19 April 2009

Fools in love - Midsummer Posting #6

This is the 6th posting for A Midsummer Night's Dream and is due before the end of the day on Wednesday, April 22.

Throughout Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, we've seen a variety of characters acting in some foolish ways, mostly as a result of their emotions. Such behavior mirrors many of the same foolish behaviors you probably experience almost everyday. In an earlier post, you were asked to respond which character acted the most foolish. This response requires you to provide an example of some real-life love-inspired foolish behavior you've experienced.

What is an example of some real-life foolish behavior caused by love? How have people you know acted like a "fool" in love? What happened? How is the behavior you've seen typical of human behavior? How does it connect to A Midsummer Night's Dream? What is it that we can learn about human nature from such behavior?

To earn full credit, your response should fully answer the prompt questions and be relatively free of sloppy mechanical and grammatical errors. Proofread what you write before you post.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many people do very silly things when they are in love. Some will hurt themselves and some with hurt the person that they love. It can be very serious when things like this occur for love. I know many friends that have made silly and foolish mistakes because of love and I can say that it is never worth it in the end. This love triangle sort thing also happens in Midsummers Night's Dream as well. Characters in the novel were getting upset with one another about the love mix-up's. This happens in human nature also.

Taylor M. Period 2

Anonymous said...

I've seen friends become quite jealous; to the point of hatred when their boyfriend or girlfriend payed more attention to someone else, dumped them for someone else. Or simply doesn't like them back. These people become firecly protective. Which is sincere in a way (They care about the person so much that they cannot stand to lose them or see them hurt)but not very practical and certainly awakard.

I know the feeling, i've had a few girlfriends and when they dote on another man more then you; you get jealous, tis natural for a man.

In Midsummer, we can see this jealous and rivialry in Lysander and Demetrious. Who hate each other because they both feel they have a right to the same women. Demetrious because Hermia's father favors him and Lysander whom Hermia loves back. Two men who once were friends are now enemies, each begrudgeing the other in the name of love and affection. This happens all the time, especially in teenage life. Teenage Drama sucks hard; but everyone's got to go through it. I consider it something of a baptism of fire into adulthood.

To sum up, i've seen how love can tear friends apart and ignite their hearts with jealousy and rage towards each other. I've seen and experianced it in real life and see the same thing occuring with Lysander and Demetrious.

Jake.C
Period 6!

Anonymous said...

An example of foolish behavior is when two guys or girls fight over love. although one may be really in love, most of the time it is most likely that they do not know what true life is. The people I know that are acted like a fool say and act very strange and\or annoying. I think this is typical of humans because they think they are in love when they are really not.

Ian p.2

Anonymous said...

Love is probably the greatest, most complicated feeling a person can ever have. In A Midsummer Night's Dream the real issues come up about love and how we get affected by this tremendous feeling. There are a lot of foolish behaviors caused by love. Love can also inspire hatred and jealousy for another with the person you may love, like how Helena envied Hermia for having Demetrius love her. Other times people can be blinded by love and be in a bad situation but refuse to see the light because they are "in love" with this person, like when Titania loved Nick Bottom.For the people I've known who have felt this way, there is rarely a happy ending. Normally people end up hurt and lose trust in love. However these behaviors are very typical of human nature, its natural to envy someone who has what you desire. It's normal to see someone stay in a bad relationship because they can't see the reality of the bad things happening. This behavior can also be linked to things when we're younger. Experiencing the play ground bully and a parent saying, "The only reason why they're being mean to you is because they like you." to avoid conflicts for a young child. But we should learn that sometimes the love we think we are feeling is really just a natural human attachment. We should also learn not to twist the reality so that it has a better affect and cause people to think bad behavior is actually positive. In my eyes, a person can't survive on their own without friends or family or anyone to interact with, so when we find a situation that brings us together with someone, we want to stay with them purely for that human interaction.
Margaret C. P.5

Anonymous said...

Love has control over peoples emotions and actions, that can make them act in a totally different way. People in love may change the way the act or what they do in life,just to make the person they are in love with happy. Such as a guy may act a lot more mature when he is around a girl he likes, just so she doesn't think he acts like a little kid. Also they may try and show off to make sure the other person is watching them.Another thing People in love may do is leave their friends just so they can spend all their time with their boyfriend and or girlfriend. People in love can also become very giddy and peppy when around their girlfriend or boyfriend. This is like one of my best friends, she is going out with a boy and when ever she is around him she gets very happy and laughs a lot; he can always make her in a better mood. Even though she is herself around him , she can act very foolish and kind of become an airhead.This reminds me of a little how Hermia(i think) acted towards Demetrius, she was always trying to get his attention and was very happy when she was around him until he would shut her down. I think all of this shows that love can change a person for good or bad, like in Hermia's case she got low self confidence from being shot down by Demetrius so many times;But love can also change you for the better like in my friends case, where she is very happy. Love is one of the strongest emotion that can make you do almost anything.





roryyyyy

Anonymous said...

