A Midsummer Night's Dream

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14646
SHAKESPEARE
A MIDSUMMER
NIGHT'S DREAM
DEIGHTON
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A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM .
AMER
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SHAKESPEARE
A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S
DREAM
WITH
AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
K. DEIGHTON
London
MACMILLAN AND CO.
AND NEW YORK
1891
[All rights reserved]

KC14646
HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
514112
CONTENTS .
PAGE
INTRODUCTION, vii
A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM , 1
NOTES, 68
INDEX TO NOTES, 154

y
P
INTRODUCTION.
THOUGH A Midsummer-Night's Dream was first printed Date of the

Play.
in 1600 , it is mentioned two years earlier in Mere's
Palladis Tamia, and was probably written some time
between 1592 and 1594. Titania's description of the
disturbed weather, caused by Oberon's quarrel with her
and the consequent neglect of the fairy rites, has been
conjectured to be an allusion to the tempests and heavy
rains with which England was visited during the latter
of these two dates. But the circumstances related do
not tally so closely with the actual events as to make
the conjecture at all certain. That the play belonged
to the earlier period of Shakespeare's dramatic career
would be evident though we had no mention of its
first publication, and the precise date of composition is
not a matter of any real importance. In regard to the
purpose of the play, it has been supposed to have been
intended as a masque to be performed at the marriage
of some noble person, possibly that of Southampton
with Elizabeth Vernon, or that of Essex with Lady
Sidney. Of course, if either marriage could be proved
to be the occasion of the play, we should have a fixed
date for its composition ; but here again we have
nothing more trustworthy than inferences capable of
diverse application .
vii
viii INTRODUCTION .
Outline of the In the opening scene preparations are being made for
Play.
the marriage of Theseus, Duke of Athens, with the
Amazonian Queen, Hippolyta. Egeus, an Athenian
citizen, entering to make a complaint against his
daughter, Hermia, who had been betrothed to Deme
trius, but whose heart has been won by Lysander, asks
of Theseus that the law of Athens, giving to parents the
disposal of their daughters in marriage or permission to
put them to death in case of disobedience, may be
enforced in his behalf. Hermia, being told by Theseus
that, should she refuse to marry Demetrius, the only
alternatives are death or seclusion in a nunnery, pre
fers the latter alternative to marriage with any but
Lysander. Lysander, however, on their being left
alone, persuades her to another course, that of escaping
with him to a place " remote seven leagues " from
Athens, where they would be beyond the reach of the
law and might be safely married . This plan of theirs
Hermia confides to her bosom friend, Helena, who in
her turn reveals it to Demetrius, with the result of his
following the pair ; while she, whose love Demetrius
had formerly sought and won, determines upon follow
ing him. Their flight takes them through a wood in
the neighbourhood of Athens where certain " rude
mechanicals " have met together to rehearse a play to
be acted before Theseus and Hippolyta on their wedding
night. This wood happens to be one of the haunts of
Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies. At
the present moment their elfin majesties have fallen out
about a " little changeling boy " in Titania's train whom
she refuses to give to Oberon. Determined to carry his
point, Oberon resorts to a stratagem, and commissions
INTRODUCTION. ix
Puck, a mischievous sprite in his service, to smear the

eyes of the sleeping Titania with the juice of a certain
flower which will compel her to fall in love with "the
next thing then she waking looks upon," and so
counteract her affection for the " little changeling boy."
While Puck is away seeking for this potent flower,
Helena and Demetrius come to the spot ; and Oberon,
overhearing his churlish rejection of her love, deter
mines to use the juice for the further purpose of
compelling the " disdainful youth " to return to his
allegiance to the " sweet Athenian lady." On the
return of his sprite, Oberon squeezes the flower on
Titania's eyelids, and Puck goes off on the same
errand to Demetrius. Meanwhile, however, Hermia
and Lysander come upon the scene ; and, weary with
wandering about the wood, lay themselves down to
sleep upon the grass. Puck entering and seeing the
pair, supposes Lysander to be the Athenian of whom
Oberon had spoken , and promptly anoints his eyes.
A moment or two later Demetrius and Helena re
appear, and Lysander, awaking, pours forth protesta
tions of love for Helena, abandoning for her sake the
sleeping Hermia. At this point we come upon the
Athenian artizans rehearsing their play of Pyramus and
Thisbe. Puck, angry at their daring to intrude upon
the fairy haunts, by his magic power fastens the head
of an ass upon the shoulders of Bottom, the principal
actor, and with him Titania, as she wakes up, imme
diately falls in love. The rest of the actors, frightened
by Bottom's transformation , scatter in all directions ;
and he, left alone with Titania, is being wooed by her
when Oberon re-enters and is told by Puck of the
X INTRODUCTION.
success of his stratagem. While they are in conver

sation, Hermia and Demetrius appear, the former
accusing the latter with having slain his rival Lysander,
who, as we have seen, had left her sleeping in order to
follow Helena. Oberon now discovers that Puck has
mistaken the one Athenian for the other, sends him to
bring Helena to the spot, and smears the eyes of
Demetrius with the love-juice in preparation for her
coming. On her appearance with Lysander, Demetrius
awakes and bursts out with vows of passionate love
for her. Helena, bewildered by his protests, as she had
been awhile before by those of Lysander, imagines that
he, Lysander, and Hermia have all entered into a plot
to mock her. A bitter quarrel with Hermia is the
result, Demetrius and Lysander at the same time
asserting their claim to Helena's love, and challenging
each other to mortal combat. To prevent mischief,
Oberon directs Puck to overcast the night, and by
assuming in turn the forms of Lysander and Demetrius
to lead each far away from the other. This done, he
is ordered by means of another herb to remove the
charm from Lysander's eyes, so that, on awakening, he
may forget his sudden passion for Helena and renew his
vows to Hermia. Puck carries out his instructions
regarding the rivals, who wander about the wood till
from weariness they, as well as Hermia and Helena, lie
down and fall asleep, and then anoints Lysander's eyes
with the counter-charm. While they are thus asleep,
Titania, still engrossed by her love for Bottom , re
appears ; and shortly afterwards Oberon, having ob
tained the " changeling child," proceeds to remove the
spell he had laid upon her senses. This being done,
INTRODUCTION. xi
and the fairies disappearing, Theseus, accompanied by

Hippolyta and Egeus, comes in the early morning to
hunt in the wood. At the sound of the huntsmen's
horns, Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia and Helena awake
from their slumber ; Demetrius relates to Theseus the
Occurrences of the night and resigns all claim to
Hermia. Egeus, enraged by the flight of his daughter,
claims enforcement of the law, but is overruled by
Theseus, who sanctions the marriage of Hermia with
Lysander and of Helena with Demetrius at the same
time that he makes Hippolyta his wife. The triple
wedding having been solemnized in the temple, the play
ends with the ludicrous performance of Pyramus and
Thisbe by the Athenian handicraftsmen.
Knight justly remarks that "to offer an analysis of The
of thecharacter
Play.
this subtle and ethereal drama would, we believe, be as
unsatisfactory as the attempts to associate it with the
realities of the stage. With scarcely an exception, the
proper understanding of the other plays of Shakspere,
may be assisted by connecting the apparently separate
parts of the action, and by developing and reconciling
what seems obscure and anomalous in the features of the
characters . But to follow out the caprices and allusions
of the loves of Demetrius and Lysander, -of Helena and
Hermia ; to reduce to prosaic description the conse
quence of the jealousies of Oberon and Titania ;—to
trace the Fairy Queen under the most fantastic of decep
tions, where grace and vulgarity blend together like the
Cupids and Chimeras of Raphael's Arabesques ; and ,
finally, to go along with the scene till the allusions dis
appear-till the lovers are happy, and ' sweet bully
-
Bottom' is reduced to an ass of human dimensions ;
xii INTRODUCTION.
such an attempt as this would be worse even than

unreverential criticism. No, — the Midsummer- Night's
Dream must be left to its own influences." The charac
terization, Theseus and Bottom excepted, is ofthe slightest,
and the individuality of the principal performers hardly
discernible . Of Theseus, Dowden remarks, * " There is no
figure in the early drama of Shakspere so magnificent.
His are the large hands that have helped to shape the
world. His utterance is the rich-toned speech of one
who is master of events—who has never known a shrill
or eager feeling. His nuptial day is at hand ; and
while the other lovers are agitated, bewildered, incensed,
Theseus, who does not think of himself as a loverbut rather
as a beneficent conqueror, remains in calm possession
of his joy. Theseus, a grand ideal figure, is to be studied
as Shakspere's conception of the heroic man of action in
his hour of enjoyment and of leisure. With a splendid
capacity for enjoyment, gracious to all, ennobled by the
glory, implied rather than explicit, of great foregone
achievement, he stands as centre of the poem, giving
their true proportions to the fairy tribe upon the one
hand, and upon the other to the ' human mortals.' "
Bottom, on his part, is a creation of splendid absurdity,
such as could acknowledge no other creator than Shake
speare. In his supreme self-assurance there is nothing
that he will not greatly dare. That blessed gift has
already marked him out for the admiring respect of his
fellow " mechanicals," and to him as by acclaim they
assign the chief part in their revels. But, though willing
to play the lover, and boastful of the pathetic effect
which in that character he is certain to produce upon the
* Shakspere : His Mind and Art, p. 68
INTRODUCTION. xiii
audience, he confides to his fellows that his " chief

humour is for a tyrant " ; he " could play Ercles rarely,
or a part to tear a cat in, to make all split." As the
assignment of the parts proceeds and Flute is told off for
the heroine, Bottom, assured that he would excel in the
métier of the ' first lady,' gives a specimen of the " mon
strous little voice " in which he would so gracefully
mince his words. But the Lion's part has to be appropri
ated, and for that too, in his all- accomplished versatility,
Bottom feels that he has a special vocation ; "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. ' To Quince's
remark that he might frighten the ladies, he is ready with
the answer, “ I will aggravate my voice so , that I will roar
you as gently as any sucking dove ; I will roar you an
'twere any nightingale." When at last he has graciously
contented himself with a single part, he still must pat
ronizingly shape out the management of the play, and
drill the players in propriety of action. At the rehearsal,
his impersonation of Pyramus is interrupted by the
appearance of Puck, who fastens an ass-head upon his
shoulders. Of this, however, he is as sublimely uncon
scious as of his having been an ass before he was decorated
with that outward and visible symbol of his inward and
spiritual doltship. His fellow-actors, frightened by his
transformation, speedily decamp ; but Bottom, though
left alone, is exuberantly courageous, and in order to
prove to others (and to himself) that he is not afraid, he
will sing. Nor is he a whit disconcerted by the appear
ance of the Fairy Queen . On the contrary, he is as ready
to talk with her as with an ordinary mortal, and shows
xiv INTRODUCTION.
himself perfectly affable to the elfin attendants placed at

his disposal by Titania. When, later on, he has got rid
of his encumbrance, and is rejoined by his fellow-actors,
he is careful to impress his final directions upon them ;
at the presentation of the play, not content with de
claiming his part, he kindly sets Theseus right when
making a comment on the action, and when all is over,
though lying dead, cannot resist starting up to contradict
Demetrius. " Sweet bully Bottom," happy in thy sub
lime faith, even though that faith be in an ass-head of
thine own ! Of the four lovers little more can be said
than that they are two pairs of lovers, of whom Demetrius
is of a somewhat haughtier nature than Lysander ; while
for distinctive marks between the heroines, Hermia is a
mignonne brunette with a quick temper, Helen a taller
blonde, more timid and yielding in character.
The Fairy For a further history of the subject, students may
Mythology of
the Play. consult Keightley's Fairy Mythology, pp. 280-349, from
which source the following particulars are derived.
66
' Shakespeare," says Keightley, " having the Faerie
Queene before his eyes, seems to have attempted a
blending of the Elves of the village with the Fays of
Romance. His fairies agree with the former in their
diminutive stature, -diminished , indeed , to dimensions
inappreciable by village gossips, -in their fondness for
dancing, their love of cleanliness, and their child
abstracting propensities. Like the Fays, they form a
community ruled over by the princely Oberon and the
fair Titania. There is a court and chivalry : Oberon
would have the queen's sweet changeling to be a ' Knight
of his train to trace the forest wild.' Like earthly
monarchs, he has his jester, ' the shrewd and knavish
INTRODUCTION. XV
sprite, called Robin Goodfellow ' ... The haunts of the

Fairies are the most rural and romantic that can be
selected. They meet
'On hill, in dale, forest or mead,

By paved fountain, or by rushy brook,
Or on the beached margent of the sea,
To dance their ringlets to the whistling wind .'
And the place of Titania's repose is

'A bank whereon the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with lush woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses , and with eglantine.'
The powers of the poet are exerted to the utmost to

convey an idea of their minute dimensions ; and time,
" Come,' cries the
with them, moves on lazy pinions.
queen,
'Come now, a roundel and a fairy song,
Then for the third part of a moment hence ;
Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds ;
Some war with rere-mice for their leathern wings,
To make my small elves coats.'
Puck goes ' swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow ' ;
he says, ' he'll put a girdle round about the earth in
forty minutes ' ; and ' We,' says Oberon, ―
'We the globe can compass soon
Swifter than the wandering moon. '
They are either not mortal, or their date of life is inde

terminately long ; they are of a nature superior to man ;
and speak with contempt of human follies. By night
they revel beneath the light of the moon and stars,
retiring at the approach of Aurora's harbinger,' but
b
xvi INTRODUCTION.
7 22
not compulsively like ghosts and damned spirits.'
" Puck," the same writer says, " is evidently the same
with the old word Pouke, the original meaning of which
would seem to be devil, demon or evil spirit ... the
Icelandic Puki is an evil spirit ... in Friesland the
Kobold is called Puk, and in old German we meet with
Putz or Butz as the name of a being not unlike the
original English Puck. The Devonshire fairies are called
Pixies, and the Irish have their Pooka, and the Welsh
their Pwcca, both derived from Pouke or Puck ... ' The
peasantry,' says Mr. Allies, ' of Alfrick and those parts of
Worcestershire, say that they are sometimes what they
call Poake-ledden, that is, that they are occasionally way
laid in the night by a mischievous sprite whom they ca
Poake, who leads them into ditches, bogs, pools, and other
such scrapes, and then sets up a loud laugh and leaves
them quite bewildered in the lurch.' This is what in
Devon is called being Pixy-led." " Robin Goodfellow,"
with whom Shakespeare identifies Puck, "is," says
Keightley, “ evidently a domestic spirit, answering in
name and character to ... the Knecht Ruprecht, i.e.
Robin of Germany." From a little work published in
Elizabeth's reign and entitled " The mad Pranks and
merry Jests of Robin Goodfellow," Keightley thinks
that Shakespeare in a good measure derived his Puck.
This work relates many stories of Robin's mischievous
tricks in all of which he goes off laughing, " Ho, ho , hoh,"
as in our play , iii. 2. 421. From Reginald Scott's
Discoverie of Witchcraft, iv. 10, Keightley quotes, " Indeed
your grandams ' maids were wont to set a bowl of milk
before him (Incubus) and his cousin Robin Goodfellow,
for grinding of malt or mustard, and sweeping the house
INTRODUCTION. xvii
at midnight ; and you have also heard that he would .

chafe exceedingly if the maid or good-wife of the house,
having compassion of his nakedness, laid any clothes for
him beside his mess of white bread and milk, which was
his standing fee ; for in that case he saith,
"What have we here ? Hemten, hamten,
Here will I never more tread or stampen. "
66 Burton," continues Keightley, " after noticing from
Paracelsus those which in Germany ' do usually walk

in little coats, some two foot long,' says, ' A bigger kind
there is of them called with us Hobgoblins and Robin
Goodfellows, that would, in those superstitious times,
grind corn for a mess of milk, cut wood , or do any kind
of drudgery work.' And again : Some put our Fairies
into this rank (that of terrestrial devils), which have
been in former times adored with much superstition,
with sweeping their houses, and setting of a pail of
clean water, good victuals, and the like, and then they
should not be pinched, but find money in their shoes,
and be fortunate in their enterprises .' In another place
(p. 30), he says, ' And so those which Miyaldus calls
Ambulones, that walk about midnight, on heaths and
desert places, which (saith Lavater) draw men out of
the way and lead them all night a by-way, or quite
barre them of their way ; these have several names, in
several places ; we commonly call them Pucks. ' Har
senet thus speaks of them in his Declaration : ' And if
that the bowl of curds and cream were not duly set out
for Robin Goodfellow, the friar, and Sisse the dairy
maid, why then, either the pottage was burned the next
day in the pot, or the cheeses would not curdle, or the
xviii INTRODUCTION .
butter would not come , or the ale in the fat [i.e. vat]
never would have good head ' .... Nash thus describes
them : ' Then ground they malt, and had hempen shirts
for their labours ; daunced in rounds in green meadows ;
pincht maids in their sleep that swept not their houses
clean, and led poor travellers out of their way." "
Rites and cus "The festival of May [referred to in i. 1. 167, iv. 1.
toms referred
to in the Play: 138] has," says Dyer, Folk-Lore of Shakespeare, pp. 287-9,
May-Day.
"from the earliest times been most popular in this
country, on account of its association with the joyous
season of spring. It was formerly celebrated with far
greater enthusiasm than now-a-days, for Bourne tells us
how the young people were in the habit of rising a little
after midnight and walking to some neighbouring wood,
accompanied with music and the blowing of horns,
where they broke down branches from the trees, which,
decorated with nosegays and garlands of flowers, were
brought home soon after sunrise, and placed at their
doors and windows. Shakespeare, alluding to this
practice, informs us, H. VIII . v. 4. 12-5 , how eagerly
it was looked forward to, and that it was impossible to
make the people sleep on May morning ;
'Pray, sir, be patient : 'tis as much impossible—

Unless we sweep ' em from the door with cannons-
To scatter ' em, as ' tis to make ' em sleep .
On May-day morning.'
... In Chaucer's ' Court of Love,' we read that early on

May-day ' Fourth goth al the Court, both most and lest,
to fetche the flow'rs fresh and blome.' In the reign of
Henry the Eighth, it is on record that the heads of the
Corporation of London went out into the high grounds
INTRODUCTION. xix
of Kent to gather the May, and were met on Shooter's

Hill by the king and his queen, Catherine of Arragon,
as they were coming from the palace of Greenwich.
Until within a comparatively recent period this
custom still lingered in some of the counties. Thus,
at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the following doggerel was
sung :
' Rise up, maidens, fie for shame !
For I've been four long miles from hame,
I've been gathering my garlands gay,
Rise up, fair maidens, and take in your May. ’
Many of the ballads sung now-a-days in country places

by the village children on May morning, as they carry
their garlands from door to door, undoubtedly refer to
the old practice of going a-Maying, although fallen into
disuse.
"In olden times nearly every village had its May
pole, around which, decorated with wreaths of flowers,
ribbons, and flags, our merry ancestors danced from
morning till night ... London ... had several may- poles,
one of which stood in Basing Lane, near St. Paul's
Cathedral. It was a large fir pole, forty feet high and
fifteen inches in diameter, and fabled to be the justing
staff of Gerard the Giant. Only a few, however, of the
old may-poles remain scattered here and there through
out the country. One still supports a weather- cock in
the churchyard at Pendleton, Manchester ; and in
Derbyshire, a few years ago, several were to be seen
standing on some of the village greens. The rhymes
made use of as the people danced round the may-pole
varied according to the locality, and oftentimes com
bined a curious mixture of the jocose and sacred. "
XX INTRODUCTION.
Saint Valen On the feast of Saint Valentine, referred to in iv. 1 .

tine.
144 , 5, birds, according to an old tradition, chose their
mates for the year. "From this notion," says Dyer,
p. 280, " it has been suggested , arose the once popular
practice of choosing valentines, and also the common
belief that the first two single persons who meet in the
morning of St. Valentine's day have a great chance of
becoming married to each other. This superstition
is alluded to in Ophelia's song in " Hamlet," iv. 5.
49-51,
'To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine. ' ”
Douce traces the custom of choosing lovers on this day

to the Lupercalia of Rome, a festival held about the same
date, and during which a similar custom prevailed.
Oberon's To this vision Warburton was the first to give an
Vision.
allegorical meaning. According to his interpretation the
"fair vestal " was Elizabeth, and this no doubt is true ;
""
"the mermaid was Mary Queen of Scots ; "the
dolphin," an allusion to her marriage with the Dauphin
of France ; " the rude sea," Scotland, encircled by the
ocean, which rose up against the Regent, while Mary was
in France, and was quieted by her return home ; the
" certain stars," the English nobles who fell in her cause.
Boaden, accepting the idea of an allegory, discovered in
Oberon's first speech an intimation of the time and place
of the action ; and, in the second, an account of the
action itself and the persons engaged in it. The scene
was Kenilworth Castle ; he time, the season of its
"Princely Pleasures " ; and the action, the double court
INTRODUCTION. xxi
ship of Leicester with the Queen and his secret paramour.

