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Imagery In A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Imagery In A Midsummer Night's Dream
There is in fact a difference between knowing and understanding an idea or a concept. Based on the monologue delivered in act 1 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lysander evidently has a positive outlook on love and will therefore be a good husband to Hermia. Lysander proves this by using imagery, comparisons, and euphony to demonstrate his understanding of the nature of love. Because of his deep knowledge of the way love works, he will be a caring and compassionate husband to Hermia.
In his monologue, Lysander believes love is explosive and epic, and he does this by using concrete details to create imagery. Lysander states, “Brief as the lightning in the collied night / That, in a spleen unfolds both heaven and earth” (Shakespeare 1.1. 145-146). The two lines create an image of an explosive spark in the dark, similar to the burst of excitement one feels deep in their stomach when they start to develop
…show more content…
Sparks fly and electricity is everywhere, just like a lightning strike. Lysander illustrates the epic-ness of love in the following line, “War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it” (Shakespeare 1.1 142). The use of words such as war, death, and siege create an image of a grand battle being fought similar to previous battles described in history and in literature. This also creates an idea that love is larger than life, it is grand and it is worth the fight.
In his monologue. Lysander demonstrates his deep understanding of the nature of love trough the use of similes and metaphors. The extended metaphor in the passage is: “the course of true love never did run smooth” (Shakespeare 1.1. 134) in which Lysander compares lovers to a river and love to the flow of water. Like a river, lovers face many obstacles disrupting the flow of their relationship, however that is the beauty of love. A river without any twists or turns would not be as engaging or intriguing

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