"Weigh oath with oath, and you will nothing weigh.
Your vows to her and me, put in two scales,
Will even weigh, and both as light as tales" (III.ii.131-133).
The above passage is spoken by Helena after Lysander wakes up with the fairy elixir on his eyes and he is pledging his love to her. Helena is confused that Hermia's boyfriend would all of a sudden be declaring his love for her. In response, she explains to...
"Weigh oath with oath, and you will nothing weigh.
Your vows to her and me, put in two scales,
Will even weigh, and both as light as tales" (III.ii.131-133).
The above passage is spoken by Helena after Lysander wakes up with the fairy elixir on his eyes and he is pledging his love to her. Helena is confused that Hermia's boyfriend would all of a sudden be declaring his love for her. In response, she explains to Lysander how she feels about his oaths with a quick extended metaphor. First she says that if she takes the oath of love he has declared for Hermia, and metaphorically weigh it on a scale next to the one he now gives her, then neither will be worth anything. Each oath in her eyes does not bear any truth, (or weight) because he has lost his value for giving oaths. Another way to look at it is once he betrayed his oath to Hermia by making one for her, Lysander's promises canceled out themselves.
Then, after declaring Lysander's oaths void and worth nothing, Helena says that both are "light as tales". The word "tales" might be an allusion to quick, fictional short stories that people make up to entertain others, or may also refer to fibs told in a moment of desperation or confusion. Shakespeare would have been aware of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales which are stories made up by a diverse group of people to entertain each other on their pilgrimage. Many of the tales are fabricated in order to glorify the storyteller. At any rate, Helena isn't buying what Lysander is selling.
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