Finally, Halpin further developed Boaden's view in this
wise. " It was during her Majesty's summer progress of
1575 and her residence in Kenilworth Castle, that the Earl
of Leicester, under circumstances of peculiar perfidy, made,
if not his last, his most elaborate attack on the hand of
his royal mistress. Here is an event worthy of prodigies
in the waters, in the air, and on the earth ; nor can we
imagine portents more poetically fit for such an occasion
than those striking omens which the Poet has seized upon
as at once foreshadowing the events and fixing the period
of their occurrence. But, whilst we should look in vain
for such natural prodigies at that time, we shall have no
difficulty in finding them among the artificial wonders
rais for Elizabeth's amusement during the magnificent
festivities of Kenilworth. The language employed by
our Poet here, as in many other places, is the language
of Pageantry, then popular and well understood ; and it
describes, with sufficient accuracy- with the accuracy of
one describing from memory, after the lapse of a few
years—some of the most striking and beautiful of the
pageants exhibited on the occasion. " In detail, then,
the " promontory " is the rising ground, by the side of a
piece of water, from which the festivities were beheld ;
the " mermaid " and " dolphin " belong to the pageants
exhibited in the water ; the " certain stars," the fireworks
accompanying the pageants ; the " cold moon, " Elizabeth ;
the " Earth," Lady Sheffield , to whom Leicester had been
secretly married ; " Cupid," Leicester ; the " love-shaft
loosed madly from his bow," Leicester's wild attempt to
win Elizabeth's love ; the " little western flower," Lettice,
wife of the Earl of Essex, with whom Leicester was at
xxii INTRODUCTION.
the time carrying on an intrigue ; " before milk-white,"

indicating her original purity, her being " purple with
Love's wound," the result of her criminal passion.
Halpin's theory is accepted by Gervinus, and it is no
doubt worked out with extreme precision and ingenuity.
Apart, however, from the forcible objection pointed out
by Wright, that the " little western flower " would in the
first instance be used in an allegorical sense and immed
iately afterwards in a literal sense, the solution is not to
me at all convincing. I do not believe that such realistic
treatment of a poetical fancy was in Shakespeare's way,
any more than I believe in the Mediterranean island
which commentators have discovered as Prospero's place
of exile.
Title of the As the beginning of May, the month in which
Play.
according to Chaucer, whose authority is followed in
the Two Noble Kinsmen, the marriage of Theseus and
Hippolyta took place, --is more than seven weeks from
midsummer, it is probable that the play derives its name
from the fact of its having been first performed at that
season ; unless, as Dowden suggests , a night in early
May may be considered a night in the spring of mid
summer.
A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.
DRAMATIS PERSONÆ.
THESEUS, Duke of Athens.

EGEUS, father to Hermia.
LYSANDER,
in love with Hermia.
DEMETRIUS ,}
PHILOSTRATE , master of the revels to Theseus.
QUINCE, a carpenter.
SNUG, a joiner.
BOTTOM, a weaver.
FLUTE, a bellows-mender.
SNOUT, a tinker.
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.
PUCK, or Robin Goodfellow.
PEASEBLOSSOM ,
COBWEB,
fairies.
Мотн,
MUSTARDSEED,
Other fairies attending their King and Queen.

Attendants on Theseus and Hippolyta.
SCENE : Athens, and a wood near it.
A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM.
ACT I.
SCENE I. Athens. The palace of THESEUS.
Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants.
The. 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's revenue.
Hip. 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 10
Of our solemnities.
The. Go, Philostrate,
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.
D
3
4 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT I.
Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and Demetrius.

Ege. Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke ! 20
The. Thanks, good Egeus : what's the news with thee ?
Ege. 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 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 30
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, 40
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.
The. 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 50
To leave the figure or disfigure it.
Demetrius is a worthy gentleman .
Her. So is Lysander.
SCENE I. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. 5
The. In himself he is ;
But in this kind, wanting your father's voice,
The other must be held the worthier.
Her. I would my father look'd but with my eyes.
The. Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.
Her. 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, 60
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.
The. 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, 70
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 ,
Than that which withering on the virgin thorn
Grows, lives and dies in single blessedness .
Her. So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord,
Ere I will yield my virgin patent up 80
Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke
My soul consents not to give sovereignty.
The. Take time to pause ; and, by the next 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 ;
6 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT I.
Or on Diana's altar to protest

For aye austerity and single life. 90
Dem. Relent, sweet Hermia : and, Lysander, yield
Thy crazed title to my certain right.
Lys. You have her father's love, Demetrius ;
Let me have Hermia's : do you marry him.
Ege. 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
I do estate unto Demetrius.
Lys. I am, my lord, as well derived as he,
As well- possess'd ; my love is more than his ; 100
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. 110
The. 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 120
To death, or to a vow of single life .
Come, my Hippolyta : what cheer, my love ?
Demetrius and Egeus, go along :
I must employ you in some business
SCENE I. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.
Against our nuptial and confer with you

Of something nearly that concerns yourselves.
Ege. With duty and desire we follow you.
[Exeunt all but Lysander and Hermia.
Lys. How now, my love ! why is your cheek so pale ?
How chance the roses there do fade so fast ?
Her. Belike for want of rain, which I could well 130
Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.
Lys. 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,—
Her. O cross ! too high to be enthrall'd to low.
Lys. Or else misgraffed in respect of years,---
Her. O spite ! too old to be engaged to young.
Lys. Or else it stood upon the choice of friends, —
Her. O hell ! to choose love by another's eyes. 140
Lys. 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.
Her. If then true lovers have been ever cross'd, 150
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.
Lys. 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. 160

There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee ;
And to that place the sharp Athenian law
Cannot pursue us. If thou lovest me then,
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.
Her. My good Lysander !
I swear to thee, by Cupid's strongest bow,
By his best arrow with the golden head, 170
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.
Lys. Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena.
Enter HELENA.
Her. God speed fair Helena ! whither away ? 180
Hel. 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
More tuneable than lark to shepherd's ear,
When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear.
Sickness is catching : O, were favour 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 , 190
The rest I'ld give to be to you translated.
O, teach me how you look, and with what art
You sway the motion of Demetrius' heart.

Her. I frown upon him, yet he loves me still.
Hel. O that your frowns would teach my smiles such skill !
Her. I give him curses, yet he gives me love.
Hel. O that my prayers could such affection move !
Her. The more I hate, the more he follows me.
Hel. The more I love, the more he hateth me.
Her. His folly, Helena, is no fault of mine. 200
Hel. None, but your beauty : would that fault were mine !
Her. 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 !
Lys. Helen, to you our minds we will unfold :
To-morrow night, when Phoebe doth behold
Her silver visage in the watery glass, 210
Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass,
A time that lovers' flights doth still conceal,
Through Athens' gates have we devised to steal.
Her. 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 ; 220
And good luck grant thee thy Demetrius !
Keep word, Lysander : we must starve our sight
From lovers' food till morrow deep midnight.
Lys. I will, my Hermia. [Exit Herm.
Helena, adieu :
As you on him, Demetrius dote on you ! [Exit.
Hel. 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, 230
So I, admiring of his qualities :
Things base and vile, holding 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, 240
So the boy Love is perjured everywhere :
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.
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, 250
To have his sight thither and back again. [Exit.
SCENE II . Athens. QUINCE's house.

Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT, and
STARVELING.
Quin. Is all our company here ?

Bot. You were best to call them generally, man by man,
according to the scrip.
Quin. 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.
SCENE II. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. 11
Bot. First, good Peter Quince, say what the play treats
on, then read the names of the actors, and so grow to a
point. 10
Quin. Marry, our play is, The most lamentable comedy,
and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisby.
Bot. 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.
Quin. Answer as I call you. Nick Bottom, the weaver.
Bot. Ready. Name what part I am for, and proceed .
Quin. You, Nick Bottom, are set down for Pyramus.
Bot. What is Pyramus ? a lover, or a tyrant ?
Quin. A lover, that kills himself most gallant for love. 20
Bot. 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 humour 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 30
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.
Quin. Francis Flute, the bellows-mender.
Flu. Here, Peter Quince.
Quin. Flute, you must take Thisby on you.
Flu. What is Thisby ? a wandering knight ?
Quin. It is the lady that Pyramus must love. 40
Flu. Nay, faith, let not me play a woman ; I have a beard
coming.
Quin. That's all one you shall play it in a mask, and you
may speak as small as you will.
Bot. An I may hide my face, let me play Thisby too, I'll
speak in a monstrous little voice, ' Thisne, Thisne ; ' ' Ah
Pyramus, my lover dear ! thy Thisby dear, and lady dear !'
Quin. No, no ; you must play Pyramus : and, Flute, you
Thisby.
Bot. Well, proceed. 50
Quin. Robin Starveling, the tailor.
Star. Here, Peter Quince.
Quin. Robin Starveling, you must play Thisby's mother.
Tom Snout, the tinker.
Snout. Here, Peter Quince.
Quin. 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. 60
Quin. You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but
roaring.
Bot. 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. '
Quin. 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.
All. That would hang us, every mother's son. 69
Bot. I grant you , friends, if that you should fright the
ladies out of their wits, they would have no more discretion
but to hang us : but I will aggravate my voice so that I will
roar you as gently as any sucking dove ; I will roar you an
'twere any nightingale.
Quin. You can play no part but Pyramus ; for Pyramus is
a sweet-faced man ; a proper man , as one shall see in a
summer's day ; a most lovely gentleman-like man : therefore
you must needs play Pyramus.
Bot. Well, I will undertake it. What beard were I best

to play it in ? 80
Quin. Why, what you will.
Bot. I will discharge it in either your straw-colour beard,
your orange tawny beard, your purple-in-grain beard, or
your French-crown- colour beard, your perfect yellow.
Quin. Some of your French crowns have no hair at all, and
then you will play barefaced. 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 moonlight ; there will we
rehearse, for if we meet in the city, we shall be dogged with
company, and our devices known . In the meantime I will
draw a bill of properties, such as our play wants. I pray
you, fail me not. 93
Bot. We will meet ; and there we may rehearse most
obscenely and courageously. Take pains ; be perfect : adieu.
Quin. At the duke's oak we meet.
Bot. Enough ; hold or cut bow-strings. [Exeunt.
ACT II.
SCENE I. A wood near Athens.
Enter, from opposite sides, a Fairy, and PUCK.
Puck. How now, spirit ! whither wander you ?

Fai. Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander every where,
Swifter than the moon's sphere ;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be 10
14 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT II.
In their gold coats spots you see ;

Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours :
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits ; I'll be gone :
Our queen and all her elves come here anon.
Puck. The king doth keep his revels here to-night :
Take heed the queen come not within his sight ;
For Oberon is passing fell and wrath, 20
Because that she as her attendant hath
A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king ;
She never had so sweet a changeling ;
And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild ;
But she perforce withholds the loved boy,
Crowns him with flowers and makes him all her joy :
And now they never meet in grove or green,
By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen,
But they do square, that all their elves for fear 3390
Creep into acorn-cups and hide them there.
Fai. Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Call'd Robin Goodfellow : are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery ;
Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn ;
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm ;
Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm ?
Those that Hobgoblin call you and sweet Puck, 40
You do their work, and they shall have good luck :
Are not you he ?
Puck. Thou speak'st aright ;
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,
SCENE I. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM . 15
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. 50
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 now, fairy ! here comes Oberon.
Fai. And here my mistress. Would that he were gone !
Enter, from one side, OBERON, with his train ; from the other,
TITANIA, with hers.
Obe. Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania. 60
Tita. What, jealous Oberon ! Fairies, skip hence :
I have forsworn his bed and company.
Obe. Tarry, rash wanton : am not I thy lord ?
Tita. 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
To amorous Phillida. Why art thou here,
Come from the farthest steppe of India ?
But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon, 70
Your buskin'd mistress and your warrior love,
To Theseus must be wedded, and you come
To give their bed joy and prosperity.
Obe. 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 Ægle break his faith ,

With Ariadne and Antiopa ? 80
Tita. 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,
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 90
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 : 100
The human mortals want their winter cheer ;
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
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
110
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,
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.
Obe. Do you amend it then ; it lies in you :
Why should Titania cross her Oberon ?
I do but beg a little changeling boy, 120
To be my henchman.
Tita. 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 130
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 will not part with him.
Obe. How long within this wood intend you stay ?
Tita. Perchance till after Theseus' wedding-day.
If you will patiently dance in our round 140
And see our moonlight revels, go with us ;
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.
Obe. Give me that boy, and I will go with thee.
Tita. Not for thy fairy kingdom. Fairies, away !
We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.
[Exit Titania with 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. Thou rememberest
B
Since once I sat upon a promontory ,

And heard a mermaid on a dolphin's back 150
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres,
To hear the sea-maid's music.
Puck. I remember.
Obe. That very time I saw, but thou couldst not,
Flying between the cold moon and the earth,
Cupid all arm'd a certain aim he took
At a fair vestal throned by the west,
And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow,
As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts ; 160
But I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft
Quench'd in the chaste beams of the watery moon,
And the imperial votaress passed on,
In maiden meditation, fancy-free.
Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell :
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk- white, now purple with love's wound,
And maidens call it love-in-idleness.
Fetch me that flower ; the herb I shew'd thee once :
The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid 170
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.
Fetch me this herb ; and be thou here again
Ere the leviathan can swim a league.
Puck. I'll put a girdle round about the earth
In forty minutes. [Exit.
Obe. Having once this juice,
I'll watch Titania when she is asleep,
And drop the liquor of it in her eyes.
The next thing then she waking looks upon,
Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, 180
On meddling monkey, or on busy ape,
She shall pursue it with the soul of love :
And ere I take this charm from off her sight,

As I can take it with another herb,
I'll make her render up her page to me.
But who comes here ? I am invisible ;
And I will overhear their conference.
Enter DEMETRIUS, HELENA following him.

Dem. I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
Where is Lysander and fair Hermia ?
The one I'll slay, the other slayeth me. 190
Thou told'st me they were stolen unto this wood ;
And here am I, and wode 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 200
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 :
Use ne but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me ; only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am, to follow 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 ? 210
Dem. Tempt not too much the hatred of my 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 much,
To leave the city and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not ;
To trust the opportunity of night

And the ill counsel of a desert place
With the rich worth of your virginity .
Hel. Your virtue is my privilege for that. 220
It is not night when I do see your face,
Therefore I think I am not in the night ;
Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company ,
For you in my respect are all the world :
Then how can it be said I am alone,
When all the world is here to look on me ?
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.
Run when you will, the story shall be changed : 230
Apollo flies, and Daphne holds the chase ;
The dove pursues the griffin ; the mild hind
Makes speed to catch the tiger ; bootless speed ,
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 !
Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex : 240
We cannot fight for love, as men may do ;
We should be woo'd and were not made to woo. [Exit Dem.
I'll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,
To die upon the hand I love so well. [Exit.
Obe. Fare thee well, nymph : ere he do leave this grove,
Thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love.
Re-enter PUCK.
Hast thou the flower there ? Welcome, wanderer.
Puck. Ay, there it is .
Obe. I pray thee, give it me.
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, 250

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine :
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight ;
And there the snake throws her enamell❜d skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in :
And with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes,
And make her full of hateful fantasies.
Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove :
A sweet Athenian lady is in love 260
With a disdainful youth : anoint his eyes ;
But do it when the next thing he espies
May be the lady : thou shalt know the man
By the Athenian garments he hath on.
Effect it with some care that he may prove
More fond on her than she upon her love :
And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.
Puck. Fear not, my lord, your servant shall do so. [ Exeunt.
SCENE II . Another part ofthe wood.

Enter TITANIA, with her train.
Tita. Come, now a roundel and a fairy song ;
Then, for the third part of a minute, hence ;
Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds,
Some war with rere-mice for their leathern wings,
To make my small elves coats, and some keep back
The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders
At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep ;
Then to your offices and let me rest.
FAIRIES' SONG.
I.
First Fairy. You spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen ; 10
22 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT II.
Newts and blind- worms , do no wrong,

Come not near our fairy queen .
CHORUS.
Philomel, with melody
Sing in our sweet lullaby ;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby :
Never harm,
Nor spell nor charm,
Come our lovely lady nigh ;
So, good night, with lullaby.
II.
Sec. Fairy. Weaving spiders, come not here ; 20
Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence !
Beetles black, approach not near :
Worm nor snail, do no offence.
Philomel, with melody, &c.
A Fairy. Hence, away ! now all is well :
One aloof stand sentinel.
[Exeunt Fairies. Titania sleeps.
Enter OBERON, and squeezes the flower on Titania's eyelids.
Obe. What thou seest when thou dost wake,
Do it for thy true-love take,
Love and languish for his sake :
Be it ounce, or cat, or bear, 30
Pard, or boar with bristled hair,
In thy eye that shall appear
When thou wakest, it is thy dear :
Wake when some vile thing is near. [Exit.
Enter LYSANDER and HERMIA.
Lys. Fair love, you faint with wandering in the wood ;
And to speak troth, I have forgot our way :
We'll rest us, Hermia, if you think it good,
And tarry for the comfort of the day.
Her. Be it so, Lysander : find you out a bed ;
SCENE II. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM . 23
For I upon this bank will rest my head. 40

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 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. 50
Then by your side no bed room me deny ;
For 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 : 60
Thy love ne'er alter till thy sweet life end !
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,
But Athenian found I none,
On whose eyes I might approve
This flower's force in stirring love.
Night and silence.-Who is here ? 70
Weeds of Athens he doth wear :
This is he, my master said,
Despised the Athenian maid ;
24 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT II.
And here the maiden, sleeping sound,

On the dank and dirty ground .
Pretty soul ! she durst not lie
Near this lack-love, this kill-courtesy.
Churl, upon thy eyes I throw
All the power this charm doth owe.
When thou wakest, let love forbid 80
Sleep his seat on thy eyelid :
So wake when I am gone ;
For I must now to Oberon. [Exit.
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.
Dem. Stay, on thy peril : I alone will go. [Exit.
Hel. O, I am out of breath in this fond chase !
The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace.
Happy is Hermia, wheresoe'er she lies ; 90
For she hath blessed and attractive eyes.
How came her eyes so bright ? Not with salt tears :
If so, my eyes are oftener wash'd than hers.
No, no, I am as ugly as a bear ;
For beasts that meet me run away for fear :
Therefore no marvel though Demetrius
Do, as a monster, fly my presence thus.
What wicked and dissembling glass of mine
Made me compare with Hermia's sphery eyne ?
But who is here ? Lysander ! on the ground ! 100
Dead ? or asleep ? I see no blood, no wound.
Lysander, if you live, good sir, awake.
Lys. [A waking] And run through fire I will for thy sweet
sake.
Transparent Helena ! Nature here shows art,
That through thy bosom makes me see thy heart.
Where is Demetrius ? O, how fit a word
Is that vile name to perish on my sword !

