Lysander observes that the "course of true love never did run smooth" (1.1.134). Why? What are the obstacles to "true" love in this play? What are the social (cultural/historical) or psychological aspects (motives/bases) of such obstacles? Is it the "nature" of love to be bumpy rather than smooth? Can one avoid choosing "love by another's eyes" (1.1.140)?
He says this because love is never easy. There will always be people who are upset by their love or who frown upon it. He means that it is impossible for love to be simple and have a happy ending without any turmoil. For instance social obstacle could be based on race, religion, certain beliefs, traditions or just general dislike. Psychological implactions for this are much less than social because no body would be angry and somebody's spouse for emotion reasons perhaps because of their beliefs but not for personal emotions. however family members may fell jealous, may be felling a lose of controle or might have personal angst towards the person. No matter what one can always avoid choosing love by another's eyes The cost may be grave but you always have a choice to choose who you love. Love is going to be bumpy, which is a good thing because otherwise once they have married, decided to live together and be in a relationship or however you plan to live your lives together to they have already weathered storms and proven that they are fit for one another rather than having one problem and splitting up in an instant.
ReplyDeleteI think Lysander observes that the "course of true love never did run smooth" because it doesn't. You can love somebody, but it will always take an effort to do so. Like Matthew said, love isn't easy, and I think that's what Lysander was saying. People will always judge the one you love, no matter what. I think even if some people are happy for you, others won't be. The obstacles to true love in this play are that Hermia doesn't love Demetrius, but Lysander. Even though Demetrius "favors" (I wouldn't say love exactly) Hermia. The cultural obstacles are that Egeus, Hermia's father, thinks that he has the right to choose who she marries. (Based on the Old Law of Athens.) Which is wrong on so many levels because everyone should get to choose who they love. I think is IS the nature of love to be bumpy. Because if love were easy, what would be the fun in that? Because love is bumpy, you learn from your mistakes and grow stronger from them. I'm a little confused about the "love by another's eyes" question. But if I'm interpreting it right, I don't think you can avoid loving someone, and them not loving you back. Cause love doesn't really pick and choose, most of the time it just happens, and we can't help who we love.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matthew on some points. The part about the obstacles (emotional and physical) of love. Also I agree with that when two people are in love, they will have to confront problems. If only one problem splits them apart, then the bond between them is not strong enough. Lysander says, "Love is not smooth," because his love is received by the lover but is not permitted by her fathe, Egeus. Now in this case, Lysander explains how he is in the same state as Demetrius (status, wealth, etc...) and doesn't understand why he is still not allowed to love Hermia, who loves him back. There is no real reason why, other than that the love of his father overpowers the love between Lysander and Hermia. The "Love by another's eyes," is talking about whom Hermia loves is to be decided through the eyes of her father. This can be avoided by running away so they can be together but this would be tough because the couple would be vulnerable due to no financial age, housing, and security. Adding on to Annie and Matthew love is naturally occurs. There will be problems faced just like a single person would face in the real world except you would have each other. And if the bond between lovers was healthy than the problems can be dealt with easier knowing that you would have somebody that is still there to support you.
ReplyDeleteLysander says "course of true love never did run smooth" because in his experience his love was not allowed to take hold without much fighting. Lysander and Hermia both love each other but Egeus will not permit it because he wants Hermia to marry Demetrius. This supports his statement of love not running smooth along with being a major obstacle and the lets the rest of the events of the play fall into place. The social aspect of this obstacle is that Egeus begs "the ancient priveledge of Athens" which means that he gets to decide who his daughter marries or she dies. I agree with Annie because I think it is wrong for someone to be forced to marry someone they don't love. I think it is the nature of love to be rough and bumpy because it is these obstacles or bumps that test love because love prevails over all. If during one of the obstacles the love is broken than it might not have been love at all, which is sad. I am also slightly confused be the last question but I believe it is mutli-faceted. I think it means that choosing love by anothers eyes means that can you choose someone you love without any outside influences of what their values should be from your parents or your friends or anyone. I believe this is impossible to avoid choosing love by someone else's eyes because everyone around us shapes us into who we are so in some aspect we are choosing some aspect of our potential lover from what we take from our surrounding friends and family.