THESEUS This passion, and the death of a dear friend284, would go near to285 make a man look sad.
HIPPOLYTA Beshrew286 my heart, but I pity the man.
PYRAMUS [BOTTOM] O wherefore, Nature, didst thou lions frame287?
Since lion vile hath here deflowered288 my dear: Which is -- no, no -- which was the fairest dame
That lived, that loved, that liked, that looked with cheer290.
Come, tears, confound:
Out, sword, and wound
The pap293 of Pyramus, Ay, that left pap,
Where heart doth hop:
Thus die I, thus, thus, thus.
Stabs himself
Now am I dead,
Now am I fled,
My soul is in the sky.
Tongue300, lose thy light,
Moon take thy flight,
[Exit Moonshine]
Now die, die, die, die, die.
Dies
DEMETRIUS No die, but an ace303 for him; for he is but one.
LYSANDER Less than an ace, man: for he is dead, he is nothing.
THESEUS With the help of a surgeon he might yet recover, and prove an ass307.
HIPPOLYTA How chance Moonshine is gone before Thisbe comes back and finds her lover?
Enter Thisbe
THESEUS She will find him by starlight. Here she comes, and her passion311 ends the play.
HIPPOLYTA Methinks she should not use a long one312 for such a Pyramus: I hope she will be brief.
DEMETRIUS A mote314 will turn the balance, which Pyramus, which Thisbe, is the better.
LYSANDER She hath spied him already with those sweet eyes.
DEMETRIUS And thus she means, videlicet318--
THISBE [FLUTE] Asleep, my love?
What, dead, my dove?
O Pyramus, arise!
Speak, speak. Quite dumb?
Dead, dead? A tomb
Must cover thy sweet eyes.
These lily lips,
This cherry nose,
These yellow cowslip cheeks,
Are gone, are gone!
Lovers, make moan:
His eyes were green as leeks.
O Sisters Three331, Come, come to me,
With hands as pale as milk.
Lay them in gore,
Since you have shore335
With shears his thread of silk336.
Tongue, not a word.
Come, trusty sword,
Come, blade, my breast imbrue339.
Stabs herself
And farewell friends,
Thus Thisbe ends:
Adieu, adieu, adieu.
Dies
THESEUS Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead.
DEMETRIUS Ay, and Wall too.
BOTTOM No, I assure you, the wall is down that
Gets up
parted their fathers. Will it please you to see the epilogue, or
to hear a Bergomask dance between347 two of our company?
THESEUS No epilogue, I pray you, for your play needs no excuse. Never excuse; for when the players are all dead, there
need none to be blamed. Marry, if he that writ it had played
Pyramus and hung himself in Thisbe's garter, it would have
been a fine tragedy: and so it is, truly, and very notably
discharged. But come, your Bergomask; let your epilogue
alone.
A dance
The iron tongue of midnight hath told355 twelve.
Lovers, to bed, 'tis almost fairy time.
I fear we shall out-sleep the coming morn
As much as we this night have overwatched358.
This palpable-gross play hath well beguiled359
The heavy gait360 of night. Sweet friends, to bed.
A fortnight hold we this solemnity361, In nightly revels and new jollity.
Exeunt
Enter [Robin] Puck
With a broom
ROBIN Now the hungry lion roars,
And the wolf beholds the moon.
Whilst the heavy365 ploughman snores, All with weary task fordone366.
Now the wasted brands367 do glow, Whilst the screech-owl368, screeching loud, Puts the wretch that lies in woe
In remembrance of a shroud.
Now it is the time of night
That the graves all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite373, In the church-way paths to glide.
And we fairies that do run
By the triple Hecate's team376, From the presence of the sun,
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic379; not a mouse Shall disturb this hallowed381 house.
I am sent with broom before,
To sweep the dust behind382 the door.
Enter King and Queen of Fairies [Oberon and Titania] with their train
OBERON Through the house give glimmering light383, By the dead and drowsy fire,
Every elf and fairy sprite
Hop as light as bird from briar,
And this ditty, after me,
Sing, and dance it trippingly388.
TITANIA First, rehearse this song by rote389, To each word a warbling note.
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing and bless this place.
[FAIRIES sing] The Song
Fairies dance
Now until the break of day
Through this house each fairy stray.
To the best bride-bed395 will we, Which by us shall blessed be.
And the issue there create397
Ever shall be fortunate.
So shall all the couples three
Ever true in loving be.
And the blots of Nature's hand
Shall not in their issue stand.
Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar,
Nor mark prodigious404, such as are Despised in nativity,
Shall upon their children be.
With this field-dew consecrate407, Every fairy take his gait408, And each several409 chamber bless, Through this palace, with sweet peace.
