Demetrius is one of the main characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. He is a young man who is betrothed to Hermia, but she is in love with Lysander. Demetrius ends up falling in love with Helena, who is also in love with him. However, he later rejects her when he is under the spell of the love potion. Demetrius is a complex character whose actions are often contradictory.
On the one hand, Demetrius can be seen as a selfish and cruel lover. He breaks Hermia’s heart by rejecting her and choosing Helena instead. He also treats Helena poorly, despite her being madly in love with him. When he is under the influence of the love potion, he even threatens to kill Lysander if he does not leave Hermia alone.
On the other hand, Demetrius can be seen as a victim of circumstance. He is caught in the middle of Hermia and Lysander’s love triangle and is torn between two women. He is also the victim of Oberon’s mischief, as he is given the love potion without knowing it. In the end, Demetrius learns his lesson and chooses Hermia after all.
Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, and this romantic comedy demonstrates how tangled love relationships can be. Thesis: Demetrius, the protagonist in this play, is a difficult character to recognize except by his ties to the one he loves or even more so the one who loves him. Helena, who is in love with Demetrius and pursues him for no reason, is the only sign or indication of his character.
Demetrius is a complicated character that is hard to understand, but his actions speak louder than his words. He goes from loving Hermia to Helena in the course of one night and it’s not until he is under the influence of the love potion that he shows any real affection for Helena. Even then, when the love potion wears off, he goes back to Hermia.
So what does this say about Demetrius’s character? Is he truly in love with Hermia or is he just using her to get to Lysander? And if he is in love with Hermia, why does he go back to Helena once the love potion wears off? There are many theories about Demetrius’s character and what motivates him, but there is no clear answer.
Perhaps Shakespeare deliberately left Demetrius’s character vague so that the reader can make their own interpretation. Or maybe Demetrius is just a fickle character who can’t make up his mind. Either way, Demetrius is an interesting character to analyze and discuss.
Under the strong influence of this loathsome fascination for his love, he lashes out violently and threatens her with bodily harm, which makes him appear to be someone else than the loving person he truly is. It’s easy to see how Helen’s hardheaded actions early on divert him from the one he loves Hermia. He may very well be a kind, caring individual if he wanted; but instead of desiring to be in control of his own life, he prefers to have others dictate it for him.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare is a story about love and its obstacles. In the play, Demetrius is one of the main characters who goes through several challenges in his pursuit of love.
Though he may not be the most likeable character at first, Demetrius ultimately shows himself to be a good person who is capable of great love. This is evident in the way he treats Hermia, even when under the influence of the fairy magic that makes him fall in love with Helena. When Hermia tells him that she loves Lysander and plans to run away with him, Demetrius does not try to stop her or force her to stay with him. Instead, he says that he will “seek her as a wife” (III.i.174) and promises to help her escape if necessary.
It is only when Hermia runs away with Lysander and Demetrius is left alone with Helena that his true feelings begin to emerge. Under the influence of the love potion, Demetrius becomes violent and aggressive towards Hermia, even going so far as to threaten her with rape. However, it is important to remember that Demetrius is not himself at this time and that his actions are not indicative of his true character.
Once the spell is broken and Demetrius regains his senses, he immediately feels remorse for his treatment of Hermia and Helena. He begs Hermia’s forgiveness and asks Lysander to help him win Helena’s love. Demetrius is a changed man at this point and it is clear that he is truly in love with Helena.
He is oblivious to the fact that he is in a play of his own. Similarly, as with all the other characters, what happens to him is a lot more interesting than the type of guy he is. His character was extremely limited during the first act, implying that he was unable to defend himself or exhibit self-confidence issues due to his father’s presence. It may be inferred from Demetrius’ thoughts that because Egeus gave him his blessing, Hermia should surrender herself up to him and reject Lysander, her true love.
Hermia is also under pressure from her father to marry Demetrius. A Midsummer Night’s Dream reveals different aspects of love; marriage for property, young love and romantic love.
Demetrius is a young man who wishes to marry Hermia, but she is in love with Lysander. Egeus, Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius, and has given his blessing, however Hermia loves Lysander. Lysander and Hermia elope, and Demetrius sets out to find Hermia, so he can have her back and marry her.
When the four lovers become lost in the woods outside Athens they come across an enchanted castle inhabited by Oberon the king of the fairies, and his queen Titania. Oberon becomes angry with Titania when she refuses to give him a young boy whom she is caring for, and he enlists the help of Puck, a mischievous fairy, to take revenge. Puck mistakenly puts a love potion in Demetrius’s eyes instead of Lysander’s, and as a result Demetrius falls in love with Helena.
Helena tells Demetrius that Hermia loves him too, and so he goes off into the woods to find her. Lysander now finds himself in the same position as Demetrius was before, being loved by Hermia but not loving her in return. A fight breaks out between the two men, and they end up falling asleep. Oberon sees his opportunity to correct Puck’s mistake, and he puts the love potion in Lysander’s eyes.
Hermia wakes up to find Lysander sleeping next to her, and she believes that he has been unfaithful. Helena now finds Demetrius asleep, and she tries to wake him but he doesn’t respond. A fight breaks out between the four lovers, and they are eventually found by Theseus the Duke of Athens and his fiancée Hippolyta. They all agree to go back to Athens and sort out their differences.
It is interesting to note that Demetrius’s character changes quite dramatically during the course of the play. In the beginning he is quite selfish and only interested in Hermia for himself, but after he has been affected by the love potion he becomes much more loving and selfless. He is also willing to give up his chance to marry Hermia in order to make Helena happy. In the end, Demetrius is a changed man, and it is clear that he is truly in love with Helena.
Demetrius took advantage of his status as a social leader by wooing Hermia, which demonstrated his instability. At the same time, this indicated that he cared for her. It is known that Egeus backs him because of his relationship with Demetrius’ father Lysander, who claims she loves him and no one else. Egeus comes to the conclusion that Demetrius is the man deserving of Hermia at this point, while his ego appears to be boosted and looks down on Lysander, implying an inferior position.
Egeus’ daughter Hermia is in love with Lysander, who is of lower social status than Demetrius. Lysander and Hermia run away together, but are pursued by Demetrius and Helena. In the forest, Oberon, the king of the fairies, tells his servant Puck to put a magic flower juice on Demetrius’s eyes, so that he will fall in love with Helena.
However, Puck mistakenly puts the juice on Lysander’s eyes, who then falls in love with Helena. Helena believes that Lysander is mocking her and tells Demetrius, who then also starts to chase Helena. Oberon sees this and puts the juice on Demetrius’s eyes. All four characters end up in the same part of the forest, where they fall asleep. When they wake up, Lysander loves Hermia again, and Demetrius loves Helena.