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matthew when he says that love isn’t easy. There are always obstacles when it comes to love. Sometimes it's because both families hate each other, like in Romeo and Juliet, and other times it is because both people are from a different cast system. In this play, its Hermia’s father who does not agree with the marriage because he doesn’t like Lysander, and he has already chosen Demetrius for his son-in-law. Historically, going against your father’s wishes meant the severest form of punishment: death. Also, in that time period, people got married to whomever their parents picked for them (arranged marriage). I agree with Trevin when he says that true love is bumpy because it's being tested. The obstacles are the only way that you can tell if you truly love someone, or if they truly love you. As for the last question, I’m not exactly sure what it is asking, but I think it means can you learn to love someone that somebody else chooses for you? Well I think it would be very hard, but I guess after a while you would learn to love them. But it still wouldn’t be the same as choosing who you love by yourself because your choice is who you want rather then who someone else wants you to be married to.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most common themes in a lot of books has to do with some kind of obstacle when it comes to love (including Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo and Juliet like Noopur said). I think that one reason that that this theme is so popular is because it has a very timeless aspect to it. To some extent, I think that it is something that everyone can relate to in one way or another. Lysander's quote "the coarse of love never did run smooth" could in some ways be a one line summary of what has happened so far in the book. The reason true love doesn't always run smooth is because when something is really important, it forces you to fight through anything that gets in your way. Of course things won't run smoothly if you have to find some way to make it through every single thing that might get in your way. Therefore, the nature of love itself is bumpy. In order for something to actually hurt you, it has to be something that you care about. If you love someone, anything that gets in your way will in some ways hurt you. That makes love itself bumpy and at times painful. The obstacle in this play is that Hermia wants to marry Lysander when her father wants her to marry Demetrius. I'm a little confused what the last question is asking. If it is asking if you can avoid letting someone else's eyes pick who you love than I think it just a matter of not only who the person is, but how willing they are to fight for how they feel. It also might be saying something about love at first sight. It might be asking if you can avoid what you feel when you look in to someone's eyes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everybody's thoughtful comments. I think that Lysander stated that the "course of true love never did run smooth" (1.1.134) because he is going through a tough time because Egeus, Hermia's father, does not approve of him. He is deeply in love with Hermia, but Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius. However, Hermia is in love with Lysander. Also, I think Lysander says this because he knows that love is very complicated with its numerous obstacles and problems that need to be solved for a relationship to last. In this play, one obstacle to "true" love is Egeus. He is an obstacle because he wants Hermia to marry somebody she does not love. The cultural and historical aspect of this obstacle is that Egeus has the power to choose who his daughter marries because it is a privilege that the ancient gods in Athens has started. Another obstacle of "true" love in this play is Demetrius. This is a psychological obstacle because Demetrius will try to woo Hermia into loving him instead of Lysander. It IS in the "nature" of love to be bumpy because a relationship without problems or obstacles really is not a relationship. The problems and obstacles are actually what bring out the best of a couple and show how much they love each other because they force the two people in the relationship to work together to fix the problems. As a lot of people in our class, I am confused by the last question. I think what it is asking is can one avoid somebody choosing love for you. In that case, I think you can. You just have to be confident.
ReplyDeleteLysander observes that the "course of true love never did run smooth" (1.1.134). Why? What are the obstacles to "true" love in this play? What are the social (cultural/historical) or psychological aspects (motives/bases) of such obstacles? Is it the "nature" of love to be bumpy rather than smooth? Can one avoid choosing "love by another's eyes" (1.1.140)?
ReplyDeleteLysander notes that 'the course of true love never did run smooth' because it's usually true. Even in the time the play is set there were many plays as entertainment and in so many plays and movies the plot has to do with love and its challenges. Obstacles for Lysander and Hermia are that Hermia's father does not approve and under the athenian law they cannot be wed without that approval. Other obstacles are that Demetrius also loves Hermia and follows them as they try to escape. Lysander and Hermia are not the only ones with obstacles. Demetrius's obstacle with love is that Hermia loves someone else which is also the obstacle for Helena. Also with Helena, it doesn't look good on her part following Demetrius around, as he says, "you do impeach your modesty", in the society "women are meant to be wooed, we are not meant to woo". Even moreover, Oberon and Titania's course of love is not going smoothly because of Oberon's jealousy to the little indian boy. Finally, not even related to this part of the plot, Pyramus and Thisby in the play the workers are putting on have obstacles for their love. They are seperated because their parents forbid them to wed, just like Lysander and Hermia. Then they both end up dying from thinking the other one is dead. Not all love will have such extreme obstacles but in truth any relationship at all will have problems every now and then, thats just the nature of them. I don't really get what the last questions asking but if its asking if you can avoid loving someone just because you know it's the person you'd be better off with, then i think you can. Just because someone else wants you to love someone else doesn't mean that you should.
