“Run when you will, the story shall be changed: | Apollo flies and Daphne holds the chase,” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, II, i, 230-31). In this first line, Helena says that by Demetrius running from her is a change of story from the ordinary mythology of the day. In ancient myth, Daphne managed to escape severe physical harm from Apollo. The difference in this is that Helena is right in that it is her that is chasing the man, whereas in the mythology, the man was the one chasing the woman. Shakespeare used this analogy here in order to again touch upon the matter of change. What occurs in this allusion is a change from typical mythological stories. In the first Act, Hermia changes life settings when she decides to abandon her place at home, and leave with Lysander to the woods. Shakespeare focuses much on change throughout this play, and the two lines listed above are just one example of it.
Other posts on A Midsummer Night's Dream:
References to Change in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A World of Difference: Hermia's Life in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare
What an Allusion: An Example of Change
Aristocratic, Popular, Comic, and Supernatural Elements in A Midsummer Night's Dream; Shakespeare
A World of Difference: Lysander
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