In real life, one of the most foolish things that I often see happening is that couples ignore the people around them and choose to live in their own world completley oblivious to everything else. In my experience, everyone gets ticked and pissy about the couple and teases them to their faces, though they never notice. This seems to be typical behavior because many people who are infatuated with someone else they only want to be around that person and they become absorbed into themselves. This connects to Midsummer Night's Dream because of the way Hermia and Lysander act around Helena. They are so involved in their own love story that they don't realize the awful turn that her's has taken. We can learn about human nature from this because it tells us that people are often selfish, but they do really care.

Sophie
Period 2

Anonymous said...

An example of real life foolish behavior caused by love is some one thinking that their boyfriend/ girlfriend is better at something that someone else when they aren't. People I know become obesessed with their boyfriend/ girlfriend to the point where they have to know where they are and what they're doing at all times. They broke up. Humans need their space, it is not natural for someone to spend every single second of their life with the person they love. In a Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander and Demetrius both love Hermia. But Hermia only loves Lysander, so Demetrius is mad that Lysander is trying to steal Hermia from him. Humans are jealous of anyone that they think are trying to steal their boyfreind/ girlfreind.

Kevin S. P.6

Anonymous said...

Some real life foolish love behavior that i have witnessed would be your typical love obsessed couple that spends every waking moment with eachother and completley blocks out everyone and everything around them. People act like fools when they are in love because everything they do becomes about this person they're in love with, it almost makes me people change entirely. I've seen girl's who allow the love of their boyfriend get in the way of things like school, friendships, and even their own personality to the point were they have isolated themselves and limited the people they surround themselves with to be this one person in their life.
From this ridiculous behavior we can learn to not let a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship get in the way of other important things in your life and hopefully find that balance between the two. This all connects to midsummer nights dream because of the four lovers who all acted like fools when came to love. For example hermia and lysander showed no sypathy towards helena and her pain about demetrius not loving her all necause they were so self absorbed in their own love.


Sarah Casanova
period 2

taylor said...

Some real behaviors that are caused by love could be rage or anger which can be caused by jealousy. Some people can have a good strong relationship and, they have good communication between each other, this may cause people to behave in a positive way. When my friend got a boy friend. She pushed me to the curb and didn't talk to me as much as she used to. She was so into her boy friend that she didnt care about her friends anymore. When someone is in love typically a human likes the attention that they get. Some people can become blind with the love and dont want to see who the other person really is. It connects to the story because Lysander and Hermia love each other. They dont want to be split apart from the love that they have between each other. We can learn that people can act in many different ways when they are in love. People should sometimes step back from love and live their life the way they used to but with that person in it.

Anonymous said...

When some one is in Love, it messes with you lot weather they know it or not. Love hurts, it will either hurt you or it could hurt the one you love. It is always something that is taken seriously and should not be taken as a joke when it comes to love. Some of my friends have gone through this weather they hurt them or their love hurt them. It not worth the pain or the agony. This also occurs in Midsummer Night Dream with the characters. They have a love triangle going on between them. One is getting upset with the other, but than may turn and go to them later in love. It’s just all a mess and everyone is left with confusion.

Chris G.
Period 6

Anonymous said...

Love can make people act in many ways, and whether they notice it or not, to some people it make be foolish. Love can do many different things to the mind. A few of my friends have acted foolish, i dont think that they notice it, but to me and to others, it is acting foolish. Their "foolishness" is what hurts them at the end. Love confuses alot of people and this is what i think may hurt the lovers in the story.

Anonymous said...

the one above is
Randy
P2

Anonymous said...

An example of real life foolish behavior caused by love that someone I've known did, is when my friend went out with this girl and got mad at each other and then they broke up. They did silly things like stop talking to each other or any of each other's friends. Then they both were really sad because they missed each other. Love makes people do crazy things, for example, I know someone who wrote someone else crazy love notes in someone's locker excessively again and again. I've seen friends who liked someone who didn't like them back. This happens all the time and it reminds me of Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander. The play A Midsummer Night's Dream is not any different than real life. What we can learn about human nature is that people do crazy stuff when they're in love.

