The Blind Cupid Theory in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind” Act 1, Scene 1 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Shakespeare uses this couplet to take sight completely out of the love equation.  Shakespeare tells his audience, through Helena, that love is an intrinsic  matter of the heart. He is critiquing the superficial vision of love through material wealth and aesthetics, that is highly temporal and is not dependent on an emotional bond. He writes about the same thing in his  Sonnet 130 where he explains how his mistress is not attractive, but he still loves her deeply.  

“And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare/ As any she belied with false compare.”

Shakespeare also refers to this idea in Sonnet 141; however, it specifically mentions the eyes just like Helena does in the play; 

“In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes,/For they in thee a thousand errors note;/But ’tis my heart that loves what they despise,/Who in despite of view is pleased to dote.” 

In terms of the play, the line foreshadows events to come.  Most notably, the line foreshadows Titania falling in love with Bottom despite the fact that he has a donkey’s head.  

Indeed, another example of how this quote shows true love being blind can be found through the character of Demetrius. As the play starts, he’s in love with Hermia, which Helena says is because Hermia is prettier.  By the end of the play, Demetrius has found his true love in Helena, despite their different looks, despite their different looks. He was looking for love with his eyes; however, he wasn’t finding what he was seeking . Contrastingly, as soon as he stopped relying on his eyes, he was able to discover the authentic love that he and Helena share.