William Shakespeare Quotes

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 1. In trying to get Hermia to tow the Athenian line and obey her father’s wish to marry Demetrius, Duke Theseus points out that Demetrius is a "worthy gentleman." Quick as a flash, Hermia responds that the man she loves Lysander is as well. There is unintended irony in what Theseus says, as Demetrius later engages in some very ungentlemanly and mean behavior towards Hermia in the woods when he threats to do her "mischief" and leave her to the mercy of "wild beasts." While Demetrius has managed to fool Theseus and Egeus that he the perfect gentleman, he hasn’t at all fooled Lysander, who later brands him a "spotted and inconstant man."