Ian F.
P. 5

Anonymous said...

i think love can do many things to a person. it can control you in many ways. it can make you do very stupid things and make you choose stupid decisions or it can do the total opposite and make you very happy and make the right choices, but it usually makes you do both. it can control your personality, like some people will act totally different in front of their boyfriend or girlfriend to impress them but then act totally different in front of their friends. another thing it can do is seperate you from your friends, like your boyfriend or girlfriend can take you away from your friends because you make more time for them then your friends, it can even ruin many friendships. An example is when Helena acts all happy and different around Demertrius and then totally different when shes not with him.
We can learn in human nature that love is a strong feeling and can change many people in good or bad ways.
tessaaa

Anonymous said...

Love is one of the greatest yet one of the most complicated feelings a person can ever have. In the play A Midsummer Night's Dream the biggest theme is the complications and solutions needed to be found for them at the fault of love. Thus a lot of foolish behaviors are at the fault of love. Love can also bring hatred and jealousy into the picture when love is present, such as when you are in love with one but another is in love with you creating a tricky situation. A great example of the foolishness is like how Helena envied Hermia for having Demetrius love her. Another times people can be blinded by love and be put in a bad situation but refuse to see the light because they are "in love" with this person and are trying to fid the faults, like when Titania loved Nick Bottom. And when people can act this way it is usually ending is a very bad way and nothing close to the happily ever after that they see in their mind on the cloud that their blind love has created. Instead people end up hurt and lose trust in love or faith in them selves. But yet these are something that happen so often, but no matter the amount of times is can repeat it self in the very same way with out taking an notice with that person.

Michelle Elizabeth :)

Anonymous said...

When people are in love they act completely different around that person then they do in front of their family and friends. Most love crazed relationships make people do crazy things, like ruin their life. People let their relationships get in the way of everything especially friends. They have to be with that person 24/7 and never have time for anything else. In A Midsummer Night's Dream nobody cares about the people around them. For example, when Lysander was obsessed with Helena he totally forgot about Hermia. We can learn that if your in a relationship to not let it take over your life. It's not always about that one person.

Jill per 6

Anonymous said...

Sometimes when people are in love they do stupid things and there's no stopping them. They'll go way out of there way and will think nothing of their behavior and don't realize how silly it looks to everyone else. You see people act like this everyday. I've seen many of my friends do deperate things or tried so hard to be with a boy , like Helena in the beginning. They're actions seemed crazy to me, but in their own little world love made them do craz things. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, it's a comedy and we are all supposed to realize how silly and stupid all of the lovers acted. What some people dont realize is this is how people act everyday. Even though this play was a very exagerated made up story, it shows symbolism to that of real reality. We can learn from all of this alot about human nature, we can learn that you cannot control your true feelings.

Kristyyyyyyyyy

Anonymous said...

Many people that are in love can act really foolish when it comes to love. I actually know someone that had been really foolish because of this boy she really liked. She was like really obessed about him and he was obessed of her too. They would do everything together they like never a part from each other but, one day my friend was talking to her friend that is a boy and her boyfriend got really mad. He was so mad that he almost started a fight with the other boy who wasn't even interested in my friend. After that he started going out with another girl just to make her jealous and she did the say thing to make him jealous. After that happened they just knew that they were acting really dumb so they just got together again. This is a great example of how people act foolish when they are in love because everyone does that when they are in love it's just Nature. This relates to the play because Helena would do anything just to be with Demetrius even stalking him down. Being foolish when in love is just Human Nature.

Daisy P5.

Anonymous said...

People in love do foolish things like no hanging out with their friends and only hanging with their boyfriend or girlfriend. One of my friends blew of plans with his friends that they were planing for a while and hung out with his girlfriend and made a stupid excuse to do it. His friends got mad at him because he has done it more than once and they won't plan anything with him and are mad at him and wont talk to him because he blows them off all the time. This is typical because when you have a girlfriend or boyfriend you want to spend more time with them alone and not around your friends so your friends get mad because your spending more time with your girl or boyfriend then you are with them. lysander blew off Hermia when he was under the spell and was with Helena and not with her. we can learn not to blow off your friends when you have a girl or boyfriend and to spend equal time with both of them but maybe a little more with your girl or boyfriend so they don't get mad at you for spending more time with your friends then them.

Andrew p5

Anonymous said...

