A Midsummer's Night's Dream
Jordan Cozine, Gia Santini, Eli Breeden, and Logan Johnson
Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 146-182
Summary: Oberon, the king of fairies, regales Puck, a subordinate mischievous fairy, with a tale of cupid shooting one of his arrows at a "little western flower", and explains to Puck that this flower has the ability to make anyone who's eyes are contaminated by its juices fall in love with the first person they see. He then tells Puck to "fetch [him] that flower" as he wants to use it on a woman who is in unrequited love with a man named Demetrius.
Most Important Quote
"Fetch me that flower- the herb I showed thee once. The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid will make or man or woman madly dote.
Paraphrase of Quote
Get me that flower that I showed you once. I will put flower juice on his eyelids while he is sleeping. And it will make him madly in love with her.
Why Is This Quote Important?
This quote is important because it is speaking of the event that causes the entire conflict.
Helena
Helena is an important character in AMND because she creates a prominent conflict in the play. Helena is in love with a man named Demetrius, but Demetrius is in love with Hermia Helena's bestfriend; Hermia does not love Demetrius back, instead she loves Lysander. Sadly Helena is deeply in love with Demetrius, and with this deeply ingrained loyalty, she refuses to give up on him. This would not be a prominent conflict if not for Oberon, king of the fairies. Oberon sees Helena's pure loyalty and love and feels bad for her; he then vows to change her bleak fate by making Demetrius fall in love with Helena by use of a magical flower. When portraying Helena one should sound wistful and nostalgic in Act 1 Scene 1 as she is talking of her beloved who does not love her in return. You should simply walk off stage as an exit because the ending of the scene is Hermia and Lysander talking rather than Helena, and as you talking to Hermia you should look like you are addressing her on the stage without turning your back to the audience. Helena is a character deeply affected by her feelings and should be portrayed as such.