Provide a character sketch for Egeus in Act 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of the minor, but pivotal, characters in the play is Egeus, Hermia's father.

The play is a comedy—a lot of fun if you can watch it on stage. This play is wonderful because of the humor. Some of the insults between the women may get lost the first time around, but the physical humor—like slapstick—is entertaining to watch, and more easily understood on stage.

Egeus is pivotal because it is his insistence that Hermia marry Demetrius, who she cannot stand—because she loves Lysander. Egeus' determination that she marry his choice of husband is what drives Hermia to elope with Lysander, eventually finding the young people in the woods at night—one of the central focuses of the plot.

Egeus has come to Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to make Hermia marry Demetrius. He accuses Lysander of misbehavior, saying he has "bewitched the bosom of my child" (I.i.29), and lists the way he has done so: he has written her poems, has sung to her in the moonlight...

And stolen the impression of her fantasy
With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats, messengers
Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth... (33-36)

Ironically, rather than taking advantage of her youthful innocence as Egeus implies, Lysander has only done things that appeal to the romantic heart of a young woman. By comparison, Demetrius has simply endeared himself to Hermia's father. Lysander knows how to woo a girl; Demetrius knows how to curry favor.

Egeus is not romantic soul. (One wonders how he managed to have such a lovely daughter—who sincerely loves Lysander.) Egeus is determined to have Hermia marry Demetrius, and has come to the Duke to force Hermia's hand. For if she refuses to marry as her father wishes, Egeus wants her put to death—

Be it so she will not here before your Grace
Consent to marry with Demetrius,
I beg the ancient privilege of Athens:
As she is mine, I may dispose of her;
Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death, according to our law (40-45)

Theseus must support the law. When Hermia asks the Duke if there is any other choice before her, he notes that she can become a nun if she is willing to live in a cloister for the rest of her life, or she can die...or marry Demetrius. Her father's wishes count for a great deal, and he approves of Demetrius.

Some of Shakespeare's timeless humor is delivered here by Lysander. Demetrius insists that he have Hermia:

DEMETRIUS:
Relent, sweet Hermia; and, Lysander, yield
Thy crazed title to my certain right. (93-94)

Lysander has no intention of backing out:

LYSANDER:
You have her father's love, Demetrius;
Let me have Hermia's; do you marry him. (95-96)

In other words, if you two like each other so much, why don't you marry Egeus. Egeus responds:

EGEUS:
Scornful Lysander! True, he hath my love;
And what is mine my love shall render him;
And she is mine; and all my right of her
I do estate unto Demetrius. (97-100)

Egeus chooses to give his daughter's hand to Demetrius.

Egeus is intelligent: he knows the law and his rights. He is respectful of the Duke, and as is his right, comes to his sovereign to force Hermia to submit to his will. He does not have a romantic soul—interested not so much in who his daughter loves but who he admires. He notes that Hermia belongs to him and he will do with her as he chooses, giving her to Demetrius—or having her put to death. He is not a gentle and loving father.

Who is Egeus in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Egeus in this excellent Shakespearian comedy is the father of Hermia, and only appears in Act I scene 1 of this play. He is clearly a man of some importance in Athenian society, being able to crave an audience with Duke Theseus about his daughter. He plays the role of a traditional father who demands the rights of law to marry his daughter as he wishes. Note what he says to Theseus to conclude his complaint against Lysander and his stubborn daughter:

I beg the ancient privilege of Athens:
As she is mine, I may dispose of her,
Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death, according to our law
Immediately provided in that case.

Thus as we can see Egeus is presented as rather a cruel father-figure, one of many in Shakespeare's plays, who insist on choosing the person that their daughter will marry, even prefering that his daughter should die rather than go against his will.

What are the qualities of the character Egeus in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Egeus is represented as the source of conflict that creates the action by the lovers that sparks the movement of the play. He represents authority, life lived by strict rules, and the idea of paternal power. He is entirely within his rights as a father of a daughter, according to the laws of the time. He does not so much wish to be cruel as to be treated with the authority that is his by law. It is shocking to him to have these laws questioned, and appalling to have a daughter who is so wanton as to fly in the face of them. He is like anyone who cannot tolerate nor understand rebellion against the staus quo. Shakespeare's point is that Love is a form of radical break-up of decorum and reason, and in this play, Love wins.

How does Shakespeare present Egeus in the first two acts of A Midsummer Night's Dream?

On the whole, it's fair to say that Egeus is not a particularly sympathetic character. Right from the start, it's clear that this isn't someone we should be rooting for.

In the very first scene of the play, we find him "full of vexation" as he complains to Theseus about the willfulness of his daughter Hermia. Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius, but her heart is set on Lysander.

Egeus chews out Lysander to his face, accusing him of cunningly stealing Hermia's heart by bestowing upon her a series of gifts and love tokens. In doing so, he's turned Hermia against her own father:

With cunning hast thou filched my
daughter's heart,
Turned her obedience (which is due to me)
To stubborn harshness. (I, i, 36–38).

As we don't know the whole story, we might be tempted to sympathize with Egeus. But any sympathy we may have goes right out of the window when Egeus says that he will either force Hermia to marry Demetrius or have her killed:

I may dispose of her—
Which shall be either to this gentleman
Or to her death. (I, i, 43–44).

In case we were in any doubt, Egeus is not a nice guy. He's an overbearing domestic tyrant prepared to have his own daughter killed if she doesn't do what he wants.

Under the circumstances, one can easily understand why Hermia and Lysander, the two love-birds engaged in a forbidden relationship, should take off to the enchanted forest. Only there can they be safe from Egeus and the warped values he represents.