Theme Of Love In A Midsummer Night's Dream

In the play “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” love and marriage are important themes that dominate the entire play. Shakespeare is known for revolving his ideas around love, whether it being in a comedy or a poem. In A Midsummer Night 's Dream, love becomes a force that characters cannot control, especially after the love potion is in effect, which turn people into desperate lovers towards someone that may not be right for them. Throughout the play, there are several challenges that the characters have to face regarding relationships. It focuses on different meaning of love, whether its parental, forced, or unrequited. Love drives the whole plot of the play and also influences the way that some characters act and develop in the play. As stated above, marriage and the idea of love are introduced right away in the first scene of the play by Theseus and Hippolyta. Theseus says, “Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Draws on apace. Four happy days bring in Another moon.” (1.1. 1-3). Shakespeare is introducing the theme of …show more content…
The type of love that affects the character’s development the most is unrequited love. According to B.J. Rahn, of the four principals, Helena suffers most through the whole story. She feels intensely the pain of her unrequited passion for Demetrius who repels her quite crudely. “I love thee not, therefore pursue me not/…Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more” (2.2. 188-194) and even threatens her: “Stay, on thy peril; I alone will go” (2.2. 90-93). Though only two of the many characters in the play are deeply affected in this instance, unrequited love is evident in the entire play. Everyone loves a different person, especially between the four lovers. It affects the way they act towards each other once they find out who truly loves who. Overall, the theme of love plays a big role in the way that characters act in the