Lauren Vollmer
18 September 2006
Predraft 1.2
CHECK + THIS IS TRULY SUPERB!! SEE MY COMMENTS, ESPECIALLY ON
YOUR QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS, WHICH, I THINK, NEED A BIT OF
WORK. ONCE YOU’VE DONE THAT WORK, START WORK ON THE ESSAY—
BEGIN IN THE MIDDLE, BEGIN BY ANALYZING EVIDENCE. YOU CAN
OBVIOUSLY USE ANYTHING YOU’VE DUG UP HERE, BUT YOU MUST ALSO
BE SELECTIVE TO FIT WITHIN PAGE LIMITS AND TO MAKE SURE THE
EVIDENCE WORKS. YOU MAY ALSO USE EVIDENCE FROM ELSEWHERE IN
THE PLAY. AND STAY LOOSE, AT THE BEGINNING, AS TO THESIS.
REMEMBER YOU ONLY HAVE A HYPOTHESIS NOW, AND THIS CAN CHANGE
AS YOU DRAFT AND THROUGHOUT THE REVISION PROCESS. AS YOU
WRITE, KEEP RETHINKING THE HYPOTHESIS.
III.ii.224-234
And made your other love, Demetrius
(Who even but now did spurn me with his foot),
To call me goddess, nymph, divine, and rare,
Precious, celestial? Wherefore speaks he this
To her he hates? And wherefore doth Lysander
Deny your love, so rich within his soul,
And tender me, forsooth, affection,
But by your setting on, by your consent?
What though I be not so in grace as you,
So hung upon with love, so fortunate,
But miserable most, to love unloved?
LOTS OF GOOD STUFF IN THIS QUOTATION, BUT REMEMBER: IN YOUR
ESSAY, WHEN YOU QUOTE, YOU NEED EITHER TO BEGIN THE QUOTATION
AT THE BEGINNING OF AN INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (SO THAT IT DOESN’T
SEEM FRAGMENTARY TO THE READER) OR TO FIT YOUR SYNTAX TO THE
QUOTATION SO THAT YOU SUPPLY THE NECESSARY SYNTACTICAL
ELEMENTS.
Line 1
other]
1. That is one of the two, the one (of two). This would be the more obvious
meaning because Demetrius is one of Hermia’s two lovers. Helena’s jealousy
could be getting the better of her because this use emphasizes the existence of
more lovers, a source of possible pain to Helena, who has no lovers.
2. That follows the first; second (of two or more); next. This could imply
bitterness that Hermia has two lovers, Demetrius being the second, and also
could hint at Demetrius’ change in affection from Helena to Hermia. It
suggests a chronology that Helena remembers well. GOOD. IT
DENIGRATES DEMETRIUS A BIT RELATIVE TO LYSANDER—AT
LEAST IN HERMIA’S EYES—THOUGH, IN THE ESSAY, YOU
PROBABLY DON’T NEED THE OED TO MAKE THAT POINT!
3. Previous, preceding, former. Unlikely, since Lysander is Hermia’s former
lover.
4. Separate or distinct from that or those already specified or implied; different;
(hence) further, additional. This makes sense in the sense of “additional,”
again implying jealousy because Hermia has two lovers and Helena has none.
5. Different in kind, nature, or quality. This would point toward a qualitative
difference between Lysander and Demetrius, or perhaps Helena’s love for
Demetrius makes her think him substantively different.
“Other” is most commonly used in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to distinguish
between two people, as Theseus does in Act I scene one. Helena, however, uses it to
indicate anyone else, not just a specific item from a certain set of people, as she does
when she says “How happy some o’er other some can be!” (I.i.226).
love]
1.
2.
3.
4.
A beloved person: esp. a sweetheart; chiefly applied to a female person, but
sometimes to a male. (Often used as a term of endearing address.) This is
interesting because its use would invert two relationships. First, Hermia is
Demetrius’ love, not the other way around, because Hermia claims not to love
Demetrius, and second, it correlates to Helena’s sense of role reversal at having
to pursue Demetrius because it is normally used to refer to a female.
INTERESTING.
In reference to illicit relations: A paramour “A PARAMOUR IS A THING OF
NOUGHT” (SEE BEGINNING OF IV.I; said of both men and women. If
this were the intended meaning, it would reveal Helena’s bitterness because it
would be an insinuation that Hermia and Demetrius are having an affair.
The object of love; the beloved (of..).
1 John 4:8: “God is love.” This perhaps indicates the hierarchy and misogyny of
the time by implying that a woman’s love should be her god and that she should
obey him. It also recalls Theseus’ instruction to Hermia in act one, scene one
when he says “To you your father should be as a god” (I.i.47). YES, THOUGH
HE DOESN’T SAY HER FATHER SHOULD BE HER “LOVE” IN THE
SENSE OF LOVE USED GENERALLY THROUGHOUT THE PLAY.
The word “love” appears frequently in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, though
often as a noun or an abstract personification of Cupid, the god of love. Interestingly,
Helena and Demetrius use it as a verb while other characters generally prefer the noun
form until Puck places the magic potion on them, at which point Lysander also begins to
use it as a verb. Hermia does use “love” as a verb, but never says “I love you;” she says
that others love her, but not that she loves them, making her an object of love but not a
lover. VERY, VERY INTERESTING. Similarly, Titania and bottom use “love” as a
verb when they are under Puck’s spell. “Love” also crops up in many hyphenated forms,
like “love-tokens,” “love-shaft, “true-love,” “lack-love,” and, of course, “love-juice.”
