Love can be Painful or Blissful
Helena's love for Demetrius
1. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
"But that was when I ruled the world..."
I chose this song because it talks of how people can fall from other peoples' graces quite easily. In the book, Helena used to be successful, and contented, but no longer is accepted by her former fiance. If she could, Helena would probably listen to this around the beginning, where Demetrius is smitten with Hermia, and her problems plague her. The song has a wistful tone to it, relating to Helena's desire or love from Demetrius. This song would proves how painful loss can be, even if it isn't about love.
2. Godfather Theme Song
3. All of Me - John Legend
4. Jealous - Nick Jonas
This song represents jealousy towards a rival lover. Helena would listen to this after her confrontation with Hermia involving Demetrius. The song's lyrics are basically about feelings of jealousy, anger, and envy, which easily matches Helena's reaction to Demetrius openly confessing his love for Hermia. This piece of music reflects the chosen theme of A Midsummer Night's Dream because it says how love can cause pain to participants.
5. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
"Those three words, are said too much, they're not enough"
5. Grow Old With Me - Tom Odell
6. Sun God - Cut Copy
7. Troll Song
Normally, I would say that this song would only fit the character of Puck, but here I have found an exception. The song is so random and confusing, it scrambles the focus of the listener him/herself. I infer that this was probably the feeling the Helena felt when waking up to Demetrius singing odes about his love the Helena, when hours ago he was professing his love for Hermia. In fact, the song would fit the feelings of all the mortals present. The song doesn't really tie in with love as much, but does show how things can be unbearably confusing at times. In this case, it would show the strange aspects of Love.
8. Liebesträume - Franz Liszt
Liebesträume, or "love dream" in German, is a prominent piano piece from the Romantic period of western classical music. It is famous for it's dreamy and romantic character. Also, the use of pedal creates a heavy effect on the listener. It features the theme of Love. Personally, I think that the piano makes the piece sound more passionate. Helena would listen to this in any particularly emotional part of the book.
9. Tainted Love - Soft Cell
This song resembles Helena's feelings towards Demetrius over most of the book. It's lyrics are composed of verses about longing and remorse. It also says the same things than Helena says, such as "this tainted love you've given...". Helena would listen to this song after Demetrius' final rejection of Helena. In the book, Helena feels crushed and extremely sad, which is basically the mood of this song. This strongly supports the theme, Love can be Painful or Blissful by showing how painful love can become.
10. Celebration - Kool & the Gang
"Celebrate good times, come on..."