“Ethiope”
Cultural Context
Act 3,
Scene 2
Lines 257b-258a
Hermia
[Hermia tries to physically restrain Lysander from going with Demetrius]
Lysander
The word "Ethiope" referred to someone from Ethiopia, or to a black African in general. Lysander is using the word in a negative sense to refer to Hermia's dark complexion. In Shakespeare's day, upper class women prided themselves on the lightness of their skin because it supposedly indicated that they did not spend time out in the sun as most working class women would have.