This could point to a correlation between Helena’s active love that is behaving as a verb
and Hermia’s passive love, by which she swears and in which she has faith, or it could
suggest the love potion’s role in creating love – it turns passive love into active love, or
love from a noun to a verb. NICE.
Line 2
Parenthesis: interposition of explanatory matter. Here the parenthesis is less
explanatory than exclamatory. By interrupting the phrase in this way, Helena shows that
the memory of Demetrius’ abuse is so fresh and poignant that it supersedes her other
thoughts. GOOD! She also strikes a contrast between his current behavior and his
previous mistreatment, lending an element of doubt to the passage because she does not
understand the abrupt change in attitude.
spurn] INTERESTING HERE, AND GOOD WORK. I WONDER ALSO IF
THE WORD IS RELATED TO “SPUR”? PERHAPS NOT, BUT IT MIGHT BE
WORTH CHECKING.
1. To strike against something with the foot; to trip or stumble. This
meaning would indicate real violence from Demetrius, who up until
this point has not carried through with his threats of physical harm.
NICE It would seriously affect the dynamic between the two
characters, because it would require Helena to love Demetrius despite
suffering physical pain at his hands (or feet).
2. To kick against or at something disliked or despised; to manifest
opposition or antipathy, esp. in a scornful or disdainful manner. The
use of this word, that includes in it the requirement of dislike or
loathing, would intensify Helena’s perception of Demetrius’ feelings
toward her and would again add the idea of physical abuse to their
relationship.
3. To reject with contempt or disdain; to treat contemptuously; to scorn
or despise. This meaning fits in with Demetrius’ general treatment of
Helena and also correlates to Helena’s view of herself as universally
despised or scorned, particularly at this moment in the text when she
believes she is the butt of a practical joke. However, with this
definition the addition of “with his foot” is less coherent.
4. To spur; to urge or incite. Demetrius did spur her onward away from
him, so this could be an appropriate meaning. It also accounts for
“with his foot,” leading to the idea that Demetrius banished her or
urged her away with his foot. Such a banishment would intensify
Helena’s feelings of worthlessness. INTERESTING!!!
5. Helena is the only person in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to use the
word “spurn,” and Demetrius is always the one who is spurning her.
The word seems to characterize their relationship for the beginning of
the play, or at least it is how Helena characterizes their relationship;
Demetrius never says he spurns her. This is interesting because it
leads to the question of how Helena’s perception might differ from the
reality, since she is the only one to refer to his treatment as spurning.
foot]
1.“Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the
wicked remove me” (KJB Psalms 36:11). The idea of the foot being a symbol
of pride dovetails neatly with the disdainful connotations of “spurn.” Also,
the connection between the foot and pride sheds an unpleasant light on
Demetrius as the owner of such a foot. My Bible translates this as “the foot of
arrogance,” which is a similarly unflattering description of Demetrius. The
Biblical “foot of pride” provides an interesting insight into Helena’s view of
Demetrius; she recognizes his pride, whether his pride in refusing to accept
her love or his overall arrogance. This indicates Helena’s disinclination to
idealize and romanticize and could once again play into her ability to see
through fairy spells.
2. “If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit” (KJB Job
31:11). Job again connects the foot with vanity, a type of pride, and with
deceit, which could hark back to Demetrius’ sudden decision to pursue
Hermia and abandon Helena.
Line 3
Brachylogia – omits conjunctions between words. Helena’s omission of
conjunctions in the series “goddess, nymph, divine, and rare, / Precious, celestial”
points to either excitement and distress so extreme that she cannot contain herself
enough to use conjunctions or a touch of sarcasm and bitterness that manifests her
disbelief in Demetrius’ sudden praise. MAYBE, BUT SHE’S ALSO
(IMPERFECTLY) QUOTING DEMETRIUS, RIGHT? SO HIS EXCITEMENT
MIGHT ALSO TURN, VIA HER REPETITION OF IT, INTO A MATTER-OFFACT LIST—A MERE DRY LIST OF ADJECTIVES USED BY DEMETRIUS,
ALLOWING FOR A CYNICAL OR IRONIC VIEW OF DEMETRIUS’S SELFDELUDED PASSION (ANOTHER POSSIBLE WAY OF HEARING THE
BRACHYLOGIA, THOUGH YOURS PROBABLY HAS AS MUCH CLAIM
TO PLAUSIBILITY. The omission of the conjunctions also speeds up the
rhythm of the phrase as Helena gets more excited.
Hyperbole – rhetorical exaggeration. Here the effect is to make the
exalting praise seem ridiculous because of its very exaggeration. YES. This
conveys Helena’s disbelief in Demetrius’ sincerity.
divine]
1. Of or pertaining to God or a god. This correlates to the use of the word
“goddess,” making it almost redundant. It also adds a religious tone to the
phrase that seems unnatural.
