Realistic Vs Romantic Love In A Midsummer Night’S Dream.

Realistic vs Romantic Love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream William Shakespeare’s writing has stayed very applicable through the years. It was applicable to the times when he wrote his works and is applicable today in similar and different ways. A key theme throughout Shakespeare’s work is love, one of the most fundamental human experiences and emotions. Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the theme of love is built up and dissected. The characters are passionate about love from the beginning. The main conflict originates from love itself. Shakespeare builds up the idea of love and then begins to challenge our interpretation of love. He focuses on juxtaposing the romantic idea of love with the more realist nature of love. This comparison of†¦show more content†¦However, when thinking about the period that the play was written and even more where it was set love seems to fade into actuality of the situation. Fathers could determine who their daughter s ended up with. The fact that a couple would run away to an area that laws did not apply in just to get married was just something that people would have thought about not actually done. The fact that Shakespeare would even put it on written page and have it performed shows that he at least thought that love is at least a partially romantic ideal. It is later in the play that he begins to question that with how the characters end up that eventually creates his full interpretation of love as an ideal. Throughout the play Shakespeare makes cynical comments about love and the feeling that people express towards one another. This is also meant to contrast with the romantic view of love. Lord, what fools these mortals be! (3.2.115) Robin explains as he questions the actions of the esteemed and troubled couples. In the play this is the point where Oberon is using the love potion to get certain couples to fall in love with one another. This act impedes the natural progression of love. Thi s intervention is used by Shakespeare to focus on the infallibility and cynicism of love. Oberon is not using this potion for love’s sake. It is for his own personal agenda and amusement. Being able to alter and fiddle with love in this matter reveals the cynicism of love: