Chaos In A Midsummer Night's Dream

When the love potion was put on Lysander he had no feelings for Hermia but she still stayed true to him. Oberon wants to get involved in everybody's love life and Puck his sidekick puts the love potion on the wrong Athenian man and the love quadrilateral get confusing. Lysander said “ She doesn’t see Hermia- Hermia keep sleeping and do not come near me ever again! Eating too many sweets make people sick to their stomachs and people always hates mistakes they made in the past worse than anyone else hates those mistakes. Hermia, you're the sweet I’ve had too much of and the mistake I used to make so I hate you more than anyone else does.-I’ll use all my talents and efforts to serve Helena and bring her honor.” (Shakespeare.2.2.59-61.) Hermia

In the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare, three completely different situations that have to do with different topics become intertwined in the magical forest locates in the suburbs of Ancient Athens. Throughout the play, there are many representations of the character’s emotions and feelings, such as jealousy, betrayal, and most importantly, love. The main reason everyone get into their troubles is due to one reason; love. Hermia and Lysander made a decision to elope because of their love for each other; Demetrius chases after her because he loves her; Helena chases Demetrius due to love, etc. In this comedy of Shakespeare’s, love is displayed as something fantastical and bizarre.

To begin with, the first occurence of order and chaos within the play concern Oberon and Titania and their quarreling. When the two main powers of the fairy realm argue over a child, chaos reflects in their world. For example, one of the unfortunate complications that arise in the fairy world is that “Crows are fatted with the murrion flock;”(II.i.97). Due to Oberon and Titania being so powerful, all the consequences that follow their arguing result in nature being impacted in a bad way. With this in mind, how Titania describes the devastating things happening, the audience can infer that the fairy world is in complete chaos. Shakespeare continuously develops this conflict very slowly, eventually restoring order within the fairy realm. This specific conflict is resolved when Oberon finally aquires the child from Titania saying, “I then did ask for her changeling child, [...] And now I

Love is a timeless topic which Shakespeare explores in depth in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream “. Shakespeare utilizes the format of a play within a play to communicate the complexities of love. Love is a force that characters cannot control. The play includes scenes of lovers searching for fulfillment in the arms of characters who are unavailable. The magic love potion wreaks havoc between actual lovers and it is clear just how negatively it is portrayed. The entire play revolves around the difficulties of maintaining love and how foolish and insecure the pursuit of love can make us. It also touches on the fickleness of love, that love can be

There are many instances in A Midsummer Night's Dream where love is coerced from or foisted upon unwilling persons. This romantic bondage comes from both man-made edicts and the other-worldly enchantment of love potions. Tinkering with the natural progression of love has consequences. These human and fairy-led machinations, which are brought to light under the pale, watery moon, are an affront to nature. Shakespeare knows that all must be restored to its place under fate's thumb when the party of dreamers awaken.

Displaying her anger, she tells Helena: “I am amazed at your passionate words. /I scorn you not: it seems that you scorn me.”(III.ii.223-224). Although it is nice that Oberon cared about Helena, he should not abuse his power by meddling with the affairs of humans. Though Oberon tried to blame Puck for all the problems: “This is thy negligence. Still thou mistakest, /Or else committ’st thy knaveries willfully.”(III.ii.356-357), It was of no fault to Puck that the love potion was used on the wrong man because the only way that Oberon described Demetrius was by his Athenian garments, and both Demetrius and Lysander were wearing Athenian garments: “Did you not tell me I should know the man /By the Athenian garment he had on?”(III.ii.359-360). It was Oberon’s fault that the four lovers had a confusion because he was the one who ordered Puck to use the juice on Demetrius and Lysander. Also, Oberon knew that Puck was careless and should not have trusted him with such an important task. Although Oberon did not give precise instructions, Puck rushed and acted without thinking, much like his Master often does. When he was searching through the forest, Puck said:

When Hermia cannot find Lysander, she runs into Demetrius in the forest. She exclaims, "If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep, / Being o'er shoes in blood, plunge in the deep, / and kill me too." (3.2.47-49). Hermia, while crazed over Lysander's disappearance, easily believes that Demetrius would kill Lysander. She believes he would to anything, even kill, for their marriage.

