In addressing Theseus, Demetrius's use of the literary devices of metaphor and simile convinces us of the sincerity of his renewed love for Helena and desire to marry her rather than Hermia. He compares his love for Hermia to melted snow, saying:
my love to Hermia,
Melted as the snow.
Snow is fleeting and soon succumbs to the heat of the sun. Demetrius, through this metaphor, shows that he realizes his love for Hermia was not lasting. He also compares his love for Hermia to a childish whim that he has now outgrown.
To add to the persuasive power of his love for Helena, Demetrius employs a simile:
like in sickness did I loathe this food.
But as in health, come to my natural taste,
Now I do wish it, love it, long for it.
Demetrius compares his former rejection of Helena to being sick: it was an aberrant, not...
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a normal, state of being. He rejected her as a sick person rejects healthy food, but now that he is well again, he wants Helena just as a healthy person wants good food.
Adding to his sense of heartfelt love for Helena, he uses parallelism, which is the repetition of the same grammatical form, when he states his desire three times: he wishes, loves, and longs for Helena. This repetition adds emphasis to his desire.
Compact storytelling takes place in this passage as well, and Demetrius's use of alliteration adds flair to his story of following Hermia and Lysander into the forest:
And I in fury hither followed them,
Fair Helena in fancy following me.
The alliterative "f" sounds have the effect of highlighting the oppositions between he and Helena as they both raced for the woods. He was in a "fury" while she was "fair" and "in fancy" (infatuated with him).
Finally, Theseus adds color and texture as he uses the literary device of imagery and metaphor in the following:
For in the temple by and by with us
These couples shall eternally be knit—
And, for the morning now is something worn.