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. 110
Lys. Content with Hermia ! No ; I do repent
The tedious minutes I with her have spent.
Not Hermia but Helena I love :
Who will not change a raven for a dove ?
The will of man is by his reason sway'd ;
And reason says you are the worthier maid.
Things growing are not ripe until their season :
So I, being young, till now ripe not to reason ;
And touching now the point of human skill,
Reason becomes the marshal to my will 120
And leads me to your eyes, where I o’erlook
Love's stories written in love's richest book.
Hel. Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born ?
When at your hands did I deserve this scorn ?
Is 't not enough, is ' t not enough, young man,
That I did never, no, nor never can,
Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye,
But you must flout my insufficiency ?
Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do,
In such disdainful manner me to woo. 130
But fare you well perforce I must confess
I thought you lord of more true gentleness.
O, that a lady, of one man refused,
Should of another therefore be abused ! [Exit.
Lys. She sees not Hermia. Hermia, sleep thou there :
And never mayst thou come Lysander near !
For as a surfeit of the sweetest things
The deepest loathing to the stomach brings,
Or as the heresies that men do leave
Are hated most of those they did deceive, 140
So thou, my surfeit and my heresy,
Of all be hated, but the most of me !
26 A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT II. SC. II.
And, all my powers, address your love and might

To honour Helen and to be her knight ! [Exit.
Her. [Awaking] Help me, Lysander, help me ! do thy best
To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast !
Ay 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. 150
Lysander ! what, removed ? 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.
No ? then I well perceive you are not nigh :
Either death or you I'll find immediately. [Exit.
ACT III.
SCENE I. The wood. Titania lying asleep.
Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT, and
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 tiring-house ; and we will do it in action
as we will do it before the duke.
Bot. Peter Quince,—―
Quin. What sayest thou, bully 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 ? 11
Snout. By 'r lakin, 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
ACT III. SC. I. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. 27
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. 20
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 't. 30
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. 41
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.
Snout. 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 . 51
28 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT III.
Quin. Ay ; or else one must come in with a bush of thorns

and a lanthorn, 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.
Snout. ou can never bring in a wall. What say you,
Bottom ? 58
Bot. Some man or other must present Wall : and let him
have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast 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.
Enter PUCK behind.
Puck. What hempen homespuns have we swaggering here,

So near the cradle of the fairy queen ?
What, a play toward ! I'll be an auditor ;
An actor too perhaps, if I see cause. 70
Quin. Speak, Pyramus. Thisby, stand forth.
Bot. Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet,—
Quin. Odours, odours.
Bot. odours savours sweet :
So hath 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 played here. [Exit.
Flu. Must I speak now? 79
Quin. Ay, marry, must you ; for you must understand he
goes but to see a noise that he heard, and is to come again.
Flu. Most radiant Pyramus, most lily-white of hue,
Of colour like the red rose on triumphant brier,
Most brisky juvenal and eke most lovely Jew,
SCENE I. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. 29 .
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.' 90
Flu. O,-As true as truest horse, that yet would never
tire.
Re-enter PUCK, and BOTTOм with an ass's head.
Bot. If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine.

Quin. O monstrous ! O strange ! we are haunted. Pray,
masters ! fly, masters ! Help !
[Exeunt Quince, Snug, Flute, Snout, and Starveling.
Puck. I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round,
Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier :
Sometime a horse I'll be, sometime a hound,
A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire ;
And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn, 100
Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn. [Exit.
Bot. Why do they run away ? this is a knavery of them to
make me afeard.
Re-enter SNOUT.
Snout. O Bottom, thou art changed ! what do I see on

thee ?
Bot. What do you see ? you see an ass-head of your own,
do you ? [Exit Snout.
Re-enter QUINCE.
Quin. Bless thee, Bottom ! bless thee ! thou art trans
lated. [Exit. 109
Bot. I see their knavery : this is to make an ass of me ;
to fright me, if they could. But I will not stir from this
- place, do what they can : I will walk up and down here, and
I will sing, that they shall hear I am not afraid. [Sings.
MIDSUM
DREAM
NIGHT'
[ACT
III
330
.
-
.
The ousel cock so black of hue,
With orange-tawny bill,
The throstle with his note so true,
The wren with little quill,—
Tita. [Awaking] What angel wakes me from my flowery
bed ?
Bot. [Sings] The finch, the sparrow and the lark, 120
The plain-song cuckoo gray,
Whose note full many a man doth mark,
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 ' 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. 130 .
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, I 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. 140
I am a spirit of no common rate :
The summer still doth tend upon my state ;
And I do love thee : therefore, go with me ;
I'll give thee fairies to attend on thee,
And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep,
And sing while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep :
And I will purge thy mortal grossness so
That thou shalt like an airy spirit go.
Peaseblossom ! Cobweb ! Moth and Mustardseed !
Enter PEASEBLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH, and MUSTARDSEED.
Peas. Ready.
Cob. And I.
Moth. And I.
Mus. And I.
All. Where shall we go ? 150
Tita. Be kind and courteous to this gentleman ;
Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes ;
Feed him with apricocks and dewberries,
With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries ;
The honey-bags steal from the humble-bees,
And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs
And light them at the fiery glow- worm's eyes,
To have my love to bed and to arise ;
And pluck the wings from painted butterflies
To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes : 160
Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies.
Peas. Hail, mortal !
Cob. Hail !
Moth. Hail !
Mus. Hail !
Bot. I cry your worships mercy, heartily : I beseech your
worship's name.
Cob. Cobweb.
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 ? 171
Peas. Peaseblossom .
Bot. I pray you, commend me to Mistress Squash, your
mother, and to Master Peascod, your father. Good Master
Peaseblossom, I shall desire you of more acquaintance too.
Your name, I beseech you, sir ?
Mus. Mustardseed.
Bot. Good Master Mustardseed , I know your patience well :
that same cowardly, giant-like ox-beef hath devoured many
a gentleman of your house : I promise you your kindred hath

made my eyes water ere now. I desire your more acquaint
ance, good Master Mustardseed. 182
Tita. Come, wait upon him ; lead him to my bower.
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.

Enter OBERON.
Obe. I wonder if Titania be awaked ;
Then, what it was that next came in her eye,
Which she must dote on in extremity.
Enter PUCK.
Here comes my messenger.
How now, mad spirit !
What night-rule now about this haunted grove ?
Puck. My mistress with a monster is in love.
Near to her close and consecrated bower,
While she was in her dull and sleeping hour,
A crew of patches, rude mechanicals,
That work for bread upon Athenian stalls, 10
Were met together to rehearse a play
Intended for great Theseus' nuptial-day.
The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort,
Who Pyramus presented, in their sport
Forsook his scene and enter'd in a brake :
When I did him at this advantage take,
An ass's nole I fixed on his head :
Anon his Thisbe must be answered,
And forth my mimic comes. When they him spy,
20
As wild geese that the creeping fowler eye,
SCENE II. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.
333
Or russet-pated choughs, many in sort,
Rising and cawing at the gun's report,
Sever themselves and madly sweep the sky,
So, at his sight, away his fellows fly ;
And, at our stamp, here o'er and o'er one falls ;
He murder cries and help from Athens calls.
Their sense thus weak, lost with their fears thus strong,
Made senseless things begin to do them wrong ;
For briers and thorns at their apparel snatch ;
Some, sleeves ; some, hats ; from yielders all things catch. 30
I led them on in this distracted fear,
And left sweet Pyramus translated there :
When in that moment, so it came to pass,
Titania waked and straightway loved an ass.
Obe. This falls out better than I could devise.
But hast thou yet latch'd the Athenian's eyes
With the love-juice, as I did bid thee do ?
Puck. I took him sleeping,—that is finish'd too, —
And the Athenian woman by his side ;
That, when he waked, of force she must be eyed. 40
Enter HERMIA and DEMETRIUS.
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 so ?
Lay breath so bitter on your bitter foe.
Her. Now I but chide ; but I should use thee worse,
For thou, I fear, hast given me cause to curse.
If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep,
Being o'er shoes in blood , plunge in the deep,
And kill me too.
The sun was not so true unto the day 50
As he to me : would he have stolen away
From sleeping Hermia ? I'll believe as soon
This whole earth may be bored and that the moon
с
34 A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT III.
May through the centre creep and so displease

Her brother's noontide with the Antipodes.
It cannot be but thou hast murder'd him ;
So should a murderer look, so dead, so grim.
Dem. So should the murder'd look, and so should I,
Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty :
Yet you, the murderer, look as bright, as clear, 60
As yonder Venus in her glimmering sphere.
Her. What's this to my Lysander ? where is he ?
Ah, good Demetrius, wilt thou give him me ?
Dem. I had rather give his carcass to my hounds.
Her. Out, dog ! out, cur ! thou driv'st me past the bounds
Of maiden's patience. Hast thou slain him, then ?
Henceforth be never number'd among men !
O, once tell true, tell true, even for my sake !
Durst thou have look'd upon him being awake,
And hast thou kill'd him sleeping ? O brave touch ! 70
Could not a worm, an adder, do so much ?
An adder did it ; for with doubler tongue
Than thine, thou serpent, never adder stung.
Dem. You spend your passion on a misprised mood :
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.
Dem. An if I could, what should I get therefore ?
Her. A privilege never to see me more.
And from thy hated presence part I so : 80
See me no more, whether he be dead or no. [Exit.
Dem. There is no following her in this fierce vein :
Here therefore for a while I will remain.
So sorrow's heaviness doth heavier grow
For debt that bankrupt sleep doth sorrow owe ;
Which now in some slight measure it will pay,
If for his tender here I make some stay.
[Lies down and sleeps.
Obe. What hast thou done ? thou hast mistaken quite
SCENE II. ] A MIDSUMMER - NIGHT'S DREAM . 35
338
And laid the love-juice on some true-love's sight :

Of thy misprision must perforce ensue 90
Some true love turn'd and not a false turn'd true.
Puck. Then fate o'er-rules, that, one man holding troth,
A million fail, confounding oath on oath.
Obe. About the wood go swifter than the wind,
And Helena of Athens look thou find :
All fancy-sick she is and pale of cheer,
With sighs of love, that costs the fresh blood dear :
By some illusion see thou bring her here :
I'll charm his eyes against she do appear.
Puck. I go, I go ; look how I go, 100
Swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow. [Exit.
Obe. Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid's archery,
Sink in apple of his eye.
When his love he doth espy,
Let her shine as gloriously
As the Venus of the sky.
When thou wak'st, if she be by,
Beg of her for remedy.
Re-enter PUCK.
Puck. 110
Captain of our fairy band,
Helena is here at hand ;
And the youth, mistook by me,
Pleading for a lover's fee.
Shall we their fond pageant see ?
Lord, what fools these mortals be !
Obe.
Stand aside the noise they make
Will cause Demetrius to awake.
Puck. Then will two at once woo one ;
That must needs be sport alone ;
And those things do best please me 120
That befall preposterously.
36 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT III.
Enter LYSANDER and HELENA.
Lys. Why should you think that I should woo in 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 ? 130
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.
Lys. I had no judgement when to her I swore.
Hel. Nor none, in my mind, now you give her o'er.
Lys. Demetrius loves her, and he loves not you.
Dem. [Awaking] O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine !
To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne ?
Crystal is muddy. O, how ripe in show
Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow ! 140
That pure congealed white, high Taurus' snow,
Fann'd with the eastern wind, turns to a crow
When thou hold'st up thy hand : O, let me kiss
This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss !
Hel. O spite ! O hell ! I see you all are 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 hate me, as I know you do,
But you must join in souls to mock me too ? 150
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 160
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 till my death.
Hel. Never did mockers waste more idle breath.
Dem. Lysander, keep thy Hermia ; I will none :
If e'er I loved her, all that love is gone. 170
My heart to her but as guest-wise sojourn'd,
And now to Helen is it home return'd,
There to remain.
Lys. Helen, it is not so.
Dem. Disparage not the faith thou dost not know,
Lest, to thy peril, thou aby it dear.
Look, where thy love comes ; yonder is thy dear.
Re-enter HERMIA.
Her. Dark night, that from the eye his function takes,
The ear more quick of apprehension makes ;
Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense,
It pays the hearing double recompense. 180
Thou art not by mine eye, Lysander, found ;
Mine ear, I thank it, brought me to thy sound.
But why unkindly didst thou leave me so ?
Lys. Why should he stay, whom love doth press to go ?
Her. What love could press Lysander from my side ?
Lys. Lysander's love, that would not let him bide,
Fair Helena, who more engilds the night
Than all yon fiery oes and eyes of light.
38 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT III.
Why seek'st thou me ? could not this make thee know,

The hate I bear thee made me leave thee so ? 190
Her. You speak not as you think it cannot be.
Hel. Lo, she is one of this confederacy !
Now I perceive they have conjoin'd all three
To fashion this false sport, in spite of me.
Injurious Hermia ! most ungrateful maid !
Have you conspired , have you with these contrived
To bait me with this foul derision ?
Is all the counsel that we two have shared,
The sisters' vows, the hours that we have spent,
When we have chid the hasty- footed time 200
For parting us, —O, is it all forgot ?
All school-days' friendship, childhood innocence ?
We, Hermia, like two artificial gods,
Have with our needles created both one flower,
Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion,
Both warbling of one song, both in one key,
As if our hands, our sides, voices and minds,
Had been incorporate. So we grew together,
Like to a double cherry, seeming parted,
But yet an union in partition ; 210
Two lovely berries moulded on one stení ;
So, with two seeming bodies, but one heart ;
Two of the first, like coats in heraldry,
Due but to one and crowned with one crest.
And will you rent our ancient love asunder,
To join with men in scorning your poor friend ?
It is not friendly, ' tis not maidenly :
Our sex, as well as I, may chide you for it,
Though I alone do feel the injury.
Her. I am amazed at your passionate words. 220
I scorn you not it seems that you scorn me.
Hel. Have you not set Lysander, as in scorn,
To follow me and praise my eyes and face ?
And made your other love, Demetrius,
SCENE II.] A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM. 39
Who even but now did spurn me with his foot,

To call me goddess, nymph, divine and rare,
Precious, celestial ? Wherefore speaks he this
To her he hates ? and wherefore doth Lysander
Deny your love, so rich within his soul,
And tender me, forsooth, affection , 230
But by your setting on, by your consent ?
What though I be not so in grace as you,
So hung upon with love, so fortunate,
But miserable most, to love unloved ?
This you should pity rather than despise.
Her. I understand not what you mean by this.
Hel. Ay, do, persever, counterfeit sad looks,
Make mouths upon me when I turn my back ;
Wink each at other ; hold the sweet jest up :
This sport, well carried , shall be chronicled. 240
If you have any pity, grace, or manners,
You would not make me such an argument.
But fare ye well : 'tis partly my own fault ;
Which death or absence soon shall remedy.
Lys. Stay, gentle Helena ; hear my excuse :
My love, my life, my soul, fair Helena !
Hel. O excellent !
Her. Sweet, do not scorn her so.
Dem. If she cannot entreat, I can compel.
Lys. Thou canst compel no more than she entreat :
Thy threats have no more strength than her weak prayers.
Helen, I love thee ; by my life, I do : 251
I swear by that which I will lose for thee,
To prove him false that says I love thee not.
Dem. I say I love thee more than he can do.
Lys. If thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too.
Dem. Quick, come !
Her. Lysander, whereto tends all this ?
Lys. Away, you Ethiope !
Dem. No, no ; he'll—
Seem to break loose ; take on as you would follow,

But yet come not you are a tame man, go !
Lys. Hang off, thou cat, thou burr ! vile thing, let loose,
Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent ! 261
Her. Why are you grown so rude ? what change is this ?
Sweet love,—
Lys. Thy love ! out, tawny Tartar, out !
Out, loathed medicine ! hated potion, hence !
Her. Do you not jest ?
Hel. Yes, sooth ; and so do you.
Lys. Demetrius, I will keep my word with thee.
Dem. I would I had your bond, for I perceive
A weak bond holds you : I'll not trust your word.
Lys. What, should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead ?
Although I hate her, I'll not harm her so. 270
Her. What, can you do me greater harm than hate ?
Hate me ! wherefore ? O me ! what news, my love !
Am not I Hermia ? are not you Lysander ?
I am as fair now as I was erewhile.
Since night you loved me ; yet since night you left me :
Why, then you left me-O, the gods forbid !
In earnest, shall I say ?
Lys. Ay, by my life ;
And never did desire to see thee more.
Therefore be out of hope, of question, doubt ;
Be certain, nothing truer ; ' tis no jest 280
That I do hate thee and love Helena.
Her. O me ! you juggler ! you canker-blossom !
You thief of love ! what, have you come by night
And stolen my love's heart from him ?
Hel. Fine, i' faith !
Have you no modesty, no maiden shame,
No touch of bashfulness ? What, will you tear
Impatient answers from my gentle tongue ?
Fie, fie ! you counterfeit, you puppet, you !
Her. Puppet ? why so ? ay, that way goes the game.
Now I perceive that she hath made compare 290

Between our statures ; she hath urged her height ;
And with her personage , her tall personage ,
Her height, forsooth, she hath prevail'd with him.
And are you grown so high in his esteem,
Because I am so dwarfish and so low ?
How low am I, thou painted maypole ? speak ;
How low am I ? I am not yet so low
But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.
Hel. I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen,
Let her not hurt me : I was never curst ; 300
I have no gift at all in shrewishness ;
I am a right maid for my cowardice :
Let her not strike me. You perhaps may think,
Because she is something lower than myself,
That I can match her.
Her. Lower ! hark, again.
Hel. Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with me.
I evermore did love you, Hermia,
Did ever keep your counsels, never wrong'd you ;
Save that, in love unto Demetrius,
I told him of your stealth unto this wood. 310
He follow'd you ; for love I follow'd him ;
But he hath chid me hence and threaten'd me
To strike me, spurn me, nay, to kill me too :
And now, so you will let me quiet go,
To Athens will I bear my folly back
And follow you no further : let me go :
You see how simple and how fond I am.
Her. Why, get you gone : who is 't that hinders you ?
Hel. A foolish heart, that I leave here behind.
Her. What, with Lysander?
Hel. With Demetrius. 320
Lys. Be not afraid ; she shall not harm thee, Helena.
Dem. No, sir, she shall not, though you take her part.
Hel. O, when she's angry, she is keen and shrewd !
She was a vixen when she went to school ;

