A Midsummer Nights Dream

A Midsummer Nights Dream, by William Shakespeare is a play about love, fantasy, and magic. In a passage in Act I scene i, Hermia has just refused to marry Demetrius, going against her fathers demands. This enrages her father, so her father brings her to Theseus, where the passage begins with Theseus telling Hermia that she must marry Demetrius or become a nun. In this passage, Shakespeare conveys the idea that people are often inconsiderate when reacting to others misfortunes. Shakespeare shows this through his use of stylistic devices, and his characters thoughts, feelings, and reactions.

In this passage, Shakespeare talks a great deal about life using powerful words and phrases such as "Grows, lives, and dies in a single blessedness"(I.i.80.). Shakespeare believes that life is one of these misfortunes. People are often unsympathetic towards others life problems. This is because they are too busy with other things in their own life. If people would just spend some time helping others, maybe their lives would take a turn for the better. Shakespeare also shows that men are more controlling of women. In this sentence, "Either to die the death or to abjure for ever to the society of men"(I.i.67.), Shakespeare shows how men are always trying to get their way with women. He is trying to show that men don't think of women as equals, that they are inferior and should be controlled. This puts women down and makes them insignificant and unimportant. To men, the only thing important about them is that their daughters can be wed to a rich man. They have no concern for who she marries, or if she loves him or not, as long as he has money.

In this passage, Theseus's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are the key to the whole passage. They show the intellect and beliefs of an actual man, a clear example of who men were and what they thought of and did to women. "Therefore fair Hermia, question your desires"(I.i.69.), is what Theseus tells Hermia to do. He is telling her that she has to marry Demetrius or else. He is trying to threaten her to get her to do what her father wants. Her father is another example. He is forcing Hermia to marry Demetrius, even when he knows she does not love him. When she refuses, he then threatens to kill her. He turns her in to Theseus, who is a little more merciful and says that she will become a nun. Both of these men tried to oppress Hermia. In this passage, Shakespeare shows that men have always tried to control women and force them to do things that the women do not want to do.

This passage as a whole greatly contributed to the book.