A Midsummer Night’s Dream Character Descriptions

In William Shakespeares comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, characters make countless failed attempts to control fate. Many of the male characters, including Egeus, Oberon, and Theseus, are insecure and characterized by a need for female obedience. The female characters also display insecurity, but resist obeying their male counterparts. These differences emphasize the plays central theme of order versus chaos. Hermia Hermia is a feisty, confident young woman from Athens. She is in love with a man named Lysander, but her father, Egeus, commands her to marry Demetrius instead. Hermia refuses, confidently opposing her father. Despite her self-possession, Hermia is still affected by the whims of fate during the play. Notably, Hermia loses her confidence when Lysander, who is bewitched by a love potion, abandons her in favor of her friend Helena. Hermia also has insecurities, particularly her short stature in contrast to the taller Helena. At one point, she becomes so jealous that she challenges Helena to a fight. Nevertheless, Hermia shows respect for the rules of propriety, as when she insists that her beloved, Lysander, sleep apart from her. Helena Helena is a young woman from Athens and a friend of Hermia. She was betrothed to Demetrius until he left her for Hermia, and she remains desperately in love with him. During the play, both Demetrius and Lysander fall in love with Helena as a result of the love potion. This event reveals the depth of Helena’s inferiority complex. Helena cannot believe both men are actually in love with her; instead, she assumes they are mocking her. When Hermia challenges Helena to a fight, Helena implies that her own fearfulness is an attractive maidenly attribute; however, she also admits that she inhabits a stereotypically masculine role by pursuing Demetrius. Like Hermia, Helena is aware of proprietys rules but willing to break them in order to achieve her romantic goals. Lysander Lysander is a young man from Athens who is in love with Hermia at the start of the play. Egeus, Hermias father, accuses Lysander of â€Å"bewitching the bosom of [his] child† and ignoring that Hermia is betrothed to another man. Despite Lysanders alleged devotion to Hermia, he is no match for Pucks magic love potion. Puck accidentally applies the potion to Lysanders eyes, and as a result Lysander abandons his original love and falls in love with Helena. Lysander is eager to prove himself for Helena and is willing to duel Demetrius for her love. Demetrius Demetrius, a young man from Athens, was previously betrothed to Helena but abandoned her in order to pursue Hermia. He can be brash, rude, and even violent, as when he insults and threatens Helena and provokes Lysander into a duel. Demetrius did originally love Helena, and by the end of the play, he loves her once again, resulting in a harmonious ending. However, it is notable that Demetrius love is rekindled only by magic. Puck Puck is Oberon’s mischievous and merry jester. Technically, he is Oberon’s servant, but he is both unable and unwilling to obey his master. Puck represents the forces of chaos and disorder, challenging the ability of humans and fairies to enact their will. Indeed, Puck himself is no match for the force of chaos. His attempt to use a magic love potion to help Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander achieve romantic harmony leads to the central misunderstandings of the play. When he tries to undo his mistake, he causes even greater chaos. Pucks failed attempts to control fate bring about much of the action of the play. Oberon Oberon is the king of the fairies. After witnessing Demetrius’ poor treatment of Helena, Oberon orders Puck to repair the situation through the use of a love potion. In this way, Oberon shows kindness, but he is . He demands obedience from his wife, Titania, and he expresses furious jealousy over Titanias adoption of and love for a young changeling boy. When Titania refuses to give up the boy, Oberon orders Puck to make Titania fall in love with an animal—all because he wishes to embarrass Titania into obedience. Thus, Oberon shows himself to be vulnerable to the same insecurities that provoke the human characters into action. Titania Titania is the queen of the fairies. She recently returned from a trip to India, where she adopted a young changeling boy whose mother died in childbirth. Titania adores the boy and lavishes attention on him, which makes Oberon jealous. When Oberon orders Titania to give up the boy, she refuses, but she is no match for the magic love spell that makes her falls in love with the donkey-headed Bottom. Although we do not witness Titanias eventual decision to hand over the boy, Oberon reports that Titania did so. Theseus Theseus is the king of Athens and a force of order and justice. At the beginning of the play, Theseus recalls his defeat of the Amazons, a society of warlike women who traditionally represent a threat to patriarchal society. Theseus takes pride in his strength. He tells Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons that he â€Å"woo’d [her] with the sword,† erasing Hippolytas claim to masculine power. Theseus only appears at the beginning and end of the play; however, as king of Athens, he is the counterpart of Oberon, reinforcing the contrast between human and fairy, reason and emotion, and ultimately, order and chaos. This balance is investigated and critiqued throughout the play. Hippolyta Hippolyta is the queen of the Amazons and Theseus’ bride. The Amazons are a powerful tribe led by fearsome women warriors, and as their queen, Hippolyta represents a threat to the patriarchal society of Athens. When we first meet Hippolyta, the Amazons have been defeated by Theseus, and the play begins with the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta, an event that represents the victory of order (patriarchal society) over chaos (the Amazons). However, that sense of order is immediately challenged by Hermia’s subsequent disobedience to her father. Egeus Egeus is Hermia’s father. At the start of the play, Egeus is enraged that his daughter will not obey his wishes to marry Demetrius. He turns to King Theseus, encouraging Theseus to invoke the law that a daughter must marry her father’s choice of husband, at penalty of death. Egeus is a demanding father who prioritizes his daughters obedience over his own life. Like many of the plays other characters, Egeus insecurities drive the action of the play. He attempts to connect his perhaps uncontrollable emotions with the orderliness of law, but this reliance on law makes him an inhumane father. Bottom Perhaps the most foolish of the players, Nick Bottom gets wrapped up in the drama between Oberon and Titania. Puck chooses Bottom as the object of Titanias magic-induced love, as per Oberon’s order that she fall in love with an animal of the forest to embarrass her into obedience. Puck mischievously turns his head into that of a donkey, as he decides Bottom’s name alludes to an ass. Players The group of traveling players includes Peter Quince, Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, and Snug. They rehearse the play Pyramus and Thisbe in the woods outside Athens, hoping to perform it for the king’s upcoming wedding. At the end of the play, they give the performance, but they are so foolish and their performance so absurd that the tragedy ends up coming off as a comedy.

