Tayts 1
Daniel Tayts
Mr. Slonaker
English 12
16 March 2015
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Comparison Essay Love is a very powerful and compelling force, and this is exemplified in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. All of the characters are intertwined in a massive web of love, and desire. However, there is a great deal of conflict within this web. The main character, Hermia, is madly in love with Lysander. She is not the least bit interested in Demetrius – however, Demetrius has no intention of stopping chasing after her. He is quite persistent and literally does not give up. Unfortunately for Hermia, her father, Egeus, wishes that she marry Demetrius. If Hermia refuses, then she faces the possibility of a death sentence. In an act of reprisal, Hermia and Lysander run away into the woods. On their hike, they run into Helena, Demetrius’ former fiancé. Helena is distressed because she is head-over-heels in love with Demetrius, but it is clear to her that he only wants Hermia. Hermia then consoles Helena by telling her not to worry because she and Lysander will flee, leaving Demetrius lost and alone. Helena approaches Demetrius hoping that he will fall back in love with her. Sadly, Demetrius storms out and goes into the forest, following Hermia and Lysander. Helena trails directly behind Demetrius. After a climactic event, Oberon (a Fairy King) makes Puck (Oberon’s Sprite) place a magical drop on Demetrius’ eyelids while he sleeps. Upon awakening, this magical drop would make Demetrius fall deeply in love with Helena. Afterwards, Puck realizes that he has made a very costly mistake; he accidentally treated Lysander, who he mistook for Demetrius. Now Lysander is madly in love with Helena, and is chasing after her instead. The instance when Hermia and Lysander rebelled and ran away into the woods easily relates to the way that Romeo and Juliet acted when their families refused to let them have contact with each other. They both rebelled,