There are various types of love portrayed in the writings of William Shakespeare in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There are several forms of love depicted in the play, including parental love, forced love, romantic love, as well as jealousy to name a few. Early in the play, the character Lysander says, “The course of true love never did run smooth” (1.1.134), this theme carries through the remaining scenes of the play as various sets of characters undergo a series of trials referencing love (Bevington, 2014).
Discussion
In the opening of the play, there is an exchange between the characters Theseus and Hippolyta as they discuss their upcoming marriage in four days (1.1.2). This discussion soon reveals the marriage stemmed from a war between the two when Theseus mentioned his use of a sword against Hippolyta in which he did injure her (1,1.16-17). A script was drafted referencing a battle between the Greeks and the Amazonians in 1200 BC (Christine de, 2011). A battle was waged between Hercules of Greece and the King of Athens, Theseus, and the Amazonian warriors Hippolyta and Menalippe. The battle ended with the Amazonian warriors being taken captive. Theseus fell in love with Hippolyta and took her …show more content…
The characters experience love, the loss of love, as well as the resentment of love in pairs as the storyline progresses. As noted in the introduction, early in the play Lysander says, “The course of true love never did run smooth” (1.1.134), this theme carries through the remaining scenes as noted in the discussion with the various sets of characters undergoing a series of trials referencing love (Bevington, 2014). The love portrayed in the storyline of the play did not run smoothly at all. The play encourages the viewer to think of all types of love, moreover, create a connection between love and magic as love is most certainly magic (Pigg,