Titania refuses to give up the boy to Oberon feels that he must take things into his own hands. He tells Puck to go get him a flower that has special juice that if put into anyones eyes can make them fall in love with the next thing they see. After acquiring the flower he finds Titania and puts it in his wife's eyes saying ¨Whatever you see when you first wake up, think of it as your true love (Shakespeare 2.2.34-35¨). Titania wakes up and falls in love with Bottom the weaver. Oberon finds Titania in the woods and asks for the Indian child

Until one night, Puck sees how badly Helena wants to be with Demetrius and decides to put the love potion on Demetrius’s eyes so he will fall in love with her. In the morning, because of the love potion Demetrius declares his love her Helena. Helena however believes that he is only mocking her and runs away. However, after a few days and a few fights Helena believes Demetrius

Thus the order Oberon gives to Puck is in contrast to Cupid’s concept of being blinded by love, Fetch me that flower; the herb I show’d thee once: The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid will make or man or woman madly dote Upon the next live creature that it sees. (2. 2.169-172). Puck, being the mischievous of fairies, had not correctly done what he was ordered to do by Oberon. In which, lead the chaos of making Lysander and Demetrius blinded by love towards Helena, whom was initially madly in love with Lysander without any love potion confused and betrayed. The setting and the concept of a dream like play due to the prevalence of the fairy world, which also creates an aspect of illusions. Which also is prevalent in the concept of blind love, and how it can be an illusion to those that are entrapped due to the love potion. Another important victim of the love potion was Titania, the Queen of Fairies by Oberon:

Afterwards, Oberon comes and undoes the love spell on her. “My Oberon, what visions have I seen! Methought I was enamored of an ass”(IV.i.77-78). This ties into the idea that true love never did run smooth, as the monarchs of the fairies were fighting over the ownership of a young boy. This parallels a custody battle in real life. This demonstrates that true love can sometimes result in fighting between a couple. The scene where Titania falls in love with Bottom also demonstrates how people can fall in love with very bad choices. The use of the love potion reflects the idea that love is not always logical and is often random. The fact that this is Oberon’s idea shows how people in a relationship can try to undermine each other. Later in the same scene, Theseus and his party encounter Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena. Lysander states: “My lord, I shall reply amazèdly, Half sleep, half waking. But as yet, I swear, I cannot truly say how I came here. But as I think—for truly would I speak, And now do I bethink me, so it is— I came with Hermia hither. Our intent Was to be gone from Athens, where we might, Without the peril of the Athenian law—”(IV.i.133-140). Here, Lysander explains to Theseus the events that led him and the others in the group to this point. Lysander and Hermia both ran away from their homes in order to escape

After Oberon decides to apply the flower to Demetrius, he tells Puck, “A sweet Athenian lady is in love with a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes… Thou shalt know the man by the Athenian garments he hath on.” II.i.268-272. Because Lysander and Hermia run away to the woods and sleep apart from each other, Puck follows the directions inaccurately. Oberon should have realized that multiple Athenian men could travel through the woods simultaneously. Lysander wears Athenian clothes similar to Demetrius’, and Puck finds Lysander first. Then, when Oberon finds out Puck applied the flower to Lysander, he gives the flower to Demetrius without removing the potion from Lysander. He tells Puck, “I’ll charm [Demetrius’] eyes against [Helena] do appear.” III.ii.101. Since Demetrius also falls in love with Helena, a serious argument between the lovers takes place about who loves who. This whole mix-up between the lovers occurs because of Oberon’s mistake in giving vague instructions and his attempt to fix the

In the play, A Midsummer Night’s dream, Hermia, Egeus’s daughter is denied to wed her love Lysander, but has to comply with her father’s wishes and marry Demetrius. Infuriated, Hermia runs off with Lysander to his aunt’s house, sick of the Athenian law. As the lovers wander off into the forest, Helena, who is madly in love with Demetrius, tells him about the whereabouts of Hermia. In another part of the forest, Oberon, king of fairies meets Titania, the queen of fairies, arguing for a changeling child from India. When Titania refuses to give him up, Oberon plans revenge, by hiring Robin Goodfellow, also known as “Puck”, to retrieve a magical love flower, anointing her eyes and Demetrius’s, feeling bad for Helena after how Demetrius had treated her. Accidentally, Puck spreads it on Lysander’s eyes, creating major conflicts, later being resolved as the 4 lovers get married.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play about four Athenian lovers. Theseus listens to both Hermia and her father’s request and he tells her to bend to her father’s will or die due to the old Athenian law. Hermia and Lysander flee Athens, into the domain of the fairy kingdom. At this time, Oberon is in a fight with Titania. This fight is over a human child of Titania’s friend. Oberon tells Puck, one of his loyal servants, to get a flower hit by Cupid’s arrow, and drop the oil into Demetrius’s and Titania’s eyes. However, Puck drops the oil into Lysander’s eyes due to Oberon’s vague description, making him fall in love with Helena and despise Hermia. Titania falls in love Bottom, who has the head of an ass, after Oberon places the oil

If there was no such thing as sympathy, empathy, or love in our world, it would be a hard place to live. If there was no hard law or reason in our world, it would be a crazy place to live. Neither of these worlds would be anybody’s first choice as a home - it's just common sense take away either of these two fundamental aspects of life, and everything is immediately chaos. In fact, it is only in a world such as ours, where legal and human emotion work together, that we are happy. In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare recognizes this truth and uses the two settings to represent the city of Athens as law, order, civility, and judgment, while the woods represent chaos, incivility, dreams, and love.