2. Partaking of the nature of God; characteristic of or consonant to deity;
godlike; heavenly, celestial. Possible, in the sense of “heavenly,” that
Demetrius now sees Helena as an angel and not a mere mortal. It would be a
typical lover’s exaggeration and would make the hyperbole and sense of
derision in the phrase even more pronounced.
3. Immortal; beatified. Perhaps Helena uses “divine” in this sense because she
thinks she should feel blessed to have the love of Demetrius, but at the same
time uses it in a hyperbolic clause to show that she is not taken in by such
extravagant nonsense.
4. In weaker sense: More than human, excellent in a superhuman degree. Of
persons: Of more than human or ordinary excellence; pre-eminently gifted; in
the highest degree excellent. In this case Helena would focus on her intrinsic
worth, an interesting turnaround from her characteristic complaints. This
would also contrast with the rest of the passage, where she bemoans her fate
and calls herself “miserable” and “unloved.”
5. Of things: Of surpassing beauty, perfection, excellence, etc.; extraordinarily
good or great. Freq. in trivial use. This is the most plausible definition and, if
correct, Helena is fixating on her outward appearance rather than inner
qualities. Superficiality could be a clue to Helena’s role in the play as a
scapegoat, stock character, or blocking character whose outward traits are
more important than inner demons, but it could also refer to her oft-mentioned
wish to be as beautiful as Hermia.
“Divine” only appears one other time in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, when
Demetrius awakes from his spell-induced slumber and exclaims his passionate love to
Helena. He calls her “goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!” (III.ii.137), which mirrors
Helena’s phrase.
rare]
1. Of a kind, class, or description, seldom found, met with, or occurring;
unusual, uncommon, exceptional. This would emphasize Helena’s
superiority over Hermia because its connotation is that everyone else is
common or vulgar compared to her, though it doesn’t necessarily mean
“good:” man-eating tigers are rare according to this definition, but I still
would prefer not to meet one, much less marry one. PROBABLY DOES
MEAN GOOD IN HELENA’S USE.
2. Unusual in respect of some good quality; of uncommon excellence or merit;
remarkably good or fine; distinguished. This definition also stresses the
comparison between Helena and Hermia, but specifies that the difference is in
merit and not eccentricity or oddity. It could also apply to beauty, which
would tie into Helena’s preoccupation with comparing her physical
appearance to Hermia’s. The use of the word “rare” is most interesting
because it is an implicit comparison; if Helena is rare, Hermia must be
common. GOOD. I think this use is the most plausible because it combines
the fixation with beauty with the idea of Helena’s relation to Hermia.
3. colloq. Splendid, excellent, fine. While this is possible in the context of a
lover’s praise, it does not include the element of comparison or superficiality
that the other definitions do. “Fine” is an interesting word BUT IT’S NOT
THE WORD HELENA USES, RIGHT? IT’S SUPPLIED BY THE
DICTIONARY—SO BE CAREFUL ABOUT USING IT AS EVIDENCE,
though, because it suggests refinement and sophistication more than physical
beauty.
4. In Act 4, scene 1, Bottom uses the word “rare” to describe his vision.
GOOD!! He means rare in the sense of odd or unusual BUT THE OTHER
RESONANCES ARE THERE., which again is a comparison between his
dream of being the fairy queen’s lover and his normal, run-of-the-mill dreams.
Line 4
Syllepsis: word used once with two different meanings. The word “precious” can
mean both valuable and worthless. This contrast captures Helena’s feelings in the
passage; Demetrius and Lysander praise her as beautiful and excellent, but she believes
that their exaggerations imply the complete opposite. MIGHT BE POSSIBLE, AS IT IS
THE FIRST WORD IN THE LINE—BUT THERE’S ONLY A HINT OF IT, AS IT’S
INCLUDED IN A LIST OF QUALITIES THAT DON’T MEAN OPPOSITE THINGS.
It pares Helena down to two conflicting ideas, one of beauty and worth, the other of
monstrosity and worthlessness. This word could represent Helena’s inner struggle.
Anastrophe: unusual word order. Helena says “Wherefore speaks he this”
(III.ii.227, emphasis added) instead of “does he speak.” This reversal could be because it
is a question, but it could also reflect the disorder inherent in the situation, and in the
entire play. INTERESTING. The inversion changes the stress of the sentence as well.
The emphasis is no longer on the action of speaking but on the person doing the
speaking. Helena’s focus is on Lysander’s apparent sudden madness, not on the actual
words, which reinforces the disbelief that pervades this passage.
precious]
1. Of great price; having a high value; costly. A reference to Helena’s worth
provides an interesting contrast to her later lamentation in this passage that she
is miserable and unloved. It also reverses her insistence that she is worthless
and essentially unlovable.
2. Of great moral, spiritual, or non-material worth; held in high esteem. This
brings the other Athenians’ opinion of her into play, which is interesting
because at this moment in the text Helena is convinced that all of the others
despise her and mean to spite her through mockery. It also indicates a level of
respect for Helena that is unprecedented in the play, especially from
3.
4.
5.
6.
Demetrius, who even threatens her physically despite the fact that she is a
woman.
