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Dream. First of All,: Lysander Is A Clever Character, and He Thinks On His Feet. Second, He Is Fierce
Dream. First of All,: Lysander Is A Clever Character, and He Thinks On His Feet. Second, He Is Fierce
“You have her father’s love, Demetrius;/ [l]et me have Hermia’s - do you marry him”
Dream. First of all, Lysander is a clever character, and he thinks on his feet. Second, he is fierce,
and he fights his own battles instead of backing away. Finally, he stays true and noble, as his
beliefs do not change through all five acts of the play. All things considered, even though
Lysander is a main character, he is a flat character since his personality traits are the same from
beginning to end.
As Lysander is the noble lover to the character Hermia, he must be able to come up with
clever plans to help their dream of getting married come true. Currently, Hermia and he are
having some trouble as Theseus, the Duke of Athens, enforces the Athenian law at the request of
Egeus, Hermia’s father. The Athenian law gives Hermia the choice between marrying her
father’s choice, being a nun, or dying. Unfortunately, Egeus’s choice is not Lysander but a
playboy by the name of Demetrius. As Lysander and Hermia do not want to be split apart, he
creates a plan and says, “There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee;/[a]nd to that place the sharp
Athenian law/[c]annot pursue us. If thou lov’st me. . .” (I. i. 161-163). This is Lysander
explaining to Hermia his plan for them to run away to his widow aunt’s house where the
Athenian law does not apply. His ability to come up with plans demonstrates Lysander’s
cleverness.
As Lysander has to protect Hermia and himself from the people trying to split them apart,
he must be fierce and not back down easily. He stands up against people who disapprove of their
love, including those in higher authority. When first hearing about the Athenian law’s
consequences he says, “I am beloved by the beauteous Hermia./Why should not I then prosecute
my right?” (I. i.104-105). Lysander speaks this line when Theseus tells Hermia about her three
choices under the law. He is staking his claim to Theseus on why he should marry her; after all,
they both want to be together, whereas Hermia is not in love with Demetrius. This evidence
shows from the very beginning of the play that Lysander is a strong, fierce character who stands
As Lysander goes through so much to be with Hermia, he shows himself to be noble and
true. When Lysander and Hermia decided to run into the magical forest, they confide in
Hermia’s best friend, Helena. This becomes a mistake. Helena shares the secret with Demetrius,
who is the one she dotes upon. The two of them run after the lovers in hope of stopping them.
Fairy King Oberon who lives in the forest witnesses how Demetrius mistreats Helena, but
she loves him all the same. He pities her and tells his loyal servant Puck, to put a magical juice
on Demetrius’s eyes that will make the Athenian youth fall in love with the first person he sees
(which is supposed to be Helena). Unfortunately, Puck gets it wrong and puts it into Lysander's
eyes instead of Demetrius’s. So when Helena finds Lysander, who is sleeping, and wakes him
up, he automatically falls madly in love Helena and abandons Hermia. He falls so in love with
Helena that he says to Hermia, “Hang off, thou cat, though burr! Vile thing, let loose,/ [o]r I will
shake thee from me like a serpent” (III. ii. 260-261). These lines demonstrate how strong the
But by the end of the play, the magic is removed, and Lysander returns to Athens to take
Hermia as his bride. Even though Lysander is under a spell for a while, when it is lifted he feels
exactly the same for Hermia as he did before Puck’s error. This proves Lysander is loyal, noble,
and true as the romantic lover that Shakespeare intends him to be.
In conclusion, Lysander and Hermia marry one another thanks to Theseus, the Duke of
Athens who has the power to bend the law in Hermia’s favor once he learns Demetrius loves
Helena again. Moreover, Lysander presents himself as a noble, loyal, and true individual when
he plans their elopement and remains faithful to Hermia until placed under a magic spell. He also
shows that he is fierce and that he is willing to fight for what he wants, which is to marry Hermia
at all costs. Lysander wanted to run away with Hermia to get married, but they need not after
Theseus grants their marriage. Even if he had not, they would most likely have gotten married
Lysander is a flat character, a clever character, a fierce character, a noble character, and a
authentic lover.
Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ed. Linda Buckle. Cambridge, England,