This is actually a crucial quote for the entire play, as
Helena here in Act I scene 1 explains the complete irrational nature of love that had
already been displayed by the central lovers and will continue to be displayed by the
lovers themselves in the woods. The entire quote runs as
follows:
Love
looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,And therefore
is winged Cupid painted blind.Nor hath Love's mind of any
judgement taste;Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy
haste.
This quote means that
love does not look with reason (with the "eyes") but with the imagination ("the mind").
This is why Cupid, the god of love, is painted blind, because he does not use reason.
Aslo, love is not affected or impacted by any kind of judgement or reason, as the wings
of Cupid and his blindness indicate that love is incredibly hasty in terms of its impact
on us and our actions.
We need look no further than just a
few scenes away, when Puck administers the magic lotion and puts the lovers into a riot
as first Lysander starts to love Helena and then Demetrius loves her too. Likewise, when
Titania falls in love with Bottom we see little reason or judgement. The whole play
explores how love overpowers our judgement and reason and makes us do stupid things when
we are dominated by it.
No comments:
Post a Comment