Act Three: Scene Two
A Plan Done Well
Oberon and Robin Goodfellow meet, and Robin tells Oberon how Titania has fallen in
love with Bottom, who is now a donkey. This is the first time Robin refers to the artisans
as the "rude mechanicals." Rude in Shakespeare's time did not mean foul or impolite;
rather, it meant raw, or rough around the edges; it could also mean uncivilized.
Mechanicals simply meant people who worked with their hand; this definition has a bit of
a low social class meaning. By Robin's description he clearly has deep contempt for the
artisans. Meanwhile
Demetrius and Hermia are fighting in the forest. Demetrius is
still proclaiming his love to Hermia; meanwhile, Hermia is still
damning him. Funny enough Hermia says, "Out dog! Out cur!"
This is completely antithetical when comparing it to Helena's
speech who says she wants to be beat her like a dog. Oberon is
upset with the situation because Robin messed up the nectar
placement. As Hermia leaves and Demetrius lays down, Robin
places the nectar on Demetrius. Incoming Love for Helena
Helena returns to the stage and Lysander is still lusting over
Helena. Helena still finds Lysander's actions to be ridiculous.
While they are arguing, Demetrius awakes and instantly falls in
love with Helena. He calls her, "goddess, nymph, perfect,
divine" (137). Rather than Helena be excited for Demetrius to
be in love, she believes that he is mocking her. Helena states,
"Never did mockery waste more idle breath" (168). Incoming Hatred for Hermia
As Hermia enters, she begins to yell at Lysander for abandoning her, but very quickly
she realizes neither Lysander nor Demetrius love her anymore. Helena begins to get
even angrier as now she believes that Lysander, Demetrius, and Hermia are all playing
a cruel joke on her. A Different Kind of a Relationship
The person who she seems to have hurt Helena the most is Hermia. It does seem
possible that the relationship between the two is quite intimate. This type of thematic
element is seen in other Shakespeare plays such as Twelfth Night, As You Like It,
Merchant of Venice, etc. Michael Digani, a profound Shakespeare scholar explains,
"the Renaissance did not have the modern concepts of sexual identity and sexual
orientation that we have inherited from 19th- and early 20th-century theories of human
sexuality and psychology" (Digani 144). This concept is not particularly important
for class discussion, but it may be important if you decide to explore
relationships in your research paper.