A Midsummer Night’s Dream Group

Question:

westmontgirlshc
westmontgirlshc
Student
College - Sophomore

Does the potion cause Demetrius to feel real love for Helena, which he had earlier supressed, or is the potion creating an illusion of love?

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Posted by westmontgirlshc on Tuesday February 10, 2009 at 7:50 AM and tagged with a midsummer night’s dream, demetrius, helena, illusion, love, love in idleness, magic, midsummer nights dream, potion, puck, truth.

Answers:

  1. chloebert
    chloebert Student

    it is the illusion of love because if you take the example of titania and bottom she had never met bottom before its just simply because she was under the spell. demetrius' love for helena previously just makes his love stronger whilst under the spell.

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    Posted by chloebert on Tuesday February 10, 2009 at 3:00 PM


  2. robertwilliam

    eNotes Editor

    Great question. It's one of the things that you can either see as Shakespeare being a bit lazy, or as one of the things that really complicates the play.

    Firstly, Demetrius does not love Helena at the start of the play. Shakespeare has Lysander tell us that he's slept with her, but then decided to marry Hermia:

    Demetrius, I'll avouch it to his head,
    Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena,
    And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes,
    Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,
    Upon this spotted and inconstant man.

    Demetrius then pursues Hermia to the forest. And when Puck eventually gets the potion on his eyes, he sees Helena, and responds with very, very, very passionate language. It doesn't sound like an illusory love:

    O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!
    To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?
    Crystal is muddy...

    But then again, he never felt it before. And when he wakes up again at the end (still under the potion's spell) he tells Theseus

    ...the object and the pleasure of mine eye,
    Is only Helena. To her, my lord,
    Was I betroth'd ere I saw Hermia.
    But, like a sickness, did I loathe this food;
    But, as in health, come to my natural taste...

    Is it "health" - is it his "natural taste"? Or is it just the potion talking? The answer is, there's no way to tell, and it's up to you to come up with your interpretation. For me, I've always found Demetrius' magical-love at the end of the play really quite disturbing! I want to know what he really feels!

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/midsummer-text/act-i-scene-i
    http://www.enotes.com/midsummer-text/act-iii-scene-ii?sta...
    http://www.enotes.com/midsummer-text/act-iv-scene-i?start=2

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    Posted by robertwilliam on Friday February 20, 2009 at 1:16 PM