A Midsummer Night's Dream: Characters (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Characters
Understanding that characters are often used symbolically to express ideas is critical to reading a Shakespearean play. William Shakespeare often used characters to represent or reflect ideas that were prevalent in Elizabethan society. Therefore, it is useful not only to learn about each character individually but also to consider them in comparison to other characters in the play.
When thinking about characters, try to consider the wide range of strategies used by Shakespeare to create and develop characters within A Midsummer Night’s Dream. These include:
How characters are established
How characters are presented:
Physical appearance or suggestions about this
Their actions and motives
What they say and think
How they interact with others
What others say and think about them
How far the characters conform to or subvert stereotypes
Their relationships to other characters
Below you will find character profiles of:
Main characters
Other characters
Examiner Tip
Demonstrate in your exam response that you understand how Shakespeare has deliberately created characters to perform certain dramatic functions within the play.
For example, try and think about why Shakespeare has chosen to present Bottom in the way that he does. Why was his head transformed into a donkey’s head? What characteristics does he have that Shakespeare is perhaps mocking? Try and explore reasons as to why Shakespeare has chosen to do this and what it might suggest about the character.
Hermia
Hermia is a young woman from Athens
She is the daughter of a nobleman named Egeus
Hermia is in love with Lysander and refuses to marry her father’s choice, Demetrius
She is old friends with Helena:
She confides in Helena when she and Lysander decide to elope
She is defiant and rebellious:
She resists her father’s wishes for her to marry Demetrius because she does not love him
From the beginning of the play, the audience sees Hermia’s strong will and independence as she is determined to marry Lysander, despite the consequences:
She agrees to run away with Lysander to be with him
She openly speaks up in front of the Duke, declaring her love for Lysander
She threatens Helena and accuses her of stealing him
She is self-conscious about her short height and displays some vulnerability when Lysander rejects her for Helena
Hermia’s resilience is evident as she faces various challenges including the effects of magical spells and related misunderstandings:
Throughout all of this, her determination to be with Lysander persists, showing her unwavering love and commitment
She is a symbol of romantic rebellion, challenging social expectations and authority in the play
Lysander
Lysander is one of the four central romantic characters in the play:
He is in love with Hermia and plays a key role in the romantic conflict involving Hermia, Helena and Demetrius
Lysander goes against the wishes of Hermia’s father, Egeus, by pursuing a relationship with her when her father wants her to marry Demetrius
He is determined to marry Hermia and is willing to face the consequences of disobeying the law
Lysander is portrayed as a charming and persuasive lover, using his speeches to win Hermia’s affection:
He represents the chivalric, heroic suitor whose intentions are honourable and motivated by true love
Like other characters in the play, Lysander falls victim to Oberon and Puck’s magical interference:
He is accidentally enchanted and made to fall in love with Helena
By the end of the play, the magical effects are reversed and Lysander is once again in love with Hermia
Lysander’s persistence in pursuing Hermia against objections and barriers symbolises the theme of enduring love in the play
Helena
Helena, another of the four Athenian lovers, is a friend of Hermia’s and is in love with Demetrius:
It is implied that Helena and Demetrius were once involved but Demetrius abandoned Helena in favour of Hermia
Demetrius does not return her love and this becomes the focus of Helena’s story as she attempts to win his love
Helena is characterised by a deep sense of insecurity and low self-esteem:
She believes herself to be unattractive and struggles with feelings of inadequacy, especially in comparison to Hermia
Despite Demetrius’s rejection, Helena remains persistent in her pursuit of him:
She follows him into the woods, even when it is clear that he does not love her
Helen is willing to sacrifice her dignity and pride to win Demetrius’s love:
She betrays her friend, Hermia, by revealing their plan to elope in the hope that Demetrius will be grateful and return her love
Helena is also a victim of Oberon and Puck’s magical interference, which leads her to believe that Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius are mocking her:
