Summary: Act III, scene ii
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
(See Important Quotations Explained)
In another part of the forest, Puck tells Oberon about
the predicament involving Titania and Bottom. Oberon is delighted
that his plan is working so well. Hermia, having discovered Demetrius
after losing Lysander, enters the clearing with Demetrius. Puck
is surprised to see the woman he saw earlier with a different man
from the one he enchanted. Oberon is surprised to see the man he
ordered Puck to enchant with a different woman. He realizes that
a mistake has been made and says that he and Puck will have to remedy
it. Hermia presses Demetrius about Lysander’s whereabouts, fearing that
he is dead, but Demetrius does not know where Lysander has gone,
and he is bitter and reproachful that Hermia would rather be with
Lysander than with him. Hermia grows angrier and angrier, and Demetrius
decides that it is pointless to follow her. He lies down and falls
asleep, and Hermia stalks away to find Lysander.
When Hermia is gone, Oberon sends Puck to find Helena
and squeezes the flower juice onto Demetrius’s eyelids. Puck quickly returns,
saying that Helena is close behind him. Helena enters with Lysander
still pledging his undying love to her. Still believing that he is
mocking her, Helena remains angry and hurt. The noise of their bickering
wakes Demetrius, who sees Helena and immediately falls in love with
her. Demetrius joins Lysander in declaring this love. Lysander argues
that Demetrius does not really love Helena; Demetrius argues that
Lysander is truly in love with Hermia. Helena believes that they
are both mocking her and refuses to believe that either one loves
her.
Hermia reenters, having heard Lysander from a distance.
When she learns that her beloved Lysander now claims to love Helena,
as does Demetrius, she is appalled and incredulous. Helena, who
is likewise unable to fathom that both men could be in love with
her, assumes that Hermia is involved in the joke that she believes
the men are playing on her, and she chides Hermia furiously for
treating their friendship so lightly. Lysander and Demetrius are
ready to fight one another for Helena’s love; as they lunge at one
another, Hermia holds Lysander back, provoking his scorn and disgust:
“I will shake thee from me like a serpent” (III.ii.262).
Hermia begins to suspect that Helena has somehow acted to steal
Lysander’s love from her, and she surmises that, because she is
short and Helena is tall, Helena must have used her height to lure
Lysander. She grows furious with Helena and threatens to scratch
out her eyes. Helena becomes afraid, saying that Hermia was always
much quicker than she to fight. Demetrius and Lysander vow to protect
Helena from Hermia, but they quickly become angry with each other
and storm off into the forest to have a duel. Helena runs away from
Hermia, and Hermia, reannouncing her amazement at the turn of events,
departs.
Oberon dispatches Puck to prevent Lysander and Demetrius from
fighting and says that they must resolve this confusion by morning.
Puck flies through the forest hurling insults in the voices of both
Lysander and Demetrius, confusing the would-be combatants until
they are hopelessly lost.
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Act III, scene ii →
Summary: Act III, scene iii
Eventually, all four of the young Athenian lovers
wander back separately into the glade and fall asleep. Puck squeezes
the love potion onto Lysander’s eyelids, declaring that in the morning
all will be well.
Analysis
The confusion in Act III continues to heighten, as the
Athenian lovers and the fairies occupy the stage simultaneously,
often without seeing each other. The comedy is at its silliest,
and the characters are at their most extreme: Helena and Hermia
nearly come to blows as a result of their physical insecurities,
and Lysander and Demetrius actually try to have a duel. The plot
is at its most chaotic, and, though there is no real climax in A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, the action is at its most intense.
With the falling action of Acts IV and V, however, matters will
sort themselves out quickly and order will be restored.
