My love to Hermia,
Melted as the snow, seems to me now
As the remembrance of an idle gaud
Which in my childhood I did dote upon.
And all the faith, the virtue of my heart,
The object and the pleasure of mine eye,
Is only Helena. To her, my lord,
Was I betrothed ere I saw Hermia,
But like a sickness did I loathe this food,
But, as in health, come to my natural taste,
Now I do wish it, love it, long for it,
And will for evermore be true to it.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 4, Scene 1. Demetrius professes his complete affection for Helena, declaring that she is his one true love. He analyzes his brief crush on Hermia as a momentary lapse of his normal taste. Using a simile, he says that his infatuation for Hermia is "melted as the snow." He uses a metaphor to compare it to "an idle gaud" or cheap trinket that he used to love as a child. Employing a food metaphor he describes the changing tastes of love. Engaged to Helena before he ever saw Hermia, he was like a sick man who could not stand "this food." But now being healthy again, his normal taste had returned, and all he wanted was Helena.