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Demetrius
The King of the Fairies and Titania's husband. Oberon is willful and demands obedience from his subjects, including his wife. When he's angry, he's not above using magic and plots to manipulate and humiliate in order to get his way. Yet at the same time he also seems to like using magic to fix problems he sees around him, particularly those having to do with love. He's had numerous extra-marital affairs.
Oberon Quotes in A Midsummer Night's Dream
The A Midsummer Night's Dream quotes below are all either spoken by Oberon or refer to Oberon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act 2, scene 1 Quotes
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania some time of the night,
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight;
And there the snake throws her enamell'd skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in. (235)
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania some time of the night,
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight;
And there the snake throws her enamell'd skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in. (235)
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Explanation and Analysis:
After watching Helena and Demetrius’ interaction, Oberon plots how to resolve their conflict at the same time as playing his prank on Titania. He describes to Puck his plan to make use of a flower that makes people fall in love. Oberon’s language here is lush and evocative. He references a variety of different exotic plants at the site where the potion will be found, describing a scene of splendor and vibrance. Forming the speech from sets of rhyming couplets renders it deeply entrancing—thus foreshadowing the way the flowers’ juice will bewitch the lovers. (Note how the eloquence of Oberon’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eli
Act 2, scene 2 Quotes
When thou wakest, it is thy dear:
Wake when some vile thing is near. (22)
Wake when some vile thing is near. (22)
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Explanation and Analysis:
Oberon has snuck past Titania’s attendants as she sleeps. He places the love potion on her eyes and hopes she will spy something unpleasant when she wakes up. These lines describe succinctly the way the love potion will affect Titania. Whatever she sees when she stops sleeping will be her “dear”: the thing she loves the most. And thus Oberon hopes that what she spies will be “vile,” causing her to fall in love with some odious being. By rhyming “dear” with “near,” he draws attention to the way that Titania’s love will be predicated on proximity rather than real Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asp
Act 4, scene 1 Quotes
May all to Athens back again repair
And think no more of this night's accidents
But as the fierce vexation of a dream. (50)
And think no more of this night's accidents
But as the fierce vexation of a dream. (50)
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Oberon at last feels pity for the way he has treated Titania and the other characters. He informs Puck to finish undoing his mischief and to allow the characters to depart the forest. These lines verify the sharp division between the play’s urban and forest settings. Whereas the forest is seen as the place of fantasy and magic, the city promises a return to normalcy. Oberon’s use of the word “repair” stresses how the character's return to Athens will restore order to the broken relations and return to normal any behaviors made strange by the forest. His strict delineation between Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus haru
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Oberon Character Timeline in A Midsummer Night's Dream
The timeline below shows where the character Oberon appears in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 2, scene 1
...the forest outside Athens, a fairy meets with Robin Goodfellow. They discuss the conflict between Oberon, king of the fairies, and Titania, the queen of the fairies, about which of them...
(full context)
Puck quiets as Oberon and Titania enter. Oberon tells her, "ill met by moonlight, proud Titania" (2.1.62). They immediately...
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Titania tells Oberon that their fight has disordered nature, resulting in floods, fogs, dead livestock, and mixed-up seasons....
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Once Titania is gone, Oberon vows to punish her for not obeying him. He calls to Puck, and reminds him...
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Oberon continues that he saw where that arrow landed: on a little flower that turned from...
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Oberon, alone, muses on his plan: he'll wait until Titania is asleep and then place the...
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Just then, Oberon hears voices. Since he's invisible, he decides to spy. Demetrius and Helena enter, walking through...
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After they exit, Oberon promises that soon Demetrius will seek Helena's love. Once Puck returns with the love-in-idleness flower,...
(full context)
Act 2, scene 2
...night in the woods, Titania's fairy followers sing her to sleep in a beautiful glade. Oberon then sneaks past the guard protecting her, and drops the juice on her sleeping eyelids....
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...spurning the Athenian lady. He drops the potion on Lysander's eyes, and rushes back to Oberon.
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Act 3, scene 2
As Oberon wonders whether Titania has woken and with whom or what she's fallen in love, Puck...
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But just as Oberon asks about Puck's success with the Athenian youth and Puck says he used the potion...
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Oberon realizes what has happened and scolds Puck: "What hast though done? Thou hast mistaken quite...
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Oberon puts the love ointment on Demetrius' eyes as Puck returns with the warning that Helena...
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Oberon suspects Puck of having intentionally caused this mayhem. Puck swears he made an honest mistake,...
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Act 4, scene 1
Oberon and Puck enter. Oberon says that he now feels sorry for Titania, especially since she...
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Then Oberon drops the juice on Titania's eyelids. She wakes, and though confused how she could have...
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Act 5, scene 1
Puck enters, followed by Oberon, Titania and their fairy followers. They dance and sing to bless the three marriages and...
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Act 5, scene 2
Puck enters, followed by Oberon, Titania and their fairy followers. They dance and sing to bless the three marriages and...
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