Blog post #2: A Midsummer Night's Dream

The main point in the story A Midsummer Night’s Dream is that love should not be taken too seriously. Often in the play, the characters describe love as something that is emotional rather than logical. Helena claimed that since paintings of Cupid show him as blind, that is why people in love often make bad judgments and are haste in action. The play performed by the Athenian citizens exemplifies how love can lead you astray from thinking logically. Love is an important part of life, but it should not be the sole reason for living. Since the story depict how a simple potion can change the way of heart, it implies that love is neither permanent nor a very strong emotion.  Due to this characteristic of love, people should not rely on it heavily. 

            The character Lysander is resolutely dedicated to Hermia in the beginning of the play, expressing his enduring love for her in many speeches. His value in the beginning of the story was to continue loving and caring for Hermia the way he did. However, as soon as the potion was used on him, his love for Hermia faded. This agrees with the concept that love is very alterable and ephemeral. Since love is not a very rational emotion, people should not treat it with such high regards.  However, Lysander’s character contradicts the author’s message by ending up with Hermia in the end. This shows that true love does prevail, in one way or another. Lysander mentioned in the beginning that love has to overcome obstacles every now and then. 

            The passage below shows how Lysander is a character that is very driven and motivated by love:

LYSANDER

Content with Hermia? No. I do repent

The tedious minutes I with her have spent.

Not Hermia but Helena I love.

Who will not change a raven for a dove?

The will of man is by his reason swayed,

And reason says you are the worthier maid.

Things growing are not ripe until their season.

So I, being young, till now ripe not to reason.

And touching now the point of human skill,

Reason becomes the marshal to my will

And leads me to your eyes, where I o'erlook

Love’s stories written in love’s richest book.

In this passage, it can be seem that he is still the same person, fervent about love. It is essentially the nature of his character. However, his love subject changed completely to a different person. Even though love seemed to be the thing that he is very passionately devoted to, it was not enough to overcome the magic of the potion.  This reiterates how love is not a very reliable or strong emotion, and we should not prioritize it. Throughout the play, Shakespeare makes Lysander give many speeches regarding his passion for his love interest at the time, emphasizing how much he valued love. However, by making him fall in love with Helena Shakespeare is undermining his character, further relaying his message that love should not be taken too seriously.