Enter DEMETRIUS, HELENA following him. Dem. I love thee not, therefore pursue me not. Where is Lysander, and fair Hermia? The one I'll stay, the other stayeth me. Thou told'st me, they were stol'n into this wood, And here am I, and woods within this wood, Because I cannot meet my Hermia. Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more. Hel. You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant; But yet you draw not iron, for my heart Is true as steel: Leave you your power to draw, And I shall have no power to follow you. Dem. Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair? Or, rather, do I not in plainest truth Tell you-I do not, nor I cannot love you? Hel. And even for that do I love you the more. I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius, The more you beat me, I will fawn on you: 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? There sleeps Titania, some time of the night, Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove: 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 To make my small elves coats; and some, keep back spirit; For I am sick when I do look on thee. Hel. And I am sick when I look not on you. 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 brakes, And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts. Hel. The wildest hath not such a heart as you. Dem. I will not stay thy questions; let me go: Hel. Ay, in the temple, in the town, and field, Exeunt DEM. and HEL. The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots and wonders SONG. I. 1 Fai. You spotted snakes, with double tongue, Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen; Newts, and blind-worms, do no wrong; CHORUS. Philomel, with melody Sing in our sweet lullaby; Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby; II. 2 Fat. Weaving spiders, come not here; Hence, you long-legg`d spinners, hence CHORUS. Philomel, with melody, &c. 2 Fai. Hence, away; now all is well : One, aloof, stand sentinel. [Exeunt Fairies. TITANIA sleeps. Enter OBERON. Obe. What thou seest, when thou dost wake, Do it for thy true-love take; Enter LYSANDER and HERMIA. Exit. Her. Be it so, Lysander, find you out a bed, 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, dear, Lie further off yet, do not lie so near. Lys. O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence; Love takes the meaning, in love's conference. I mean, that my heart unto yours is knit ; So that but one heart we can make of it: Two bosoms interchained with an oath; So then, two bosoms, and a single troth. Then, by your side, no bed-room me deny ; Fer, lying so, Hermia, I do not lie. Her. Lysander riddles very prettily:Now much beshrew my manners and my pride, If Hermia meant to say, Lysander lied. But, gentle friend, for love and courtesy Lie further off; in human modesty Such separation, as, may well be said, Becomes a virtuous bachelor and a maid: So far be distant; and good night, sweet friend : Thy love ne'er alter, till thy sweet life end! my 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 half that wish the wisher's eyes be press'd! [They sleep. Enter PUCK. Puck. Through the forest have I gone, Therefore, no marvel, though Demetrius Lys. And run through fire I will, for thy sweet sake. [Waking. Transparent Helena! Nature shows her art, Is that vile name to perish on my sword! Yet Hermia still loves you: then be content. Lys. Content with Hermia? No: I do repent Hel. Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born? Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do, But fare you well: perforce I must confess, I thought you lord of more true gentleness. O, that a lady of one man refus'd [Exit. Lys. She sees not Hermia:-Hermia, sleep thou there; And never mayst thou come Lysander near! Exit. So Enter DEMETRIUS and HELENA, running. Hel. Stay, though thou kill me, sweet Demetrius. Dem. I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus. Hel. O, wilt thou darkling leave me? do not so. How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears: For beasts that meet me run away for fear: [Exil. Her. [starting.] Help me, Lysander, help me! do thy best To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast! [Exit Snug. You can never bring in a wall.-What say you, Bottom? Bot. Some man or other must present wall: and let Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT, and him have some plaster, or some lome, or some rough-cast 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, Rully Bottom? Bot. There are things in this comedy of Pyramus and Thisby' that will never please. First, Pyramus must draw a sword to kill himself; which the ladies cannot abide. How answer you that? Snout. By'rlakin," a parlousb 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.c Bot. No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight. Snout. Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion? 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 yours. 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 moonlight into a chamber: for you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moonlight. Snug. Doth the moon shine that night we play our play? Bot. A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac ; find out moonshine, find out moonshine. Quin. Yes, it doth shine that night. Bot. Why, then may you 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 bush of thorns and a lantern, and say, he comes to disfigure, or to present, the person of moonshine. Then there is another thing: we must have a wall in the great chamber; for Pyramus and Thisby, says the story, did talk through the chink of a wall. a By'rlakin-by our ladykin, our little lady. about him, to signify wall; or let him hold his fingers thus, and through 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 parts. Pyramus, you begin: when you have spoken your speech, enter into that brake; and so every one according to his cue. 