And though she be but little, she is fierce.
Her. ‘ Little ' again ! nothing but ' low ' and ' little ' !
Why will you suffer her to flout me thus ?
Let me come to her.
Lys. Get you gone, you dwarf ;
You minimus, of hindering knot-grass made ;
You bead, you acorn.
Dem. You are too officious 330
In her behalf that scorns your services.
Let her alone : speak not of Helena ;
Take not her part ; for, if thou dost intend
Never so little show of love to her,
Thou shalt aby it.
Lys. Now she holds me not ;
Now follow, if thou darest, to try whose right,
Of thine or mine, is most in Helena.
Dem. Follow ! nay, I'll go with thee, cheek by jole.
[Exeunt Lysander and Demetrius.
Her. You, mistress, all this coil is 'long of you.
Nay, go not back.
Hel. I will not trust you, I, 340
Nor longer stay in your curst company.
Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray,
My legs are longer though, to run away. [Exit.
Her. I am amazed, and know not what to say. [Exit.
Obe. This is thy negligence : still thou mistakest,
Or else committ'st thy knaveries wilfully.
Puck. Believe me, king of shadows, I mistook.
Did not you tell me I should know the man
By the Athenian garments he had on ?
And so far blameless proves my enterprise, 350
That I have ' nointed an Athenian's eyes ;
And so far am I glad it so did sort
As this their jangling I esteem a sport.
Obe. Thou see'st these lovers seek a place to fight :
SCENE II. ] A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM. 43
Hie therefore, Robin, overcast the night ;

The starry welkin cover thou anon
With drooping fog as black as Acheron,
And lead these testy rivals so astray
As one come not within another's way.
Like to Lysander sometime frame thy tongue, 360
Then stir Demetrius up with bitter wrong ;
And sometime rail thou like Demetrius ;
And from each other look thou lead them thus,
Till o'er their brows death-counterfeiting sleep
With leaden legs and batty wings doth creep :
Then crush this herb into Lysander's eye ;
Whose liquor hath this virtuous property,
To take from thence all error with his might,
And make his eyeballs roll with wonted sight.
When they next wake, all this derision 370
Shall seem a dream and fruitless vision,
And back to Athens shall the lovers wend,
With league whose date till death shall never end.
Whiles I in this affair do thee employ,
I'll to my queen and beg her Indian boy ;
And then I will her charmed eye release
From monster's view, and all things shall be peace.
Puck. My fairy lord, this must be done with haste,
For night's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast,
And yonder shines Aurora's harbinger ; 380
At whose approach, ghosts, wandering here and there,
Troop home to churchyards : damned spirits all,
That in crossways and floods have burial,
Already to their wormy beds are gone ;
For fear lest day should look their shames upon,
They wilfully themselves exile from light
And must for aye consort with black-brow'd night.
Obe. But we are spirits of another sort :
I with the morning's love have oft made sport,
And, like a forester, the groves may tread, 390
Even till the eastern gate, all fiery- red,

Opening on Neptune with fair blessed beams,
Turns into yellow gold his salt green streams.
But, notwithstanding , haste ; make no delay :
WeWe may effect this business yet ere day. [Exit.
Puck. Up and down, up and down,
I will lead them up and down :
I am fear'd in field and town :
Goblin, lead them up and down.
Here comes one. 400
Re-enter LYSANDER.
Lys. Where art thou, proud Demetrius ? speak thou now.

Puck. Here, villain ; drawn and ready. Where art thou ?
Lys. I will be with thee straight.
Puck. Follow me, then,
To plainer ground. [Exit Lysander, as following the voice.
Re-enter DEMETRIUS.
Dem. Lysander ! speak again :

Thou runaway, thou coward, art thou fled ?
Speak ! In some bush ? Where dost thou hide thy head ?
Puck. Thou coward, art thou bragging to the stars,
Telling the bushes that thou look'st for wars,
And wilt not come ? Come, recreant ; come, thou child ;
I'll whip thee with a rod : he is defiled 410
That draws a sword on thee.
Dem. Yea, art thou there ?
Puck. Follow my voice : we'll try no manhood here.
[Exeunt.
Re-enter LYSANDER.
Lys. He goes before me and still dares me on :

When I come where he calls, then he is gone.
The villain is much lighter-heel'd than I :
I follow'd fast, but faster he did fly ;
That fallen am I in dark uneven way,

And here will rest me. [Lies down .] Come, thou gentle
day !
For if but once thou show me thy grey light,
I'll find Demetrius and revenge this spite. [Sleeps.
Re-enter PUCK and DEMETRIUS.
Puck. Ho, ho, ho ! Coward, why comest thou not ? 421
Dem. Abide me, if thou darest ; for well I wot
Thou runn'st before me, shifting every place,
And darest not stand, nor look me in the face.
Where art thou now ?
Puck. Come hither : I am here.
Dem. Nay, then, thou mock'st me. Thou shalt buy this dear,
If ever I thy face by daylight see :
Now, go thy way. Faintness constraineth me
To measure out my length on this cold bed.
By day's approach look to be visited . [ Lies down and sleeps.
Re-enter HELENA.
Hel. O weary night, O long and tedious night, 431

Abate thy hours ! Shine comforts from the east,
That I may back to Athens by daylight,
From these that my poor company detest :
And sleep, that sometimes shuts up sorrow's eye,
Steal me awhile from mine own company.
Puck. Yet but three ? Come one more ;
Two of both kinds makes up four.
Here she comes, curst and sad :
Cupid is a knavish lad, 440
Thus to make poor females mad.
Re-enter HERMIA.
Her. Never so weary, never so in woe,
Bedabbled with the dew and torn with briars,
46 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT III. SC. II .
I can no further crawl, no further go ;

My legs can keep no pace with my desires.
Here will I rest me till the break of day.
Heavens shield Lysander, if they mean a fray !
Puck. On the ground
Sleep sound :
I'll apply 450
To your eye,
Gentle lover, remedy.
[Squeezing thejuice on Lysander's eyes.
When thou wakest ,
Thou takest
True delight
In the sight
Of thy former lady's eye :
And the country proverb known,
That every man should take his own,
In your waking shall be shown : 460
Jack shall have Jill ;
Nought shall go ill ;
The man shall have his mare again , and all shall be well.
[Exit.
ACT IV.
SCENE I. The same. LYSander, DemetriUS, HELENA, and

HERMIA, lying asleep.
Enter TITANIA and BOTTOM ; PEASEBLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH,
MUSTARDSEED, and other Fairies attending ; OBERON
behind unseen .
Tita. Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed ,

While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
And stick musk-roses in thy sleek smooth head,
And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy.
ACT IV. SC. I. ] A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. 47
Bot. Where's Peaseblossom ?

Peas. Ready.
Bot. Scratch my head, Peaseblossom . Where's Mounsieur
Cobweb ?
Cob. Ready.
Bot. Mounsieur Cobweb, good mounsieur, get you your
weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipped humble-bee
on the top of a thistle ; and, good mounsieur, bring me the
honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action,
mounsieur ; and, good mounsieur, have a care the honey-bag
break not ; I would be loath to have you overflown with a
honey-bag, signior. Where's Mounsieur Mustardseed ?
Mus. Ready.
Bot. Give me your neaf, Mounsieur Mustardseed . Pray
you, leave your courtesy, good mounsieur.
Mus. What's your will ? 20
Bot. Nothing, good monsieur, but to help Cavalery Cob
web to scratch. I must to the barber's, mounsieur ; for
methinks I am marvellous hairy about the face ; and I am
such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch.
Tita. What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet love ?
Bot. I have a reasonable good ear in music. Let's have the
tongs and the bones.
Tita. Or say, sweet love, what thou desirest to eat.
Bot. Truly, a peck of provender : I could munch your good
dry oats. Methinks I have a great desire to a bottle of hay :
good hay, sweet hay, hath no fellow. 31
Tita. I have a venturous fairy that shall seek
The squirrel's hoard, and fetch thee thence new nuts.
Bot. I had rather have a handful or two of dried peas.
But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me : I have an
exposition of sleep come upon me.
Tita. Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms.
Fairies, be gone, and be all ways away. [Exeunt fairies.
So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle
Gently entwist ; the female ivy so 40
48 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT IV.
Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.

O, how I love thee ! how I dote on thee ! [They sleep.
Enter PUCK.
Obe . [Advancing.] Welcome, good Robin. See'st thou this

sweet sight ?
Her dotage now I do begin to pity :
For, meeting her of late behind the wood,
Seeking sweet favours for this hateful fool,
I did upbraid her and fall out with her ;
For she his hairy temples then had rounded
With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers ;
And that same dew, which sometime on the buds 50
Was wont to swell like round and orient pearls,
Stood now within the pretty flowerets' eyes
Like tears that did their own disgrace bewail.
When I had at my pleasure taunted her
And she in mild terms begg'd my patience,
I then did ask of her her changeling child ;
Which straight she gave me, and her fairy sent
To bear him to my bower in fairy land.
And now I have the boy, I will undo
This hateful imperfection of her eyes : 60
And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp
From off the head of this Athenian swain ;
That, he awaking when the other do,
May all to Athens back again repair
And think no more of this night's accidents
But as the fierce vexation of a dream.
But first I will release the fairy queen.
Be as thou wast wont to be ;
See as thou wast wont to see :
Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower 70
Hath such force and blessed power.
Now, my Titania ; wake you, my sweet queen.
Tita. My Oberon ! what visions have I seen !
Methought I was enamour'd of an ass.

Obe. There lies your love.
Tita. How came these things to pass ?
O, how mine eyes do loathe his visage now !
Obe. Silence awhile. Robin, take off this head.
Titania, music call ; and strike more dead
Than common sleep of all these five the sense.
Tita. Music, ho ! music, such as charmeth sleep ! 80
[Music, still.
Puck. Now, when thou wakest, with thine own fool's eyes
peep.
Obe. Sound, music ! Come, my queen, take hands with
me,
And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.
Now thou and I are new in amity
And will to-morrow midnight solemnly
Dance in Duke Theseus' house triumphantly
And bless it to all fair prosperity :
There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be
Wedded, with Theseus, all in jollity.
Puck. Fairy king, attend, and mark : 90
I do hear the morning lark.
Obe. Then, my queen, in silence sad,
Trip we after night's shade :
We the globe can compass soon,
Swifter than the wandering moon.
Tita. Come, my lord, and in our flight
Tell me how it came this night
That I sleeping here was found
With these mortals on the ground. [Exeunt.
[Horns winded within.
Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, and train.

The. Go, one of you, find out the forester ; 100
For now our observation is perform'd ;
And since we have the vaward of the day,
D
My love shall hear the music of my hounds.

Uncouple in the western valley ; let them go :
Dispatch, I say, and find the forester. [Exit an Attendant.
We will, fair queen, up to the mountain's top
And mark the musical confusion
Of hounds and echo in conjunction.
Hip. I was with Hercules and Cadmus once,
When in a wood of Crete they bay'd the bear 110
With hounds of Sparta : never did I hear
Such gallant chiding ; for, besides the groves,
The skies, the fountains, every region near
Seem'd all one mutual cry : I never heard
So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.
The. My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind,
So flew'd, so sanded , and their heads are hung
With ears that sweep away the morning dew ;
Crook-knee'd, and dew- lapp'd like Thessalian bulls ;
Slow in pursuit, but match'd in mouth like bells , 120
Each under each. A cry more tuneable
Was never holla'd to, nor cheer'd with horn,
In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly :
Judge when you hear. But, soft ! what nymphs are these ?
Ege. My lord, this is my daughter here asleep ;
And this, Lysander ; this Demetrius is ;
This Helena, old Nedar's Helena :
I wonder of their being here together.
The. No doubt they rose up early to observe
The rite of May, and , hearing our intent, 130
Came here in grace of our solemnity.
But speak, Egeus ; is not this the day
That Hermia should give answer of her choice ?
Ege. It is, my lord.
The. Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns.
[Horns and shout within. Lys., Dem.,
Hel., and Her., wake and start up.
Good morrow, friends. Saint Valentine is past :
Begin these wood-birds but to couple now ?

Lys. Pardon, my lord.
The. I pray you all, stand up.
I know you two are rival enemies :
How comes this gentle concord in the world, 140
That hatred is so far from jealousy,
To sleep by hate, and fear no enmity?
Lys. My lord, I shall reply amazedly,
Half sleep, half waking : but as yet, I swear,
I cannot truly say how I came here ;
But, as I think,-for truly would I speak,
And now I do bethink me, so it is,—
I came with Hermia hither : our intent
Was to be gone from Athens, where we might,
Without the peril of th' Athenian law. 150
Ege. Enough, enough, my lord ; you have enough :
I beg the law, the law, upon his head.
They would have stolen away ; they would, Demetrius,
Thereby to have defeated you and me,
You of your wife and me of my consent,
Of my consent that she should be your wife.
Dem. My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth,
Of this their purpose hither to this wood ;
And I in fury hither follow'd them,
Fair Helena in fancy following me. 160
But, my good lord , I wot not by what power,—
But by some power it is,—my love to Hermia,
Melted as melts the snow, seems to me now
As the remembrance of an idle gawd
Which in my childhood I did dote upon ;
And all the faith , the virtue of my heart,
The object and the pleasure of mine eye,
Is only Helena. To her, my lord,
Was I betroth'd ere I saw Hermia :
But, like in sickness, did I loathe this food ; 170
But, as in health, come to my natural taste,
Now I do wish it, love it, long for it,

And will for evermore be true to it.
The. Fair lovers, you are fortunately met :
Of this discourse we more will hear anon.
Egeus, I will overbear your will ;
For in the temple, by and by, with us
These couples shall eternally be knit :
And, for the morning now is something worn ,
Our purposed hunting shall be set aside. 180
Away with us to Athens ; three and three,
We'll hold a feast in great solemnity.
Come, my Hippolyta.
[ Exeunt The., Hip., Ege., and train.
Dem. These things seem small and undistinguishable ,
Like far-off mountains turned into clouds.
Her. Methinks I see these things with parted eye,
When every thing seems double.
Hel. So methinks :
And I have found Demetrius like a jewel,
Mine own, and not mine own .
Dem. Are you sure
That we are awake ? It seems to me 190
That yet we sleep, we dream. Do not you think
The duke was here, and bid us follow him ?
Her. Yea ; and my father.
Hel. And Hippolyta .
Lys. And he did bid us follow to the temple.
Dem. Why, then, we are awake : let's follow him ;
And by the way let us recount our dreams. [Exeunt.
Bot. [ Awaking ] When my cue comes, call me, and I will
answer : my next is , ' Most fair Pyramus .' Heigh-ho !
Peter Quince ! Flute, the bellows-mender ! Snout, the
tinker ! Starveling ! God's my life, stolen hence, and left
me asleep ! I have had a most rare vision. I have had a
dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was : man
is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Me
SCENE 1. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. 53
thought I was there is no man can tell what. Methought I

was, and methought I had,--but man is but a patched fool,
if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of
man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's
hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his
heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter
Quince to write a ballad of this dream : it shall be called
Bottom's Dream, because it hath no bottom ; and I will sing
it in the latter end of our play, before the duke : peradventure,
to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death.
[Exit.
SCENE II. Athens. QUINCE's house.
Enter QUINCE, FLUTE , SNOUT, and STARVELING.

Quin. Have you sent to Bottom's house ? is he come home
yet ?
Star. He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt he is trans
ported.
Flu. If he come not, then the play is marred : it goes not
forward, doth it ?
Quin. It is not possible : you have not a man in all Athens
able to discharge Pyramus but he.
Flu. No, he hath simply the best wit of any handicraft
man in Athens. 10
Quin. Yea, and the best person too ; and he is a very para
mour for a sweet voice.
Flu. You must say ' paragon ' a paramour is, God bless
us, a thing of naught.
Enter SNUG.
Snug. Masters, the duke is coming from the temple, and

there is two or three lords and ladies more married if our
sport had gone forward, we had all been made men.
Flu. O sweet bully Bottom ! Thus hath he lost sixpence
a day during his life ; he could not have 'scaped sixpence a
54 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [ ACT IV. SC. II.
day : an the duke had not given him sixpence a day for play
ing Pyramus, I'll be hanged ; he would have deserved it :
sixpence a day in Pyramus, or nothing. 22
Enter BOTTOM.
Bot. Where are these lads ? where are these hearts ?
Quin. Bottom ! O most courageous day ! O most happy
hour !
Bot. Masters, I am to discourse wonders : but ask me not
what ; for if I tell you, I am no true Athenian. I will tell
you every thing, right as it fell out.
Quin. Let us hear, sweet Bottom . 29
Bot. Not a word of me. All that I will tell you is, that
the duke hath dined . Get your apparel together, good
strings to your beards, new ribbons to your pumps ; meet
presently at the palace ; every man look o'er his part ; for
the short and the long is, our play is preferred. In any case,
let Thisby have clean linen ; and let not him that plays the
lion pare his nails, for they shall hang out for the lion's
claws. And, most dear actors, eat no onions nor garlic, for
we are to utter sweet breath ; and I do not doubt but to hear
them say, it is a sweet comedy. No more words : away ! go,
away ! [Exeunt. 40
ACT V.
SCENE I. Athens. The palace ofTheseus.

Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, Lords, and
Attendants.
Hip. 'Tis strange, my Theseus, that these lovers speak of.
The. More strange than true : I never may believe
These antique fables, nor these fairy toys.
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
ACT V. SC. I. ] A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. 55
The lunatic, the lover and the poet

Are of imagination all compact :
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold,
That is, the madman : the lover, all as frantic, 10
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt :
The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven ;
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination,
That, if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy ; 20
Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush supposed a bear !
Hip. But all the story of the night told over,
And all their minds transfigured so together,
More witnesseth than fancy's images
And grows to something of great constancy ;
But, howsoever, strange and admirable.
The. Here come the lovers, full of joy and mirth.
Enter LYSANDER, DEMETRIUS, HERMIA, and HELENA.
Joy, gentle friends ! joy and fresh days of love

Accompany your hearts !
Lys. More than to us 30
Wait in your royal walks, your board, your bed !
The. Come now ; what masques, what dances shall we have,
To wear away this long age of three hours
Between our after-supper and bed-time ?
Where is our usual manager of mirth ?
What revels are in hand ? Is there no play,
To ease the anguish of a torturing hour ?
Call Philostrate.
56 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT V.
Phil. Here, mighty Theseus.

