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a midsummer night s dream by william shakespeare is a publication of the pennsylvania state university this portable document file is furnished free and without any charge of any kind any person using this document file for any purpose and in any way does so at his or her own risk neither the pennsylvania state university nor jim manis faculty editor nor anyone associated with the pennsylvania state university assumes any responsibility for the material contained within the document or for the file as an electronic transmission in any way a midsummer night s by william shakespeare the pennsylvania state university electronic classics series jim manis faculty editor hazleton pa 18201-1291 is a portable document file produced as part of an ongoing student publication project to bring classical works of literature in english to free and easy access of those wishing to make use of them cover design jim manis copyright © 1999 the pennsylvania state university the pennsylvania state university is an equal opportunity university.

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a midsummer night s dream william shakespeare written about 1593-1594 dramatis personae theseus duke of athens starveling a tailor hippolyta queen of the amazons betrothed to theseus hermia daughter to egeus in love with lysander helena in love with demetrius oberon king of the fairies titania queen of the fairies egeus father to hermia puck or robin goodfellow lysander and demetrius in love with hermia philostrate master of the revels to theseus quince a carpenter snug a joiner scene athens and a wood near it bottom a weaver flute a bellows-mender snout a tinker 3 peaseblossom cobweb moth mustardseed fairies other fairies attending their king and queen attendants on theseus and hippolyta.

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a midsummer night s dream act i scene i a midsummer night s dream act i scene i athens the palace of theseus [enter theseus hippolyta philostrate and attendants theseus now fair hippolyta our nuptial hour draws on apace four happy days bring in another moon but o methinks how slow this old moon wanes she lingers my desires like to a step-dame or a dowager long withering out a young man revenue hippolyta four days will quickly steep themselves in night four nights will quickly dream away the time and then the moon like to a silver bow new-bent in heaven shall behold the night of our solemnities theseus go philostrate 4 stir up the athenian youth to merriments awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth turn melancholy forth to funerals the pale companion is not for our pomp [exit philostrate hippolyta i woo d thee with my sword and won thy love doing thee injuries but i will wed thee in another key with pomp with triumph and with revelling [enter egeus hermia lysander and demetrius egeus happy be theseus our renowned duke theseus thanks good egeus what s the news with thee egeus full of vexation come i with complaint against my child my daughter hermia stand forth demetrius my noble lord this man hath my consent to marry her stand forth lysander and my gracious duke this man hath bewitch d the bosom of my child thou thou lysander thou hast given her rhymes and interchanged love-tokens with my child thou hast by moonlight at her window sung,

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a midsummer night s dream act i scene i with feigning voice verses of feigning love and stolen the impression of her fantasy with bracelets of thy hair rings gawds conceits knacks trifles nosegays sweetmeats messengers of strong prevailment in unharden d youth with cunning hast thou filch d my daughter s heart turn d her obedience which is due to me to stubborn harshness and my gracious duke be it so she will not here before your grace consent to marry with demetrius i beg the ancient privilege of athens as she is mine i may dispose of her which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death according to our law immediately provided in that case theseus what say you hermia be advised fair maid to you your father should be as a god one that composed your beauties yea and one to whom you are but as a form in wax by him imprinted and within his power to leave the figure or disfigure it demetrius is a worthy gentleman hermia so is lysander theseus in himself he is 5 but in this kind wanting your father s voice the other must be held the worthier hermia i would my father look d but with my eyes theseus rather your eyes must with his judgment look hermia i do entreat your grace to pardon me i know not by what power i am made bold nor how it may concern my modesty in such a presence here to plead my thoughts but i beseech your grace that i may know the worst that may befall me in this case if i refuse to wed demetrius theseus either to die the death or to abjure for ever the society of men therefore fair hermia question your desires know of your youth examine well your blood whether if you yield not to your father s choice you can endure the livery of a nun for aye to be in shady cloister mew d to live a barren sister all your life chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon thrice-blessed they that master so their blood to undergo such maiden pilgrimage but earthlier happy is the rose distill d,

