A Midsummer Night’s Dream Group

Question:

dlogan217
dlogan217
Student
High School - 10th Grade

What remedy corrects the crossed-lover couples?

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Posted by dlogan217 on Tuesday January 6, 2009 at 6:18 PM and tagged with a midsummer night’s dream, demetrius, flowers, juice, loveinidleness, lovers, lysander, midsummer nights dream, remedy, shakespeare.

Answers:


  1. robertwilliam

    eNotes Editor

    It's another flower, whose juice is squeezed into the eye, which removes the effects of the "love-in-idleness" flower. Here's Oberon toward the end of Act 3, Scene 2, giving instructions to Puck:

    And from each other look thou lead them thus,
    Till o'er their brows death-counterfeiting sleep
    With leaden legs and batty wings doth creep.
    Then crush this herb into Lysander's eye;
    Whose liquor hath this virtuous property,
    To take from thence all error with his might
    And make his eyeballs roll with wonted sight.

    All well and good. But you might notice that the herb only goes on Lysander's eye. Why? Because Oberon doesn't want to restore everything quite to how it was before. Demetrius now loves Helena, which is what Oberon originally set out to achieve - and to restore his former desire would return him to being in love with Helena. So for Lysander, there is a remedy. For Demetrius - there isn't, and can't be... if the couples are going to work!

    Hope it helps!

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/midsummer-text/act-iii-scene-ii?sta...

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    Posted by robertwilliam on Wednesday January 7, 2009 at 2:36 AM