Aiming at or affecting distinction or choiceness in conduct, manners,
language, etc.; fastidious, ‘particular’; esp. in mod. use (after F. précieux),
affecting, displaying, or using careful and fastidious delicacy or refinement in
language, workmanship, etc.; often with an implication of being over-nice or
over-refined. As an exaggeration this definition is plausible, but its
connotations of over-refinement and delicacy do not seem to apply, though
they correlate to the idea of the word “rare” as something fine and
sophisticated.
As an intensive of something bad, worthless, or reprobated: Egregious, outand-out, arrant; in some uses, a mere emotional intensive. In the sense of
egregious this meaning ties together the entire string of flowery praise and
crystallizes Helena’s view of it as meaningless and bald nonsense.
Ironically, Of little worth, worthless, good-for-nothing. Helena possibly
believes this to be the true connotation, which lends itself to the sense of
ridicule in the phrase and her exaggeration.
This is the only time the word “precious” appears in A Midsummer Night’s
Dream. The fact that the word balances delicately between Helena’s
acceptance into the Athenian order and her rejection as unworthy might mean
that this is the turning point for Helena and that after this she either believes
herself to be lovable or worthless, and not both. Interestingly, after this she
begins an argument with Hermia that might cause her to regress to her
feelings of misery. VERY INTERESTING, BUT BE CAREFUL, THE
COMPLEXITY YOU’RE SUGGESTING ISN’T AT ALL OBVIOUS, AND
WOULD NEED SOME DEFT ANALYSIS TO BE SEEN AS
PLAUSIBLE—THOUGH I THINK IT MAY BE DOABLE, IF IT TURNS
OUT TO BE IMPORTANT TO YOUR ARGUMENT (AND THAT’S OF
COURSE A BIG “IF.” DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU’RE ULTIMATELY
ARGUING, OF COURSE.
celestial]
1. Of or pertaining to heaven, as the abode of God (or of the heathen gods), of
angels, and of glorified spirits. This meaning would add a religious context to
the love Demetrius feels for Helena. Since God is not a major figure in the
play, and the lovers are in fact at the whim of fairies or pagan gods, this would
be incongruous.
2. Of a divine or heavenly nature. Far from being unworthy and miserable, the
application of this definition would make Helena instead super-worthy. The
adjectives in this and the previous line seem to hinge on worth and excellence,
which is Helena’s preoccupation.
3. Divinely excellent or beautiful, divine, heavenly. The addition of “beautiful”
to the meaning feeds into the fixation with physical beauty and thus with
superficiality in this passage and in Helena’s character as a whole.
Line 5
Epiplexis: asking rhetorical questions to chide or reprehend. EXCELLENT.
Helena does this throughout the passage, asking why the other Athenian youths must
torment her with such obvious falsehood and trickery. The rapid-fire questions, without
pause for response, highlight Helena’s indignation at being the object of mockery. The
questions also serve a more obvious purpose. Helena is confused. She doesn’t
understand why her best friend, her other half, has suddenly turned against her in
derision, and she wants to know why. Affronted confusion drives Helena in this scene as
she reacts to the perceived ridicule of the other Athenians. SO THE RHETORICAL
ACTION HAS GREAT COMPLEXITY INDEED!
Paroemion: repetition of sounds, specifically alliteration in the phrase “to her he
hates (III.ii.228). The alliteration is poetic and speeds up the phrase as Helena becomes
more heated and more irritated with her companions. “H” is a harsh sound and its
repetition does not produce a soothing effect; instead, it emphasizes Helena’s discomfort.
Anaphora: beginning each of a series of phrases with the same word. While this
is not strictly anaphora because the “wherefore” is not at the precise beginning of the
phrase, it appears approximately at the beginning and certainly enhances the questioning,
confused sense that Helena is giving with her rhetorical questions. It throws the
reasoning and rationale into relief because Helena isn’t merely demanding that the others
stop mocking her. She wants to know why they’re doing it. The reason why is important
to her – it’s a part of the order of things that she feels has been upended and thrown into
chaos. Without an obvious reason for such mockery, Helena must invent a reason to
explain it to herself, which drives her back to her feelings of inadequacy. GOOD.
Polysyndeton: conjunction repeated among phrases. Here I am once again
stretching the definition, since the word “and” is repeated among clauses and questions
and not strictly phrases. It’s the closest to the recurrence I am trying to describe, a
recurrence that is meaningful because it points to another set of emotions Helena might
be experiencing. The repetition of “and” at the beginning of clauses or phrases sugggests
that Helena is overwhelmed by the situation. She feels as though she is being assailed
from all directions and everywhere she turns she finds a new unanswerable question.
Line 6
rich]
1. Of things: Powerful, strong. This meaning of rich connects to Helena’s
confusion at the situation because she doesn’t understand how such a strong
love could change so quickly. It also is a reference to the intensity of
Lysander’s love. He loved Hermia passionately (or so he said), but he now
loves Helena with the same passion and the same depth.
2. Wealthy in, having abundance of, amply provided with, some form of property
or valuable possessions. This stresses the amount of love rather than its
qualities or longevity, which seems a bit superficial for Shakespeare.
