Writing Assignment - DRAMA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writing Assignment - DRAMA - Essay Example It is largely through this element which Shakespeare examines the power which love can have over those it touches, even when that love is clearly not merited. However, even before the potion makes its appearance, the lovers are thoroughly obsessed with one another. When Demetrius tells Helena that he â€Å"cannot love her,† she replies with: These lines show how powerful a grip love has on her. She does not even care whether or not her love is returned—in fact, that it is not returned only makes her more in love. Once the love potion is applied to the various lovers, the situation worsens: first Lysander, then Demetrius both fall for Helena, who becomes so unhappy that she accuses them of being â€Å"bent / to set against me for your merriment,† so convinced is she that they both love Hermia and are mocking her love for Demetrius. (ibid. III.ii.146-147) This shows another aspect which the love potion obviously deals with: the illusion of love. By making the men in the play both fall for the woman that neither of them actually love at the plays start, Shakespeare points out that often what we think is â€Å"love† is nothing of the sort. This is driven home by the mens bombastic exclamations of love for Helena, with Lysander claiming that she â€Å"more engilds the night / than all yon fiery Os and eyes of light.† (ibid. III.ii.187-188) Furthermore, both Lysander and Demetrius are determined that their love for Helena will last â€Å"until death† (ibid. III.ii.168) or that it has returned to her â€Å"to remain† (ibid. III.ii.173). This is â€Å"love† is nothing more than illusion, as the ending of the play shows. However, because of the humorous incident of Titania falling for the ass-headed Bottom and the generally light treatment in this comedy of errors, love still comes out ahead in the end as a great unifying force. Strindbergs The Stronger portrays matters