A few days ago
hkaybugs

Need help understanding shakespeare’s A midsummer night’s dream?

Ok so we are reading “A midsummer night’s dream for english and there are a few lines that I am not uncerstanding…can someone explain the following lines for me? I understand the rest but for some reason not these ones:

1. …”Full of vexation come I, with complaint” (act I scene 1 line 22)

2….”I do entreat your grace to pardon me.” (acti 1 scence 1 line 58)

3. “I would my father look’d but with my eyes” (act 1 scene 1) line 56

4. “Know or your youth, examine well your blood” (act1 scene 1 line 67)

5. “look you arm yourself/ To fit your fancies to your fathers will” (act 1 scene 1 line 118)

6. “With cunning hast thou filch’d my daughter’s heart.” (act 1 scene 1 line 36)

7. “In that same place thou hast appointed me/ To-morrow truly will I meet with thee.” (Act 1 Scene 1 line 177-178)

8. “love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind” (act 1 scene 1 line 234)

Please if anyone knows even a couple of these help me…I am so confused by just these lines! Thanks everyone!

Top 2 Answers
A few days ago
Anonymous

Favorite Answer

1 vexation is kinda like complaint, so hes saying “I come rather annoyed, I have something to complain about”

2 More or less “I do beg your grace to forgive me”

3 “I wish my father would see things with my eyes” ie my way

4 “Your young, examine your feelings (going onto say) if you don’t do as your father wishes, you will be a nun for the rest of your life and have no love”

5 arm could mean defense or action (arms are weapons which are used for defense and for actions) so “make yourself ready to do as your father wants”

6 “With cunning you have stolen my daughter’s heart” Cunning and stealing implies that Egeus thinks Lysander tricked Hermia into loving him and that the love is therefor not true

7 “In the place that you have appointed (similar to appointment, scheduled, told me to go), tomorrow I will meet you” Hermia agreeing to meet Lysander where he told her to go tomorrow

8 basicially, love isn’t all about beauty, what one person finds beautiful another might not, it is internally defined (with emotions, feelings and thoughts) rather than externally. Basically shes complaining that while everyone thinks shes beautiful, the one person that she, Demetrius, loves someone else, Hermia.

Feel free to do more, if I’ll see them I’ll try to help, I have all of Shakespeare and understand most of it

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A few days ago
Blue
Try here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Midsummer_Night’s_Dream

Or try looking up the word’s you don’t know here: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/entreat

1. – I think he is mad

2. entreat: to ask (a person) earnestly; beseech; implore; beg: to entreat the judge for mercy.

6: I think Filch is slang for steal.

Good Luck,

Blue

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