3. Valuable; of great worth or value. This meaning brings up the question of for
whom the love is valuable. The love is “rich within his [Lysander’s] soul,”
but is it very valuable to him or is it very valuable to Hermia because she is
the beloved? Or is it a hint that even though Helena has been disappointed in
love she not only believes in it but exalts it in other people? It could be that
Helena sees Lysander’s love for Hermia and covets it for herself because she
wants to be loved, though not by Lysander. This contributes to Helena’s
complex attitude toward the world because she isn’t a romantic and doesn’t
idealize love, but she still recognizes it, wants it, and needs it. INTERESTING
BECAUSE IT SUGGESTS THAT WHAT LIES “WITHIN” IS REALLY
SOMETHING EXTERNALLY VALUABLE—NOT JUST VALUABLE TO
THE SOUL WITHIN WHICH IT LIES.
4. Choice; good of its kind. Here Helena would judge Lysander’s love for
Hermia to be exceptional. It differentiates between degrees of love and
stresses the type of love rather than the amount. Also, if Lysander’s love for
Hermia is rich, it is possible that Helena realizes that other loves, such as
Demetrius’ love for her before he shifted his attentions to Hermia, may not be
so profound.
5. Of choice or superior quality; esp. of articles of food or drink with reference
to their stimulative or nourishing effects; also, composed of choice
ingredients; containing plenty of fat, butter, eggs, sugar, fruit, etc. In this case
rich is more of a metaphorical term that means Helena views love as a kind of
nourishment. Love as nourishment makes it as necessary to life as food,
water, vitamins, and minerals, so such a perspective on love provides further
insight into Helena’s complicated view of the world and especially love.
6. Plentiful, abundant, ample. This is again a measure of the amount of love and
not its quality.
7. Of a full, ample, or unstinted nature; highly developed or cultivated. This
definition implies that love must be cultivated and coaxed along for it to reach
its full potential, which is an interesting meditation for Helena because it then
can be interpreted as regret that she did not make Demetrius’ love for her rich
enough to endure.
8. Abounding in the qualities necessary to produce good vegetation or crops.
Here Helena sees Hermia and Lysander’s love as generative, able to produce
other good things. This view exalts love as not only a good thing in itself but
the producer of other good things, and thus much to be envied. NICE. THAT
WORD IS RICH IN IMPLICATIONS THAT CAN BE UNPACKED IN
FASCINASTING WAYS!
soul]
1. The principle of life in man or animals; animate existence. Connecting love to
the principle of life in man further emphasizes its importance and its potential
to nourish and develop mankind.
2. The principle of thought and action in man, commonly regarded as an entity
distinct from the body; the spiritual part of man in contrast to the purely
physical. This makes love more of a religious action, inspired by a belief in
God or inspired directly by God. While this is plausible because of the time
period, the play has no religious connotations except for the pagan religious
references. On the other hand, in this passage Helena has already used words
like “divine” and “celestial,” which both can have religious connotations.
Combining the three quasi-religious words introduces the possibility of
Helena’s feelings of inadequacy as a kind of atonement, but this is extremely
unlikely in the context of the play’s pagan and mythological tendencies.
3. The seat of the emotions, feelings, or sentiments; the emotional part of man's
nature. Placing love in the seat of the emotions makes it an emotion itself and
therefore liable to change without warning and without reason. This seems an
accurate description of love as it functions in the play, since fickleness and
changeability are overarching themes. At this point in the scene, however,
Helena is insisting that Lysander’s love is too strong to have changed so
abruptly, which contradicts this idea of love.
4. The vital, sensitive, or rational principle in plants, animals, or human beings.
Freq. with distinguishing adjs., as vegetative, sensible or sensitive, rational or
reasonable. Viewing the soul as the seat of rationality strikes a contrast with
the idea of love as untameable and uncontrollable. This also differs widely
from Helena’s professed view of love as irrational and blind (I.i.232-241).
Perhaps it could mean that Helena sees Lysander’s love for Hermia as rational
and sane while she believes his sudden love for her is unnatural.
5. The essential, fundamental, or animating part, element, or feature of
something. This would make love, and for Lysander love for Hermia
specifically, an act that defines one’s very being. YES! BUT THEN THE
LOVE JUICE REDEFINES? RESHAPES? REFIGURES? TRANSLATES?
OUR VERY ESSENCES? HO! Helena does define herself in terms of her
love for Demetrius, or rather in terms of her love being unrequited.
6. The spiritual part of man regarded as surviving after death and as susceptible
of happiness or misery in a future state. The concept of the soul as eternal and
as the source of love makes love eternal also, an interesting concept from
someone like Helena who has just seen love alter irrationally quickly. Belief
in the permanence of love would be another reason for her to mistrust the
abrupt professions of undying love from both Lysander and Demetrius.
FASCINATING THAT WHAT IS IMPERMANENT COULD LIE WITHIN
THE VERY SOUL AND, AS YOUR DEFINITION 5 SUGGESTS, WHAT
IS “ESSENTIAL” TO SOMEONE—AND BE SO SUBJECT TO
EXTERNAL CHARMS. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS?
Line 7
tender]
1. To offer or present formally for acceptance. This ceremonial, ritualistic
manner of professing love could fall into the realm of pomp and ceremony
that was a part of life in Elizabethan England, but such formality is
implausible when the characters are off gallivanting in the forest. It also
makes love sound like an item in a contract, something to be sworn to for a
certain penalty. Such a connotation does not fit with the other words in the
passage and presents a very different, pragmatic, businesslike side of Helena.
