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  • Essay / Act 3, scene 2 of “A Midsummer Night's Dream” by William Shakespeare

    The play “A Midsummer Night's Dream” written by William Shakespeare is full of many wonderful and humorous scenes and themes throughout the piece, including ideas like real vs. fake love, gender power, and real life versus fantasy life. There's certainly a lot going on in Act 3 of this play. Act 3 is very chaotic and confusing. Puck the fairy has just mistakenly applied the love potion to the fairy queen Titania, Demetrius, Lysander, Helena and Hermia while they were sleeping, but when they wake up, they have the wrong lover. Once the love potion is applied, Demetrius and Lysander are both in love with Helena, leaving Hermia distraught and upset. Queen Titania wakes up and falls in love with Bottom, a commoner whose head was transformed into a donkey's head thanks to the tricks of Puck and King Oberon. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Act 3, scene 2, lines 192-219, includes a monologue from Helena who is very upset at the thought of everyone making fun of her. Helena quotes on page 49, lines 194-195: “…To shape this false sport in spite of myself. Insulting Hermia, most ungrateful servant... In these lines, Helena is angry with Hermia, thinking that she is making fun of her. Helena uses the word "spite", meaning that she thinks Herrmia deliberately wants to hurt Helena, when in reality the love potion and Puck are at fault. Helena also acquires the word "offensive", meaning insulting, thinking that Hermia is deliberately insulting her. Helena also compares Hermia to an "ungrateful servant", thinking that Hermia has been an ungrateful and false friend to her. Hermia continues her diatribe on page 49, line 197, “…To bait me with foul derision?” Helena uses imagery in this line, particularly using the word bait, providing the audience with the image of how she thinks Helena is luring her (like bait) into the joke about how Lysander and Demetrius are both in love with her. This line is also a metaphor since Hermia compares herself to Helena's "bait." On page 50, Helena continues her monologue. In line 203, Helena says, “We, Hermia, like two artificial gods…”. She uses a simile in this line by using the word love to compare her and Helena's friendship to "artificial gods", saying that Hermia is not sincere towards Helena and is not a true friend. On page 50, lines 204-206, Helena repeats the word "a" several times throughout these lines to use imagery and emphasize to the audience how she and Hermia have always been like "a song", "a flower,” etc., and such close friends, and she just can’t believe that Hermia would hurt her. In lines 208-209, Helena expresses how she and Hermia “…grew together, like a double cherry, seeming apart…” Helena uses imagery in these lines, providing the audience with the image of how close she and Hermia are grew up together and were always as close as a double cherry. In lines 215-219, Helena describes how upset and hurt she is that Hermia would choose to side with the men instead of her. Line 216, Hermia asks, “…To join men who despise your poor friend? Helena is in complete disbelief at Hermia's actions, or so she thinks. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Throughout Helena's monologue, she emphasizes how close she and Hermia are. friendship is or was, and how hurt she is that Hermia betrays her,..