Midsummer+Night's+Dream+Blog

Lysander’s Journal

Day 1

I am devastated at the thought of losing the only one I truly love. Hermia’s father loathes me and is threatening her life if she decides to run away and marry me. And to make it all worse, her father is threatening her to love Demetrius and to marry him! It makes me so disgusted to imagine my Hermia ever loving that spoiled scum Demetrius. Writing his name fills my body with rage and makes me want to punch my hand through the wall. Hermia is so distraught and upset with her father and my heart aches because her father is putting her in a position between choosing to be with the one she loves, and choosing to live. Luckily, her love for me is so strong that she will run away with me! She agreed to meet me in the woods and wait for me and we will run away together.

Day 2

As I sit here in the woods next to my beautiful lover who is sleeping, I try to imagine my life without her, and I cannot. We ran away together in the woods and stopped to rest for a while. But when I suggested we sleep next to each other, she grew worried and told me to lie further away. I think Hermia is afraid because we are away from home and we may get caught, but I would never let anything happen to her and I will always keep her safe in my arms. I’m going to sleep now and I will dream about my love and how we are going to spend the rest of our lives together.

Now that I am awake, everything seems so clear! I saw my soul mate running in the woods towards me, sweet pure Helena! And when she stopped with Demetrius to talk to me, I was very confused. Helena told me that I love Hermia and I should be content with her, but I told Helena that it is really her that I love. I am so hurt because she feels that I am mocking her with my affection towards her. She doesn’t understand me. I loathe Hermia! I despise her and the sound of her name makes me stomach turn upside down. Oh, why can’t Helena see that I love her and want to be with her?

Day 3

Helena still believes that I am mocking her and that my true feelings are for Hermia. I continue to persuade Helena in every way possible that I really love her and that Demetrius is the one who loves Hermia, not I. But now, she really doesn’t believe me because Demetrius woke up in the woods today and said that he loves Helena! What the heck! I am so confused and utterly angry to the point that I want to go and knock out Demetrius. Just yesterday, he loved Hermia and was pining over her. I don’t understand how he can just change overnight and now love Helena. Poor Hermia. I mean seriously, how can Demetrius play with her emotions like that? Just yesterday he was head over heels for her and now he wants nothing to do with her and instead he loves Hermia!

But now I am confused myself because Hermia is telling me that I loved her yesterday? I think she is devastated because Demetrius no longer loves her and he changed his feelings overnight. I just can’t believe that I would have ever loved Hermia. Ha! That sounds crazy and I can’t imagine ever loving anyone but Helena. I am at the point that I loathe Hermia because she keeps telling me that I love her when I don’t! And now Demetrius thinks I would hurt Hermia because I don’t love her. He is seriously insane thinking I would hurt her. I would never deliberately hurt someone just because I don’t love her. Wow what a mess everything has become, I just wish Hermia would stop bugging me and realize that I love Helena and not her. And why can’t Demetrius keep his emotions straight and love Hermia like he always did?! I am so enraged with Demetrius. He’s such a backstabbing low life and I wanted to fight him today, but instead he never showed up. I heard him talking in the woods and saying he would fight me, but he never showed himself. He is a coward and a fake and I wish I could have just done away with him today, but he never appeared.

Day 4

I woke up today with Demetrius, Helena, and Hermia next to me. The Duke of Athens, Theseus, was by our sides and he questioned what was happening. I explained to him how Hermia and I ran away together in order to leave Athens and Demetrius explained how Helena and he ran to the woods to follow us. And then Demetrius also said how he now loves Helena! Looking back at yesterday, I don’t understand what happened. I said I loved Helena, but I don’t know why. I have always loved Hermia and I still do. I must have been delusional yesterday or sick or something because I don’t love Helena. And now that fact that Demetrius loves Helena and no longer has an obsession with Hermia makes me so happy! And to top all of this off, Theseus overruled Hermia’s father and said that we should all be happily married. Finally, things are back to normal and Hermia and I are in love and now Demetrius is in love with Helena.

Day 5

Theseus and his new wife Hippolyta invited Helena, Demetrius, Hermia, and me to celebrate with them and watch a play done by the craftsmen. The play was interesting and the prologue was quite confusing. The prologue was meant to prevent anyone from being offended, but the actor said it in a way that was very offending to some which was quite amusing. It was a short play and fun to watch, but I was mostly just thinking about how satisfied I am with life because I was finally with my love. Everything is how it should be and all the chaos is over.