The. Say, what abridgement have you for this evening ?
What masque ? what music ? How shall we beguile 40
The lazy time, if not with some delight ?
Phil. There is a brief how many sports are ripe :
Make choice of which your highness will see first.
[Giving a paper.
The. [Reads] The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung
By an Athenian eunuch to the harp.'
We'll none of that : that have I told my love,
In glory of my kinsman Hercules.
6
[Reads] The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals,
Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage.'
That is an old device ; and it was play'd 50
When I from Thebes came last a conqueror.
[ Reads] ' The thrice three Muses mourning for the death
Of Learning, late deceased in beggary.'
That is some satire , keen and critical,
Not sorting with a nuptual ceremony.
[ Reads] ' A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus
And his love Thisbe ; very tragical mirth. '
Merry and tragical ! tedious and brief !
That is, hot ice and wondrous strange snow.
How shall we find the concord of this discord ? 60
Phil. A play there is, my lord, some ten words long,
Which is as brief as I have known a play ;
But by ten words, my lord, it is too long,
Which makes it tedious ; for in all the play
There is not one word apt, one player fitted :
And tragical, my noble lord, it is ;
For Pyramus therein doth kill himself.
Which, when I saw rehearsed, I must confess,
Made mine eyes water ; but more merry tears
The passion of loud laughter never shed. 70
The. What are they that do play it ?
Phil. Hard-handed men that work in Athens here,
SCENE I.] A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM. 57
Which never labour'd in their minds till now,

And now have toil'd their unbreathed memories
With this same play, against your nuptial.
The. And we will hear it.
Phil. No, my noble lord ;
It is not for you : I have heard it over,
And it is nothing, nothing in the world ;
Unless you can find sport in their intents,
Extremely stretch'd and conn'd with cruel pain, 80
To do you service.
The. I will hear that play ;
For never anything can be amiss,
When simpleness and duty tender it.
Go, bring them in : and take your places, ladies.
[Exit Philostrate.
Hip. I love not to see wretchedness o'ercharged
And duty in his service perishing.
The. Why, gentle sweet, you shall see no such thing.
Hip. He says they can do nothing in this kind.
The. The kinder we, to give them thanks for nothing.
Our sport shall be to take what they mistake : 90
And what poor duty cannot do, noble respect
Takes it in might, not merit.
Where I have come, great clerks have purposed
To greet me with premeditated welcomes ;
Where I have seen them shiver and look pale,
Make periods in the midst of sentences,
Throttle their practised accent in their fears
And in conclusion dumbly have broke off,
Not paying me a welcome. Trust me, sweet,
Out of this silence yet I pick'd a welcome ; 100
And in the modesty of fearful duty
I read as much as from the rattling tongue
Of saucy and audacious eloquence.
Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity
In least speak most, to my capacity.
58 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT V.
Re-enter PHILOSTRATE.
Phil. So please your grace, the Prologue is address'd.

The. Let him approach. [ Flourish of trumpets.
Enter QUINCE for the Prologue.

Pro. If we offend, it is with our good will.
That you should think, we come not to offend,
But with good will . To show our simple skill, 110
That is the true beginning of our end.
Consider then we come but in despite.
We do not come as minding to content you,
Our true intent is. All for your delight
We are not here. That you should here repent you,
The actors are at hand and by their show
You shall know all that you are like to know.
The. This fellow doth not stand upon points.
Lys. He hath rid his prologue like a rough colt ; he knows
not the stop. A good moral, my lord : it is not enough to
speak, but to speak true. 121
Hip. Indeed he hath played on his prologue like a child on
a recorder ; a sound, but not in government.
The. His speech was like a tangled chain ; nothing im
paired, but all disordered . Who is next ?
Enter PYRAMUS and THISBE, WALL, MOONSHINE,

and LION.
Pro. Gentles, perchance you wonder at this show ;

But wonder on, till truth make all things plain.
This man is Pyramus, if you would know ;
This beauteous lady Thisby is certain.
This man, with lime and rough- cast, doth present 130
Wall, that vile Wall which did these lovers sunder ;
And through Wall's chink, poor souls, they are content
To whisper. At the which let no man wonder.
This man, with lanthorn, dog, and bush of thorn,
SCENE I. ] A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM . 59
Presenteth Moonshine ; for, if you will know,

By moonshine did these lovers think no scorn
To meet at Ninus' tomb, there, there to woo.
This grisly beast, which Lion hight by name,
The trusty Thisby, coming first by night,
Did scare away, or rather did affright ; 140
And, as she fled, her mantle she did fall,
Which Lion vile with bloody mouth did stain.
Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth and tall ,
And finds his trusty Thisby's mantle slain :
Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
He bravely broach'd his boiling bloody breast ;
And Thisby, tarrying in mulberry shade,
His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest,
Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall, and lovers twain
At large discourse, while here they do remain. 150
[Exeunt Prologue, Pyramus, Thisbe, Lion , and Moonshine.
The. I wonder if the lion be to speak.
Dem. No wonder, my lord : one lion may, when many
asses do.
Wall. In this same interlude it doth befall
That I, one Snout by name, present a wall ;
And such a wall, as I would have you think,
That had in it a crannied hole or chink,
Through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisby,
Did whisper often very secretly.
This loam, this rough- cast and this stone doth show 160
That I am that same wall ; the truth is so :
And this the cranny is, right and sinister,
Through which the fearful lovers are to whisper.
The. Would you desire lime and hair to speak better ?
Dem. It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard dis
course, my lord.
Re-enter PYRAMUS.
The. Pyramus draws near the wall : silence !
60 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT V.
Pyr. O grim-look'd night ! O night with hue so black !

O night, which ever art when day is not !
O night, O night ! alack, alack, alack, 170
I fear my Thisby's promise is forgot !
And thou, O wall, O sweet, O lovely wall ,
That stand'st between her father's ground and mine !
Thou wall, O wall, O sweet and lovely wall,
Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne !
[Wall holds up his fingers.
Thanks, courteous wall : Jove shield thee well for this !
But what see I ? No Thisby do I see.
O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss !
Cursed be thy stones for thus deceiving me ! 179
The. The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse again.
Pyr. No, in truth, sir, he should not. ' Deceiving me ' is
Thisby's cue she is to enter now, and I am to spy her
through the wall. You shall see, it will fall pat as I told
you. Yonder she comes.
Re-enter THISBE.
This. O wall, full often hast thou heard my moans,
For parting my fair Pyramus and me !
My cherry lips have often kiss'd thy stones,
Thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee.
Pyr. I see a voice : now will I to the chink,
To spy an I can hear my Thisby's face. 190
Thisby !
This. My love thou art, my love I think.
Pyr. Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover's grace ;
And, like Limander, am I trusty still.
This. And I like Helen, till the Fates me kill .
Pyr. Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true.
This. As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you.
Pyr. O, kiss me through the hole of this vile wall !
This. I kiss the wall's hole, not your lips at all.
Pyr. Wilt thou at Ninny's tomb meet me straightway ?
This. 'Tide life, 'tide death, I come without delay . 200

[Exeunt Pyramus and Thisbe.
Wall. Thus have I, Wall, my part discharged so ;
And, being done, thus Wall away doth go. [ Exit.
The. Now is the mural down between the two neighbours.
Dem. No remedy, my lord, when walls are so wilful to
hear without warning.
Hip. This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard.
The. The best in this kind are but shadows ; and the
worst are no worse, if imagination amend them.
Hip. It must be your imagination then, and not theirs.
The. If we imagine no worse of them than they of them
selves, they may pass for excellent men. Here come two
noble beasts in, a man and a lion. 212
Re-enter LION and MOONSHINE.
Lion. You, ladies, you, whose gentle hearts do fear

The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor,
May now perchance both quake and tremble here,
When lion rough in wildest rage doth roar.
Then know that I, one Snug the joiner, am
A lion fell, nor else no lion's dam ;
For, if I should as lion come in strife
Into this place, 'twere pity on my life. 220
The. A very gentle beast, and of a good conscience.
Dem. The very best at a beast, my lord, that e'er I saw.
Lys. This lion is a very fox for his valour.
The. True ; and a goose for his discretion.
Dem. Not so, my lord ; for his valour cannot carry his
discretion ; and the fox carries the goose.
The. His discretion, I am sure, cannot carry his valour ;
for the goose carries not the fox. It is well leave it to
his discretion, and let us listen to the moon.
Moon. This lanthorn doth the horned moon present ;- 230
Dem. He should have worn the horns on his head
The. He is no crescent, and his horns are invisible within

the circumference.
Moon. This lanthorn doth the horned moon present ;
Myself the man i' the moon do seem to be.
The. This is the greatest error of all the rest : the man
should be put into the lanthorn. How is it else the man i̇’
the moon ?
Dem. He dares not come there for the candle ; for, you see,
it is already in snuff. 240
Hip. I am aweary of this moon : would he would change !
The. It appears, by his small light of discretion, that he is
in the wane ; but yet, in courtesy, in all reason, we must
stay the time.
Lys. Proceed, Moon.
Moon. All that I have to say, is, to tell you that the
lanthorn is the moon ; I, the man in the moon ; this thorn
bush, my thorn-bush ; and this dog, my dog.
Dem. Why, all these should be in the lanthorn ; for all
these are in the moon. But, silence ! here comes Thisbe. 250
Re-enter THISBE.
This. This is old Ninny's tomb. Where is my love ?
Lion. [ Roaring] Oh [Thisbe runs off.
Dem. Well roared, Lion.
The. Well run, Thisbe.
Hip. Well shone, Moon. Truly, the moon shines with a
good grace. [The Lion shakes Thisbe's mantle, and exit.
The. Well moused, Lion.
Lys. And so the lion vanished .
Dem. And then came Pyramus.
Re-enter PYRAMUS.
Pyr. Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams ; 260
I thank thee, Moon, for shining now so bright ;
For, by thy gracious , golden, glittering gleams,
I trust to take of truest Thisby sight.
But stay, O spite !
But mark, poor knight,

What dreadful dole is here !
Eyes, do you see ?
How can it be ?
O dainty duck ! O dear !
Thy mantle good, 270
What, stain'd with blood !
Approach, ye Furies fell !
O Fates, come, come,
Cut thread and thrum ;
Quail, crush, conclude, and quell !
The. This passion, and the death of a dear friend, would go
near to make a man look sad.
Hip. Beshrew my heart, but I pity the man.
Pyr. O wherefore, Nature, didst thou lions frame ?
Since lion vile hath here deflower'd my dear : 280
Which is no, no-which was the fairest dame
That lived, that loved, that liked, that look'd with cheer.
Come, tears, confound ;
Out, sword, and wound
The pap of Pyramus ;
Ay, that left pap,
Where heart doth hop : [Stabs himself.
Thus die I, thus, thus, thus.
Now am I dead,
Now am I fled ; 290
My soul is in the sky :
Tongue, lose thy light ;
Moon, take thy flight : [Exit Moonshine.
Now die, die, die, die, die. [Dies.
Dem. No die, but an ace, for him ; for he is but one.
Lys. Less than ace, man ; for he is dead ; he is nothing.
The. With the help of a surgeon he might yet recover, and
prove an ass.
Hip. How chance Moonshine is gone before Thisbe comes
back and finds her lover ? 300
64 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT V.
The. She will find him by starlight. Here she comes ;

and her passion ends the play.
Re-enter THISBE.
Hip. Methinks she should not use a long one for such a
Pyramus : I hope she will be brief.
Dem. A mote will turn the balance, which Pyramus, which
Thisbe, is the better ; he for a man, God warrant us ; she
for a woman, God bless us.
Lys. She hath spied him already with those sweet eyes.
Dem. And thus she means, videlicet :
This. Asleep, my love ? 310
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 : 320
His eyes were green as leeks.
O Sisters Three,
Come, come to me,
With hands as pale as milk ;
Lay them in gore,
Since you have shore
With shears his thread of silk.
Tongue, not a word :
Come, trusty sword ;
Come, blade, my breast imbrue : [ Stabs herself.
And, farewell, friends ; 331
Thus Thisby ends :
Adieu, adieu, adieu. [Dies.
The. Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead.
SCENE I. ] A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM . 65
Dem. Ay, and Wall too.

Bot. [Starting up] No, I assure you ; the wall is down
that parted their fathers. Will it please you to see the
epilogue, or to hear a Bergomask dance between two of our
company ? 340
The. No epilogue, I pray you ; for your 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 hanged 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 told twelve :
Lovers, to bed ; 'tis almost fairy time.
I fear we shall out-sleep the coming morn 350
As much as we this night have overwatch'd.
This palpable-gross play hath well beguiled
The heavy gait of night. Sweet friends, to bed.
A fortnight hold we this solemnity,
In nightly revels and new jollity. [Exeunt.
Enter PUCK.
Puck. Now the hungry lion roars,
And the wolf behowls the moon ;
Whilst the heavy ploughman snores ,
All with weary task fordone.
Now the wasted brands do glow, 360
Whilst the screech-owl, 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 sprite,
In the church-way paths to glide :
And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate's team,
E
From the presence of the sun, 370

Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic : not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallow'd house :
I am sent with broom before,
To sweep the dust behind the door .
Enter OBERON and TITANIA with their train.

Obe. Through the house give glimmering light,
By the dead and drowsy fire ;
Every elf and fairy sprite
Hop as light as bird from brier ;
And this ditty, after me, 380
Sing, and dance it trippingly.
Tita. First, rehearse your song by rote,
To each word a warbling note :
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place. [Song and dance.
Obe. Now, until the break of day,
Through this house each fairy stray.
To the best bride-bed will we,
Which by us shall blessed be ;
And the issue there create 390
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 prodigious, such as are
Despised in nativity,
Shall upon their children be.
With this field-dew consecrate, 400
Every fairy take his gait ;
And each several chamber bless,
Through this palace, with sweet peace ;
SCENE I. ] A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM . 67
And the owner of it blest

Ever shall in safety rest.
Trip away ; make no stay ;
Meet me all by break of day.
[Exeunt Oberon, Titania, and train.
Puck. If we shadows have offended ,
Think but this, and all is mended ,
That you have but slumber'd here 410
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend :
If you pardon, we will mend :
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to ' scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long ;
Else the Puck a liar call : 420
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends. [Exit.
NOTES .
ACT I. SCENE I.
STAGE DIRECTION. Theseus, the great legendary hero of
Attica, was the son of Egeus, king of Athens. Among his
many exploits was the war he waged against the Amazons,
whose queen, Antiope, he, according to one tradition, carried off.
According to another, the Amazons, led by Hippolyte, in their
turn invaded Attica to avenge the capture of Antiope, when
Theseus, having vanquished them, married Hippolyte.
2. apace, swiftly ; " at an earlier period the word was written
as two words, a pas It is also to be remarked that the phrase
has widely changed its meaning. In Chaucer . it means 'a foot
pace, ' and was originally used of horses when proceeding slowly,
or at a walk. The phrase is compounded of the English indefi
nite article, a, and the M. E. pas, modern E. pace, a word of
French origin " (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
3. methinks, it seems to me ; me, the dative, and the A. S.
thyncan, to seem, which is quite distinct from the A. S. thencan,
to think ; slow, used adverbially.
4. lingers my desires, delays the realization of my desires ; for
lingers, used transitively, cp. R. II. ii. 2. 72, " Who gently
would dissolve
"" the bands of life, Which fond hope lingers in ex
tremity.'
5, 6. Like ... revenue. The picture here is of a widow who for
long years keeps the heir out of possession of that portion of his
father's property to a life interest in which she is entitled as her
dower, and which will be his at her death ; dowager is a coined
word from another coined word, dowage , endowment, ultimately
from the Lat. dotare, to endow, and is equally appropriate to
mother and step-mother, though step-dame is here used with
especial reference to the proverbial harshness of step-mothers to
step-children
464 ;; step-, in composition, is the A. S. steop, mean
ing orphaned, ' or ' deprived of its parent ; so that it was
68
SCENE I. ] NOTES. 69
first used in the compounds, stepchild, stepbairn, stepson, step

daughter, and afterwards extended , naturally enough, so as to
form the compounds stepfather, stepmother, to denote the father ""
or mother of the child who had lost one of its first parents
(Skeat, Ety. Dict. ). For withering out, Steevens compares
Chapman's translation of Homer, "" bk. iv. , " there the goodly
plant lies withering out his grace. '
7. steep themselves in night, plunge themselves in the gloom
of night ; with an allusion to the sun dipping below the horizon
and so bringing on the night. For steep, in this figurative sense ,
cp. Oth. iv. 2. 50, " Steep'd me in poverty to the very lips " ;
A. C. ii. 7. 113, " Till that the conquering wine hath steep'd our
sense In soft and delicate Lethe ."
8. Four nights ... time ; four nights will quickly pass away in
dreams.
10. New-bent, Rowe's correction of Now-bent. '
11. solemnities, marriage festivities ; as below, iv. 1. 131 , 182.
12. merriments, displays of mirth ; diversions.
13. pert, lively, brisk ; now used only in a disagreeable sense, =
forward, saucy. According to Skeat, the M. E. pert has two
meanings and two sources. In some instances it is certainly a
corruption of apert, F. apert, open, and pertly means ' openly, '
evidently ; in others it is from Welsh pert, smart, spruce, as here.
14. Turn ... funerals, turn melancholy out of doors, and let it
go as an accompaniment to funerals.
15. The pale ... pomp, such a pale-faced attendant is not a
fitting one for the festivity of our marriage ; companion, as fre
quently in Shakespeare, used in a contemptuous sense.
16, 17. See note on stage direction above.
18. in another key, to another tune ; in a very different way ;
cp. T. C. i. 3. 53, " An accent tuned in the self-same key. ”
19. triumph, stately pageant ; public festivity ; cp. R. II. v.
2. 66, " For gay apparel for the triumph day. "
20. duke, from Lat. dux, leader, chief, is in Elizabethan
literature a title frequently given to Grecian chiefs, and Chaucer
speaks of ' Duke Theseus.'
21. Egeus, a trisyllable, as throughout the play : what's ...
thee, what is it you have to tell us about yourself ?
22. vexation, trouble ; the word was formerly used in a more
forcible sense than it now has.
27. This hath is the reading of the later folios, and it seems
likely that in the9 reading of the quartos and first folio, ' This
man hath,' ' man was repeated from 1. 25 : for bewitch'd, Theo
bald, retaining ' man, ' reads ' witch'd ' : the bosom, the heart
within the bosom.
28. given her rhymes, addressed her in verse ; as though the
rhymes were a love-potion.
29. interchanged love-tokens, given to her and received from
her presents in pledge of love.
31. feigning voice, voice which pretended to be deeply moved
by love.
32. stolen ... fantasy, fraudulently made yourself master of the
impression upon her fancy, i.e. by impressing his own image upon
it. ~ The figure is that of surreptitiously obtaining the impression
of a seal to be used in giving validity to a document of possession ;
fantasy, the older form of ' fancy, ' i.e. love, or rather an inclina
tion to love.
33. gawds, ornaments, toys ; literally things which please the
fancy, from Lat. gaudium, gladness, joy ; cp. below, iv. 1. 164,
and T. C. iii. 3. 176 , " That all with one consent praise new-born
gauds " : conceits, " presents fancifully devised " (Schmidt).
34. Knacks, Skeat gives as the senses of the word (1 ) a snap,
crack, (2) a snap with the finger or nail, (3) a jester's trick, piece
of dexterity, (4) a joke, trifle , toy ; the two latter words being
the sense here ; cp. W. T. iv. 4. 360, " To load my she with
knacks " ; T. S. iv. 3. 67, " A knack, a toy, a trick, a baby's
cap. " The more modern form is the reduplicated ' knick-knacks '
== trifles, toys, which is found in Beaumont and Fletcher's Loyal
Subject, ii. 1. 126, in the sense of deception, " But if ye use these
knick-knacks. "
34, 5. messengers ... youth, which are most persuasive envoys
to those like my daughter whose tender age is easily impressed.
38. stubborn harshness, sullen obstinacy against my will ;
harshness is more generally used the rough treatment a
superior, as in Temp. iii. 1. 9, " O, she is Ten times more gentle
than her father's crabbed, And he's composed of harshness. "
39. Be it so, if it should prove that.
41. the ancient ... Athens, the time-honoured custom which the
citizens of Athens enjoy.
42. As she ... her, that, as she belongs to me, I may do as I
please with her.
43-5. Which shall ... case, and this disposal of her shall be
either marriage with this gentleman, or death in accordance with
that law which is expressly applicable to a case of such dis
obedience. Warburton points out that by a law of Solon's,
which Shakespeare may have assumed to be in force even in
Theseus' day, parents in Athens had absolute power of life and
death over their children ; but he also, and more probably,
suggests that Shakespeare perhaps neither thought nor knew

