Act II - Scene II
[Another part of the wood] |
Enter Titania, Queen of Fairies, with her train |
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The Fairies Sing |
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[Exeunt Fairies, Titania] Sleeps |
Enter Oberon [and squeezes the flower on Titania's eyelids] |
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[Exit] |
Enter Lysander and Hermia |
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They sleep |
Enter Puck |
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Exit |
Enter Demetrius and Helena, running |
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Exit Demetrius |
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Exit |
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Exit |
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Exit |
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— Kayla, Owl Eyes Staff
Hermia dreams that a snake steals her heart, and she awakens to find that Lysander has deserted her at some point during her slumber with “no sound, no word.” The cunning snake in Hermia’s dream can be seen as a symbol of betrayal; the heart, symbol of love. Hermia’s love has indeed been stolen from her, but because of magic and not Lysander’s betrayal.
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— Kayla, Owl Eyes Staff
Hermia says that she and Lysander should lay further apart to be “virtuous,” and behave according to societal expectations. However, recall that women during Shakespeare’s time were expected to adhere to a different set of social rules regarding chastity and marriage than men were. While it was considered respectful for men to remain chaste until marriage, it certainly was not expected in the same way that it was for women, and men did not face the same consequences of social ridicule or ruin for premarital sex that women did.
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— Kayla, Owl Eyes Staff
Oberon’s magical scheme in a sense places him in the role of playwright, thus further emphasizing the theme of the play within a play. As the flower’s potion ensures that the being that is most “near” to Titania will become her “dear,” her love is determined by proximity rather than romance. The rhyming of “near” and “dear” is also important as it produces a playful tone rather than one of malice, illustrating that Oberon’s plot against Titania is not evil in nature, but more of an impish prank or game.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
A “philomel” is another name for a nightingale and comes from the name of a minor character in Greek mythology who is transformed into a nightingale after getting vengeance on the man (Tereus) who raped her and cut out her tongue.
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— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
Titania begins to instruct her fairies to perform certain duties in her part of the forest. One of the duties is to kill the “cankers,” an archaic word for caterpillars who are in the “musk-rose buds.” The musk rose is usually white with varieties of pink and pale yellow. It was very popular among Elizabethans because of its unique scent among the rose family. Since she wants the caterpillars removed from these flowers in particular, we can infer that these are among her favorite flowers.