Demetrius

Day 1 I am completely and utterly frustrated and smack dab in the middle of a love triangle. Of course the only girl I love, Hermia is also loved by another, awful Lysander. I have never felt this way about a girl in my life, ever! And now that rat loves her too, and what’s worse is I’m pretty sure that she loves him back. Then I’m just left alone, feeling like crap. I would do anything for her, she knows that, and I also have pleased her father, so I don’t know what the problem is… Oh, there’s another side to the story too, I pretty much have a stalker. Her name is Helena, and she will not leave me alone, no matter what I say to her. All of this is just really annoying, but I guess we’ll see what happens.

Day 2 Things are getting worse. Helena made a scene today and continually followed me around. I wish she would get the hint that when I say “I love thee not” that means that I don’t love her! That seems like an easy concept. Apparently I’m just too awesome. She says things like she’s drawn to me, all she can do is follow me, and that she’s sick without me. To be honest, it creeps me out. I can’t help but be mean to her, it’s driving me crazy…I have even threatened to leave her in the woods for the beasts. She just doesn’t get it. I just want to be away from her. Meanwhile, as I was running away from that pest Helena, we came across Lysander and Hermia sleeping in the forest. Lysander woke up and suddenly was in love with Helena, which makes me so happy! I finally have a chance with my love!

Day 3 I got the chance I was waiting for, I spent some quality time alone with Hermia, although it wasn’t quite what I expected it to be. She was so distressed because apparently Lysander claimed that he doesn’t love her anymore. I was hoping that this could be a time when we could bond, but all she kept talking about was Lysander and how she thought I had something to do with his not loving her anymore. I didn’t do anything! This is as much of a surprise to me as it is to Hermia, although I can’t say that I am sad about it. Then it was so strange, I got sleepy, took a nap, woke up, and now I suddenly have feelings for Helena! I am so overtaken with her beauty, and my love for her is stronger than any love I have ever felt before. It doesn’t make sense, because she’s loved me for so long and now she thinks I am just saying I love her to mock her, but it’s a completely real feeling. I honestly have no idea where these feelings came from, but they’re great. And since Lysander suddenly loves Helena too, we’re now bickering about that. It’s so frustrating that we have to love the same person all the time, but is that just a coincidence? I just don’t understand what’s going on.

Day 4 Things are just so crazy. Hermia’s father and Lord Theseus came into the wood where everything was happening, and I told them everything. I don’t know that I should have done that, but Hermia’s father was asking and he looks upon me so highly that I had to respect his wishes and answer. I told him of Lysander and Hermia’s plan to go away together, but in the meantime, both he and I love Helena now. He seemed surprised by this, but then again, who wouldn’t be surprised? Lord Theseus said that Helena and I are to be married, and that Lysander and Hermia are to be married, which sounds good to me, I finally get what I want for a change. I think I was dreaming through all of this because it seemed so much like an illusion, but a joyous one!

Day 5 I watched this play with Lysander and Lord Theseus today, and to be honest, I thought it was sort of stupid. They had lions speaking, and a wall, which was partly witty, but farfetched I think. Theseus was even making fun of it with me, which was amusing. Lately I have been thinking about how happy I am with the way everything worked out. I have the woman that I love and she loves my back too, and we are going to be wed. What more could I want? Lysander and Hermia are also happy to, so I’m glad that everything worked out how it’s meant to be in the end.

 Oberon – King of the Fairies  I am very upset right now. That Titania…she drives me absolutely insane. She is controlling and selfish and does not comply with my demands - who does she think I am?! She and I have been having severe marital issues lately, for she is not being the loving, considerate wife she is supposed to be. I haven’t seen her for a few days, and let me tell you, I am not complaining. I need a break from that brainless woman. She can do no wrong; according to her, I am always at fault. I have had enough, and I am going to stand against her now. The power she possesses has gone to her head, and I, Oberon, King of the Fairies, do not appreciate her unwise and self-centered decision to keep that Indian boy as her servant. It is obvious to everyone except the defiant Titania that the boy would be of much better use to me than he will ever be to her. She is only making herself look like a fool in this ridiculous situation. I am very angry with her but tomorrow, if I see her, I am going to try to ask her, once again, to give me what I want. She should obey, for I am not only her husband, but I also happen to be the King. Day 2 ** TITANIA WILL GET WHAT SHE DESEVRES. I can promise that.
 * Day 1**
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Today started off just fine. Several of my attendants and I were on a lovely stroll through the forest near Athens. Along the way, we overheard my loyal servant Puck having a conversation about his jests and pranks with another unknown attendant. Intrigued by the conversation, I decided to confront Puck and hear about this recent mischief. However, at the moment my train approached, my oh-so-lovely bride Titania and a train of her own appeared from the other side of the clearing. I was annoyed at the sight of her, for lately, as I mentioned yesterday, she has been so unwilling to listen to anything I say. I decided it was best to be mature about the situation and politely asked her if she had reconsidered her decision to keep the Indian boy. I was also sure to state that he would be much better off with me. I expected a gentle and well-mannered response from the fairy Queen, but what was I thinking? The woman is crazy.

