A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Act 1, Sc 1
We are introduced to some characters from Greek mythology who discuss their forthcoming marriage. (Hippolyta and Theseus)
Then, we meet a character named Egeus who complains that his daughter Hermia, has been bewitched by Lysander even though she has been promised to Demetrius.
The father has “arranged” a marriage for her. (a forced marriage between people who may or may not even know each other, let alone be in love)
It looks like our main problem in the story is a classic LOVE TRIANGLE
Question: Has Lysander really tricked Hermia? Or does she actually love him?
BREAK FOR FAMILY TREE (kind of)
Theseus is the Duke (a kind of lord, ruler, etc)
Hippolyta is his wife (another leader - however, women are NOT equal back then when this play was written - not at all)
Egeus is a man who has come to get a judgment from the Duke - regarding his daughter
Hermia is the daughter who is following her heart and NOT her father’s wishes
Demetrius is the man Hermia is SUPPOSED to marry (according to Egeus)
Lysander is the man Hermia loves
We also find out that a new character (Helena) loves Demetrius!
Our triangle has become a LOVE SQUARE? (I don’t think this is a term)
We see a complex series of love problems (guess what, it’s not complex, it’s actually super common and typical in human life)
It kind of seems like Hippolyta isn’t too keen on the way Theseus addresses the situation - he tells Hermia she will do as she is told or die/become a nun
Complication!
Hermia’s secret meeting with Lysander is revealed to Helena, who angrily plans to tell Demetrius and spoil the romance.
She is bitter and angry!
Act 1, Scene 2
We meet some new characters. These are in the play for comic relief.
They are ridiculous and stupid on purpose. Their storyline is just for fun and is kind of unrelated to the main storyline.
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