2. To present (anything) for approval and acceptance; to offer, proffer. Lysander
is offering Helena his love, so this definition applies, but it makes love sound
like a fancy present that he’s giving her for her birthday rather than something
profound and meaningful. Helena might see it as just such ajest and therefore
find it ridiculous.
3. intr. To become tender; to be affected with pity; to grow soft, soften. This
doesn’t function within the sentence, but it is ironic in the context. Helena
wishes the others would have pity on her and stop their cruel derision, so she
uses a word that suggests that softening.
4. To regard or treat with pity; to take pity on, have mercy on; to feel or show
compassion for. Again, Helena wishes that the other Athenians would pity
her for her misery instead of mocking her unrequited love. This makes her a
supplicant, begging for mercy, rather than the irate, indignant character she
appears to be from the tone of the passage and the tropes.
5. To treat with affectionate care; to cherish, foster; to take care of, look after.
While this meaning fits with the idea of affection, it does not make
grammatical sense. Still, it is an interesting meaning because Helena seems to
crave such affection and the use of the word “tender,” even in the sense of
“give” as it is used here, conveys that yearning for love and kindness.
6. To have regard or respect to as something to be dreaded and avoided. What a
contrast! INTERESTING. This is yet another word that combines several
facets of Helena’s attitude. She longs for genuine affection, wishes the other
Athenians to have mercy on her, and at the same time believes that they see
her as something repulsive that they would prefer to avoid. This plays into
her feelings of inadequacy and misery also.
Aposiopesis: sudden breaking-off of speech or self-interruption conveying some
kind of emotional state. When Helena exclaims “forsooth” in the middle of line 230, she
interrupts the flow of the sentence. POSSIBLE, BUT SEEMS A STRETCH TO CALL
THIS APOSIOPESIS. SEE BOTTOM’S ACCOUNT OF HIS DREAM IN ACT IV FOR
THE TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE. It is an angry outburst, a hint of the emotion she cannot
quite contain as her speech grows more heated.
Exuscitatio: speech so impassioned that it makes the listener feel the emotion of
the speaker. The outburst in this line contributes to the emotional impact of this passage.
Helena’s speech is just barely formal – some of the lines are not in iambic pentameter, a
sign in Shakespeare of distress or disorder in thinking and emotion. Even the format
clings to the semblance of formality and normality; it appears to be in blank verse, but
upon counting out the syllables I found several lines of eleven and even one line of nine
instead of the requisite ten for iambic pentameter. Helena is simmering under the
surface, losing control of her emotions, and the increasing intensity of the passage and the
loss of metrical control convey that. YES. GOOD.
affection]
1. The action of affecting, acting upon, or influencing; or (when viewed
passively) the fact of being affected. This suggests Helena is aware of an
outside force acting on the Athenians, possibly an inkling of Puck’s
involvement. It also could be a reference to the idea of love as an outside
force with the power to change and influence humans without their
knowledge.
2. An affecting or moving of the mind in any way; a mental state brought about
by any influence; an emotion or feeling. Reducing affection to an emotion
makes it seem more fleeting and changeable, so calling Lysander’s feelings
for her “affection” trivializes them and implies that Helena believes those
feelings will not last.
3. Feeling as opposed to reason; passion, lust. The contrast between affection
and reason harks back to Helena’s speech in act one, scene one where she
bemoans the fact that Love is blind, impetuous, and irrational. Distinguishing
between affection and reason also highlights Helena’s focus on rationality and
order.
4. State of the mind towards a thing; disposition towards, bent, inclination,
penchant. Referring to Lysander’s feelings as a state of mind minimizes their
importance and indicates that Helena has little faith in their longevity.
5. Good disposition towards, goodwill, kind feeling, love, fondness, loving
attachment. “Goodwill” makes Lysander seem to be offering Helena charity
more than love, which would be a fascinating twist on her perception of her
relationship with the other characters. Charity and goodwill add a dimension
of condescension that reflect Helena’s conviction that she is lower in the
hierarchy than the other Athenians.
6. Feeling against, animosity. Though Lysander claims to love Helena, she
perceives it as animosity, so the double meaning here fits perfectly YES,
PERHAPS, BUT I’M NOT SURE I BELIEVE IT’S PLAUSIBLE IN
CONTEXT..
Line 8
Isocolon: syntactically parallel phrases of equal length to the ear. In this line
Helena claims that Lysander is professing to love her “But by your [Hermia’s] setting on,
by your consent” (III.ii.231). GOOD. The two phrases are gramatically parallel and
create a subtle rhythm of accusation that combines two separate ideas. GOOD. First,
Helena suggests that Hermia instigated the prank, but she modifies her statement by
saying that Hermia’s role was only to permit the mockery, not to initiate it. Either
connotation underlines Helena’s sense of victimization. The structural repetition also
emphasizes Helena’s allocation of blame; she accuses Hermia , not Lysander or
Demetrius, of mocking her. In fact, the entire passage is addressed to Hermia, chastising
her for her cruelty, though Helena focuses at different points on injuries Demetrius and
Lysander have heaped upon her. That Helena immediately concludes that Hermia is the
one at fault suggests a subtle division in their purported unity, if not outright jealousy.