anything of the matter ; Immediately, with direct reference to.
Steevens points out that the line " has an undoubted smack
of legal commonplace. "
46. be advised, listen to reason ; suffer yourself to be prevailed
upon by advice ; cp. Oth. i. 2. 55, " General, be advised ; He
comes to bad intent " ; but the phrase is frequent in Shakespeare.
48. One that ... beauties, one to whom you owe your personal
beauty ; so ' composition ' is used for ' frame, ' constitution, ' K.
J. i. 1. 88, " In the large composition of this man. ”
50, 1. and within ... it, and within whose power it lies to leave
the figure (of your beauty) as it is, or to destroy it ; i.e. who has
power of life and death over you. For the ellipsis of ' it is, ' see
Abb. § 403.
54, 5. But in ...worthier, but in this particular respect, since he
lacks your father's approval, he must be held to be less worthy
than Lysander who has that approval. For kind, cp. M. A. ii.
1. 70, " if the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your
answer " ; for voice - = approval, suffrage, cp. R. III. iii. 4. 20,
" And in the duke's behalf I'll give my voice" ; J. C. iii. 1. 177,
" Your voice shall be as strong as any man's In the disposing of
new dignities. "
56. look'd but with my eyes, saw matters only as I see them.
57. with his judgment, as his discernment shows them.
59. by what ... bold, what inward strength emboldens me.
60. Nor how ... modesty, nor how far it may beseem me as a
modest maiden ; for concern, = affect, cp. below, i. 1. 126, " Of
something nearly that concerns yourselves. "
61. In such a presence, in the presence of one so exalted as my
sovereign : to plead my thoughts, to give expression to my
thoughts in pleading my cause before you ; for plead, with a
cognate accusative, cp. i . H. VI. ii. 4. 29, " If he suppose that
I have pleaded truth. "
63. may befall, can possibly befall ; for this, the original, sense
of may, see Abb. § 307.
63, 4. in this case ... Demetrius, in case I should refuse, etc.
65. the death, the well-known sentence of death passed upon
disobedience ; for the, expressing notoriety, see Abb. § 92.
68. Know of your youth, interrogate the warm feelings of youth
and find out your blood, the impulses of nature.
69. Whether, here, as frequently in Shakespeare, metrically a
monosyllable.
70. the livery of a nun, not merely the dress worn by a nun,
but all that is involved in the wearing of that dress ; cp. R. J.
72 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT I.
ii. 2. 8, " Her vestal livery is but sick and green " ; Per. ii. 5. 10,
" One twelve moons more she 'll wear Diana's livery." Of course
the mention of nuns in Theseus' time is an anachronism.
71. For aye, for ever ; cloister, more commonly used for the
partially enclosed walk beneath the upper storey of monasteries,
convents, colleges, etc. , but also for the buildings themselves, or
any place of religious seclusion ; from Lat. claustrum, an enclo
sure : mew'd, confined ; a ' mew, ' from which the verb comes,
was originally a cage for hawks, etc. Cp. R. III. i. 1. 132,
" More pity that the eagle "" should be mew'd, While kites and
buzzards prey at liberty.
72. To live a barren sister, to spend your days as one of the
sisterhood (of nuns) without any children of your own to gladden
your life.
73. Chanting moon, with languid monotony offering_up
hymns of praise to that chaste- cold divinity, the moon. The
faint hymns are in contrast with the fervid devotion offered to
divinities from whom some warm return of favour might be
expected ; the moon (personified as Diana, the goddess of
chastity) making no return of love to her devotees. For fruit
less in this sense, and for an illustration of the passage generally,
cp. V. A. 751-5, " Therefore, despite of fruitless chastity, Love
lacking vestals and self-loving nuns, That on the earth would
breed a scarcity And barren dearth of daughters and of sons, Be
prodigal. "
74. that master ... blood, who attain such a mastery over their
natural inclinations.
75. To undergo ... pilgrimage, as to submit themselves to a
pilgrimage through life uncheered by the joys of love. For
undergo, cp. W. T. iv. 4. 554, " if you will not change your
purpose But undergo this flight " ; for pilgrimage, as applied to
the weary journey through life, cp. R. II. ii. 1. 154, " His time
is spent, our pilgrimage must be ; Genesis, xlvii. 9, " The days
of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years " ;
Hebrews, xi. 13, " strangers and pilgrims on the earth. "
76-8. But earthlier blessedness, but as regards earthly happi
ness, better is the lot of the rose whose sweetness is distilled
from it than that of the rose which, unplucked , lives a lonely
existence, and at length withers away upon its bush ; i.e. putting
aside the figure, happier, as far as earthly joys are concerned, is
the maiden who marries than she who dies unwedded. For
earthlier happy Capell would read " earthly happier,' thus
sacrificing the far more poetic reading of the text which empha
sizes the earthly character of the happiness to be enjoyed ;
virgin belongs to rose rather than to thorn ; Malone compares Sonn.
v. 13, " Flowers distilled, though they with winter meet, Leese but
their show ; their substance still lives sweet " ; for thorn, = a
tree or shrub armed with thorns, cp. i. H. IV. i. 3. 176, " To
put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose, And plant this thorn,
this canker, Bolingbroke. "
80. my virgin patent, the privilege of remaining unmarried,
which belongs to me.
81 , 2. Unto ... sovereignty, to the sway of him to whose un
palatable yoke my soul utterly refuses submission ; for lordship ,
as applied to a husband, cp. A. W. v. 3. 156, " I wonder, sir,
sith wives are monsters to you, And that you fly them as you
swear them lordship, Yet you desire to marry : My soul, em
phatic ; I from the bottom of my soul. For the ellipsis of ' to '
before whose, see Abb. § 201.
83. Take ... pause, take time to reflect on the matter.
84, 5. The sealing- day fellowship, the day on which Hippo
lyta and I are to ratify by marriage a bond of everlasting partner
ship in love ; cp. T. N. v. 1. 164, " And all the ceremony of this
compact, Seal'd in my function, by my testimony."
87. For disobedience, as a punishment for disobedience.
88. as he would, as he (sc. your father) desires that it should
be.
89. to protest, to make solemn profession of ; cp. T. G. iv. 2.
7, " When I protest true loyalty to her."
90. austerity ... life, a hendiadys for ( the austerity of a life of
singleness, ' such as was led by those who devoted themselves to
religious seclusion .
92. Thy crazed ... right, the utterly invalid title you set up to
the right which is assuredly mine ; the original sense of craze '
is ' break,' ' weaken. '
95. he hath my love, I have given him my affection.
96. my love, the affection I bear to him : render, give ; as
often in Shakespeare without any idea of giving in return , or
giving back.
97. my right of her, the right in her which as a parent I pos
sess.
98. estate unto, devolve upon, as an estate is devolved ; else
where Shakespeare uses estate on, ' or ' upon, ' as in Temp. iv.
1. 85, " And some donation freely to estate On the blest lovers " ;
A. Y. L. v. 2. 13, " all the revenue that was old Sir Rowland's
will I estate upon you. ”‫در‬
99. as well derived , of as noble descent ; as frequently in
Shakespeare, e.g. J. C. ii. 1. 322, " Brave son, derived from
honourable loins. "
100. As well possess'd , as richly endowed in point of wealth.
101 , 2. My fortunes ... Demetrius , in that which I owe to

fortune, I am in all respects the equal, if not the superior, of
Demetrius ; his love is the gift of Nature, his prosperity of
Fortune.
103. which is ... be, a matter of greater importance than all
these other advantages which I boast ; for which used in this
parenthetical way, see Abb. § 271 .
104. of, by ; see Abb. § 171.
105. prosecute my right, follow up the right I have to Hermia.
106. avouch it to his head, boldly assert it to him face to face ;
avouch, formed from a (Lat. ad, to, ) and vouch, to warrant,
affirm strongly.
108. her soul, her deepest love ; soul, emphatic, as in 1. 82.
109. dotes in idolatry, worships him with foolishly passionate
love ; to ' dote ' is to betray foolishness in whatever way ; so we
speak of a person being in his dotage when (especially from age)
he has lost the power of reasoning.
110. spotted, polluted by perjury ; cp. R. II. iii. 2. 134,
" Terrible hell make war Upon their spotted souls for this
offence. "
111. so much as you tell me, i.e. I have heard of his incon
stancy.
112. thought, intended : spoke, for the curtailed form of the
participle, see Abb. § 353.
113. over-full of, too much occupied self-affairs, personal
affairs ; for similar compounds of ' self, ' cp. T. C. ii. 3. 182,
" self-breath " ; Cymb. iii. 4. 149, " self-danger. "
114. did lose it, forgot all about it ; it completely passed out
of my mind.
116. some private schooling, some words of reprimand to be
said in private ; cp. i. H. IV. iii. 1. 190, " Well, I am school'd."
117. For you, as regards you ; look ... yourself, take care to
discipline yourself, prepare yourself
"" ; cp. M. V. iv. 1. 264, " I
am arm'd and well prepared.
118. To fit ... will, to accommodate your fanciful desires to
your father's determination in the matter.
119. yields you up, necessarily gives you up.
120. Which, and this law : extenuate, weaken the force of ; in
Oth. v. 2. 342, " nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in
malice, " the word means to ' palliate ' ; Bacon, in his Colours
of Good and Evil, 7, uses it as here for to ' weaken ' ; Adv.
Learn. i. 2. 3, and Letter of Advice to Essex, as = to 'depreciate.'
122. what cheer, my love ? how is it with you ? how do you
look upon things ? cheer, look , countenance ; from O. F. chere,

chiere, the face, look ; so we say, ' he put a good face upon the
matter.'
123. go along, come with us ; see Abb. § 30 ; along, from " A.
S. prefix and-, over against, close to, and A. S. adjective lang,
long. The sense is over against in length " (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
124. I must employ you , I have employment for you.
125. Against, in preparation for ; to be ready by the time of"" ;
cp. below, iii. 2. 99, " I'll charm his eyes against she do appear :
nuptial, frequently used by Shakespeare in the singular, as con
versely he uses ' funerals ' where we should say ' funeral .'
126. nearly ... yourselves, that closely concerns yourselves ;
for similar transpositions of the adverb, see Abb. § 421 .
127. With duty and desire, with dutiful eagerness.
129. How chance ... fast ? We should now say either ' How
does it chance that the roses there do fade , ' etc. , or, ' How do the
roses there chance to fade, ' etc. Cp. below, v. 1. 300 , " How
chance Moonshine is gone before Thisbe comes back and finds her
lover ?", and see Abb. § 37.
130. Belike, probably ; literally by like, i.e. likelihood.
131. Beteem, allow, permit ; literally make or consider as
fitting. Skeat (Ety. Dict. s.v. ' teem ') shows that ' teem ' is
related to the A. S. suffix -téme, tyme, with the notion of ' fitting '
or 'suitable.' "In Golding's translation of Ovid's Metamor
phoses, A.D. 1587, we have could he not beteeme ' = he did not
think fit, would not deign ; the Latin text has dignatus, Metam.
x. 157. Spenser uses it still more loosely : So woulde I ...
Beteeme you to this sword ' = permit, grant, allow you the use of
this sword ; F. Q. ii. 8. 19." Probably, as the Cl . Pr. Edd.
point out, both here and in Haml. i . 2. 141 , " so loving to my
mother That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her
face too roughly, " Shakespeare had in his mind a reference to the
word teem in the sense of ' empty, ' ' pour out ,' from Icel. tama,
to empty the tempest of my eyes, the torrent of tears which is
ready to pour from my eyes.
132. Ay me ! alas for me ! for aught ... read, for anything to
the contrary that I have ever met with in my reading ; so far as
my reading goes.
133. by, in the way of ; by means of.
134-40. The course ... eyes. Malone thinks that Milton imi
tated this passage in P. I. x. 896-906.
135. it was ... blood, there was inequality in the matter of
birth.
136. O cross ! ... low ! O, what a trial that one of higher rank
76 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT I.
should be the slave of love to one beneath him ! cross, cp.

R. II. iv. 1. 241 , " yet you Pilates Have here delivered me to
my sour cross," where, as here, there is an allusion to the figura
tive phrase of ' bearing one's cross , ' i.e. trials, which originated
in Christ's being made literally to bear to the place of execution
the cross on which He was crucified . So, Galatians, v. 24, "And
they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts." Malone compares V. A. 1136, " Sorrow on love
hereafter shall attend ... Ne'er settled equally, but high or low,"
though he misquotes the end of the latter line.
137. Or else ... years, -—or else there was disparity of age ; the
pair linked together were not suitable to each other in point of
years ; to ' graft, ' the only form now in use, is corrupt, owing to
a confusion with ' graffed, ' past participle of ' graff. ' Shake
speare uses the correct form, as here, R. III. iii. 7. 127, A. Y. L.
iii. 2. 124, and also the corrupt form, Macb. iv. 3. 51 .
138. O spite ! ... young. O sad misfortune that age and youth
should be bound by contract to another ! Cp. The Passionate
Pilgrim, xii. 157 , etc. , “ Crabbed age and youth cannot live
together ," etc.
139. Or else ... friends, - or else it depended upon, was due to,
the choice made by friends ; the union had been a matter of
negotiation between the friends , or relatives, not a matter of
love between the principal parties.
140. O hell ! ... eyes. O misery that choice in a matter of love
should be made by others than those immediately concerned !
to choose love is elliptical for ' to make choice of the object of
love.'
141. sympathy, correspondency, equality, in birth, years, etc.;
cp. R. II. iv. 1. 33, " If that thy valour stand on sympathy, "
i.e. if you are unwilling to meet 66in combat one who is not your
equal in rank ; Oth. ii. 1. 232, sympathy in years, manners,
and beauties. "
142. it, sc. love.
143. momentany, from Lat. momentaneus, as the more modern
form ' momentary ' is from the Lat. momentarius.
144. Swift as a shadow, sc. in passing away.
145. Collied, darkened ; literally covered with coal-smuts, as
' collier ' is from the M. E. col, coal, with the suffix -er, and the
insertion of i for convenience in pronunciation.
146. in a spleen, in a fit of passion ; as though the lightning
were endowed with the same feelings as a man ; cp. K. J. ii. 1.
448 , " With swifter spleen than powder (i.e. gunpowder) can
enforce : " unfolds, i.e. from the mantle of darkness in which
they were enveloped.
147, 8. And ere up, and before a man can so much as say
' Behold ! ' it is again swallowed up by darkness ; cp. R. J. ii. 2.
119, 20, " like the lightning, which doth cease to be, Ere one
can say ' It lightens.
149. confusion, ruin ; as frequently in Shakespeare.
150. ever, constantly : cross'd, thwarted by circumstances.
151. It stands ... destiny, it (sc. that they should be thwarted)
is a decree firmly established by destiny ; edict, with the accent
on the former syllable, as often in Shakespeare.
152. teach ... patience, teach ourselves, thus tried, to endure
with calmness.
154. As due to love, as much a part of, as much belonging to,
love.
155. poor fancy's followers, the constant attendants on poor
love.
156. A good persuasion, a good belief, doctrine, to hold ; cp.
Cymb. i. 4. 125, " You are a great deal abused in too bold a per
suasion " ; M. M. iv. 1. 47, " whose persuasion is I come about
my brother."
157. a widow aunt, an aunt who is a widow ; widow, used as
an adjective.
157, 8. a dowager ... revenue, one endowed with a rich
jointure ; see note on 1. 5.
159. remote, removed, distant ; cp. L. L. L. v. 2. 806, 66 some
forlorn and naked hermitage Remote from all the pleasures of
the world."
160. respects, regards ; cp. i. H. IV. v. 4. 20, " I do respect
thee as my soul. "
161. may, shall be able ; on the original sense of may, see
Abb. § 307.
162. sharp, cruel.
163. If... then, therefore if.
164. forth, out from ; on forth, used as a proposition, see Abb.
§ 55.
165. without, outside.
167. To do observance ... May. See Introduction.
170. By his ... head. Cupid is by Ovid ( Metam. i. 469-71 )
spoken of as armed with two arrows, one of gold, the other of
lead ; the former exciting, the latter repelling, love ; cp. T. N.
i. 1. 35, " How will she love, when the rich golden shaft Hath
kill'd the flock of all affections else That live in her. "
171. simplicity, innocence : Venus ' doves, or pigeons, are men
tioned again in M. V. ii. 6. 5 ; and among other birds supposed

to draw her chariot were sparrows, swans, and swallows.
172. knitteth, binds together ; prospers,
66 for this transitive use
of the verb, cp. Lear, iii. 2. 92, Kind gods, forgive me that,
and prosper him. "
173, 4. the Carthage queen, Dido, who burned with love for
Eneas, the false Troyan ; for the noun put for the adjective, cp.
"Corioli walls, " Cor. i. 1. 8 ; " Philippi fields, " J. C. v. 5. 19 ;
" the Cyprus wars, " Oth. i. 1. 151. " Steevens pointed out the
anachronism of making Dido and Æneas earlier in point of time
than Theseus. But Shakespeare's Hermia lived in the latter part
of the sixteenth century and was contemporary with Nick Bottom
the weaver 99 (Wright).
174. under sail was seen, was seen by her sailing away from her
shores. The story of Dido falling in love with Æneas is told in
Vergil's Eneid, Bk. i.; at his departure for Latium Dido
destroyed herself.
176. In number more, i.c. which are more in number ; for the
curtailed participles broke and spoke, see Abb. § 343.
177. same place, very place hast appointed me, have ap
pointed for me.
180. God ... Helena ! may heaven favour Helena wherever she
is going ! The radical sense of ' speed ' is ' success. '
181. that fair, that title of ' fair ' which you give me.
182. your fair, your beauty ; the substantival use of the word
is frequent in Shakespeare : O happy fair ! O beauty fortunate in
attracting the love of Demetrius !
183. lode-stars, lode-star is literally "" .'way-star, ' i.e. the star
""
that shows the way ... Compounded of lode, a way, and star
(Skeat, Ety. Dict. ) : your tongue's sweet air, the sweet sound
of your voice.
184. tuneable, melodious ; cp. iv. 1. 121 , " A cry more tune
able " : for the omission of the article before lark, see Abb. § 83.
185. When wheat ... appear, i.e. in early summer.
186. favour, looks, appearance ; " In beauty, ' says Bacon in
his 43rd Essay, ' that of favour is more than that of colour ; and
that of decent and gracious motion more than that of favour.'
The word is now lost to us in that sense ; but we still use
favoured with well, ill, and perhaps other qualifying terms, for
featured or looking ; as in Genesis xli. 4 : -The ill-favoured and
lean-flesh'd kine did eat up the seven well-favoured and fat
kine '" (Craik, English of Shakespeare, § 54).
188. My ear should catch your voice. Lettsom points out the
inconsistency here by which Helena is made to wish her ear may
SCENE I.
1.] NOTES. 79
resemble the voice of Hermia ; and would read ' My hair should
catch your hair, ' since catch in all three clauses is evidently
used in the technical sense of contracting some affection from
another person. If any change were allowable, I should be in
clined to read, ' My fair should catch your fair, ' i.e. the personal
beauty you have ascribed to me should catch your personal
beauty ; my eye should catch the fascination of your eye ; my
tongue, etc. , fair being the general term including the particulars,
eye and tongue. Voice seems clearly wrong, since the next line
deals with that particular ; and with my conjecture we have in
these two lines a complete correspondency with ll. 182, 3. For
catch, used in a good sense, cp. ii.˜H. IV. v. 1. 85, " It is certain
that either wise bearing or ignorant carriage is caught, as men
take diseases, one of another." Abbott (§ 237) points out that
mine is almost always found before ' eye, ' 6 ear, ' etc. , where no
emphasis is intended. But where there is an antithesis, as here,
we have my, thy.
190. bated, excepted , left out ; cp. Temp. ii. 1. 100, " Bate, I
beseech you, widow Dido " ; Haml. v. 2. 23, " no leisure bated. "
191. translated, transformed ; cp . below, iii. 1. 109, " Bless
thee, Bottom ! bless thee ! thou art translated " ; Haml. iii. 1 .
113, "the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from
what it is ... than the force of honesty can translate beauty into
his likeness."
193. sway the motion ... heart, make his heart move in what
ever direction you please.
194. still, nevertheless ; in spite of my frowning.
195, 7. O that move ! Would that my warmest welcome
and my most earnest prayers could effect that which is the prompt
result of your disdain and maledictions !
200. is no fault of mine, is not a thing for which I am to be
blamed, since I do everything in my power to cure him of it.
201. None, ... beauty, I grant that all you can be blamed for is
your beauty.
203. will fly, am determined to quit with all speed.
206, 7. O, then ... hell ! How powerful must be the graces of
my beloved one, seeing that they have made Athens a place of
torture to me ; i.e. since so long as she remained in it she could
not marry Lysander. As Johnson points out, Hermia is en
deavouring to comfort Helena by showing that personal beauty,
such as Helena covets, does not necessarily bring happiness with
it. Johnson, however, seems to take my love as = the love which
I feel.
209. Phœbe, the moon, sister of Phoebus, the sun.
210. in the watery glass, mirrored in the water.
211. liquid pearl, dew-drops ; pearl, used generically, as in

