DEMETRIUS Lysander, keep thy Hermia; I will none.
If e’er I loved her, all that love is gone.
My heart to her but as guestwise sojourned,
And now to Helen is it home returned,
There to remain.
LYSANDER Helen, it is not so.
DEMETRIUS Disparage not the faith thou dost not know,
Lest, to thy peril, thou abye it dear.
Look where thy love comes: yonder is thy dear. (3.2.169-176)
Demetrius and Lysander are really facing off with each other now (and mostly ignoring Helena): Lysander, keep thy Hermia, says Demetrius, I will none. I don’t want her, YOU can have her! Because if e’er I loved her, all that love is gone. Not a jot, I’ve changed my mind. Can’t imagine what I saw in her. My heart to her but as guestwise sojourned, and now to Helen is it home returned, there to remain. It was just a temporary thing, yeah? But Helena, she’s my girl; she’s the one for me and I’m back where I belong, for good this time. (This is the sort of thing that would have had Helena weeping with relief earlier in the play; now she doesn’t know what to think.) Helen, it is not so! Don’t listen to a word he’s saying, I’m the one that loves you, protests Lysander. Demetrius takes the moral high ground: disparage not the faith thou dost not know, lest, to thy peril, thou abye it dear. What would YOU know about fidelity, what do you know about TRUE LOVE? How dare you question the true and honourable nature of my feelings? If you continue to insult me, you’ll pay the price. But, oh look, look where thy love comes: yonder is thy dear. YOUR beloved is over there; stop trying to ingratiate yourself with mine! And yes, it’s Hermia; the four of them are finally back together again…