YES, GOOD! ISOCOLON SUGGESTS SIMILARITY BUT DOUBLENESS,
DIVISION—AN ATTEMPT AT EQUIVALENCY AND IDENTIFICATION.
Line 9
grace]
1. The quality of producing favourable impressions; attractiveness, charm. Now
usually with more restricted application: The attractiveness or charm
belonging to elegance of proportions, or (especially) ease and refinement of
movement, action, or expression. This plays into Helena’s desire to be as
beautiful as Hermia and her attention to the superficiality of beauty.
2. In a weaker sense: Seemliness, becomingness, favourable or creditable aspect.
This again stresses the exterior aspect of Hermia’s grace and Helena’s
obsession with physical beauty.
3. An attractive or pleasing quality or feature. In this case Helena is attempting
to pinpoint a vague attribute of charm and attractiveness that Hermia
possesses and she lacks. The emphasis is always on what Hermia has that
Helena does not have, or what Helena thinks she does not have.
4. Favour, favourable or benignant regard or its manifestation (now only on the
part of a superior); favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or
obligation, as the ground of a concession. Helena does not feel favored or
well-regarded; quite the opposite, in fact. She feels rejected and abused,
which is stronger than merely not being in favor.
5. The condition or fact of being favoured. In grace, in favour. Helena sees
Hermia as being in not only Demetrius’ favor but in favor in general, thus the
inevitable comparative “What though I be not so in grace as you” (III.ii.232,
emphasis added).
6. The share of favour allotted to one by Providence or fortune; one's appointed
fate, destiny, or lot; hap, luck, or fortune (good or bad). Helena’s claim that
she is not “in grace” here takes on the added dimension of destiny’s disfavor.
It suggests that Helena might believe herself cursed or destined to be unhappy
because she assumes that she is not in divine favor. Belief in malevolent
external influences approaches the truth at this point in the text because
Puck’s mischief is at the root of her unhappiness.
7. The divine influence which operates in men to regenerate and sanctify, to
inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist
temptation. This is relatively implausible in the passage I DUNNO. IT
DOES EVOKE CHRISTIAN GRACE, SUBTLY—OR DIVINE GRACE,
BUT AS SUCH GRACE IS ATTRIBUTED TO A CARNAL LOVE
OBJECT, IT SUGGESTS A KIND OF IDOLATRY, NO? WHICH MAKES
A KIND OF SENSE FOR SHAKESPEAREAN LOVERS. REMEMBER
WHAT JULIET SAYS TO ROMEO, CALLING HIM THE “GOD” OF HER
“IDOLATRY.” BUT OF COURSE ALL YOUR OTHER DEFINITIONS
APPLY AS WELL. but the final clause about grace imparting strength to
endure trial puts a new twist on Helena’s jealousy of Hermia. It opens up the
possibility of Helena’s envy not being limited to the physical qualities that
attracted Demetrius’ attention. Helena might admire Hermia’s will and
decision to pursue her true love despite the danger and the bad effect an
elopement will surely have on her reputation, but endurance is a passive rather
than an active quality and thus any admiration Helena might feel for Hermia’s
daring would not fit into this context. If this kind of grace is also serenity,
Helena may be wishing for the calmness and sense of self that will help her
accept her position and act to improve it, as Hermia does when she runs away
with Lysander.
8. An individual virtue or excellence, divine in its origin. Though the divine
origin is unrelated to the passage, Helena does envy Hermia’s individual
excellence because she wishes to absorb some of that same quality. The
concept of grace is set up as a comparison with Hermia as the standard of
excellence and Helena trailing behind, as always.
9. In persons: Virtue; an individual virtue; sense of duty or propriety. This could
be a reference to Helena’s sacrifice of her morals and dignity to pursue
Demetrius into the woods and her willingness to be his spaniel if he will only
accept her. Helena might regret abandoning her reputation and her friendship
– she did, after all, reveal Hermia’s plan to Demetrius – and wish she could
regain her human dignity. In terms of a comparison to Hermia, however,
Hermia’s morals are also at stake because she too fled Athens with a man.
10. “’The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness’”
(KJB Jeremiah 31:2). Though this does not illuminate the meaning of the
word “grace” in this passage, finding grace in the wilderness is particularly
applicable to Helena’s situation because she comes to the forest in the hope
that Demetrius will be grateful to her for her information about Hermia’s
flight. Interpreting the verse metaphorically, it suggests that those who suffer
violence or other tribulations can find peace or holiness in the wilderness.
The New Revised Standard Version translates the verse this way: “’The
people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness.’” The element
of survival and endurance correlates directly to Helena’s misery and the
resolution at the end of the play.
Line 10
Anaphora: Beginning each of a series of phrases with the same word.
Helena begins both phrases in this line with “so,” meant as an intensifier rather
than a causal link or conjunction. The repetition also underlines Helena’s idea of
Hermia as the epitome of happiness, fortune, and fullness because it puts stress on
Hermia’s attributes. GOOD. There is an inherent comparison, as in the rest of the
passage; Hermia is loved and fortunate and Helena is not.
The phrasing of the beginning of this line indicates another source of
Helena’s frustration. She says that Hermia is “hung upon with love,” which
makes Hermia a passive receptacle for love rather than an active seeker of love.
