The Duke of Athens and the fiancé and later the husband of Hippolyta, Theseus is a strong and responsible leader who tries to be fair and sensitive. Though it is his duty to uphold the law, and he does so when both Lysander and Demetrius love Hermia, as soon as the lovers sort themselves out, he overrules Egeus' demand that Hermia marry Demetrius and let the lovers decide for themselves whom to marry. He also treats the laborers decently, despite the fact that their play is atrocious. Though a fearsome warrior (he captured Hippolyta, an Amazon queen, in battle), he is devoted to making her happy. Theseus is, however, extremely literal-minded, and gives little credence to the "fantasies" the lovers recount of their night in the forest.
Theseus Quotes in A Midsummer Night's Dream
The A Midsummer Night's Dream quotes below are all either spoken by Theseus or refer to Theseus. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 1, scene 1
Quotes
Act 4, scene 1
Quotes
I know you two are rival enemies:
How comes this gentle concord in the world,
That hatred is so far from jealousy,
To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity? (129)
How comes this gentle concord in the world,
That hatred is so far from jealousy,
To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity? (129)
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 5, scene 1
Quotes
More strange than true. I never may believe
These antique fables nor these fairy toys.
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact. (2)
These antique fables nor these fairy toys.
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact. (2)
Related Characters:
Theseus (speaker)
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Midsummer LitChart as a printable PDF.
Theseus Character Timeline in A Midsummer Night's Dream
The timeline below shows where the character Theseus appears in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, scene 1
In the royal palace of Athens, Duke Theseus enters with the Amazon Queen Hippolyta, his fiancé, and Philostrate, his master of revels. Theseus...
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Theseus sends off Philostrate to organize entertainment for the wedding. After Philostrate leaves, Theseus says to...
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...enters, with his daughter Hermia and her two suitors Lysander and Demetrius. Egeus explains to Theseus that he wants his daughter to marry Demetrius, but that she loves Lysander, who has...
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Theseus speaks to Hermia, advising her to obey her father, and adding that Demetrius is a...
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Hermia wishes her father could look at Lysander through her eyes, but Theseus responds, "Rather your eyes must with his [your father's] judgment look" (1.1.59).
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Hermia asks what will happen if she refuses to marry Demetrius. Theseus gives the following choices: become a nun, be put to death, or marry Demetrius. When...
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Theseus admits he's disturbed by these facts, but says he cannot change the laws of Athens....
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Act 1, scene 2
...are meeting about the play they hope to perform as part of the celebration for Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding: The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe.
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Act 4, scene 1
...Oberon dance together, and Oberon pronounces that on the next night they will dance at Theseus's castle in honor of Duke Theseus's wedding and the weddings of Lysander and Hermia and...
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Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and many others enter, about to hunt. But they recognize the sleeping lovers...
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Act 5, scene 1
At the palace, Theseus and Hippolyta discuss the tale the lovers have told about their night in the wood....
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The lovers enter, and Theseus asks them what entertainment they'd like to see that night. Philostrate brings forward a list...
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When Theseus learns that the players are simple manual laborers trying to do more than they are...
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...actors don't even exist: "All for your delight we are not here" (5.1.114). Though as Theseus, Hippolyta, and the lovers remark, the prologue would have been normal if it had been...
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...lovers will speak though a hole in the wall that he represents with his fingers. Theseus and Demetrius comment that the Wall is the wittiest wall they've ever heard speak.
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Bottom enters as Pyramus, and curses the Wall for dividing him from his love. Theseus comments that since the Wall can talk it should curse him back. Bottom, overhearing, turns...
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...tomb) to elope. Hippolyta states, "This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard" (5.1.222). Theseus responds, "If we imagine no worse of them than they of themselves, they may pass...
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...that the lantern he holds is moonshine, while he is the man in the moon. Theseus and the others make fun of the speeches.
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...to the stage. She sees Pyramus lying dead. In despair she stabs herself, and dies. Theseus and the lovers continue to make fun of the play all the while. Finally, Bottom...
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Theseus says that it is almost "fairy time" (midnight), and therefore time to go to bed....
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