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 lily white of hue, As true as truest horse that yet would never tire, 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, 66 never tire." Quin. Bless thee, Bottom! bless thee! thou art translated. [Exit a Quince's description of Bottom going "to see a noise" it akin to Sir Toby Belch's notion of" to hear by the nose." (Twelfth Night,' Act II. Scene 3.) Bot. I see their knavery: this is to make an ass of The woosel-cock, so black of hue, The throstle with his note so true, Tita. What angel wakes me from my flowery bed? Bot. The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, And dares not answer, nay for, indeed, who would set his wit to so foolish a bird? who would give a bird the lie, though he cry "Cuckoo," Dever 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, 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 nty, that some honest neighbours will not make them friends. Nay, I can gleek upon occasion. Tita. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful. The summer still doth tend upon my state, Enter PEAS-BLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD- 1 Fai, Ready. 2 Fai. 3 Fai. 4 Fai. All. And I. And I. And I. Where shall we go. Tita. Be kind and courteous to this gentleman; 2 Fai Hail! 3 Fai. Hail! 4 Fai. Hail! Bot. I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good master Cobweb: If I cut my finger, I shall make bold with you.-Your name, honest gentleman? Peas. Peas-blossom. Bot. I pray you, commend me to mistress Squash, your mother, and to master Peas-cod, your father. Good master Peas-blossom, I shall desire you of more acquaintance too. Your name, I beseech you, sir? Mus. Mustard-seed. Bot. Good master Mustard-seed, I know your patience well: that same cowardly, giant-like ox-beet hath devoured many a gentleman of your house: I promise you, your kindred hath made my eyes water ere now. I desire you more acquaintance, good master Mustard-seed. Tita. Come, wait upon him; lead him to my bower. Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently. [Ex. SCENE II.-Another part of the Wood. Obe. I wonder, if Titania be awak'd; Enter PUCK. eye, Here comes my messenger.-How now, mad spirit? And forth my mimic comes: When they him spy, Some, sleeves; some, hats; from yielders all things I led them on in this distracted fear, Obe. This falls out better than I could devise. Puck. I took him sleeping,-that is finish'd too,-- Bot. I cry your worships mercy, heartily.-I be That when he wak'd of force she must be ey'd. seech your worship's name. Cob. Cobweb. The name of soosel or ousel expressed the blackbird in Sasper's day. It is used by Drayton as synonymous with the merle about which there can be no doubt) in his description of the "rough woodlands" of the Warwickshire Arden. Gleek. This verb is generally used in the sense of to scoff"; but we apprehend Bottom only means to say that he can joke. The sun was not so true unto the day, This whole earth may be bor'd; and that the moon Her. What 's this to my Lysander? where is he? Ah, good Demetrius, wilt thou give him me? Dem. I'd rather give his carcase to my hounds. Of maiden's patience. Hast thou slain him then? Lys. Why should you think that I should woo ir scorn? Scorn and derision never come in tears. Look, when I vow, I weep; and vows so born, In their nativity all truth appears. How can these things in me seem scorn to you Bearing the badge of faith, to prove them true? Hel. You do advance your cunning more and more. When truth kills truth, O devilish-holy fray! These vows are Hermia's; Will you give her o'er i Lys. I had no judgment, when to her I swore. To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne? Dem. You spend your passion on a mispris'd mood: That pure congealed white, high Taurus' snow, I am not guilty of Lysander's blood; Nor is he dead, for aught that I can tell. Her. I pray thee, tell me then that he is well. And from thy hated presence part I so: [Exit. Dem. There is no following her in this fierce vein: Obe. About the wood go swifter than the wind, Re-enter PUCK. Fuck. Captain of our fairy band, Helena is bere at hand, a Cheer-face. [Exit. Fann'd with the eastern wind, turns to a crow, When thou hold'st up thy hand: 0, let me kiss This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss! Hel. O, spite! O, hell! I see you are all bent To set against me, for your merriment. If you were civil and knew courtesy, You would not do me thus much injury. Can you not nate me, as I know you do, But you must join, in souls, to mock me too? If you were men, as men you are in show, You would not use a gentle lady so. To vow, and swear, and superpraise my parts, When, I am sure, you hate me with your hearts. You both are rivals, and love Hermia; And now both rivals, to mock Helena: A trim exploit, a manly enterprise, To conjure tears up in a poor maid's eyes With your derision! None of noble sort Would so offend a virgin; and extort A poor soul's patience, all to make you sport Lys. You are unkind, Demetrius; be not so; For you love Hermia: this, you know, I know: And here, with all good will, with all my heart, In Hermia's love I yield you up my part; And yours of Helena to me bequeath, Whom I do love, and will do to my death. gone. Hel. Never did mockers waste more idle breath. Dem. Lysander, keep thy Hermia; I will none : If e'er I lov'd her, all that love is My heart to her but as guest-wise sojourn'd; And now to Helen it is home return'd, There to remain. |