Helena is active in pursuit of her love, but everything seems to fall into Hermia’s
lap. She might envy Hermia for achieving effortlessly what she strives for and
still cannot attain. Similarly, the use of the word “fortunate” implies that
Hermia’s superlative excellence is just luck and perhaps not merited.
Line 11
miserable]
1. Living or existing in a state of external distress or misery; that is in a wretched
condition. This definition pinpoints the source of the distress as external,
which is probably only partially true for Helena because her low self-esteem
and jealousy are not caused by external factors. She is certainly in a wretched
condition, whatever the cause or causes of her misery is or are.
2. Needy, poverty-stricken; penurious. Helena is needy in an emotional sense.
She needs to be loved and wanted and to feel like she has a place in
someone’s life, as she indicates when she offers to be Demetrius’ spaniel so
she can have some of his affection, as condescending as it might be.
3. Beset by a feeling of misery; feeling very unhappy; melancholy, depressed.
Also in weakened sense: uneasy, uncomfortable. This would make Helena’s
emotion transitory rather than a permanent expression of inadequacy or low
self-esteem, so the depression would be less of a facet of her character and
more of a passing fancy.
4. Of a thing: pitiable, deplorable. Helena thinks the others deplore, loathe,
despise, and ridicule her, and she wishes for pity instead of the contempt she
imagines they are displaying through their elaborate joke. She describes
herself as deplorable, meaning that she does not believe she has redeeming
qualities.
5. Pathetically unworthy, inadequate, or meagre; contemptible, despicable;
paltry, mean. Another, more complex description of Helena’s vision of
herself. She truly believes herself to be unworthy of attention or affection, as
much as she desires both. The fact that she is volunteering this description of
herself is telling because this is her perception rather than another person’s
assessment. As such, it is a valuable insight into her psychological problems
YES, MAYBE, MAYBE! BUT BE CAREFUL NOT TO TURN TO
ANACHRONISTIC PSYCHOLOGICAL JARGON!.
6. This is the only time the word “miserable” appears in A Midsummer Night’s
Dream. Perhaps this is the only time so many of the different definitions
converge.
Paroemion: repetition of sounds, as in alliteration and rhyme. “Miserable most”
and “love unloved” contain repeated consonant sounds that create an echo effect in the
line. The echo reflects the repetitive aspect of her speech and its continued stress on the
same points of comparison and misery, and it also sends out an auditory sign that this line
is important. WELL SAID INDEED! The final line summarizes Helena’s feelings: she
is miserable, needy for love, deplored, and wretched, because she loves unrequitedly.
Part Two
Question: How does Helena’s feeling of inadequacy function in the play and what
relationship does it have to her relationship with Hermia? Does it have any correlation to
her (imagined, perhaps, on my part) ability to see through the fairy spells? THIS IS
INTERESTING, AND A VERSION OF IT COULD, I SUSPECT, WORK VERY
WELL. A SUGGESTION TO TAKE OR LEAVE: YOUR QUESTIONS IMPLIES
THAT THERE’S SOMETHING OF VALUE IN HELENA’S SELF-DECPRECATION.
THIS INSIGHT IN ITSELF MIGHT BE REMARKABLE FOR MODERN READERS
OR HEARERS OR VIEWERS OF THE PLAY BECAUSE IT IS SO ALIEN TO THE
VALUE COMMONLY PLACED ON “SELF-ESTEEM” TODAY. SO IT SEEMS TO
ME THAT YOUR ANALYSIS COULD BE FOCUSSED ON THE IMPLICATIONS
OF HELENA’S SELF LOATHING—THEY MIGHT BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM
WHAT ONE MIGHT THINK, AND THEREFORE AN ANALYSIS OF THEM MIGHT
WELL BE CONDUCIVE TO A VERY COMPELLING AGENDA AS WELL AS
THESIS.
Hypothesis: Helena’s conviction in her unworthiness stems from a sense that the
balance and order has been upended. AFTER “STEMS FROM” THIS SENTENCE
DISAPPOINTS A BIT, BECAUSE IT DOESN’T REALLY GET AT WHAT
HELENA’S CONVICTION OF HER UNWORTHINESS MEANS, AND WHAT
VALUE IT HAS—THOUGH I’M SURE THERE’S TRUTH TO WHAT YOU’RE
SAYING, IT NEEDS TO BE SAID IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOUR READER CAN
GRASP ITS IMPORTANCE IMMEDIATELY. She and Hermia were raised together
and are soul mates, so they should be equals, but she sees more and more often that they
are not. Her rational view of love and life bleeds into this REFERENCE PROBLEM
HERE. I’M NOT SURE WHAT “THIS” IS. THIS RECOGNITION? by compelling
her to restore the order, by either putting Hermia down or raising herself up. Her ties to
rational, reasonable thought could also keep her from being taken in by the fairy spells.
LOTS OF GREAT OBSERVATIONS HERE, BUT YOU NEED SOMETHING MORE
COMPELLING, AND MORE CONDUCIVE TO COUNTER-ARGUMENT THAN
SUCH OBSERVATIONS. WHAT YOU ARE PROVIDING IS MORE EVIDENCE
THAN HYPOTHESIS. BUT YOU COULD BE ON THE WAY TO SOME SUPERB
THINKING.