Oberon: The Fairy King Who Fixes What He Breaks
First appears: Act 2, Scene 1
Oberon wants one thing at the start of Act 2: the Indian boy Titania refuses to give him. His response to her refusal (enchanting her to fall in love with an animal) is vindictive and disproportionate. He is a king who cannot accept no.
He also fixes what he breaks. When Puck applies the love potion to the wrong Athenian, Oberon corrects the mistake. When he has got his way with Titania, he removes her enchantment. By Act 4 he has restored every relationship the play disrupted, including his own marriage. He presents this as generosity. It is more accurately the removal of punishments he inflicted.
His 'I know a bank where the wild thyme blows' speech in Act 2, Scene 1 is the play's most beautiful passage of poetry: a description of Titania's sleeping place that is also an expression of deep intimacy. He knows her habits and haunts completely. That makes his cruelty toward her more specific, not less.
Key Scenes
Famous Quotes
“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.”
Oberon — Act 2, Scene 1
“Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.”
Oberon — Act 2, Scene 1
Themes
Other Characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream
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