Midsummer Night's Dream Manipulation Analysis

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Commonly in a comedic play it is said that “all’s well that ends well” in the case of the resolution of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” this is certainly true, the disorder and manipulation caused predominately by is resolved through both Oberon’s guiding wisdom and Puck’s manipulation. There are many happy endings; some of them are more convincing than others, for example Lysander and Hermia’s relationship, would be seen by all audiences as plausible while Demetrius and Helena’s relationship is seen as a manipulation by Puck. A truly happy ending is one where the audience is convinced that the relationship could take place and happen in society of their day.
Modern readers would feel that Hermia and Lysander’s relationship is a good example of
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The adverb “wilfully” indicates that Puck knew that he was manipulating the characters in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Titania is manipulated by Oberon by the use of the juice of a herb, “Fetch me this herb; and be thou here again Ere the leviathan can swim a league.”, the imperative language suggests that he knew that he was manipulating Titania, the juice tricks Titania into becoming a subservient wife and to hand over the boy, this is a happy ending for Oberon as he desired the outcome that he got however, for Titania she was manipulated into giving up her happy ending for Oberon. Oberon’s control over the entire situation in the green world constitutes to the reader that most happy endings that take place in the green world are undesirable as they are …show more content…
Demetrius’ happy ending cannot be counted as true because he is manipulated by Oberon. The fact that Demetrius has a strong aversion to Helena at the start of the play also convinces the audience that the happy ending although is happy for Helena is not for Demetrius, therefore this would not be desired by the audience.
Lysander’s reaction in Act 4 suggests that she has longed for Demetrius to love her back and is happy that he finally loves her back, “And I have found Demetrius like a jewel”, the uses of the simile highlights Helena’s disbelief at the attention and love that she is gaining from Demetrius however in Act 5, Helena seems to have taken on the role that most married women would possess in Athenian society of the subservient wife, as she doesn’t speak in Act 5 at all this implies that she has changed after the events in the woods. Helena’s happy endings can be seen in two lights from two different audiences; one being that the audience feels that the happy ending is true and that they desire for the same or that the audience feel that the happy ending is only real because of Oberon’s manipulation so they do not desire it at all. I feel modern audiences would agree with the latter while Elizabethan

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