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a midsummer night s dream act i scene i than that which withering on the virgin thorn grows lives and dies in single blessedness hermia so will i grow so live so die my lord ere i will my virgin patent up unto his lordship whose unwished yoke my soul consents not to give sovereignty theseus take time to pause and by the nest new moon the sealing-day betwixt my love and me for everlasting bond of fellowship upon that day either prepare to die for disobedience to your father s will or else to wed demetrius as he would or on diana s altar to protest for aye austerity and single life demetrius relent sweet hermia and lysander yield thy crazed title to my certain right lysander you have her father s love demetrius let me have hermia s do you marry him egeus scornful lysander true he hath my love and what is mine my love shall render him and she is mine and all my right of her 6 i do estate unto demetrius lysander i am my lord as well derived as he as well possess d my love is more than his my fortunes every way as fairly rank d if not with vantage as demetrius and which is more than all these boasts can be i am beloved of beauteous hermia why should not i then prosecute my right demetrius i ll avouch it to his head made love to nedar s daughter helena and won her soul and she sweet lady dotes devoutly dotes dotes in idolatry upon this spotted and inconstant man theseus i must confess that i have heard so much and with demetrius thought to have spoke thereof but being over-full of self-affairs my mind did lose it but demetrius come and come egeus you shall go with me i have some private schooling for you both for you fair hermia look you arm yourself to fit your fancies to your father s will or else the law of athens yields you up which by no means we may extenuate to death or to a vow of single life come my hippolyta what cheer my love?

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a midsummer night s dream act i scene i demetrius and egeus go along i must employ you in some business against our nuptial and confer with you of something nearly that concerns yourselves egeus with duty and desire we follow you [exeunt all but lysander and hermia lysander how now my love why is your cheek so pale how chance the roses there do fade so fast hermia belike for want of rain which i could well beteem them from the tempest of my eyes lysander ay me for aught that i could ever read could ever hear by tale or history the course of true love never did run smooth but either it was different in blood hermia o cross too high to be enthrall d to low lysander or else misgraffed in respect of years hermia o spite too old to be engaged to young lysander or else it stood upon the choice of friends 7 hermia o hell to choose love by another s eyes lysander or if there were a sympathy in choice war death or sickness did lay siege to it making it momentany as a sound swift as a shadow short as any dream brief as the lightning in the collied night that in a spleen unfolds both heaven and earth and ere a man hath power to say `behold the jaws of darkness do devour it up so quick bright things come to confusion hermia if then true lovers have been ever cross d it stands as an edict in destiny then let us teach our trial patience because it is a customary cross as due to love as thoughts and dreams and sighs wishes and tears poor fancy s followers lysander a good persuasion therefore hear me hermia i have a widow aunt a dowager of great revenue and she hath no child from athens is her house remote seven leagues and she respects me as her only son there gentle hermia may i marry thee and to that place the sharp athenian law cannot pursue us if thou lovest me then,

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a midsummer night s dream act i scene i steal forth thy father s house to-morrow night and in the wood a league without the town where i did meet thee once with helena to do observance to a morn of may there will i stay for thee hermia my good lysander i swear to thee by cupid s strongest bow by his best arrow with the golden head by the simplicity of venus doves by that which knitteth souls and prospers loves and by that fire which burn d the carthage queen when the false troyan under sail was seen by all the vows that ever men have broke in number more than ever women spoke in that same place thou hast appointed me to-morrow truly will i meet with thee lysander keep promise love look here comes helena [enter helena hermia god speed fair helena whither away helena call you me fair that fair again unsay demetrius loves your fair o happy fair your eyes are lode-stars and your tongue s sweet air 8 more tuneable than lark to shepherd s ear when wheat is green when hawthorn buds appear sickness is catching o were favor so yours would i catch fair hermia ere i go my ear should catch your voice my eye your eye my tongue should catch your tongue s sweet melody were the world mine demetrius being bated the rest i d give to be to you translated o teach me how you look and with what art you sway the motion of demetrius heart hermia i frown upon him yet he loves me still helena o that your frowns would teach my smiles such skill hermia i give him curses yet he gives me love helena o that my prayers could such affection move hermia the more i hate the more he follows me helena the more i love the more he hateth me hermia his folly helena is no fault of mine helena none but your beauty would that fault were mine!

