Midnight Summer Dreams

566 Words3 Pages
In A Midnight Summer's Dream, William Shakespeare expresses similarities between characters in such ways that it would not be too obvious for the audience. Shakespeare intertwines such correlations of Theseus & Oberon and Hippolyta & Titania in forms of personalities and abilities. Though many may only see the differences between these four characters, but there are still some major resemblances. Shakespearean plays require the audience to connect the dots, and MNSD is no exception. One may ask, what does Oberon, the manipulative evildoer, have in common with Theseus, the royal Duke of Athens? The most obvious one being, both men are rulers in two separate societies, and are evenly worshiped as honorific, godlike icons. No one can question their limitless amount of power and prestige;“Your wish is my command” would perfectly describe how the inferior treats people in power, in this case being Oberon and Theseus. In modern times, Theseus and Oberon could be described as an ultra-male Chauvinist (believers of men's superiority towards women) which can be proven in lines 67 and 68 of Act I, Scene I, “Either to die the death or to abjure for ever the society of men.” In Oberon case, his speech nor his language promote such a fanatical ideology, but his intentions and mentality are as radical as those of Theseus; Oberon's self-proclamation to seek vengeance against Titania to please his self-seeking agenda tramples on the basic rights of women, for instance, the right to own property, right to make decisions for oneself, but most importantly, the right to love another with “true” instincts. Theseus and Oberon portray themselves as compassionate and worthy leaders, in some aspect this is true, but inside every person is that everlasting vainglory and amour-propre. As most female leaders, Hippolyta and Titania governs with same
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