Puck. Thou speak'st aright; I am that merry wanderer of the night. And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear SCENE II. Is, as in mockery, set: The spring, the summer, And this same progeny of evils comes Obe. Do you amend it then; it lies in you: Tita. Set your heart at rest, Enter OBERON, at one door, with his train, hence; I have forsworn his bed and company. Obe. How canst thou thus, for shame, Tita- Glance at my credit with Hyppolyta, Didst thou not lead him through the glimmer- From Perigenia, whom he ravish'd? And make him with fair Æglé break his faith, Tita. These are the forgeries of jealousy: cora Hath rotted, ere his youth attain'd a beard: Would imitate; and sail upon the land, Tita. Perchance, till after Theseus' wedding- If you will patiently dance in our round, thee. Tita. Not for thy kingdom.-Fairies, away: We shall chide down-right, if I longer stay. [Exeunt TITANIA, and her train. Obe. Well, go thy way: thou shalt not from this grove, Till I torment thee for this injury. My gentle Puck, come hither: Thon remember'st I'll watch Titania when she is asleep, And ere I take this charm off from her sight, And I will over-hear their conference. Enter DEMETRIUS, HELENA following him. not. Where is Lysander, and fair Hermia ? Thou told'st me, they were stol'n into this And here am I, and wood within this wood, Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more. But yet you draw not iron, for my heart Puck. Ay, there it is. Obe. I pray thee, give it me. I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows, And there the snake throws her enamell'd skin, Is true as steel: Leave you your power to A sweet Athenian lady is in love And I shall have no power to follow you. Dem. Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair? Hel. And even for that do I love you the I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius, The more you beat me, I will fawn on you: Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave, What worser place can I beg in your love, (And yet a place of high respect with me,) Than to be used as you use your dog? With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes; SCENE III. Another part of the Wood. Enter TITANIA, with her train. Tita. Come, now a roundel, and a fairy song; Dem. Tempt not too much the hatred of my Then, for the third part of a minute, hence; spirit; For I am sick, when I do look on thee. Hel. And I am sick, when I look not on you. Dem. You do impeach your modesty too To leave the city, and commit yourself Hel. Your virtue is my privilege for that. Dem. I'll run from thee, and hide me in the And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts. Hel. The wildest hath not such a heart as you. Run when you will the story shall be chang'd; Some, war with rear-mice for their leathern wings, [back To make my small elves coats; and some, keep The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots, and wonders II. Makes speed to catch the tiger: Bootless speed! 2 Fai. Weaving spiders, come not here, When cowardice pursues, and valour flies. Dem. I will not stay thy questions; let me go: Or, if thou follow me, do not believe But I shall do thee mischief in the wood. Hel. Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field, You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius ! Woo. Mad, raving. + Bring in question. Hel. Oh! I am out of breath in this fond chase! The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace tears: If so, my eyes are oftener wash'd than her's. For beasts that meet me, run away for fear : And to speak troth, I have forgot our way; We'll rest us, Hermia, if you think it good, Lys. And run through fire I will, for thy sweet And tarry for the comfort of the day. sake. [Waking. Her. Be it so, Lysander: find you out a Transparent Helena! Nature here shows art, bed, That through thy bosom makes me see thy For I upon this bank will rest my head. Lys. One turf shall serve as pillow for us both; One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and one troth. Her. Nay, good Lysander; for my sake, my dear, Lie further off yet, do not lie so near. Lys. O take the sense, sweet, of my innocence; Love take the meaning, in love's conference. Her. Lysander riddles very prettily:- pride, aud my If Hermia meant to say, Lysander lied. Lys. Amen, amen, to that fair prayer, say I; And then end life, when I end loyalty! Here is my bed: Sleep give thee all his rest! Her. With balf that wish the wisher's eyes be press'd ! [They sleep. Enter PUCK. Puck. Through the forest have I gone, All the power this charm doth owe: t [Exit. heart. Where is Demetrius? Oh! how fit a word Hel. Do not say so, Lysander; say not so: What though he love your Hermia? Lord, what though? Yet Hermia still loves you: then be content. Lys. Content with Hermia? No: I do repent The tedious minutes I with her have spent. Who will not change a raven for a dove? When, at your hands, did I deserve this scorn ? In such disdainful manner me to woo. [Erit. Lys. She sees not Hermia :-Hermia, sleep thou there; And never may'st thou come Lysander near ! [Exit. Her. [starting.] Help me, Lysander, help me! do thy best, To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast! Ah! me, for pity !-what a dream was here ? Lysander, look, how I do quake with fear: Methought a serpent eat my heart away, And you sat smiling at his cruel prey :Lysander what, remov'd? Lysander ! lord! What, out of hearing? gone? no sound, no word? Alack, where are you? speak, an if you hear; Speak, of all loves; I swoon almost with fear. By all that is dear. No ?-then I well perceive you are not nigh: Either death, or you, I'll find immediately. ACT III. lying asleep. (Exit. Pyramus and Thisby, says the story, did talk through the chinks of a wall. Snug. You never can bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom? Bot. Some man or other must present wall: and let him have some plaster, or some k me, or some rough-cast about him, to signify wall; or let him hold his fingers thus, and through SCENE 1-The same.