Ever shall in safety rest,
And the owner of it blest.
Trip away, make no stay413; Meet me all by break of day.
[Exeunt all but Robin]
ROBIN If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumbered here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle419 theme, No more yielding but420 a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend421.
If you pardon, we will mend422.
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to scape the serpent's tongue425, We will make amends ere long:
Else the Puck a liar call.
So, goodnight unto you all.
Give me your hands429, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends430.
TEXTUAL NOTES
Q = First Quarto text of 1600
F = First Folio text of 1623
F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632
F4 = a correction introduced in the Fourth Folio text of 1685
Ed = a correction introduced by a later editor
SD = stage direction
SH = speech heading (i.e. speaker's name)
List of parts = Ed
1.1.7 nights = F. Q = night 10 New-bent = Ed. F = Now bent 25 Stand forth, Demetrius = Ed. Set in italic as a stage direction in F 27 Stand forth, Lysander = Ed. Set in italic as a stage direction in F 134 Ay me, for = Q. F = For I could ever = Q. F = ever I could 138 low = Ed. F = loue 142 eyes = Q. F = eie 145 momentary = F's modernization of Q's momentany 161 removed = F. Q = remote 169 to = Q. F = for
175 love = F. Q = loves 185 your = Q. F = you 203 none = F. Q = no fault 208 like = F. Q = as 210 into = F. Q = unto a 219 sweet = Ed. F = sweld 228 dote = Q. F = dotes 242 often = F. Q = so oft 251 this = Q. F = his
1.2.8 grow on to = F. Q = grow to 37 You must = F. Q = Flut
e, you must 58 if it be = Q. F = if be 72 roar = F. Q = roare you 89 will we = Q. F = we will
2.1.1 SH ROBIN = Ed. F = Rob. Sometimes Pucke 5 Thorough flood, thorough = Q. F = through flood, through 33 sprite = Q. F = spirit 34 not you he = Q. F = you not hee 47 filly = Q. F = silly 62 SH TITANIA = Ed. F = Qu. Fairies = Ed. F = Fairy 66 hast = Q. F = wast 70 step = Q. F = steepe 78 not thou = Q. F = thou not 80 Aegles = Ed. F = Eagles 81 Antiopa = Q. F = Atiopa 92 petty = F. Q = pelting 108 hoary-headed = Q1. F = hoared headed 110 thin = Ed. F = chin 138 do I = Q. F = I doe 158 saw = Q. F = say 178 round about = Q. F = about 214 do use = Q. F = doe 242 the field = Q. F = and Field 247 I'll = Q. F = I
2.2.9 SH FIRST FAIRY = Ed. Not in F 13, 24 SH CHORUS = Ed. Not in F 14 our = Q. F = your 35 wood = Q. F = woods 48 we can = Q. F = can you 49 interchained = Q. F = interchanged 67 found = Q. F = finde
68 On = Q. F = One 104 shows her art = Ed. F = her shewes art. Q = shewes art. 113 Helena now I = F. Q = Helena I 140 they = Q. F = that 149 ate = Ed. Spelled eate in F 150 you = Q. F = yet
3.1.27 yourselves = F. Q = your selfe 40 them = Q. F = him 45 SH SNOUT = Ed. Q/F = Sn., which could be SNOUT or SNUG. F2 = SNUG 48 SD [Robin may] enter = Ed. F = Enter Pucke. Not in Q 68 SD Robin [may] enter = Ed. Q/F = Enter Robin 73 SH PYRAMUS [BOTTOM] = Ed. F = Pir. 80 SH THISBE [FLUTE] = Ed. F = This. 93 SD Enter … head placed ten lines later in F at a possible re-entry point for Bottom 116 with = Q. F = and 129 On … thee = Q. F prints before the two preceding lines 148 Peaseblossom … Mustardseed! set as SD in F 149 SH PEASEBLOSSOM = Ed. F = Fai. 150 SH COBWEB = Ed. Not in F 151 SH MOTH = Ed. Not in F 152 SH MUSTARDSEED = Ed. Not in F 153 SH ALL = Ed. Not in F 165 SH PEASEBLOSSOM = Ed. F = 1. Fai. 166 SH COBWEB = Ed. Not in F. 167 SH MOTH = Ed. F = 2. Fai. 168 SH MUSTARDSEED = Ed. F = 3. Fai. 178 you of = Q. F = of you 180 Mustardseed. F here accidentally repeats "Peas. Pease-blossome." 184 you of = Ed. F = you 188 weeps, weeps = Q. F = weepes, weepe