This adds a layer of sympathy to her character
By the end of the play, Demetrius returns Helena’s love and she achieves a resolution
Demetrius
Demetrius, a youthful suitor from Athens, seeks the hand of Hermia, with the support of her father, Egeus:
However, Hermia is not in love with him
He is shown to be fickle as he was previously linked romantically with Helena before he agreed to marry Hermia:
Arguably, Demetrius is the opposite of Lysander as his love interests shift and he is not motivated by true love but driven by the laws of the land
Demetrius rejects Helena, who is deeply in love with him:
Despite her persistence in pursuing him, he remains uninterested and is often cruel towards her
Demetrius also becomes a victim of magical manipulation by Oberon and Puck:
Oberon orders Puck to use a love potion, causing him to fall in love with Helena
Demetrius, under the spell, becomes a symbol of the irrational and unpredictable nature of love in the play
When Demetrius falls in love with Helena, she does not believe him, which adds to the comedy
By the end of the play, Demetrius and Helena become a couple
Puck
Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a mischievous and playful fairy who serves Oberon, the fairy king:
His antics contribute to the comedic and magical elements of the play
He carries out Oberon’s commands, including the application of the love potion to various characters:
His actions serve as a catalyst for the romantic chaos that ensues in the forest
Puck uses magic to manipulate the romantic relationships of the mortal characters, leading to humorous misunderstandings:
He mistakenly uses the love potion on Lysander rather than Demetrius, which results in confusion and chaos in the forest
His actions and mistakes drive the plot forward, creating the tangled web of love and confusion that defines the play:
He deliberately turns Bottom’s head into the head of a donkey
He accidentally applies the love potion on the wrong man initially
Puck’s magical spirit and mischievous nature contribute to the enchanted atmosphere of the play:
He is fun-loving but also capable of being cruel, which is evident when he transforms Bottom’s head
At the end of the play, Puck expresses remorse for his mistakes
Other characters
Theseus
Theseus is the Duke of Athens, a figure of authority and leadership in the play:
He represents law and order in Athenian society
He initially upholds Egeus’s right to choose a husband for Hermia
He is engaged to Hippolyta and plans to marry her in four days
He is present at the start and at the end of the play:
He has no involvement in anything that happens in the forest
While he initially supports Egeus’s demands for Hermia to marry Demetrius, he later shows compassion and allows the lovers according to their own choices:
Theseus demonstrates wisdom and reason in his decisions
Oberon
Oberon is the king of the fairies
He is the mastermind behind the magical interventions that create chaos and confusion among the mortal characters in the play:
He uses Puck to apply a love potion on Demetrius and also Titania
His relationship with Titania, the Queen of the fairies, is marked by conflict and jealousy over the possession of a young boy:
This conflict begins the chaos and confusion in the rest of the play
Oberon plays a role in resolving conflict by ensuring that the lovers end up with their desired partners
Titania
Titania is Queen of the Fairies
She argues with Oberon, the King of the Fairies, over the possession of a young boy, which leads to tension and discord in the fairy world
Titania displays a protective and maternal side in her concern for the wellbeing of the young boy and her interactions with her attendants
She falls victim to Oberon’s magic when he uses a love potion that makes her fall in love with Bottom
Titania’s reconciliation with Oberon and the resolution of their conflict contributes to the overall harmony at the end of the play
She represents feminine power and strength, challenging traditional gender roles and emphasising the importance of balance between male and female characters
Bottom
Bottom is introduced as a weaver and a member of an amateur acting group who are preparing to perform a play at the Duke’s wedding
He is overconfident and boastful about his acting abilities, considering himself capable of performing every role; he provides comic relief in the play
Bottom is the victim of Puck’s mischief, resulting in his head being transformed into a donkey’s:
His transformation symbolises his absurdity and comic foolishness
His interactions with Titania, who falls in love with him due to magical interference, also contribute to the play’s comedy
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