Imageries and Symbols in a Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shaekspeare

"NIGHT & DAY: Night and day are very symbolic in this scene. Day, which contains light, symbolizes reality, truth and comfort whereas night and darkness symbolize despair, troubles and ignorance. These symbols are apparent in this scene because the dispute between the four lovers occurs during the nighttime. Hermia and Helena both feel despair and anger over the two men falling in love with Helena. Both men also feel anger towards their rival and agree to settle their problem over a dual. This shows that the couples’ problems occur at night, for their problems arise after they fall asleep for the first time. Daytime is also symbolized in this scene. Each of the four lovers wishes for the day to come because they think they will be able to solve their problems and find comfort in the daylight that they cannot find in the darkness of night. This symbolic sense of day is also seen later on when the four Athenians wake up, and Lysander no longer loves Helena, therefore solving the dispute.

EYES: Eyes are both very important, and very symbolic in this scene. Eyes are known for symbolizing openness, the soul, honesty, truth, and connection. Eyes are apparent in this scene because they are what connect each character to their lover. When Hermia wakes up and cannot find Lysander, she sees Demetrius as a killer because she can only see his jealousy for Lysander. The flower juice also dictates the heart by affecting how each character sees their lover. Lysander hates his true love, Hermia, because he now sees Helena as the most beautiful girl in Athens. This is also the case for Demetrius. He wakes up, and since the first being he sees is Helena, he sees her as divine, fair and perfect, which is the exact opposite of how he once saw her. The way to reverse the magic is also through the eyes, which shows the importance them when it comes to how a being views the world. In this play, eyes truly symbolize how beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

DAWN IMAGERY: Dawn is beautifully described in this scene by Oberon. As he described the sun rising above the water, you can really imagine how the red morning sun slowly climbs in the sky as it turns the green/blue water golden. Oberon’s lines truly paint the perfect picture of what dawn looks like.

HEARTBREAK IMAGERY: Heartbeat is perfectly encapsulated in Demetrius’ speech in this scene. Demetrius explains why he looks so pale; he has been murdered by Hermia’s cruelty in the face of his love. He describes his heart being pierced by her, and how even as she is doing this, she still looks as beautiful as ever. In these lines, he compares Hermia’s beauty to that of the bright planet of Venus. In what Demetrius expresses to Hermia, one can imagine how having one’s heart broken must feel, even if you have never experienced it yourself.

BEAUTY IMAGERY: Demetrius is able to portray Helena’s beauty to the reader with his speech. In this scene, Demetrius draws a picture for the reader that wonderfully describes the looks of Helena. He describes her eyes as large, clear crystals that are quite bright. He describes her lips as plump, glistening, ruby cherries that tempt him. Lastly, he describes her complexion as even whiter than snow on top of mountains. With all this information, the reader can truly imagine what Helena must look like to the spellbound Demetrius.

FRIENDSHIP IMAGERY: In this scene, Helena is able to describe the essence of friendship and her friendship with Hermia. She describes them as sisters who shared all their secrets, who could only sing in the same key as one another. As if every part of them were stuck together making them inseparable as their minds were one. She refers to them as cherries who grew together on the same stem, connected yet different. She encompasses what it means to be best friends; together and unified, but separate as people. With Helena’s speech, the reader is able to visualize just how close these two girls were.