She abruptly accused me of loving Hippolyta, for that is clearly the only explanation in the world possible as to why my train and I were traveling fairly close to Athens. To be honest, I’m not so sure Titania doesn’t love Theseus! She is so conniving; I wouldn’t put it past her. And of course, she put all the blame on me, set me up as the bad guy. All I want is the boy! She continuously says that she deserves to keep him because his mother died and she promised her she would care for him. I say, his mother is dead and she won’t know the difference. He needs a master like me! But she said no. SHE ALWAYS SAYS NO! She doesn’t think of it as a big deal – she invited me to a dance tonight, even after all of this confrontation! The woman is UNBELIEVABLE. I will get my revenge. She cannot defy the King without SEVERE consequences.

I just sent Puck out to retrieve a flower that has powers like no other over its subject. The flower will seep into her eyelids as she sleeps, and when she wakes up, she will be in love with the first things she sees. I cannot wait to see how this turns out; I will teach that unappreciative woman a lesson. Day 3 ** Great news! Puck just informed me that Titania has fallen in love with a complete idiot. He is a clumsy and foolish Athenian that Puck has transformed into an ass.
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On a side note, last night before I put the potion on Titania’s eyes, I came upon two young Athenians. There was shouting and arguing, and I wondered why so much commotion was necessary. I realized quickly that the woman was deeply in love with the man; however, he was absolutely repulsed by her. Seeing the distress in the woman’s eyes and the anger in the man’s eyes, I decided that it would be best for both of them if the man loved the woman back. I told Puck to find these Athenians and put the potion on the man’s eyes to make him love her. Well as it turns out, Puck made a mistake and put the potion on the eyes of an Athenian who already has a lover. Things are getting out of hand, for they are threatening to fight for the love of the same woman, while another woman has no lovers. I told Puck to correct this immediately. Day 4 ** I must say I am completely satisfied with the way things with Titania have turned out; revenge is oh-so-sweet. I saw her and taunted her for her undying infatuation with such a ridiculous creature, and I have gained control over the boy that I’ve wanted for so long. Once she consented to give me the boy, I arranged for the spell to be lifted. I think things between us are back to the way they should be. Titania understands that I am ruler over her and she is becoming the woman I married once more. Thank goodness. I guess she is alright after all. Day 5 ** All is well in the world once more. Tonight, Titania and I were present at the castle of Theseus to bless all of those who have just been married there, including those two Athenian couples that were mixed up earlier. I can guarantee that they will be faithful and will never be haunted by such confusion again. They will only remember the previous events as dreams. Ah, life is finally good. These past few days have been extremely stressful, so it is very nice to have things back in order.
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=Helena= = Day 1: Life is so unfair. I mean, I’m really not one to complain or anything, but I am really tired of Hermia. We’re supposed to be such good friends, but she obviously only cares about her own interests. I am so mad that Demetrius and Lysander are having a fight over her. What’s so special about her anyway? I mean, Mark from Newbury thinks I’m pretty. Why can’t Demetrius? I’ve loved him since forever, and I think I’ll die if he doesn’t start noticing me more. Hermia is cool and everything, but she’s not Aphrodite incarnate. I just need Demetrius to be indebted to me…Wait! I think I have an idea. Lysander and Hermia were just in here, telling me that they want to run away together into the woods. Gag. I am so tired of their touchy-feely love crap. Hermia is obviously just using all the men in her life to boost her self-esteem. Maybe if I tell Demetrius their plan, he will be so thankful to me that he’ll see the error of his love for Hermia and fall in love with me instead. I feel bad to rat Hermia and Lysander out…but nevermind. I’ve already decided to go through with it. Hermia will get over it.

Day 2: Today has been the most frustrating day of my life. Again, I hate to complain, but first I had to follow Demetrius far into the creepy woods just so he could chase after some girl who doesn’t even love him. Then I had to listen to him talk about how little he cares for me, even after all the work I’ve done to make sure precious Hermia stays in his sights. I was so fed up with him. Why must Demetrius be such a pain? He continued to tell me how little he loved me, and then threatened to leave me alone in the woods to defend myself against the wild beasts. Oh, men! Why must we women love them so? I was chasing him all through the woods, when Demetrius really did leave me. I was so angry. But then the most maddening thing happened of all. I found Lysander and Hermia on the ground, asleep. I roused Lysander, who started to profess his love for me! I was so confused, but then I became angered. How //dare// he mock my lack of relationship with his false acclamations for me? I wonder what Hermia will do when she realizes she has such a weird lover. I don’t pity her, but I’m glad I’m not in love with such an odd character.

