A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 2 – “Fetch me that flower; the herb I shew’d thee once…"

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 2 – “Fetch me that flower; the herb I shew’d thee once…”

Act 2 launches us into the forest and straight into the world of folklore and fairies. A land of the sub-conscious, woven in poetic motifs and imagery. We meet a Fairy and Puck, the servants of Titania, Queen of this world, and Oberon its king. We find out early that Titania and Oberon are at loggerheads with one another over Titania’s refusal to give Oberon a little Indian prince for his attendant. When Oberon and Titania enter they confront one another over their motives for coming so near to Athens accusing one another of loving Hippolyta and Titania respectively. Oberon demands the Indian boy of Titania but she refuses and she leaves in a flourish, Oberon hatches a plan to take revenge on her.

Puck is sent to find a white and purple flower that Oberon saw once hit by Cupid’s arrow. Oberon knows that the flower has the power if rubbed on the eyelids of a sleeping person, to make them fall in love with the first thing they see when they awaken. He reveals that he intends to put to:

“…watch Titania when she is asleep,

And drop the liquor of it in her eyes.”

The human world then enters the realm of the fairy one. Oberon makes himself invisible with the magic of one utterance (oh that we all could do that). Helena and Demetrius enter arguing. Demetrius does not want the doting Helena following him, and tells her he cannot love her. She passively takes his abuse and says she will take even more:

“Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me…”

Demetrius insults her further and even claims he feels sick when he looks on her. As they exit, Oberon appears again and decides that he will intervene in this business and turn the tables so that before Demetrius:

“…do leave this grove,   

Thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love…”

When Puck returns, Oberon’s plan is revealed. Oberon tells the audience that he knows where Titania usually sleeps and he will put the juice of the flower on her eyelids. The second part of his plan involves Puck finding the Athenian youth and the woman and to put a drop or two of the potion on his eyes so that when he wakes he will fall in love with the woman. Oberon does not know at this point that there are two Athenian men and women in the forest at this time.

We then switch to Titania as she prepares to sleep by a stream. Oberon enters and drops the potion on her eyelids with the words:

“What thou seest when thou dost wake,

Do it for thy true-love take,

Love and languish for his sake:

Be it ounce, or cat, or bear,

Pard, or boar with bristled hair,

In thy eye that shall appear

When thou wakest, it is thy dear:

Wake when some vile thing is near.”

Now the story starts to get a bit complicated and convoluted as does the effects of Oberon’s interventions. Dramatic tension now turns to comic farce as the world of humans is thrown into turmoil by the interventions of the fairy world and chaos starts to reign. But I am getting a little ahead of myself.

Lysander and Hermia enter. They are lost and must sleep in the forest for the night. When Lysander says that he wants to sleep beside Hermia, her modesty, as well as the conventions of the time, prevail, and Lysander is forced to sleep a respectable distance away from Hermia. Having looked throughout the forest for the Athenian couple (Demetrius and Helena) Oberon wants him to entrance with the love potion, Puck comes across Lysander and Hermia. He does not know they are the wrong couple and assuming that it is hate that makes them sleep at a distance not modesty, Puck puts the potion on Lysander’s eyes and leaves.

If only Puck had waited one extra minute, we might not have a plot to the play. Helena and Demetrius enter and their arguments are still continuing. Demetrius storms out. Helena left alone spies the sleeping Lysander and wakes him up. Oberon’s potion works albeit on the wrong male. Lysander sees Helena and falls instantly in love.

“Not Hermia but Helena I love:

Who will not change a raven for a dove?

The will of man is by his reason sway'd;

And reason says you are the worthier maid.”

Believing that Lysander is mocking her, Helena also storms out and Lysander pursues her leaving Hermia to awaken all alone.