The Embodiment of Humanism in a Midsummer Night’s Dream Essay

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Populating in the Renaissance period in Europe. William Shakespeare’s plants are necessarily colored with Humanism. which was prevalent during the clip and emphasized work forces being the one commanding his ain destiny alternatively of faith or feudal system. and A Midsummer Night’s Dream is no exclusion. In Renaissance about back to 14th to fifteenth century. Humanism was a doctrine emerging due to the rise of in-between category.

It proposed that “people of enormous self-knowledge and wit” being “capable of self-expression and the pattern of single freedom.

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1 Characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream written by Shakespeare unusually show these traits of Humanism people. The behaviours of and attitudes toward prosecuting love of the three chief lovers. Hermia. Lysander. and Helena. all embody the liquors of Renaissance Humanism. Take Hermia as the first illustration. Although being under the menace of her male parent that if she does non obey the bid of get marrieding to Demetrius. she is to confront the decease punishment based on the jurisprudence.

she still insists on prosecuting her love toward Lysander courageously. holding to run off with him.

By stating “Love looks non with the eyes. but with the mind”2. Hermia doubtless shows the spirit of Humanism. being the one in charge of her ain destiny and following non the jurisprudence but her bosom. Lysander is the same in the state of affairs. Although he knows that the route of prosecuting felicity is tough. stating “The class of true love ne'er did run smooth”3. still. he is determined to be together with his lover. offering the program to run off from the limitation and get down a new life.

Besides the first twosome. Helena is besides one of the characters with strong characteristic of lodging to one’s ain will. Despite all the humiliation her darling 1. Demetrius. gives her. she still hangs on following him. Even though her love toward Demetrius makes her blind and foolish. taging that she is willing to be like a Canis familiaris loyally following her lover. she still embodies the spirit of dauntlessly prosecuting her end. However. Helena’s lover. Demetrius. seems to be the lone 1 in the two twosomes who does non demo the ideal of Humanism.

Although he insists on prosecuting his love. Hermia. he on the contrary utilizations Torahs and subject in the effort to make this end. We can see throughout the drama that he is the 1 like a marionette. being controlled by regulations and other people. At the really beginning. he relies on Hermia’s male parent. trusting that the jurisprudence and the authorization can allow him his love. Then. on his manner of seeking Hermia in the wood. his bosom is even controlled by Puck and Oberon by using the juice of flower to alter his head all in a sudden.

Even in the terminal. when all the thaumaturgy on other people. including Titania and Lysander. are removed. he ends up being the one still with it and will populate under the control of it everlastingly. being unable to love the 1 he truly want to love. This might bespeak that Shakespeare disapproves of the regulations and authorization. which corresponds to the spirit of Humanism. by seting the “bad” stoping on the 1 who is for them. even though it seems to be an overall happy stoping.

To reason. even though the authorization still plays a critical function in the drama. for in the terminal it is still the authorization that decides the destinies of the two twosomes. the characters in the drama still keep the spirit of Humanism in their ways of prosecuting love. In the drama. we can see that Shakespeare subtly celebrates Humanism when exemplifying the personalities and the Acts of the Apostless of the characters. doing them lodge to their ain volitions and determined to make up one's mind their ain destinies. As a consequence. we can state that Humanism is one of the important factors that influences and connects thread from get downing to stop of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.