Day 3: I am even more confused than I was yesterday with all of Lysander’s antics. Today, not only does Lysander continue to insult me with his cruel jests of affection, but now Demetrius has begun as well. It seems as if these men awake from such dreams of malice that they cannot help but make fun of me for my poor loveless state. It is bad enough to be without the love of a man, but now I must also endure this hateful humor from the very same man I would choose to be with forever? It seems sometimes that my life is nothing but brief glimpses of pain all bunched together into this unending existence. Not only that, but my one seemingly true friend, Hermia, has joined and perhaps even instigated in their fun. She seems to also take great pains to act like the two men have abandoned her for me. How could this ever happen? Demetrius and Lysander love Hermia too much. What could possibly make them change their minds, especially at the same time? All I know is that I cannot abide this sort of behavior any longer. I am enraged and I want to confront Hermia and the two men, but for some reason this fog is making me so tired. Maybe I will just lie down for a while…

Day 4: The strangest thing has happened! I was asleep in the woods, when I awoke to Theseus standing over me. Hermia’s mean dad was there too, and so were Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia. Strangely, they had just woken up as well. Anyway, Lysander told of a strange dream-like state he thought he had been, which made me all the more glad I wasn’t head-over-heels in love with him like Hermia is. But then Demetrius claimed that though he had loved Hermia, he was now in love with me. Wow! I was taken aback at first, but Theseus seemed to be satisfied, and Demetrius really seemed to mean what he said. Does this really mean Demetrius is mine, and not Hermia’s? I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it. As close as we are, this resolution to the love triangle could be wonderful if I can stop being so jealous of Hermia all the time. Maybe things will turn out for the better after all.

Day 5: Demetrius officially asked me on our first date today! It was to see some play but on by these peasants with weird names. It even had this talking wall and an odd prologue that Lysander and Demetrius didn’t like. But oh well. It was to celebrate Theseus and Hippolyta’s marriage, so who was I to complain about our leader’s choice in performers? I cannot wait to see where my relationship with Demetrius goes, as I am sure that easier days are ahead now that he has come to his senses and chosen me over Hermia.

Hermia
Day 1

Today was the worst! I was forced to go before Duke Theseus with my dad because he didn’t like the fact that I love Lysander since he gave his consent for me to marry Demetrius. He thinks the only reason I love Lysander is because he has given me tokens of his affection, walked with me in the moonlight, and serenaded me with songs of adoration. According to him, in my impressionable youth, these things have created the illusion of love, but that is just not the case! I am not naïve and I love him because he is a good and upright man and we belong together. But according to Athenian law, I must obey my father or be put to death. Why can’t he see that I just don’t love Demetrius? He is just so blind sometimes! It makes things worse that Lysander and Demetrius don’t get along.

Now I have to make a decision by tomorrow night about whether I want to be with Lysander or Demetrius. At first, things seemed really bleak because I wouldn’t be allowed to be with Lysander without being given the death penalty and if I agreed to be with Demetrius, I would have to live with someone I didn’t love. Luckily though, Lysander and I thought of a plan to avoid both the decision and the prosecution of the law. Tomorrow night, Lysander and I will flee to his widow aunt’s house outside of Athens so we can get married outside the jurisdiction of the law. After we made this plan, Helena arrived and lamented about the fact that she loves Demetrius yet the more she tries to get close to him, the more he turns her away. If only he would love her and not me, for she has a deep passion for him that I would believe to prove true. I can’t wait for tomorrow night!

Day 2

In comparison to yesterday, today was so much better! Lysander and I ran away to the woods where we are legally outside the jurisdiction of Athenian law, so now we can get married and be together forever. Sometimes I wonder how my father and all of my friends and family will react to our decision because I still care what they think and how they judge my character. I hope they see this as a move to stand up for what I believe in rather than an act of defiance. Is this an act of defiance? I don’t think of it that way because our decision to get married and the actions we have taken to make that a possibility just happen to be in defiance of my father’s wishes and the law of Athens.

That makes the whole thing sound a lot worse. Well maybe that is because this is the only plausible way to do what I want for a change and not have my father make all of my decisions. In retrospect, I don’t really care that we are going against my father’s wishes. I’m really glad we ran away, yet Lysander was acting quite strange when we got to the woods tonight. He was clearly coming on to me but I just didn’t want to be intimate until we are truly married, so I hope that doesn’t put a barrier between us. After we went to sleep, I later woke up following a really bad dream. I dreamed that Lysander didn’t love me anymore and that his love for me was gone. Thank goodness it was only a dream!

