"My good Lysander!
I swear to thee by Cupid’s strongest bow,
By his best arrow with the golden head,
By the simplicity of Venus' doves,
By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves,
And by that fire which burned the Carthage queen
When the false Troyan under sail was seen,
By all the vows that ever men have broke
(In number more than ever women spoke),
In that same place thou hast appointed me,
Tomorrow truly will I meet with thee."
I like this quote so much because I actually find it quite comical. The quote encases what most people would consider to be "over-emotional" Shakespeare. The quote is quite redundant and seems silly in an aspect, or the quote can be very powerful yet very subtle. The greatest mystery about Shakespeare is that the reader can interpret nearly any line in so many different ways. Hermia's passage may portray a dramatic act exacerbated by hyperboles. After all, she could have just told Lysander "I will meet you there" or anything simple along those lines. But perhaps Shakespeare tries to communicate a deeper message for those who manage to see past the silliness and into the main theme of the play, love. Perhaps Shakespeare attempts to communicate what true love is via incorporating the hyperboles in Hermia's passage. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" portrays love in many different ways whether that be complicated, confusing, or even forced. With this passage, I feel that Shakespeare is communicating the strength and genuineness of love; then again, someone can come up yet another interpretation of the passage to be thrown in the sea of differing opinions.
Why did you not include this passage in your essay? You have a kernel of analysis here. It would have been much better to have asserted your opinion rather than apologize for it by saying that Shakespeare can be interpreted in a lot of ways. I'm interested in your interpretation, based on your analysis. It is just as valid as any other interpretation if you can support it
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