Taking a Look at Cyberbullying - 693 Words

Introduction I. Attention Getter: A. Have you ever been called â€Å"ugly†? Have you ever been called â€Å"four eyes†? Have you ever been called â€Å"slut†? Has someone made you feel totally insecure about your appearance? Everyone in this room has probably been bullied at least once in their life. It is not the best feeling is it? It makes one feel insecure, humiliated and very uncomfortable. It has the power to destroy lives, mentally and physically. II. Central Idea: A. Cyber Bullying is a known problem all across the world. It goes unnoticed as actual bullying most of the time, but cyber bullying can be very harmful and sometime even fatal. More and more people are standing up against it but there are still a lot of cyber bullies in the world. III. Credibility Statement: A. I am speaking up for victims who have been bullying and they really need our helps to make them to feel stronger enough to know they are not alone anymore. Our goal is to help teens, families, schools, and communities to get the education and help they need to prevent being bullied. IV. Important Statement: A. I will sharing some of things that you should consider to be careful what you say to someone, those bullying statistics show that bullying is on the rise among young adults, teen and children which it pushed too far and many cases leading to cases of teen suicide or death. V. Main Points: A. Cyber Bullying B. Effects C. Statistics Transition: First, I would give you a general overview of cyberShow MoreRelatedTaking a Look at Cyberbullying520 Words   |  2 PagesI. Introduction – Cyberbullying is occurring all over the world, and it is slowly growing. A. 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Cyberbullying has been proven to affect one out of every three children. There are seven or more different ways a person can be cyberbullied. It can lead to person a harming themselves or others being harmed. Cyberbullying has been provenRead MorePersuasive Essay On Cyber Bullying1453 Words   |  6 Pagesofficials can serve as a crutch for those kids who need someone to rely on. By collaborating and interacting with their students, teachers and school officials can create a bond or connection with them to acknowledge that the students have someone to look up to and/or ask for assistance with cyber-bullying. However, there are also many ways that by connecting or interacting with students can draw a red flag. Most teachers main concern with their students is that they are in an safe environment andRead MoreThe Effects Of Social Networking On Teenagers And Teenagers1511 Words   |  7 Pagessocial rank. 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Songs From the Sea free essay sample

While playing cards with the other kids, I listened to the strings and voices coming from upstairs. I spent every summer with the same group of families on our sailboats. Each family would sail over to Oyster Bay Cove every Labor Day and Memorial Day like clockwork. We would spend the few short days together at our leisure finding the turtles by the shore and swimming off the bow of the boat with the moon-jellies that would inhabit the waters we swam in. Later at night the kids gathered downstairs in the cabin while the adults indulged in wine and cheese on deck. There was a multitude of guitars, voices, a banjo and harmonica heard from above. I was only six years old when I began to hear the music on the boat. As the years past, I would return to school every fall and music became more relevant in my everyday life. We will write a custom essay sample on Songs From the Sea or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By my 10th birthday, I had picked up a violin, played piano on the weekends and sang in the shower more often than my family would have liked. Yet I never felt that it was my place to play on the boat. My sister and I began to sing along to the guitars brought by the two boys who had become our summer companions. However, my joyous summers did not translate to my life on shore. School suddenly became a dark forest with no escape. I was sick more often than not and homework was impossible. I yearned for the day when I could sit and listen to the beautiful melodies that were created by my friends. Struggles persisted through middle school until anxiety was officially diagnosed. What seemed like such a simple explanation to my problems was not going to be fixed overnight. My first courageous public appearance was returning to the choir at church. Music was the only thing that continued to keep me afloat. My sophomore year in high school my family decided it was time for a fresh start and moved a short 2 ? hours closer to the water. We continued to sail every summer even as some of the older kids slowly began to disappear into their new adult lives. I began to sit with the adults on deck and sing along to the shanties and tales I had listened to for years. We saw some of our friends that we sat next to perform at a national folk festival earlier that summer. I hesitantly brought along my guitar and pick one night on the boat. I sang along until the other musicians found out that I was hiding my instrument. I followed along that night watching the experienced clan strum away effortlessly as I timidly matched my fingers to theirs. I heard stories of the musicians’ mistakes during their performances and how they overcame personal struggles in life through music. I returned to my school with new found confidence and strength. Today I am able to perform and share my music with others who can benefit from it’s presence. I get excited now when I walk through school with a ukulele on my shoulder and kids as me to play them a tune. Even though my place of living has moved, my home on the water has never changed. When I am reminded of the battles I fought, I sing to myself an old shanty song, â€Å"I would be happy spending my days on the river that flows both ways.†