Day 3

The first part of the day was very unsettling because I couldn’t find Lysander and was worried that he was dead, killed by Demetrius in a fit of jealous rage. Being around Demetrius just makes me so frustrated because he clearly despises Lysander and the fact that he loves me and I love him back. If only Demetrius would lay off and realize that not only will I never love him, but that Helena has been longing for him forever and has really cares about him. Anyway, that is beside the point. When I found Lysander later on in the day, he was acting crazy and doing and saying things that made no sense! He said outright that his love is for Helena and not for me- how surprised I was! And on top of everything else, after I heard of Lysander’s newfound love, Helena thought that the three of us (Lysander, Demetrius, and me) were playing some twisted trick on her. According to her, we must have planned for both Demetrius and Lysander to fawn over her and profess their love to her, but the mere fact that both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with Helena is news to me. I had no idea about their “loving” her.

What makes this whole situation so bad is that not only does Lysander proclaim his love for Helena leaving me alone, but also now Helena is considering throwing our friendship away up to this point. How can she let go of all the time we spent together- I mean we were practically sisters! Now I am beginning to think that she stole Lysander away from me because she was jealous that Demetrius loved me instead of her, despite the fact that I kept turning him away. Everything that is horrible and miserable has happened to me today and I am confused and weary. Lysander, whom I love and who I thought loved only me, has spent the day proclaiming his love for Helena, not even acknowledging our pledge to be married. On top of this, Helena, who I thought was one of my closest friends, has been under the impression that I, along with the two boys, was playing a trick on her. But as the night wore on, I was more and more sure that she has stolen Lysander from me to get back at me for the fact that Demetrius has loved me for a long time no matter how many times I turn him down, and while she has fervently sought after him, he has ignored her. Why do things have to be so convoluted? What did I do to deserve this?

Day 4

Today was very strange, but very equally wonderful. Because of everything that has happened since Lysander and I left Athens, I totally forgot that today was the day I was to make my decision and present it to Duke Theseus. While I was not planning on giving my response since Lysander and I ran away to avoid such legality, I did not consider how my father and the government officials would respond. The four of us (somehow together) woke up to the voices of Duke Theseus and followers, including my father. When Duke Theseus questioned us about how we arrived to the woods and what we were doing together, Lysander explained that he and I had run away to avoid my marriage to Demetrius. When questioned about how he happened to be in the woods, Demetrius told the duke that he had followed Lysander and me because he knew of our plan, and Helena had followed Demetrius.

To all of our surprise, Demetrius also told us of his love for Helena, despite how many times he had rejected her. As it turns out, he had just been too blind to see not only how much she loved him, but also how much he loved her back. I am so happy for them! In another twist of fate, Duke Theseus surprisingly let all of us go without charging us with illegal activity and actually permitted all of us to be married once we get back to Athens. How wonderful everything has turned out considering that at some points, the final outcome looked so bleak. Not only to Lysander and I and Demetrius and Helena get to be together, we all are permitted to get married with the full backing of the duke, which is such a relief since I thought the only way to get married was to run away. I am really thankful that everything turned out this well- it really allows all of us to keep our relationships and start our lives together as married couples.

Day 5

Today was another good day. Lysander, Demetrius, Helena, and me went to the palace of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta to see a play performed by some really seemingly strange actors. Despite this fact, the play was actually quite good, I thought. Even though the actors themselves were weird, they did a good job putting on the play. Before some scenes, though, various actors gave a prologue about either the content or characters of the scene. Many of them seemed really out of place and stupid, frankly. Even though I am a woman and might be easily frightened by some things, I found those prologues to be completely ridiculous. Anyone watching the play would have been perfectly content to see its natural progression without the useless interruptions of the prologues.

This being said, I liked watching the tragic love story of Pyramus and Thisbe despite the ending where they both die. It seemed kind of similar to another play I watched sometime before, but I can’t remember the name exactly. Romeo and Juliet? I don’t know, I can’t be sure. Anyway, I am lucky that my story hasn’t turned out like that, you know, the dying part. In many ways, it very well could have come to that. Lysander and I ran away from Athens to avoid the law and my father, and everything was fine until he loved someone else, my best friend, no less. Thinking back, I was so distraught that I could have chosen to kill myself. Luckily, things changed for the better and I am fortunate to have Lysander back and still be friends with Helena, who is getting married to Demetrius. It’s funny to think back about all that happened in such a short amount of time. Just think, it would make a pretty good story.