Shakespeare’s inspiration to include an apology with his play, A Midsummer Night's Dream may have been about several controversial topics that involve those attending the première of this play at a wedding, some four hundred years ago. It is included within the play that arranged marriages and the lack of love between Hermia and Demetrius, may be seen as an implication of the false love between the newlyweds of the attending audience. In addition, the attendance of a noble class person, Queen Elizabeth I may have also contributed to the apology with the upbringing of ‘sore spot’ upon the topic of perpetual virginity. With the use of such controversial topics used for comedy, at the expense of some audience members, may or may not have been…show more content… This concept of falling in love with another and then committing to the love shared, seems not to be the case between two characters, Hermia and Demetrius within Shakespeare's MSND. Being in love with another man by the name of Lysander, denied is Hermia the approval of her love for Lysander by her father, Egeus, who makes it quite clear that Lysander is not noble enough to marry his daughter, “...And interchanged love tokens with my child.../With cunning hast thou filched my daughter’s [Hermia] heart,/Turned her obedience (which is due to me)/To stubborn harshness” (Act I, Sc. 1, 1.29-38) It is the approval of another man, Demetrius that Egeus declares that his daughter will marry this noble man, regardless if Hermia loves him or not, “As she is mine, I may dispose of her— /Which shall be either to this gentleman /Or to her death—according to our law. (Act I, Sc. 1, 1. 42-44) Strongly disliking Demetrius, Hermia is furious with her father’s arrangement, and plans to find a way out of this conflict, without facing death or forced to become a nun for disobeying her father. With such controversial events of arranged marriages and disobeying parents to persue love taking place in front of the newlyweds, it can be seen as offensive…show more content… With the use of bringing fear into Egues’ daughter, Hermia, the King of Athens, Theseus threatened to convert Hermia into nunhood, or send her to her death if she did not comply with her father’s orders to marry Demetrius, “Either to die the death or to abjure/Forever the society of men,” (Act I, Sc. 1, 1.65-66). It is the strict life and morals of a nun that forbids life’s distraction such as alcohol and sex, to solely focus on the worship of God, and the participation of religious events, “To live a barren sister all your life,/Chanting faint hymns to the cold, fruitless moon. /Thrice-blessèd they that master so their blood.” (Act I, Sc. 1, 1. 72-74) Not being able to have sex would result in not being able to reproduce to continue the family line, which is considered by many to be a drawback of life. It is this controversial topic of not continuing one’s family line, that can be seen as mocking the ‘failure’ of Queen Elizabeth I, as she was considered to be the “Virgin Queen,” who did not produce any children to inherit the throne. Not having any children within the Royal Family was considered to be unorthodox to the customary ways of a monarch, which seemed to not