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a midsummer night s dream act i scene i hermia take comfort he no more shall see my face lysander and myself will fly this place before the time i did lysander see seem d athens as a paradise to me o then what graces in my love do dwell that he hath turn d a heaven unto a hell lysander helen to you our minds we will unfold to-morrow night when phoebe doth behold her silver visage in the watery glass decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass a time that lovers flights doth still conceal through athens gates have we devised to steal hermia and in the wood where often you and i upon faint primrose-beds were wont to lie emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet there my lysander and myself shall meet and thence from athens turn away our eyes to seek new friends and stranger companies farewell sweet playfellow pray thou for us and good luck grant thee thy demetrius keep word lysander we must starve our sight from lovers food till morrow deep midnight lysander i will my hermia 9 [exit hermia helena adieu as you on him demetrius dote on you [exit helena how happy some o er other some can be through athens i am thought as fair as she but what of that demetrius thinks not so he will not know what all but he do know and as he errs doting on hermia s eyes so i admiring of his qualities things base and vile folding no quantity love can transpose to form and dignity love looks not with the eyes but with the mind and therefore is wing d cupid painted blind nor hath love s mind of any judgement taste wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste and therefore is love said to be a child because in choice he is so oft beguiled as waggish boys in game themselves forswear so the boy love is perjured every where for ere demetrius look d on hermia s eyne he hail d down oaths that he was only mine and when this hail some heat from hermia felt so he dissolved and showers of oaths did melt.

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a midsummer night s dream act i scene ii i will go tell him of fair hermia s flight then to the wood will he to-morrow night pursue her and for this intelligence if i have thanks it is a dear expense but herein mean i to enrich my pain to have his sight thither and back again [exit quince marry our play is the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of pyramus and thisby bottom a very good piece of work i assure you and a merry now good peter quince call forth your actors by the scroll masters spread yourselves quince answer as i call you nick bottom the weaver bottom ready name what part i am for and proceed quince you nick bottom are set down for pyramus bottom what is pyramus a lover or a tyrant quince a lover that kills himself most gallant for love bottom that will ask some tears in the true performing of it if i do it let the audience look to their eyes i will move storms i will condole in some measure to the rest yet my chief humor is for a tyrant i could play ercles rarely or a part to tear a cat in to make all split the raging rocks and shivering shocks shall break the locks of prison gates and phibbus car 10 scene ii athens quince s house [enter quince snug bottom flute snout and starveling quince is all our company here bottom you were best to call them generally man by man according to the scrip quince here is the scroll of every man s name which is thought fit through all athens to play in our interlude before the duke and the duchess on his wedding day at night bottom first good peter quince say what the play treats on then read the names of the actors and so grow to a point.

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shall shine from far and make and mar the foolish fates this was lofty now name the rest of the players this is ercles vein a tyrant s vein a lover is more condoling quince francis flute the bellows-mender flute here peter quince quince flute you must take thisby on you a midsummer night s dream act i scene ii quince no no you must play pyramus and flute you thisby bottom well proceed quince robin starveling the tailor starveling here peter quince quince robin starveling you must play thisby s mother tom snout the tinker snout here peter quince flute what is thisby a wandering knight quince it is the lady that pyramus must love flute nay faith let me not play a woman i have a beard coming quince that s all one you shall play it in a mask and you may speak as small as you will bottom an i may hide my face let me play thisby too i ll speak in a monstrous little voice `thisne thisne `ah pyramus lover dear thy thisby dear and lady dear 11 quince you pyramus father myself thisby s father snug the joiner you the lion s part and i hope here is a play fitted snug have you the lion s part written pray you if it be give it me for i am slow of study quince you may do it extempore for it is nothing but roaring bottom let me play the lion too i will roar that i will do any man s heart good to hear me i will roar that i will make the duke say `let him roar again let him roar again

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a midsummer night s quince an you should do it too terribly you would fright the duchess and the ladies that they would shriek and that were enough to hang us all dream act i scene ii quince some of your french crowns have no hair at all and then you will play bare-faced but masters here are your parts and i am to entreat you request you and desire you to con them by to-morrow night and meet me in the palace wood a mile without the town by moonall that would hang us every mother s son light there will we rehearse for if we meet in the city we shall be dogged with company and our devices known bottom i grant you friends if that you should fright the ladies out of their wits they would have no more in the meantime i will draw a bill of properties such as discretion but to hang us but i will aggravate my voice our play wants i pray you fail me not so that i will roar you as gently as any sucking dove i bottom we will meet and there we may rehearse most will roar you an `twere any nightingale obscenely and courageously take pains be perfect adieu quince you can play no part but pyramus for pyramus quince at the duke s oak we meet is a sweet-faced man a proper man as one shall see in a summer s day a most lovely gentleman-like man therebottom enough hold or cut bow-strings fore you must needs play pyramus bottom well i will undertake it what beard were i best to play it in quince why what you will bottom i will discharge it in either your straw-color beard your orange-tawny beard your purple-in-grain beard or your french-crown-color beard your perfect yellow 12 [exeunt