3.2.5 haunted = Q. F = gaunted 58 murdered = Q. F = murderer 68 tell true = Q. F omits repetition 80 I so = Ed. F = I 85 sleep = Ed. F = slip 121 SD [following] = Ed. F = and 123 come = Q. F = comes 145 all are = Q. F = are all 151 were men = Q. F = are men 167 till = Q. F = to 172 is it = Q. F = it is 174 Helen, it = Q. F = It 176 abide = F's modernization of Q's aby 183 thy sound = Q. F = that sound 214 like = Ed. F = life 221 passionate = F. Not in Q 244 my = Q. F = mine 252 prayers = Ed. F = praise 261 sir = F. Q = heele. Some eds emend to yield 269 potion = Q. F = poison 286 of doubt = F. Some eds omit of 347 abide = F's modernization of Q's aby 359 wilfully = Q. F = willingly 362 hath = F. Q = had 387 employ = Q. F = imply 392 night-swift = F. Q = nights swift 399 exile = Q. F = dxile 411 feared = Ed. F = sear'd 436 SD shifting places placed five lines earlier in F 441 now = Q. Not in F 452 sometime = F. Q = sometimes 468 To your = Ed. F = your
4.1.5 SH BOTTOM = Ed. F = Clow. 10 you your = Q. F = your 47 favours = Q. F = savors 71 o'er = Ed. F = or 78 do loathe his = Q. F = doth loath this 79 this head = Q. F = his head 81 five = Ed. F = fine 83 Now, when = Q. F = When 89 prosperity = Q. F = posterity 92 Fairy = Q. F = Faire 116 Seemed = F2. F = Seeme 130 their = Q. F = this 144 is = Q. F = is is 152 might be = F. Q = might 163 followed = F. Q = following 172 saw = Ed. F = see 173 I do = Q. F = doe I 178 shall hear more = F. Q = more will here 190 everything = Q. F = euery things 194 It seems = F. Q precedes with Are you sure / That we are awake? 199 bid = F. Q = did bid 214 ballad = Ed (F4). F = ballet
4.2.0 SD Flute = Ed. F = Flute, Thisbie 4 SH FLUTE = Ed. F = This.
13 naught = F2. F = nought 26 no true = F. Q = not true 27 everything as = F. Q = every thing right as
5.1.16 airy = Ed. F = aire 39 Egeus = F. Q = Philostrate 40 SH EGEUS = F, replacing Q's PHILOSTRATE throughout this scene 44 ripe = Q. F = rife 46 SH LYSANDER = F. Q assigns these comments to THESEUS 79 SH EGEUS = Ed. F = Phi., a vestige from the Q version of the scene, in which Philostrate serves as the "manager of mirth" 111 SH THESEUS = Q. F = Duke or Du. throughout scene 126 his = F. Q = this 129 SD with … them = Ed. F = Tawyer with a Trumpet before them (William Tawyer was an actor in Shakespeare's company) 148 trusty Thisbe's = Q. F = Thisbies 154 SD Exeunt … Wall F provides a redundant SD three lines later: "Exit Lyon, Thisbie, and Moonshine" 187 enter = F. Q = enter now 194 up in thee = F. Q = now againe 200 And I = Q. F = And 209 mural = Ed. F = morall. Q = Moon used 213 SH HIPPOLYTA = Q. F = Dut. (for Dutchess) throughout 228 on = Q. F = of 237 hearken = F. Q = listen 257 they are = F. Q = all these are 270 gleams = Ed. F = beames 271 taste = F. Q = take 307 prove = F. Q = yet proove 315 is the better. = F. Q continues better: hee for a man, God warnd us; she for a woman, God blesse us. 345 SH BOTTOM = F. Q = LYON 363 lion = Ed. F = Lyons 392 this = F. Q = your 393 SD The Song = F. Assigned to Oberon in Q.
SCENE-BY-SCENE ANALYSIS
ACT 1 SCENE 1
Lines 1-129: Theseus and Hippolyta discuss their wedding, measuring the time they must wait by the moon--a key motif in the play. Theseus has defeated Hippolyta in battle, but promises to wed her "in another key." Egeus interrupts, bringing his daughter and her two suitors. In formal language, reflecting the court setting, he complains that Demetrius has his permission to marry Hermia, but that she loves Lysander, who has "bewitched" her, raising the themes of love and magic. Egeus asks for the "ancient privilege of Athens," whereby Hermia must obey him or be executed. Hermia, subject to patriarchal rule, is reduced to a commodity by Egeus' claim that "As she is mine, I may dispose of her." As Hermia argues that Lysander is as "worthy" as Demetrius, she raises another key motif in the play: the idea that perceptions of "worth" are often created solely by the desire of others. Theseus rules that Hermia has until his wedding to decide whether to marry Demetrius, "die the death," or "endure the livery of a nun" (a futile and "barren" existence). Hermia shows strength, claiming she will live and die a virgin as she "consents not to give sovereignty" to Demetrius. Egeus, Lysander, and Demetrius argue over Hermia, with Lysander insisting that he is "As well possessed" as Demetrius, and furthermore that, until recently, "inconstant" Demetrius courted Helena, who "dotes" on him. Theseus decrees, however, that he may not "extenuate" Athens' law.