H. V. iv. 1. 279, " The intertissued robe of gold and pearl"‫رد‬
Macb. v. 8. 56, " I see thee compass'd with thy kingdom's pearl.'
212. doth still conceal, is ever wont to conceal.
213. devised , planned .
215. faint primrose-beds, beds of pale primroses, as they are
called in W. T. iv. 4. 122, " pale primroses That die unmarried "
Cymb. iv. 2. 221 , "The flower that 's like thy face, pale primrose.'
Delius regards the epithet here as applying to those who lie upon
the primroses, beds for those who were faint, weary ; and
Schmidt and Wright follow him. But the picture of Helena and
Hermia lying out in the meadow is one that does not at all
necessarily infer weariness, and the interpretation seems a very
forced one .
216. Emptying sweet, unreservedly exchanging confidence
with each other ; the words counsel sweet are from Psalms, lv. 15,
"We took sweet counsel together. " Cp. below, iii. 2. 198, " In
all the counsel that we two have shared."
217. shall meet, have determined to meet.
219. stranger companies, the society of strangers ; stranger,
the substantive used as an adjective ; cp. K. J. v. 1. 11 , " Swear
ing allegiance and the love of soul To stranger blood " ; for
companies, cp. Cymb. iv. 2. 69, " search What companies are
near. ""
222. Keep word, keep your promise of meeting me ; apostro
phizing Lysander in his absence ; we still use the phrase ' keep
my, your, his, etc. word, ' in this sense.
223. From lovers ' food, i.e. the sight of one another : till ... mid
night, till the dead of to-morrow's night ; cp. Haml. i. 2. 198,
" In the dead vast and middle of the night " ; ii. H. VI. i . 4. 19,
"Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night. " Blackstone
points out that to-morrow night would be within three nights of
the new moon, when there would be no moonshine at all.
225. dote, see note on 1. 109 ; and for the subjunctive used
optatively, Abb. § 365.
226. other some, certain others ; cp. M. M. iii 2. 94, " Some
say he is with the Emperor of Russia ; other some, he is in Rome."
227. Through, throughout.
228. But what of that ? but that is of no avail ; more commonly
in the sense of ' that does not matter, ' ' is of no consequence.'
229. will not know, obstinately refuses to know.
231. So I, sc. err : admiring of, on of, following a verbal noun,
see Abb. § 178.
SCENE 1. ] NOTES. 81
232. holding no quantity, " bearing no proportion to what they

are estimated at by love " (Schmidt) ; ‫در‬cp. Haml. iii. 2. 177, “ For
women's fear and love holds quantity. '
233. Love ... dignity, love's alchemy can transmute into that
which is shapely and dignified ; cp. Sonn. cxiv. 3-6, 66 And
whether shall I say ... that your love taught it this alchemy, To
make of monsters and things indigest Such cherubins as your
sweet self resemble."
236. Nor hath ... taste, nor has Love's mind the smallest flavour
of the critical faculty ; cp. T. C. v. 2. 127, " Why, my negation
hath no taste of madness.'
237. Wings ... haste, in painting, statuary, etc. , Cupid is repre
sented with wings and without sight ; figure, symbolize.
238. therefore, for this reason that in making his choice as to
whom he should wound with his arrows, he is often led astray.
240. in game, in sport ; for mere fun.
242. eyne, i.e. eyen, the archaic plural ; sometimes, as here,
for the sake of the rhyme, sometimes without any such con
straint.
243. hail'd down, uttered with the rapidity and frequency of
falling hail ; cp. M. W. v. 5. 21-3, " let it thunder to the tune of
Green Sleeves, hail kissing- comfits and snow eringoes
"" " ; Macb. i.
3. 97, " As thick as hail Came post with post.
244, 5. And when ... melt, and when the love kindled by the
sight of Hermia began to glow in his heart, his love for me melted
away ; for so, as the correlative of when, see Abb. § 66.
246. go tell, for the omission of ' to ' before tell, see Abb. § 349.
248. this intelligence, this information which I shall communi
cate to him.
249. If I ... expense, if I so much as obtain his thanks (which
is doubtful), I shall have paid a high price for them (sc. in the
pain it will cost me to give him the opportunity of meeting
Hermia). Steevens explains, " It will cost him much (be a severe
constraint on his feelings) to make even so slight a return for my
communication, "'—an explanation which the next line seems to
disprove.
250, 1. But herein ... again, but in this manner I mean to
requite the pain I shall thus give myself, to wit, by enjoying the
sight of him on the way there and back.
F
82 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT I.
SCENE II.
2. You were best, for this ungrammatical remnant of ancient

usage, see Abb. § 230 : generally, Bottom's blunder for ' indi
vidually.'
3. the scrip, the list in which their names are written down ;
the same word as ' script, ' from O. F. escript, a writing, Lat.
scriptum, pp. of scribere, to write.
4. which, though frequently used as less definite than ་ who,'
6
and indicating a kind of person, ' is here perhaps intended as a
note of Bottom's speech, just as we have in 1. 6 his applied to the
duke and duchess, and the phrase wedding-day at night, -a
phrase with which Wright compares the words of the not much
more highly educated nurse in R. J. i. 3. 21 , " On Lammas-eve
at night shall she be fourteen " ; though for both there is this
much excuse that ' wedding-day ' and ' Lammas- eve ' may not
improperly be taken for the whole twelve hours.
9. on, of.
9, 10. grow to a point, come to a conclusion ; cp. M. V. iii. 1.
17, “ Come, the full stop, ” said by Salarino to the prolix Solanio.
11. comedy, Bottom's blunder for ' tragedy.'
12. Pyramus and Thisby. Thisbe, a beautiful Babylonian
maiden, was beloved by Pyramus. Their parents objecting to a
marriage, the lovers were obliged to meet by stealth, and agreed
on a certain day to a rendezvous at Ninus' tomb. Thisbe, arriv
ing first, perceived a lioness which had just torn to pieces an ox,
and therefore took to flight. While running away she dropped
one of her garments, which the lion seized and stained with
blood. Pyramus, on finding it, supposed Thisbe to be slain, and
so put an end to himself. Thisbe presently returning to the
spot and finding Pyramus ' dead body, also slew herself.
13. A very merry. " This, " says Steevens , " is designed as
a ridicule on the titles of our ancient moralities and interludes.
Thus Skelton's
999 Magnificence is called ' a goodly interlude and a
merry.
14. the scroll, the list of names.
15. spread yourselves, do not crowd all together.
18. are set down for Pyramus, have had the part of Pyramus
assigned to you.
20. gallant, gallantly.
21. That will ... of it, that if well performed will make a great
66
demand upon the audience for tears ; cp. 7. S. ii. 1. 115, my
business asketh haste " ; R. II. ii. 1. 159, " And for these great
affairs do ask some charge. "
SCENE II. ] NOTES. 83
22. let the audience ... eyes, i.e. or else they will weep their
very eyes out.
22, 3. I will measure, probably means ' I will make a fine
story of grief ' ; though condole is probably intended for a
blunder, the word in Shakespeare and his contemporaries was
used as a neuter and as a transitive verb, and not merely as now
with the preposition with , ' in the sense of sympathizing. Thus,
Marston, ii . Antonio and Mellida, v. 2. 81 , we have the stage
direction " Piero seems to condole his son," who is dead ; and
Heywood,
"" Fortune by Land and Sea, uses the word absolutely,
My heart begins to condole. ' Bunyan,"" Pilgrim's Progress, has
the phrase " To condole his own misery.'
23. To the rest seems to me nothing more than a stage direc
tion that has crept into the text. Bottom having made his
former remarks to Quince, the stage-manager, in particular, now
turns to his fellow-actors in general, and tells them that though
he is ready to play Pyramus, the part of a tyrant is the one he
especially fancies.
24. Ercles, Hercules ; a character often exhibited in the bom
bastic dramas of the time. Delius quotes Greene's Groatsworth
of Wit, " The twelve labours of Hercules have I terribly thun
dered on the stage. "
25. or a part ... in, or a part in which some doughty deed was
to
66 be done, such as rending a cat. Steeven quotes Histriomastix,
' Sirrah, this is you that would rend and tear a cat upon a
stage " to make all split, a phrase like the last expressive of
violent action, and of nautical origin. Rolfe quotes Taylor, the
Water Poet, " Some ships have so great a sayle, that they heave
their masts by the boord and make all split againe. "
30. Phibbus' car, the chariot of the sun-god, Phoebus, which he
daily drove round the earth. The lines seem to be rather a bur
lesque of, than a quotation from, some old play.
34. This was lofty ! That is the kind of noble verse that I
should enjoy having to recite ! name ... players , call out the name
of each and tell them what parts are assigned to them.
34, 5. This is Ercles' vein, such language as that would Her
cules use condoling, pathetic.
38. must take ... you , must_undertake the part of Thisbe ;
probably with an allusion to taking somebody on one's back.
39. a wandering knight, a knight in quest of adventures, a
' knight errant. '
40. must love, has to make love to in the play.
41. let not me ... woman, the parts of women were in those days
played by boys or young men, and actresses were not regularly
employed till the revival of the drama in the time of Charles the
Second. Cp. A. C. v. 2. 220, where Cleopatra is anticipating her

story being represented on the stage ; " I shall see Some squeak
ing Cleopatra boy my greatness. '
43. That's all one, that does not matter in the least : in a mask,
as was often the case when no actor sufficiently youthful could be
found for the part.
44. may speak ... will, may mince your words and speak with
a voice as much like a woman's as you can ; cp. M. W. i . 1. 49,
" She has brown hair and speaks small like a woman ; and such
6
phrases as to speak big,' to ' speak thick .'
45. An, see Abb. § 101.
"
46. monstrous little, wonderfully small : Thisne, Thisne, '
expressing the manner in which he will mince his words, if
allowed to play Thisbe.
48, 9. you Thisby, you must play Thisbe.
53. you must mother. Theobald points out that the father
and mother of Thisbe, and the father of Pyramus, here men
tioned, do not appear at all in the interlude.
57, 8. and, I hope ... fitted, I flatter myself that the cast of the
play is now complete.
60. study was and still is the technical term for getting up a
part ; cp. Haml. ii. 2. 566, " You could, for a need, study a
speech of some dozen or sixteen lines. "
63, 4. that I will ...hear me, so that every one will be
delighted to hear me.
64, 5. that I will ... say, in such a perfect way that the duke
will be unable to refrain from saying, etc.
65. Let him again, " Not only does Bottom propose to play
every part himself, but he anticipates the applause, and encores
his own roar "" (C. Clarke).
67. that they would shriek, so that they could not help
shrieking.
69. every mother's son, every one of us.
71. no more discretion but, no other choice than.
72. aggravate, Bottom's blunder for ' moderate, ' as in ii. H.
IV. ii. 4. 176 , the Hostess says, " I beseek you now, aggravate
your choler."
73. roar you, for me, you, him, etc. , representing the old
dative and giving liveliness to the narration, see Abb. § 220.
73, 4. I will roar ... nightingale, Abbott (§ 104) thinks an
ellipsis is probably to be understood here, I will roar you, and
if it were a nightingale ( I would still roar better), ' which is
perhaps to pay a too high compliment to Bottom's English.
Wright compares T. C. i. 2. 189, " He will weep you, an ' twere

a man born in April. " sucking dove, Bottom's blunder for
' sucking lamb. '
76. sweet-faced, comely looking : proper, handsome ; the literal
sense is own, ' thence what becomes a man, is appropriate to
him, ' and so ‘ well - looking, ' ' handsome. '
76, 7. in a summer's day, i.e. in a long day ; cp. H. V. iii. 6. 67,
"I'll assure you, a' uttered as brave words at the bridge as you
shall see in a summer's day " ; and iv. 8. 23, " a most contagious
treason
99 come to light, look you, as you shall desire in a summer's
day.
78. needs, of need ; necessarily ; the old genitive used adverbi
ally, as ' whiles, ' ' twice ' (twies), etc.
79. were I best, see note on 1. 2, above.
81. what you will, any you like.
82. discharge, perform, enact ; a theatrical technicality ; cp.
below, iv. 2. 8, v. 1. 201 , 346 : your straw-colour, the straw colour
you know so well ; your, used generically.
83. orange-tawny, a colour midway between orange and tawny ;
' tawny ' is merely another spelling of ' tanny, ' resembling that
which is tanned or browned by the sun : purple-in-grain, in this
phrase grain is cochineal, a dye obtained from the dried bodies
of insects of the species Coccus cacti, but supposed by the ancients
to be made from a berry, the meaning of the word coccus.
84. French-crown-colour, the colour of the gold écu, or crown,
formerly current in France.
85, 6. crowns, heads : barefaced, probably with a play upon its
literal and its figurative sense : masters, a term frequently used
without any acknowledgment of inferiority ; my friends, my
good fellows.
87. I am to entreat you, I have to entreat you.
88, con, get by heart ; literally to try to know ; " a secondary
verb, formed from A. S. cunnan, to know " ( Skeat, Ety. Dict.).
88, 9. palace wood, the wood in which the palace stands :
without, outside : a mile, Wright points out that in i. 1. 165 it
is a league.
90. rehearse, repeat ; from " O. F. reherser, ' to harrow over
again,' Cotgrave. ... From the sense of harrowing again we easily
pass to the sense of ' going again over the same ground,' and
hence to that of repetition. Cp. the phrase ' to rake up an old
story.'-F. re- (Lat. re-), again ; and hercer, to harrow ... from
herce, a harrow" (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ) : dogged, followed closely ;
tracked as by dogs.
91. Devices, plans for playing.
86 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT I. SC. II.
92. draw a bill, make out a list : properties , stage necessaries ;

everything required for the performance of a play, except dresses
and scenery.
95. obscenely, Bottom's blunder probably for ' seemly, ' as in
L. L. L. iv. 1. 145, " When it comes so smoothly off, so obscenely,
as it were, so fit, " used by the clown, Costard : courageously,
without fear of interruption.
97. hold or cut bow-strings. Capell's explanation , which is
generally accepted, seems hardly satisfactory. He says , " When
a party was made at butts, assurance of meeting was given in the
words of that phrase ; the sense of the person using them being
that he would ' hold ' or keep promise, 999 or they might cut his
bowstrings, ' ' demolish him for an archer.' The meaning of the
phrase clearly is ' in any case, ' ' whatever happens ' ; and the
construction of the sentence apparently is ' whether bowstrings
hold or break,' both hold and cut being subjunctives, and cut
being used in a neuter sense, as Warburton suggests. Moreover
it is not certain that bowstrings do not mean the strings of the
bows of musical instruments, such as violins, etc.
ACT II. SCENE I.