There are obstacles between four couples in this play. There is an obstacle first between Theseus and Hippolyta, as she is a captured woman. Then there is the obstacle between Oberon and Titania, that of constant bickering. Between Helena and Demetrius is the fact that Demetrius does not love her. And finally, the only thing between Lysander and Hermia is the long standing tradition of having to marry who your father chooses. Lysander and Hermia are the only characters who truly are in love, at least as of now. I guess you could argue that Oberon and Titania are in love, however it is a wacky, bickering, love, but I'm sure they couldn't exist without each other.
ReplyDeleteI think it is not the nature of love that is bumpy, as that comes VERY smoothly and naturally (When you fall in love, you fall smoothly and helplessly). I think it is the physical obstacles and/or journey that makes true love bumpy. Because lovers will do anything for each other.
And if you want to avoid "love by another's eyes", run away into the forest, as the book suggests.
I agree with everyone as well. I think that Lysander said that the course of true love never did run smooth because he is going through tough times with his love Hermia. One is that Hermia's dad doesn't approve of Lysander as the proper husband for Hermia. He decided to choose Demetrius instead, who her daughter doesn't like, but he likes her. Also, Helena is in love with with Demetrius, so there is a huge love triangle going on, which will cause a lot of problems later in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Also, True love has many obstacles. One obstacle in this book is Egeus, Hermia's father because he is getting in the way of the true love of Hermia and Lysander. The cultural aspect to these obstacles is that in the greek culture, the Father in the family has the power to choose the husband for his daughter. Another obstacle is Demetrius because he loves Hermia, but he doesn't love her back so Demetrius will continue to follow her and woo her. This is a psychological obstacle that will get in the way of Lysander and Hermia's true love. The nature of love is to be bumpy because every relationship has it's problems, and a healthy relationship needs to have it's obstacles and arguments or whatever. I am a little confused when it says love by another's eyes, but i think it means love at first sight. I think you can't avoid it because i think if it was meant to be then it was meant to be.
ReplyDeleteLysander observes from personal experience that the "course of true love never did run smooth". Love is never easy because there are always minor disagreements and there will always be someone who does not want that love to happen. I think that without these minor disagreements then love isn't really love. Because of disagreements love grows stronger and you find out who you are meant to be with. The obstacles to true love in this play are that Hermia is in love with Lysander but her father, Egeus, is forcing her to marry Demetrius. But while Demetrius is in love with Hermia but Helena is in love with Demetrius. Like most of the class, the last question confuses me. I'm not sure exactly what it means. If it's avoiding loving someone, then no I don't think you can. Cause like Annie said you can't choose who you love.
ReplyDeleteLysander observes that the "course of true love never did run smooth" because no one is perfect and no one will agree on everything, therefore causing arguments and disagreements. i think the obstacles in this play are the mixed loves. i think the social or psychological aspects are that the father chooses who his daughter should marry without even considering any opinions or thoughts she might have. this is not fair because people should be allowed to love whoever they truly appreciate. Answering the question, "Is it the "nature" of love to be bumpy rather than smooth?" i completely agree with Annie because if love were easy there would be no challenge which means no mistakes to learn from and build up from to become stronger. i don't believe one can choose to avoid "love by another's eyes" because love is something that finds us we cannot go searching for it.
ReplyDeleteLysander observes and experiences that the "course of true love never did run smooth" first hand. This is because he loves Hermia but he realizes that his love for her will be tough and running into the forest cannot last forever. The obstacles to "true" love are that Hermia's father will not give Lysander permission to marry his daughter Hermia so therefore it would be illegal for them to get married. Another obstacle in this play is that Helena loves Demetrius but Demetrius does not love her back, he is in love with Hermia even though Hermia loves Lysander. The social or cultural aspects behind these obstacles are that the father (Egeus) has the power to choose who his daughter (Hermia) marries and thats how its always been since ancient Athens. Yes I do think that it is the nature of love for it to bumpy rather than smooth because i think that if love was not hard to come by and if love went smooth than true love would come by to easily and true love is supposed to be something special. Love being bumpy makes it rare and special. I agree with Selim when he says that "love by another's eyes" is saying that who Hermia loves is to be decided by her father. In a way I think that this can be avoided but i also think that it is very hard for it to be avoided because Hermia has three options; run away to the forest, die, or become a nun. She chose to run to the forest but I don't think that they can stay in the forest forever and at some point they will come to reality.
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