Monologue

Demetrius Monologue from A Midsummer Night's Dream

From A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

male · romantic · 1:11 min

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My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth, Of this their purpose hither to this wood; And I in fury hither follow’d them, Fair Helena in fancy following me. But, my good lord, I wot not by what power, (But by some power it is) my love to Hermia, Melted as the snow, seems to me now As the remembrance of an idle gaud Which in my childhood I did dote upon; And all the faith, the virtue of my heart, The object and the pleasure of mine eye, Is only Helena. To her, my lord, Was I betroth’d ere I saw Hermia. But like a sickness did I loathe this food. But, as in health, come to my natural taste, Now I do wish it, love it, long for it, And will for evermore be true to it.

About this piece

Demetrius expresses his conflicted feelings about love and desire in the enchanted woods, revealing his shift in affection from Hermia to Helena.

20s · longing · love · identity · betrayal · desire

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