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a midsummer night s dream act ii scene i take heed the queen come not within his sight act ii for oberon is passing fell and wrath because that she as her attendant hath scene i a wood near athens a lovely boy stolen from an indian king she never had so sweet a changeling [enter from opposite sides a fairy and puck and jealous oberon would have the child knight of his train to trace the forests wild puck how now spirit whither wander you but she perforce withholds the loved boy crowns him with flowers and makes him all her joy fairy over hill over dale and now they never meet in grove or green thorough bush thorough brier by fountain clear or spangled starlight sheen over park over pale but they do square that all their elves for fear thorough flood thorough fire creep into acorn-cups and hide them there i do wander everywhere swifter than the moon s sphere fairy either i mistake your shape and making quite and i serve the fairy queen or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite to dew her orbs upon the green call d robin goodfellow are not you he the cowslips tall her pensioners be that frights the maidens of the villagery in their gold coats spots you see skim milk and sometimes labor in the quern those be rubies fairy favors and bootless make the breathless housewife churn in those freckles live their savors and sometime make the drink to bear no barm i must go seek some dewdrops here mislead night-wanderers laughing at their harm and hang a pearl in every cowslip s ear those that hobgoblin call you and sweet puck farewell thou lob of spirits i ll be gone you do their work and they shall have good luck our queen and all our elves come here anon are not you he puck the king doth keep his revels here to-night 13 puck thou speak st aright;

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a midsummer night s i am that merry wanderer of the night i jest to oberon and make him smile when i a fat and bean-fed horse beguile neighing in likeness of a filly foal and sometime lurk i in a gossip s bowl in very likeness of a roasted crab and when she drinks against her lips i bob and on her wither d dewlap pour the ale the wisest aunt telling the saddest tale sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me then slip i from her bum down topples she and `tailor cries and falls into a cough and then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh and waxen in their mirth and neeze and swear a merrier hour was never wasted there but room fairy here comes oberon fairy and here my mistress would that he were gone [enter from one side oberon with his train from the other titania with hers oberon ill met by moonlight proud titania titania what jealous oberon fairies skip hence i have forsworn his bed and company dream act ii scene i oberon tarry rash wanton am not i thy lord titania then i must be thy lady but i know when thou hast stolen away from fairy land and in the shape of corin sat all day playing on pipes of corn and versing love to amorous phillida why art thou here come from the farthest steppe of india but that forsooth the bouncing amazon your buskin d mistress and your warrior love to theseus must be wedded and you come to give their bed joy and prosperity oberon how canst thou thus for shame titania glance at my credit with hippolyta knowing i know thy love to theseus didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night from perigenia whom he ravished and make him with fair aegle break his faith with ariadne and antiopa titania these are the forgeries of jealousy and never since the middle summer s spring met we on hill in dale forest or mead by paved fountain or by rushy brook or in the beached margent of the sea to dance our ringlets to the whistling wind 14

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a midsummer night s but with thy brawls thou hast disturb d our sport therefore the winds piping to us in vain as in revenge have suck d up from the sea contagious fogs which falling in the land have every pelting river made so proud that they have overborne their continents the ox hath therefore stretch d his yoke in vain the ploughman lost his sweat and the green corn hath rotted ere his youth attain d a beard the fold stands empty in the drowned field and crows are fatted with the murrion flock the nine men s morris is fill d up with mud and the quaint mazes in the wanton green for lack of tread are undistinguishable the human mortals want their winter here no night is now with hymn or carol blest therefore the moon the governess of floods pale in her anger washes all the air that rheumatic diseases do abound and thorough this distemperature we see the seasons alter hoary-headed frosts far in the fresh lap of the crimson rose and on old hiems thin and icy crown an odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds is as in mockery set the spring the summer the childing autumn angry winter change their wonted liveries and the mazed world dream act ii scene i by their increase now knows not which is which and this same progeny of evils comes from our debate from our dissension we are their parents and original oberon do you amend it then it lies in you why should titania cross her oberon i do but beg a little changeling boy to be my henchman titania set your heart at rest the fairy land buys not the child of me his mother was a votaress of my order and in the spiced indian air by night full often hath she gossip d by my side and sat with me on neptune s yellow sands marking the embarked traders on the flood when we have laugh d to see the sails conceive and grow big-bellied with the wanton wind which she with pretty and with swimming gait following her womb then rich with my young squire would imitate and sail upon the land to fetch me trifles and return again as from a voyage rich with merchandise but she being mortal of that boy did die and for her sake do i rear up her boy and for her sake i will not part with him 15

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