One example that i can think of, of real-life foolish behavior caused by love would be when a friend of mine really liked this boy and he really liked her. They hung out almost everyday and started loosing all their friend but didn't realize because all they really thought about was each other. This is typical behavior because a lot of the time when people first start going out or something they are so crazy about each other that they're blind to what’s going on around them. This is a lot like A Midsummer Night’s Dream because Hermia and Lysander loved each other so much they really didn’t care or realize how much they were upsetting the people around them and Hermia didn’t pay much attention to her friend Helena when she was having problems with Demetrius.

katrina
period 2

Anonymous said...

I've seen many people do foolish things including myself. Many people let things get to them. I've seen many broken phones, holes in walls and the occasional slap in the face.

Story from FMYLife.com-
Today, my girlfriend's friend told her she had seen me shopping with a cute girl in the mall. When I came back home my girlfriend punched me in the face and asked who the girl was. Apparently her friend didn't tell her the cute girl was my three year old niece. I lost a tooth because of that punch.

In the play the lovers were starting to get crazy when there emotions were all jumbled up because of the faires and they were at the point of pulling hair and fighting one another and they couldn't understand why. Also Helena acted very foolish at the beginning when she wanted to be with Demetrius and was willing to trade in her reputation to be with someone that in no way liked her back.

Sean D.
Period 2.

Anonymous said...

Love is a feeling that makes people act in very foolish ways. One real life example is if a guy liked a girl then maybe he would try and act "cool" or "tougher" around her. This could also go the other way if a girl liked a guy one thing she would probably do would try and make sure she always looks good when she knows that she is going to be around him. Something even more silly is when a couple revolve their whole worlds around eachother. Then they don't really realize what their friends or anyone around them is thinking about them. That is like in A Midnight Summers Dream when Hermia and Demetrius are so crazy about eachother that they forget about their friends. Mostly its Hermia that forgets about her friend Helena when she really needed her help. People don't always realize how silly they are acting when they are in love.

Leanneeeeee - period 5

Anonymous said...

Love can sometimes be a blind emotion leading people to do many crazy and bizarre things. A situation i myself have experienced is when two close friends of mine started obsessing over the same girl they were both blindly in "love" with her and couldn't see that it was tearing there friendship apart. Another situation was one in which after a tramatic break-up a friend of mine became very depressed and reapeatedly said "love isnt real, it's a lie" this showed me how powerful an emotion love is. From what i have learned about love it is typical human nature for after loving then being hurt to retract from the world and become depressed regretting many things wishing they had acted different and in many cases saying how love doesn't exist anywhere other than in dreams and fairy tales. We can learn that once someone has been hurt when it comes to love everyone regrets many things and will eventually come to realize that they were foolish to act the way they did and hopefully will act different in the future.


Josh per.5

Anonymous said...

I know plenty of people that have acted like fools because of love. This compares perfectly to the events in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. All the characters did various silly things while they were in and out of with people. Things that they would normally consider absurd become things that if they would do in a heart beat for their respective love. All their faults are nonexistent because of their love, hence the saying “Love is blind”. In reality, one example of foolish behavior someone did as a result of love is lying to their parents about their whereabouts so they could spend more time with the boyfriend. They didn’t see the boyfriend as a bad influence for causing them to lie to their parents, which is beyond foolish to anyone who thinks of the consequences. This is typical of human behavior because it displays how the human emotion of love changes anything and everything. People experience love in some form all the time, and it affects them in an obvious way. They seem to be in an impenetrable bubble as far as the truth is concerned. This connects exactly to A Midsummer Night’s Dream because this is exactly what happened in the book. Love changed the characters; it made them blind to all faults. Helena could not see what a complete jerk Demetrius was. She only saw how perfect he supposedly was. She chased him and even begged for him to treat her in anyway, even as a dog. This solidifies the ideal that people will do anything for love. Lying to parents or asking to be treated like a dog support this ideal. It affirms the idea that love is a very strong emotion in human nature, and that it probably is at the root of it all because it can cause people to act in such ways. Human nature is dictated by love, if not solely, then at least for the majority. For example, Hermia stated she would rather die or become a nun then marry the man she did not love, Demetrius. Human nature can be controlled by an emotion as powerful as love.

Ella Period 6

Anonymous said...

Well i know a lot of people that do really stupid and foolish things for love and a lot of people or most people do something that is like what these characters do. A girl could just not be ber self and just be shy all of the time. Also you could just be begging for love like Helena is doing to Demetrius and nust act like a fool and say you would do anything for them when they dont even want you. Another thing is there is a whole love mess in this play, between Helena, Hermia, Demetrius, and Lysander. Like one person likes them but the other person likes someone else like Helena liking Demetrius but Demetrius loves Hermia but Hermia doesnt love him she loves Lysander and that is just a big mess. You just are fighting for love and doing anything to get that one person and you dont even realize it.


brianaaaa
periodddd 2

& by the way milll im using my itouch againn haha

perioddd 2

Anonymous said...

