Drama

William Shakespeare dramatically presents marriage through the use of various

literary techniques such as characterization, themes, tone and mood and diction
in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
Shakespeare used characterization to analyze how marriage was viewed at
his time. The playwright used three couples to depict these views. The three
couples in the play are Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia and
Demetrius and Helena. Theseus and Hippolita’s marriage went smoothly unlike
that of the rest. While Hermia and Lysander were having problems with their
marriage not being approved by Hermia’s father, Theseus and his to-be wife
were romantically expressing their strong love for each other and planning their
wedding which was to be in four days. Egeus, the father of Hermia was
adamant that Hermia marry Demetrius, who Hermia did not fancy at all. As the
audience watches on, they realize that Demetrius and Lysander are not very
different in status or wealth. This shows that marriage was often based on not
love or even status and wealth, but on what the persons parents(or other family
members) wanted. This is evident when Hermia says, “So is Lysander”, after
the Duke told her that Demetrius was a “worthy gentleman”. After she said
that, Theseus even confirms that by saying,”In himself he is”.
Another way in which Shakespeare dramatically presents marriage in the
play is by the means of theme ‘love’s struggle’. The pair of troubled couples in
the play are both seen struggling throughout the play. Hermia and Lysander love
each other and want to show everybody that they are in love by getting married,
yet Hermia’s arrogant and inconsiderate father decides not to allow her to marry
the man of her dreams. Hermia and Lysander are faced with this trouble and
want to avoid it by running away to a place far away from Athens to marry. This
shows how important marriage is to the young couple. Hermia again shows her
view of marriage, when she denies Lysander the right to sleep with her while
they are not married. Helena and Demetrius face similar issues, as both of the
people they love, do not reciprocate those feelings. While Demetrius is
obsessing over the ‘fair’ Hermia, Helena is busy trying to make Demetrius
recognize her sincere feelings for him. This situation is resolved by supernatural
means, by a potion made from a flower named love-in-idleness. A fairy decided
to help Helena, by drugging Demetrius with this potion. Demetrius quickly
turns to Helena as if never having insulted her. The potion symbolizes the
power of love which moves people to do the strangest things. This shows that,
even though others may try to dictate peoples compatibility and who they
should marry or not, love makes people bold (or act strange) in order to marry
those they love. Hermia and Lysander view marriage as something very
necessary because of their love for each other.
 Lastly, Shakespeare dramatically presents marriage in the play, ‘A
Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by the use of tone and mood. The tone in the
beginning of the play, when Hermia is faced with the decision to either marry
Demetrius or live a single life or, even to die. Hermia’s father is almost
apathetic to his daughter’s feelings about who and whom not she would like to
marry. He easily says,”As she is mine, I may dispose of her”, talking about his
own daughter. This gives the audience a feeling of eerie fear, probably a feeling
that the end of the play would rather be a tragedy. Egeus was mean to his
daughter only because of the choice in marriage that she chose. This shows how
marriage is often also viewed as something parents take seriously but are also
very harsh about.
In conclusion...