Student Question
What does Oberon's use of a magic potion on Titania and the human lovers reveal about his character in A Midsummer Night's Dream?
Quick answer:
Oberon's use of a magic potion on Titania and the human lovers in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" reveals his manipulative and vengeful nature. He uses the potion to humiliate Titania and gain control over the young boy she refuses to give him. However, with the human lovers, Oberon's intentions are more benevolent, aiming to resolve their romantic conflicts. This duality highlights his complex character, capable of both spite and sympathy.
Oberon is spiteful and wants to manipulate Titiania into giving him the young boy she's inherited from one of her former attendants, and it is clear he will take nothing less than getting the boy from her. Titania refuses to let him have the boy; therefore, Oberon decides to humiliate her to the fullest extent by any means necessary. He then applies the magic potion to Titania's eyelids and casts the spell that when she awakes, she will fall in love with the most hideous creature she first sees. This happens to be Bottom, who has been turned into a jackass.
In contrast, Oberon wants to RIGHT the lovers' quarrels that he sees by using the magic potion, which is ironic, condsidering he had ill intentions with using it on Titania, his own wife! Oberon wants the four lovers to be happy and united with their intended partners and he seems to feel sorry that Demetrius doesn't love poor Helena. His intentions are completely different here!
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