livelihood. Theseus tells Hermia that “the law of Athens yields you up Which by no means we may extenuate, To death or a vow of single life.”(I.i.121-123) Theseus says that if she decides to not marry Demetrius (against her father’s will) she will either die, or live as a nun (single for the remainder of her life). This supports that “true love never did run smooth” because Lysander and Hermia already have an ongoing relationship, and were deciding to get married, but Egeus got involved and demanded that Hermia should marry Demetrius. This is making the course of true love difficult because it is hindering Hermia and Lysander’s ability to be together. Altogether, the fact that Hermia’s father thought he knew what was best for her supported that “true love never did run smooth.” This is because Hermia and Demetrius would not have true love since Hermia despises him. Instead, Lysander and Hermia would have true love because they love …show more content…
Although they do finally love each other, Helena had crossed along road to be with Demetrius and gain his affection, and to get Demetrius to the point where he wants Helena and not Hermia. For the first act and much of the play, Demetrius only loves Hermia, and gets Hermia’s father to help him marry her. Although he despises Helena and treats her poorly, Helena stays with Demetrius because she has fallen in love with him. In fact, Demetrius gets so irritated by Helena that he threatens her. To which Hermia replies, “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.”(II.i.207-211) This goes to show how much Helena is willing to sacrifice, only to stay with Demetrius. She tells Demetrius that he can do anything to her: beat her, spurn her, neglect her. Only just so she can be with him. She compares herself to a dog, and Demetrius to a dog’s owner- she will always follow her owner. Because she looks at Demetrius in this way, she degrades herself, she thinks of herself as unworthy, and looks at Demetrius as superior and of higher respect. This adds to the phrase, “the course of true love never did run smooth” because although Helena is in “true love” with Demetrius, he has fallen into a state of lust with Hermia. He desires