Time Will Tell
Helena's Playlist
Theme: If it is true love, then it will come through in the end.
Track One: Boulevard of Broken Dreams
"I walk this empty street, On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Where the city sleeps, and I'm the only one and I walk alone..."
In the beginning of the play A Midsummer Night's Dream, nobody loves Helena, and I can see how lonely she feels, especially because Demetrius used to love her, but then he ditched her for Helena. She must have felt alone while no one cared about her...
Helena, in the beginning of the play, is alone in her mind, because there is no one that loves her. Her dreams have been crushed, as Demetrius used to love her but now he loves Hermia. She's the only one in her world. Also, this refers to the fact that the city of Athens is asleep, and that she's really walking alone rather than just chasing after Demetrius. I think Helena would listen to this song while she was alone on her own, so that she would feel like other people feel the way that she does as well.
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Track Two: Say Something(I'm Giving Up On You)
Near the beginning of the play, Helena makes the choice to chase after Demetrius, hoping that he'll pay attention to her again. Because of this, Helena does end up having Demetrius love her again.
I think Helena could really relate to this part of the song because it's like the scene in the woods where she's chasing after Demetrius while Demetrius is trying to get rid of Helena. But Helena won't force herself on Demetrius, she's asking to be treated as a dog, do be disrespected and shamed, just as long as she can stay by his side. She'd listen to this song to try to get over loving Demetrius, thinking, "Give up on him, he doesn't love you anymore..."
Track Three: "Teardrops on My Guitar" by Taylor Swift
During the rising action, Helena knows that Demetrius loves Hermia, and that he probably won't love her again. She calls herself a fool, and knows that she's stupid for loving him, but she still does anyways.
I think this bit from "Teardrops on My Guitar" is relatable to Helena because Helena knows Demetrius won't love her, but she can't help but love Demetrius. I think she'd listen to this song after she tells Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander running away. Around then, Demetrius tells her to go away and that he hates her. However, she still wants to be around him.
Track Four: "You Belong With Me" By Taylor Swift (Yes, I know, there are two Taylor Swift songs in a row...)
Helena was always following Demetrius, admiring his qualities, appreciating him being there, and loving him, although he never loved her back. She still loved him through all that, but he still didn't appreciate Helena always being there for him.
I think Helena would have listened to this all the time before she chases Demetrius into the woods, because even though Demetrius didn't pay attention to her, she still cared about him. Demetrius changed like the tides, first loving Helena, and then Hermia, and then Helena again, but Helena is like the moon, always there, shining down upon the glistening night-time sea.
Track Five: Bad Romance
"I want your ugly, I want your disease. I want your everything as long as it's free. I want your love..."
Helena is shown as loving everything about Demetrius, and even though Demetrius rebukes her, she still loves her.
Track Six: Nothing Left to Say
I think this is the perfect song for when Helena tells Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander leaving. Helena could relate to these lyrics because once she told Demetrius, there was no going back.
Once Helena tells Demetrius that Hermia and Lysander have run off into the woods, there's no going back. She can't un-tell Demetrius about Hermia leaving, and the situation does end up getting worse because of Helena's decision of telling Demetrius just so that she can talk to him again. But even if that was the wrong thing to do, Helena still pushes on. She chased Demetrius into the woods so that she could beg him just so that she could stay by his side.
Track Seven: "Why" by Secondhand Serenade
Once Puck mixes up the two "young Athenian men" and puts the drops of flower juice into both Lysander's and Demetrius' eyes, there's a little mishap, and then both of them end up loving Helena instead of Hermia.
While I was reading the part of the play where Helena thinks Lysander and Demetrius are teasing her, this song popped into my head. So that's partially why I think the song links in. I can actually see Helena listening to this song right after she says that she's going to go back home, and it seems that then she's trying to forget just about everything that happened that night so far.
Track Eight: "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller, doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone. What doesn't kill you makes a fighter, footsteps even lighter, doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone..."
Helena would probably listen to this song after she left because it's talking about how after a breakup, she can be an independent person, and I think Helena was trying to do that after all the "teasing". Even though I think she still did love Demetrius, she realized that it wasn't going to do her any good.
Track Nine: "I'm not the only one" by Sam Smith
At the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena still isn't completely sure that Demetrius really still loves her. She knows now that he had loved Hermia, and she wasn't the only one that had owned his heart.
I think Helena would listen to this song right after she and Demetrius made up, because I felt like she still doubted whether his feelings were true or not. He decided that he loved Helena in a night, and I don't think her trust will ever be the same.
Track Ten: "Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry
"Cause you're hot then you're cold, you're yes, then you're no, you're in, then you're out, you're up, then you're down. You're wrong when it's right, it's black and it's white. We fight, we break up, we kiss, we make up..."
At the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena gets back together with Demetrius. But she knows that he's been back and forth, first he loved Helena, then he loved Hermia, and then he went back to Helena.
I think this song is saying the same thing; Katy Perry is saying that her boyfriend (or whoever she's talking about) constantly switches opinions and sides. She uses opposites to show how drastically he changes. Helena would probably listen to this track right after she found out that Demetrius loved her again, since she would be able to relate.