A Midsummer Night’s Dream Group
Question:
Before Helena leaves in Act 2 Scene 1, she ends with a rhyming couplet that sums up her feelings.
Can someone help me think of a rhyming couplet Demetrius would say to Helena to sum up his feelings?
Answers:
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Posted by luannw on Monday March 23, 2009 at 4:03 AM
How about:
Follow me indeed, and you will be sad,
To hear you're lost i' th' wood, 't would make me glad.
At this point, Demetrius is still trying to get rid of Helena because it is Hermia that he wants, so he would not be kind in his rhyming couplet. His last words to her in this scene, right before she leaves, too, are a warning to her that if she follows him into the woods, harm may come to her. She has chased him as he chases after Hermia. She is frustrated because she feels at a disadvantage as a woman. She doesn't have the ability to win over a lover like a man does; she is used to being the one who has been won. That's the role females play. They don't woo, men do. He has spoken unkindly and bluntly to Helena since the beginning of the play and he would continue to do so at this point.
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