Emily Diersing
Mrs. Hall
English 3H
10 May 2013
The Resolution to the Conflict
In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, different events cause certain conflicts to form throughout the play. Conflicts within the city of Athens, and even in the fairy forest, take a role in the major confusion of the play. For example, Oberon and Titania’s fighting cause disruption in the real world as well as their own. Meanwhile Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius have problems that could disrupt the Athenian law. Within the small personal conflicts of each couple, Shakespeare twists the steps they take, into a path that all the characters cross over each other.
Oberon and Titania’s argument over the Indian boy cause trouble in the real and fairy worlds. Upon meeting Oberon Titania exclaims that “with thy brawls thou hast disturbed our sport. /Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,/ As in revenge have sucked up from the sea
/Contagious fogs, which, falling in the land…” (l, i, 90-93). This unnatural shifting has to end in
Oberon’s case. So he then takes a gamble by “[dropping] the liquor of [Cupid’s Flower] in her eyes. / The next thing then [Titania], waking, looks upon/ (Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, On meddling monkey or on busy ape)/ She shall pursue it with the soul of love” (l, i, 185-189). As planned, Titania fell in love with a donkey, but as Oberon was about to carry out the rest of his plan he overhears Helena and Demetrius’s conversation and starts to take matters into his own hands. Diersing 2
Helena and Demetrius’s problems have a history to them and still progress throughout the play. From Demetrius’s past love life, Lysander makes a valid point when he accuses him of “[Making] love to Nedar’s daughter, Helena,/ And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes,
/Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry, /Upon this spotted and inconstant man”(l, i, 108-112.This indicates that Demetrius did love Helena, but when asked to marry Hermia, he left Helena.
From this point being made, Demetrius is considered to be a player. Soon after, Helena hears of
Hermia and Lysander’s plan to run away, and thinks she could regain Demetrius’s heart by telling him. However, Helena’s plan did not necessarily work as Demetrius goes into the woods.
He exclaims that “I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes/ And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts” (ll, i, 234-235). After hearing this “death sentence” from Demetrius, Oberon calls
Puck to lay some more nectar to the eyes of Demetrius. Oberon hopes that with the nectar on
Demetrius’s eyes that he will fall in love with Helena. Although things did not turn out as expected. Hermia and Lysander have conflicts that involve the Athenian law and even Helena and
Demetrius. Their problems all began with Hermia’s father, Egeus, wanting his daughter to marry Demetrius. As a result
