Character Analysis: The Lovers

The four Athenian lovers — Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius — are central to the play's exploration of love's irrationality. Shakespeare makes them deliberately interchangeable in many ways, using their confusion to comment on the nature of desire itself. This lesson analyses each character and their collective significance.

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Hermia

Overview

Hermia is Egeus's daughter and Lysander's beloved. She is courageous, determined, and fiery — willing to risk death or a life in a convent rather than submit to her father's choice of husband.

Key Characteristics

Trait	Evidence
Defiant	She refuses to marry Demetrius despite the threat of death: "I would my father look'd but with my eyes" (1.1)
Passionate	She elopes with Lysander through a dangerous forest
Physically small	Helena mocks her as a "puppet" and a "vixen"; Hermia is insecure about her height
Loyal	Her love for Lysander is genuine and tested by the night's confusion
Quick-tempered	She threatens Helena with violence when she believes Helena has stolen Lysander

Hermia's Significance