LYSANDER: Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing, let loose,
Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent.
HERMIA: Why are you grown so rude? What change is this,
Sweet love?
LYSANDER: Thy love? Out, tawny Tartar, out!
Out, loathèd med’cine! O. hated potion, hence!
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3, Scene 2. Lysander uses a series of metaphors to insult Hermia, calling her cat, a burr, a Tartar and disgusting medicine. He compares her to a serpent, using a simile. Referring to Hermia as "loathèd med’cine" and "hated potion" is ironic, seeing as Lysander is the one drugged by Oberon’s love juice. A confused Hermia cannot understand the transformation in her "sweet love" and why he is now so mean to her.