When people are in love they tend to do crazy things. They say they would do anything for that someone just to win their heart. When we are in love we don't care about anything else but that person. Well I don't know alot because some don't say they keep it to them self. The behavior is typical because you can see that they are much happier and don't care about the things they use to. Their life ends up changing when they are in love. This connects to the book because in the book the lovers would do anything just to win the girl's heart. Like Helena wanting Demetreus and Lysander wanting Hermia. We can learn that when people are in love you will see a change in their life and they will do just about anything to make the other love them back.

jovanny p5

Anonymous said...

Lysander and Demetrius are the two characters in the book that are mixed up in the battle of love. Pug who is a fairy that serves Oberon the king of the fairies. Pug puts a spell from a red flower that has been struck by Cupids arrow that carries a spell that can make people fall in love with each other. Which he uses on Demetrius and Lysander to fall in love with Hellena who is a woman who no one loves. Now all of a sudden these two guys are competing for her. This Kind of love is something that can happen in any high school. Two people fighting over someone.
Nick.l
Per6

Anonymous said...

They act like there is no one around. They were lissing to people around them. They lost their friendship. It is typoical because love can make a person do diffrent things. It connencts because the chactors were acting the same as people do. We can learn that people can act in diffrent ways

Steven P6

Anonymous said...

Love has to be the most confusing emotion of all the emotions experienced by humans. It makes us do think diffrently and we make mistakes under its influence which we later regret. Being an onlooker to love, you notice things are done diffrently then what you expect for that person. People will become ignorant to what they're doing and become a completely diffrent person. Love is the most coveted and yet most confusing of emotions felt by humans and will remain that way for ever.

Donovan Steinke
Period 6

Anonymous said...

An example would be my mom reminding me what to do 20 times even though I heard it the first time. I've seen someone act like a fool in love when that person follows the person they love and not giving them space. It connects to Midsummer Night's Dream because in the begining, Demetrius keeps telling Helena to stay away from him and she still goes after him and is willing to do anything to have him.

Fardin
Per 6

Anonymous said...

An example of real life foolish behavior is when boyfriends and girlfriends act different around eachother then they act with their friends. For example,one of my friends gets all giggley and cheery when she is around her boyfriend and acts so different. i think that this is an example of foolishness in love because its funny but its wierd how people can't just be themselves. I think that it connects to a Midsummer Night's dream in a way because Hermia gets all dreamy and silly around Lysander. From human nature we can learn that everyone acts different around people they like!

jessica
period 5
SORRY A LITTLE LATE!

Anonymous said...

When people are in love they act differently when they're together than when they're with their friends. They're always laughing and smiling and having a good time. I know a few of my friends have acted like nothing else mattered than the both of them. They don't realize the way they are acting because they don't care about anything else. They fight over the ones they love and they argue and sometimes I've seen girls chasing after guys that don't even want them. It connects to A Midsummer Night's Dream because Helena is in love with Demetrius but he loves Hermia. He wants nothing to do with Helena and yet she still follows him around and tells him how much she loves him. She doesn't realize that she's making a fool of herself. I've noticed that after two people that loved eachother break up, they realize how stupid they looked to other people.


michaelaaaaaaaa :)
p. 6...sorry its lateeeee

Anonymous said...

Some real-life foolish beavior that people would do is that they will say and do anything in front of any one. People that I know that acted like a fool in love was when someone loved someone, but they did not love them back. So this person kept trying and trying to have this person love them back. They would do any thing for that person to love them. This connects to A Midsummer Night's Dream because when Helena would do any thing to get Demetrius to fall in love with her.

Michele C. P.5

Anonymous said...

An example of a real- life foolish behavior caused by love is acting as if nothing else matter. When you are in love you ignore everything that happens out side you and your partner. People that are in love are always smiling and don't spend much time with their friend as they use too. This coonects to the Midsummer Night's Dream because this is what the hole play is about. This lovers sre so into their love that anything else don't matter. Lysander and Hermia try to run away. While Helena fallows her lover everywere not caring for the emberesment she is doing and how low she is going for him. What we learn from this is that when you are in love you don't think with your head but instead fallow yuo r feelings and do things with out thinking.
Carla p6

Anonymous said...

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