Editor's Choice
Compare and contrast Demetrius and Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Quick answer:
Demetrius and Lysander appear similar initially, as both pursue Hermia despite her father's disapproval. However, Lysander is honorable and unwavering in his love, devising a plan to elope with Hermia. In contrast, Demetrius is unfaithful, having abandoned Helena for Hermia, and later cruelly rejects Helena in the forest. Ultimately, Demetrius's change of heart is influenced by a love potion, highlighting his insincerity.
At first glance, Lysander and Demetrius appear to be fairly interchangeable characters in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
They both fall in love with the wrong woman. Lysander falls in love with Hermia, whose father, Egeus, refuses to let him marry her. Demetrius also falls in love with Hermia (or says he does), but Hermia doesn't want to marry him, even though her father prefers him to Lysander.
Change their names around, and it wouldn't really make much difference to the play, at least as far as this basic plot line is concerned.
The differences between Lysander and Demetrius become clearer, however, and the characters become much more distinguishable, as the plot develops.
The most notable difference between the two young men is that Lysander is honorable, but Demetrius is not.
Before the play begins, Demetrius pursued Helena but abandoned her and turned his attentions to Hermia. Then Demetrius...
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insisted that Hermia marry him.
Lysander never wavers in his love for Hermia—except for the business about Puck's merry mix-up with Oberon's love potion, which causes Lysander to fall madly in love with Helena. Lysander devises a way to be with Hermia by running away with her to his aunt's house, which is outside her father's influence and beyond the jurisdiction of Athenian law. He'll do whatever it takes for them to be together.
Demetrius, meanwhile, threatens to kill Lysander so that he can marry Hermia himself. Lysander doesn't threaten to kill anybody—except when he's under the influence of Oberon's love potion and wants to fight a duel with Demetrius over Helena.
Once the pairs of lovers are lost in the woods outside Athens, Demetrius cruelly, even violently rejects Helena's advances toward him. He threatens to hide in the woods if she won't leave him alone, leaving Helena "to the mercy of wild beasts" (2.1.232).
Demetrius also threatens Helena physically.
DEMETRIUS: I will not stay thy questions; let me go;
Or, if thou follow me, do not believe
But I shall do thee mischief in the wood. (2.1.239–241)
Ultimately, Demetrius says to Theseus, Duke of Athens, that he had loved only Helena all along.
DEMETRIUS: The object and the pleasure of mine eye,
Is only Helena. To her, my lord,
Was I betroth'd ere I saw Hermia. (4.1.171–173)
It's important to note that Demetrius is the only one of the four young lovers who is still under the influence of the love potion at the end of the play, so his change of character for the better is not of his own doing. It's the love potion talking.
What are the differences between Demetrius and Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream?
One major difference is that Demetrius is portrayed as a bully and
physically aggressive, while Lysander is characterized as being sensitive and
respectful.
We see Demetrius being portrayed as physically aggressive when we see him
charge into the woods with the intention of finding Lysander and slaying him.
We see Demetrius's intentions to kill Lysander in his lines, "Where is Lysander
and fair Hermia? / The one I'll slay, the other slayeth me" (II.i.192-193).
While Lysander could just as easily kill Demetrius as well, Lysander is
choosing to be passive and running from Athens with his loved one instead. We
also see Demetrius act as a bully in his treatment of Helena. In fact,
Demetrius is absolutely abusive towards her. He threatens her with violence as
we see in his lines, "Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit / For I am
sick when I do look on thee" (II.i.215-216). Not only does he threaten her with
physical violence, he threatens to rape her as we see in his next lines:
You do impeach your modesty too much
To leave the city and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not;
To trust the opportunity of night,
...
With the rich worth of your virginity. (218-223)
In great contrast to Demetrius, Lysander is portrayed as sensitive and
respectful, especially towards Hermia. We see him being sensitive when, after
she is warned by Theseus of her possible sentences, Lysander sees how
distraught and frightened Hermia is and sensitively remarks, "How now, my love!
Why is your cheek so pale? / How chance the roses there do fade so fast?"
(I.i.130-131). When the couple is in the woods escaping Athens together,
similar to Demetrius, Lysander expresses his sexual desires as well; however,
in great contrast to Demetrius, he does so in a way that shows Hermia respect
and preserves her honor. We see Lysander expressing his sexual desires when he
suggests that they rest for the night and that Hermia should sleep with him, as
we see in the lines, "One turf shall serve as pillow for us both; / One heart,
one bed, two bosoms. and one troth" (II.ii.42-43). However, like a virtuous
maiden, Hermia strives to preserve her honor and tells him to sleep elsewhere,
which "Becomes a virtuous bachelor and a maid" (60). While he protests at
first, respecting her, he gladly relents, saying, "Amen, amen, to that fair
prayer say I" (63).
Hence, we see that one major difference between Demetrius and Lysander is that
Demetrius is characterized as an aggressive bully, while Lysander is sensitive
and respectful.