-The Queen of Fairies that cranny shall Pyramus and Thisby whisper. Quin. If that may be, then all is well. Come, sit down, every mother's son, and rehearse your Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT, parts. Pyramus, you begin: when you have awd STARVELING. Bot. Are we all met? Quin. Pat, pat; and here's a marvellous convenient place for our rehearsal: This green plot shall be our stage, this hawthorn brake our tyring. house; and we will do it in action, as we will do it before the duke. Bot. Peter Quince, Quin. What say'st thou, bully Bottom? Bot. There are things in this comedy of Py. ramus and Thisby, that will never please. First, Pyramus must draw his sword to kill himself; which the ladies cannot abide. How answer you that ? Snout. By'rlakin,⚫ a parlous † fear. Star. I believe, we must leave the killing out, when all is done. Bot. Not a whit: I have a device to make all well. Write me a prologue: and let the prologue seem to say, we will do no harm with our swords; and that Pyramus is not killed indeed and, for the more better assurance, tell them, that I Pyramus am not Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver: This will put them out of fear. Quin. Well, we will have such a prologue; and it shall be written in eight and six. Bot. No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight. Snout. Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion? Star. I fear it, I promise you. Bot. Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves to bring in, God shield us! a lion among ladies, is a most dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearful wild-fowl than your lion, living; and we ought to look to it. Snout. Therefore, another prologue must tell, he is not a lion. Bot. Nay, you must name his name, and half his face must be seen through the lion's neck; and he himself must speak through, saying thus, or to the same defect,-Ladies, or fair ladies, I would wish you, or, I would request you, or, I would entreat you, not to fear, not to tremble: my life for your's. If you think I come hither as a lion, it were pity of my life: No, I am no such thing; I am a man as other men are :-and there, indeed, let him name his name; and tell them plainly, he is Snug the joiner. Quin. Well, it shall be so. But there is two hard things; that is, to bring the moon-light into a chamber: for you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moon-light. Snug. Doth the moon shine, that night we play our play? Bot. A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanack; find out moon-shine, find out moonshine. Quin. Yes, it doth shine that night. Bot. Why, then you may leave a casement of the great chamber window, where we play, open; and the moon may shine in at the casement. Quin. Ay; or else one must come in with a hush of thorns and a lanthorn, and say, he comes to disfigure, or to present, the person of moon-shine. Then, there is another thing: we must have a wall in the great chamber; for spoken your speech, enter into that brake 80 every one according to his cue. Enter PUCK behind. and Puck. What hempen home-spuns have we swaggering here, So near the cradle of the fairy queen? Quin. Speak, Pyramus :-Thisby, stand forth. Pyr. Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet, Quin. Odours, odours. Pyr. odours savours sweet: So doth thy breath, my dearest Thisby dear. But, hark, a voice! stay thou but here a while. And by and by I will to thee appear. [Exit. Puck. A stranger Pyramus than e'er play'd here ! [Aside.-Exit. This. Must I speak now? Quin. Ay, marry, must you: for you must understand, he goes but to see a noise that he heard, and is to come again. This. Most radiant Pyramus, most lilywhite of hue, Of colour like the red rose on triumphant brier, Most brisky juvenal, † and eke most lovely Jew, As true as truest horse, that yet would never tire, I'll meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny's tomb. Quin. Ninus' tomb man: Why you must not speak that yet; that you answer to Pyramus: you speak all your part at once, cues and all. —Pyramus enter; your cue is past; it is, never tire. Re-enter Puck, and BOTTOM with an ass' head. This. O-As true as truest horse, that yet would never tire. Pyr. If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine : Quin. O monstrous ! O strange ! we are baunted. Pray, masters! fly, masters! help! [Exeunt Clowns. Puck. I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round, Through bog, through bush, through brake, through briar ; Sometime a horse I'll be, sometimes a hound, Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn. [Exit. Bot. Why do they run away? this is a kravery of them, to make me afeard. § Re-enter SNOUT. I see on thee? Bot. What do you see? you see an ass' head of your own; Do you? • Thicket. + Young man. 1 The last words of the preceding speech, which serve as a bint to him who is to speak best. Afraid. The ousel-cock, so black of hue, With orange-tawney bill, The throstle with his note so true, The wren with little quill; Tita. What angel wakes me from my flowery bed ? [Waking. Bot. The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, The plain-song cuckoo gray, Whose note full many a man doth mark, And dares not answer, nay ;his wit to so foolish bird the lie, though for, indeed, who would set a bird? who would give a he cry, cuckoo, never so? Tita. I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again : Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note, So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape; And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me, On the first view, to say, to swear, I love thee. Bot. Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that: And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together now-a-days: The more the pity, that some honest neighbours will not make them friends. Nay, can gleek+ upon occasion. Tita. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful. Bot. Not so, neither but if I had wit enough to get out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine own turn. Tita. Out of this wood do not desire to go; Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no. I am a spirit, of no common rate; The summer still doth tend upon my state, And I will purge thy mortal grossness so, Enter four FAIRIES. 1 Fai. Ready. 2 Fai. And I. 3 Fai. And I. 4 Fai. Where shall we go? Tita. Be kind and courteous to this gentle man; Hop in his walks, and gambol in his eyes; The moon, methinks, looks with a watery eye; And when she weeps, weeps every little flower, Lamenting some enforced chastity. Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently. [Exeunt. SCENE II.-Another part of the Wood. Obe. I wonder, if Titania be awak'd; Enter PUCK. Here comes my messenger.-How now, mal spirit? What night-rule now about this haunted grove? And the Athenian woman by his side; That when he wak'd, of force she must be ey'd. Enter DEMETRIUS and HERMIA. Obe. Stand close; this is the same Athenian Puck. This is the woman, but not this the man. Dem. O why rebuke you him that loves you 80 ? Lay breath so bitter on your bitter foe. ↑ Joke. |