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"wat'ry eye"
Imagery
Act 3,
Scene 1
Lines 192-194

An explanation of Titania’s reference to the moon’s “wat’ry eye” in Act 3, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Titania

The moon, methinks, looks with a wat’ry eye,
And when she weeps, weeps every little flower,
Lamenting some enforcèd chastity.

As we discussed earlier, the moon is associated with water because it determines the tides. Here, Titania is envisioning the watery moonshine as tears coming from the moon goddess Diana. Down below on the earth, the flowers are also shedding tears, which form as dew drops on their petals. The flowers are crying because Diana, goddess of virginity, has forbidden them from having sex.