Lines 130-182: Hermia and Lysander discuss their circumstances. Lysander says that all the evidence of his reading from "tale or history" shows that "The course of true love never did run smooth." He lists various examples of thwarted love, perhaps implicitly drawing attention to the varied source materials for the play and acknowledging the familiar narrative theme of forbidden love. Hermia agrees to meet Lysander in the woods the next night and run away to his aunt's house where they can marry, safe from "sharp Athenian law."
Lines 183-254: Helena wishes she looked like Hermia so that Demetrius would love her. Hermia protests that she does not ask for Demetrius' love, which he gives her even though she curses him, but Helena blames her nonetheless. Hermia and Lysander tell Helena of their planned flight and wish her luck. Once alone, Helena dwells on how she is considered as "fair" as Hermia throughout Athens, but this does not matter, as Demetrius does not think so. She observes how "Things base and vile, holding no quantity, / Love can transpose to form and dignity": desire can give something or someone worth. She resolves to tell Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander's intended escape.
ACT 1 SCENE 2
The second group of characters is introduced--the artisans who are to perform as part of the wedding entertainment. Their preparation and performance of the play-within-the-play creates comedy and a clear sense of theatrical self-awareness, as the limitations of their stagecraft highlight the sophistication of the wider play. The position of this scene between one involving the mortals and one involving the fairies perhaps emphasizes the role of the theater in the movement between reality and illusion.
Quince allocates parts in "The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe," a humorous muddling of the genres of comedy and tragedy, but a reminder that there is often a fine line between the two. Comedy is created through Bottom's interruptions as he asks to be allowed to pla
y all the parts and demonstrates how good he would be at each. Humor is also created through language--punning, bawdy, and Bottom's malapropisms. The practicalities and politics of staging are touched upon, as they discuss costumes, the fact that Flute does not wish to play a woman since he has "a beard coming," and how they must not incur the displeasure of their noble audience by frightening the ladies as "that were enough to hang us all." They agree to meet the next night in the wood to rehearse "by moonlight," so as to be private.
ACT 2 SCENE 1
The final group of characters, the fairies, are introduced, and their world is evoked through both natural imagery, suggesting the nighttime and woodland, and mythical and expansive language, suggesting a world not subject to the same limitations as the mortal one. Despite the beauty and enchantment they conjure, there is also a potentially chaotic, darker element to their world, contrasting with the restrained and ordered court.
Lines 1-60: Robin Goodfellow (the Puck) and the Fairy establish their roles in the mortal world--either creating the natural environment by tasks such as placing dew as "a pearl in every cowslip's ear," or mischievously interfering with domestic life--"knavish" Robin "frights the maidens" or will "Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm." They signal the approach of Oberon and Titania and establish that the king and queen of the fairies are currently arguing over ownership of a "changeling" Indian boy that Titania has as her attendant.
Lines 61-147: Titania goes to leave, but Oberon orders her to "Tarry," asking "am not I thy Lord?," showing a similar patriarchal authority to Theseus in the mortal court and emphasizing the parallels between these two characters. Titania describes how their quarrel has impacted on the mortal world, showing the darker side of the fairies, as the land is covered with "Contagious fogs" and the corn "Hath rotted." Oberon argues that Titania could end their quarrel and thus mortal suffering by giving him the little Indian boy, but Titania refuses. Oberon declines Titania's invitation to dance in the fairy round. She leaves.
Lines 148-191: Using imagery that evokes the limitless and enchanted world of the fairies and reinforces the sexual and hunting themes that recur in the play, Oberon describes to Robin a time when he saw Cupid aim an arrow at "a fair vestal," but hit a flower instead, turning it "purple with love's wound." He sends Robin to collect this flower, the juice from which will make the person on whose "sleeping eyelids" it has been placed fall in love with the first creature they see on waking. Once alone, Oberon reveals his intention to apply the juice to Titania's eyes and watch her fall in love with the first thing she looks at, "Be it on lion, bear, or wolf or bull." He will make her "render up her page" before he will remove the spell. Hearing Helena and Demetrius approach, he declares "I am invisible"--reinforcing his magical nature, but also drawing attention to theater and dramatic irony as he, too, becomes an "audience," invisibly observing the action.