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All Site ContentMidsummer Night's DreamAct 5Scene 1
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"tangled chain"
Metaphor
Act 5,
Scene 1
Lines 119-126

An explanation of the metaphor of the “tangled chain” in Act 5, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Theseus

This fellow doth not stand upon points.

Lysander

He hath rid his prologue like a rough colt — he
knows not the stop. A good moral, my lord: it is not
enough to speak, but to speak true.

Hippolyta

Indeed, he hath played on this prologue like a
child on a recorder: a sound, but not in government.

Theseus

His speech was like a tangled chain: nothing
impaired, but all disordered. Who is next?

Quince’s speech is like a tangled chain; it’s not broken anywhere, yet it's nearly impossible to disentangle.