One of the underlying themes of the play is that of love. Love is a source of confusion, passion, excitement, and heartache. Be it a father's affection for his daughter, one's love for their soul mate, or the obsession for a child, love can be found as the source of problems throughout William Shakespeare's, A Midsummer Nights Dream. Lysander validates this theory in the first scene of the play: "Ay me! For aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth- (132-34). In A Midsummer Night's Dream there are three basic and very separate classes. At the top of the hierarchy are the aristocrats, magic is brought into the tale via the fairies, and of course the plebeians are the artisans. As different as each of their worlds may be, the trials of love cause equal amounts of mischief and chaos among each of the characters. .
Theseus is the duke of Athens and Hippolyta is his fiancé. They both have very minor parts, appearing only at the beginning and end of the play, though their presence is felt throughout the story. Neither character is mixed in with the dream aspect of the play; in fact, Theseus represents order. Hippolyta is Queen of the Amazons and when she speaks, she has a far better chance of being heard by the men around her than any other woman in the play. As you climb up the social ladder, women gain respect - slightly. The other women in the play exert far more influence through their actions and versus their words. For example, Helena and Hermia are most in control when the men are chasing them. As soon as the men realize they have the women, Hermia and Helena loose their influence, introducing us to the next of the upper class in the production - the four young lovers. .
It is important to have an understanding of each of the young lovers to fully grasp the story, especially the women. Helena is desperately in love with Demetrius.
