Jacqueline on Midsummer

To me, I saw parallels between Demetrius and All’s Well’s Bertram. Demetrius was quick to drop Helena when he met Hermia, just as Bertram was quick to try and seduce Diana, despite being married to Helena. Bertram and Demetrius both display qualities of being shallow, and, though the women’s reactions to the way the two men act are different, they both end up married to Helena in the end.

Midsummer also relates back to a lot of the plays we’ve read, as most have an element of force. Shakespeare seems to like to throw some of his views on what could be interpreted as “free will” and whether we have free will or not. Since there always seems to be an element outside of the person that is leaning them in one direction or another, or at least trying (for example, the potion in Midsummer or Helena tricking the king into letting her pick to marry Bertram), I think Shakespeare is trying to show he believes we don’t have 100% free will in our lives.

posted on behalf of Jacqueline Kiley