STAGE DIRECTION. Puck, 66' a goblin, mischievous sprite ... Of
29
Celtic origin. -Irish puca, an elf, sprite, hobgoblin ... (Skeat,
Ety. Dict.). See Introduction.
1. How now ... you ? i.e. what are you about ? what brings you
here, and whither are you bound ?
3. Thorough, the lengthened form of ' through,' for the metre's
sake.
4. pale, enclosure ; literally a stake used for enclosing ground.
7. the moon's sphere. Furnivall (Proceedings of the New Shak
spere Society for 1877-9, pp. 31 , etc. ) gives a full account of the
Ptolemaic system of spheres, of which there were nine, all
circling round the earth, the nearest sphere being that of the
moon ; then came those of Mercury, Venus, The Sun, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, The Fixed Stars, The Primum Mobile. In or on
each of the seven lower spheres was a planet fixed , and this was
whirled by that sphere right round the earth in twenty-four
hours, the driving power being the Primum Mobile. Reference
to these spheres is frequent in Shakespeare.
66 9. her orbs, the fairy-rings, as they are commonly called, the
green-sour ringlets " of Temp. v. 1. 37, circular patches in
meadows, the ring being of a brighter and lighter green than the
grass around it. Of old supposed to be caused by the nightly
ACT II. SC. I. ] NOTES. 87
dances of the fairies , but now said to result from the outspread
ing propagation of a particular mushroom, the fairy-ringed
fungus, by which the ground is manured for a richer following
vegetation. For the infinitive To dew used indefinitely, and
here = by dewing, see Abb. § 356.
10. pensioners, an allusion, says Warton, to Queen Elizabeth's
"establishment of a band of military courtiers, by the name of
pensioners. They were some of the handsomest and tallest young
men, of the best families and fortunes, that could be found " :
cowslips are mentioned, Temp. v. 1. 89, in connection with the
fairy Ariel, " In the cowslip's bell I lie. "
11. gold coats, yellow blossoms ; with an allusion to the hand
some uniforms of the gentlemen pensioners : the spots are what
in 1. 13 are called freckles, a word now used only of tan-spots in
the face.
12. fairy favours, tokens of the love in which cowslips are
held by the fairies.
13. savours, sweet odours.
14. go seek, for the omission of ' to, ' see Abb. § 349.
15. a pearl, i.e. a dew-drop ; with an allusion to pearl ear
rings, common then as in more modern days.
16. thou lob of spirits, you lubberly spirit ; Puck being of a
less ethereal nature than the fairies ; lob, literally dolt, block
head, and etymologically connected with ' lubber. '
17. anon, immediately ; A. S. on = on or in, and án, old form
of one ; literally in one (moment).
18. doth keep, has determined to hold.
19. come, for the conjunctive after verbs of command, see
Abb. § 369.
20. passing ... wrath, surpassingly, exceedingly, angry ; wrath,
the A. S. adjective wrað, wroth : fell, bitter-tempered ; A. S.
fel, cruel.
21. Because that, for the conjunctional affix , see Abb. § 287.
23. changeling, here and in W. T. iii. 3. 122, a child whom
the fairies had carried off ; but more usually the child left in the
place of the one carried off, fairies being supposed to be addicted
to stealing the most beautiful children they could find, leaving
in their place those that were ugly and misshapen. Cp. Spenser,
F. Q. i. 10. 65, " From thence a Faerie thee unweeting reft, There
as thou slepst in tender swadling band, And her base elfin
brood there for thee left. Such men do chaungelings call, so
chaunged by Faeries theft. "
24. would have, desires to have.
25. Knight of his train, as leader of his retinue of attendants :
88 A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT II.
trace, wander about in ; cp. M. A. iii. 1. 16, " As we do trace

this alley up and down. "
27. makes ... joy, makes him the sole object of her delight.
28. they, Titania and Oberon.
29. spangled, the stars in heaven resembling the spangles
(small disks of bright metal) worn as ornaments on dresses,
bridles, etc. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 11. 45, has the form ' spangs ' in
the same metaphor, " With glittering spangs that did like starres
""
appear. Cp. also Bacon, Essay of Masques and Triumphs,
" And Oes, or Spangs, as they are of no great cost, so they are of
most Glory ": sheen, brightness.
30. but they do square, without their squaring, i.e. quarrel
ling ; cp. T. A. ii. 1. 100, " are you such fools To square for
this ?" A. C. ii. 1. 45, " "Twere pregnant they should square
between themselves " ; also the substantive, M. A. i. 1. 82, " Is
there no young squarer now that will make a voyage with him to
the devil ? " The verb is still used for preparing for a fight with
fist by squaring the arms across the chest : for fear, out of fear.
31. them, themselves.
32. Either, like ' whether,' ' further, ' ' neither, ' etc. , metrically
a monosyllable ; see Abb. § 466.
33. shrewd, mischievous ; literally accursed ' ; pp. of M. E.
shrewen, to curse.
34. Robin Goodfellow, under this euphemistic title Puck is
identified with a domestic spirit who at one time would help the
servants of the house in their work, and at another would play
mischievous tricks. See Introduction, and cp. Ben Jonson,
Masque of Love Restored, " Robin Goodfellow, he that sweeps the
hearth and the house clean, riddles [i. e. passes the embers through
a sieve] for the country maids, and does all their other drudgery,
while they are at hot-cockles. " he, the person.
35. villagery, according to Johnson, a collection of villages,
but the form seems rather to indicate a collection of villagers, as
Wright explains. Cp. stitchery, Cor. i. 1. 75, the work on which
a stitcher is engaged .
36. Skim, properly speaking we should have ‘ skims, ' ' labours, '
' makes ' as well as frights ; but Shakespeare seems to have
begun the construction grammatically and then to have changed
it as though he had written ' is it not you ' instead of are not
you he skim milk, skim the cream from the milk and drink it
up : labour in the quern, grind corn in the hand-mill when it is
not wanted ; quern, from " A. S. cweorn, cwyrn, ... originally
' that which grinds " " (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ). Wright understands
the fairy to be enumerating all Robin Goodfellow's pranks, good
and bad, and quotes Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry,

in which he is made to say of himself when in good humour, " I
grind at mill Their malt up still. ”
37. bootless, without boot, profit ; A. S. bót, profit, advan
tage, and the suffix -less, from M. E. laus, loose ; breathless, i.e.
with their vain exertion.
38. And sometime ... barm, and sometimes prevent the beer
from producing any yeast ; barm, the froth of malt liquor in
fermentation used for leavening dough ; sometime and ' sometimes,'
in their various senses, are used convertibly by Shakespeare.
39. their harm, the injuries done to them by you ; their,
objectively.
40, 1. Those that ... luck, those who compliment you with the
titles of Hobgoblin and sweet Puck, have their work done by you,
and are certain of good luck. Cp. Milton, L'Allegro, 11. 105-14.
42. Thou speak'st aright, for examples of lines with four
accents only, where there is an interruption in the line, see Abb.
§ 506. Collier and Dyce insert ' Fairy ' before Thou, and in
rhyming lines the omission of a word of two accents is less likely
than in blank verse. Johnson remarks, " It seems that in the
fairy mythology, Puck, or Hobgoblin , was the trusty servant of
Oberon, and always employed to watch or detect the intrigues of
Queen Mab, called by Shakespeare, Titania. For in Drayton's
Nymphidia, the same fairies are engaged in the same business. ".
43. am, emphatic.
44. I jest to Oberon, I act as jester to Oberon, make jokes to
amuse him, like the Court jesters.
45. bean-fed, fed on beans, and so lusty and frolicsome ; cp.
the slang expression of the present day, full of beans, ' in the
same sense.
46. Neighing ... foal, assuming the form of a young filly and
neighing like it.
47. gossip's bowl, the christening bowl round which old women
sat drinking ; ' gossip, ' from ' God ' and ' sib ' = akin, was formerly
used for a sponsor at baptism, those who stood in this relation to
a child being considered as ' akin in God. ' ' Gossips , ' then , says
Trench, Eng. Past and Present, p. 297, 9th ed. , "are first the
sponsors, brought by the act of a common sponsorship into
affinity and near familiarity with one another ; secondly, these
sponsors, who being thus brought together, allow themselves
with one another in familiar, and then in trivial and idle, talk ;
thirdly, they are any who allow themselves in this trivial and
idle talk"...
48. In very ... crab, taking the exact form of a roasted wild
apple ; such as was commonly put into bowls of warm, spiced,

ale, a favourite drink in former days ; cp. L. L. L. v. 2. 935,
"When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl."
49. bob, jump up ; thus spilling the ale as she is about to
drink it.
50. dewlap, properly the loose flesh hanging from the throats
of cattle, and so called from its lapping up the dew as they graze ;
here the breast made flaccid by age.
51. wisest aunt, the old crony, " full of strange saws and
modern instances " ( A. Y. L. ii. 7. 156), who from her great
age sets up for an authority among her companions. Grant
White says that in New England villages good-natured old
people are still called ' aunt ' and ' uncle by the whole com
munity : saddest tale, most doleful tales of ghosts or bygone
calamities, such as gossips round a fire were fond of. Cp. R. II.
v. 1. 40-2, " In winter's tedious nights sit by the fire With good
old folks and let them tell thee tales Of woeful ages long ago
betid "; W. T. ii. 1. 25, 6 , “ A sad tale ' s best for winter : I have
one of sprites and goblins. "
52. Sometime, see note on 1. 36 above : three-foot stool, stool
with three legs, such as were common in cottages.
53. topples, tumbles over ; properly tumbles headlong from
being top-heavy.
54. And tailor ' cries. Johnson says, " The custom of crying
tailor at a sudden fall backwards, I think I remember to have
observed. He that slips beside his chair, falls as a tailor squats
upon his board. " This explanation, the only one suggested,
seems hardly satisfactory ; for the expression, in that case a
derisive one, would hardly be applied to herself by the old
woman as she fell. More probably it would be used in an angry
tone to the person who had been clumsy enough to upset her,
as we still say ' a regular tailor ' of a bungling fellow ; and
' cobbler ' and ' botcher ' of a clumsy workman : falls into a cough,
is seized with a fit of coughing.
55. quire, assembly ; another spelling of ' choir, ' properly a
band of singers, from Lat. chorus, a band of singers, which again
is from the Gk. xopós, a dance in a ring, a band of dancers and
singers hold their hips, in the paroxysm of laughter which
seizes them ; the commoner expression is to ' hold the sides ' ;
cp. Milton, L'Allegro, 1. 32, “ And Laughter holding both her
sides. "
56. waxen in their mirth, wax merrier and merrier, become
uproarious in their merriment ; Farmer conjectured yexen, i.e.
hiccup, and Singer so reads : neeze, sneeze (of which the word is
a parallel form) ; or, as we might say, puff and blow in the
SCENE I. ] NOTES . 91
violence of their mirth. For old forms of the third person

plural, indicative mood, see Abb. § 332.
57. wasted, spent (without any idea of loss of time ) ; a sense
frequent in Shakespeare.
58. now, I have followed Dyce in inserting this word ; to scan
fairy as a trisyllable being, as he says, " too ridiculous. "
STAGE DIRECTION. Oberon, " the ' dwarfe king of fayryes ' is
introduced into the popular romance of Huon de Bordeaux,
translated by Lord Berners, probably earlier than 1598. The
older part of Huon de Bordeaux, Mr. Keightley has shown to
have been taken from the story of Otnit in the Heldenbuch, where
the dwarf king Elberich performs nearly the same services to
Otnit that Oberon does to Huon . The name of Oberon, in fact,
according to Grimm, is only Elberich slightly altered. From
the usual change of l into u ... in the French language, Elberich
or Albrich ... becomes Auberich ; and ich not being a French
termination, the dominative on was substituted, and thus the
name Auberon, or Oberon " (Staunton). Titania, Shakespeare
seems to have taken this name from Ovid, who uses it as an
appellation of Diana.
60. Ill met, instead of being pleased to encounter her at the
usual time for the meeting of fairies, Oberon is now vexed, and
reverses the ordinary salutation, 6 well met ! ' proud, in reference""
to her obstinate refusal to give up the " little changeling boy
he desired to have in his train.
61. What, jealous Oberon ! What, is that you, jealous Oberon ?
pretending to be surprised at meeting him : skip hence, i.e. let
us be off and leave him to himself.
62. forsworn, sworn utterly to avoid ; cp. Temp. iv. 1. 91 ,
" Her and her blind boy's scandall'd company I have forsworn ";
for-, as a prefix to verbs, has usually an intensive sense, as in
forswear, meaning to swear falsely (Lat. per-jurare, to swear out
and out, and hence to swear falsely), fordo, forbid, etc. , or, as
here preserves the sense of ' from , ' i.e. abjure, Lat. ab-jurare.
63. wanton, alluding to her love of Theseus.
64. Then I must lady, if, as you say, you are my lord, I
ought to be your lady, but that I cannot be since you have been
vowing love to Phillida, and therefore you cannot be my lord.
64, 5. but I know ... land, but I am well acquainted with the
occasions on which you have secretly left the fairy land, your
proper domain.
66. in the shape of Corin, taking the form of a human rustic ;
Corin and Phillis are names shepherds and shepherdesses in
classical pastoral poetry.
68. Phillida, properly the Greek accusative of ' Phillis. '
92 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT II.
68-70. Why art that, what brings you here all the way from
the plains of India, except that, etc. , i.e. your only reason for
having taken this long journey is your desire to be present at the
marriage of your mistress, Hippolyta. The first quarto gives
steppe, the second and the folios 6 steep, ' a reading adopted by
many editors because there is no proof of steppe being known in
Shakespeare's day, and also because it was the mountains, rather
than the plains, of India་ which had impressed the minds of
travellers. In support of steep ' commentators quote Comus, 1.
139, " The nice morn on the Indian steep From her cabin'd loop
hole peep " ; but there the word is especially appropriate in a
description of the sun just making itself visible over the lofty
mountains of the extreme East. Here there is no reason why
Oberon should prefer the plains to the mountains.
70. forsooth, in truth ; said with scorn : bouncing, large and
plump ; stalwart ' would be the corresponding epithet for a
man, though in bouncing there is also the radical idea of activity.
71. Your buskin'd mistress, that mistress of yours always so
ready to don the buskin ; buskin, ' Gk. κółopvos, Lat. cothurnus,
was a boot reaching to the middle of the leg. It was worn in
war, the chase, etc. , and by tragic actors in heroic characters,
with very high heels serving to add stateliness to the figure : your
warrior love, that warrior maiden with whom you are in love.
72. must be, is to be ; for must, meaning no more than definite
futurity, see Abb. § 314.
73. To give ... prosperity. The presence of benevolent fairies
at births, christenings , weddings, was supposed to bring good
fortune, as that of malevolent ones to bring misfortunes.
74. How canst ... shame, how can you without being ashamed,
etc.; i. e. if you had any sense of shame, you would not, etc. For
for = for want of, H. V. i. 2. 114, " cold for action " ;
Macb. i. 5. 37, "6 dead for breath " ; A. W. i. 2. 17, " sick for
breathing " ; T. S. iv. 3. 9, " starved for meat. "
75. Glance at my credit with, hint at the favour with which I
am regarded by ; cp. J. C. i. 2. 324, “ wherein obscurely Cæsar's
ambition shall be glanced at " ; and, without the preposition,
C. E. v. 1. 66, " In company I often glanced it . "
76. Knowing I know, when you well know that I am aware of.
77. the glimmering night, the night faintly illuminated by the
light of the stars ; cp. Macb. iii. 3. 5 , " The west yet glimmers
with some streaks of day. "
78. Perigenia, called Perigouna by Plutarch, her real name
being Perigune.
79. Egle, a nymph beloved by Theseus, for whom he forsook
Ariadne, daughter of Minos and Pasiphae, Ægle in her turn

being forsaken for another.
80. Antiopa, see note on stage direction at the beginning of the
play.
81. These are jealousy , all these stories about my intercourse
with Theseus are mere calumnious inventions due to jealousy.
82. the middle summer's spring, the commencement of mid
summer ; "When trees put forth their second, or as they are
frequently called, their midsummer shoots. Thus Evelyn in
his Sylva : Where the rows and the brush lie longer than
midsummer, unbound, or made up, you endanger the loss of
the second spring ' " ( Henley) . Steevens compares ii. H. IV.
iv. 4. 35, " As flaws congealed in the spring of day " ; and
Luke, i. 78, " whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited
us. ""
83. Met we, for the simple past incorrectly combined with the
complete present, see Abb. § 347.
84. paved fountain, probably, as Henley takes it, fountains
whose bottoms were covered with pebbles as with a pavement, in
opposition to those of the rushy brooks which are oozy. He
compares an expression in Sylvester, 66'By some cleare river's
lilie-paved side. "
85. beached margent, the beach which fringes the sea ; margent,
the form of ' margin ' always used by Shakespeare, and frequently
found in other Elizabethan writers : in for ' on. '
86. To dance our ringlets, to form our fairy-rings by dancing ;
see note on 1. 9 above : to, in harmony with, to the accompani
ment of.
87. But with ... sport, without your disturbing our sport with
your exhibition of quarrelsome humours ; brawls, from W. brawl,
a boast.
88. piping to us in vain, i.e. since we refused to dance when
they piped to us.
90. Contagious fogs, fogs bringing disease with them ; the ad
jective is used of clouds, H. V. iii. 3. 31 ; of the night, K. J. v.
4. 33 ; of darkness, ii. H. VI. iv. 1. 7. For the pestilential
nature of fogs, cp. Cymb. ii. 3. 136, " The south -fog rot him " ;
Lear, i. 4. 321 , " Blasts and fogs upon thee ! "
91. pelting, paltry, petty ; used literally R. II. ii. 1. 60, "Like
to a tenement or a pelting farm " ; Lear, ii. 3. 18, " Poor pelting
villages " ; and figuratively M. M. ii. 2. 112, " For every pelting,
petty officer " ; T. C. iv. 5. 267 , " We have had pelting wars.'
Probably connected with peltry, vile trash, and paltry, formed of
rags, hence vile, worthless.
92. have, for every with a plural verb, cp. Lear, ii. 2. 82,
" Smooth every passion That in the natures of their lords rebel ":
continents, confining banks ; cp. i . H. IV. iii . 1. 110 , " Gelding
the opposed continent as much As on the other side it takes from
you.
93. stretch'd his yoke, laboured in dragging the plough ; the
yoke was the curved piece of wood put upon the neck of oxen
and attached by traces to the plough.
95. ere his youth ... beard , before it has grown old enough to
get a beard, the word applied to the prickly spines on ears of
corn, from their likeness to hair-bristles on the human face ; cp.
Sonn. xii. 8, " And summer's green all girded up in sheaves Born
on the bier with white and bristly beard " : his, its.
96. fold, sheep or cattle fold, the enclosure in the fields in
which they were penned : drowned, flooded with rain to such an
extent that cattle could not be put into it.
97. the murrion flock, the flock of sheep among which the
murrain had spread owing to the great damp ; murrion, here
used in an adjectival sense, is another form of ' murrain, ' an infec
tious disease among cattle, ultimately from Lat. mori, to die.
98. The nine men's morris, " A game played by two persons,
with nine men or pieces each. It was played indoors with a
board ; out of doors, on a square of turf, with lines marked and
holes cut, which in rainy weather would become ' filled up with
mud.' The game was originally French, under the name of
'merelles,' counters ; and was first called in England ' merrils,'
afterwards corrupted into ' morris ' " (C. Clarke).
99. quaint mazes. " This alludes," says Steevens, "to a sport
still followed
"" 66 by boys ; i.e. what is now called running the figure
of eight. But," adds Wright, " I have seen very much more
complicated figures upon village greens, and such as might strictly
be called mazes or labyrinths. On St. Catherine's Hill, Win
chester, ' near the top of it, on the north-east side, is the form of
a labyrinth, impressed upon the turf, which is always kept entire
by the coursing of the sportive youth through its meanderings '...
(Milner, History of Winchester, ii. 155 ) " : wanton, playful ; a
transferred epithet properly applicable to those who by their
playing formed the mazes.
100. For lack of tread, owing to their not being trodden.
101. human mortals, though Titania and her elves were im
mortal, some fairies were mortal, and the expression is probably
meant to contrast human beings who were mortal with fairies
that were so too : want their winter cheer, are unable to enjoy
their usual winter amusements ; cheer is Theobald's emendation
for 'heere ' of the earlier quartos and folios.
102. hymn or carol, the Christmas hymns or carols still sung

at night and early morning in villages, though the custom has
well nigh died out in towns.
103. the governess of floods, who controls the ebb and flow of
the tides ; Wright compares Haml. i. 1. 119, "The moist star
Upon whose influence Neptune's empire stands. "
104. Pale in her anger, sc. at the neglect of our rites : washes
all the air, deluges the air with watery vapour.
105. rheumatic diseases. Malone shows that in Shakespeare's
time this term signified not what we call ' rheumatism, ' but, more
in accordance with the derivation of ' rheumatic, ' distillations from
the head, catarrhs, etc.
106. thorough, the lengthened form of ' through, ' as in 11. 3
and 5 : distemperature. Malone, whom Wright follows, explains
this as the perturbed state in which the king and queen had lived
for some time ; and Steevens supports the explanation by quoting
R. J. ii. 3. 40, " Therefore thy earliness
"" doth me assure Thou art
uproused by some distemperature.' Schmidt gives " disorder of
the weather," in which sense the word is used in i. H. IV. iii. 1 .
34, v. 1. 3.
108. fresh lap, the blooming calix, or cup.
109. thin, thinly covered ; cp. R. II. iii. 2. 112, " White-beards
have armed their thin and hairless scalps. "
112. childing, fruit-bearing ; literally, bringing forth children.
Holt White says that this is an old term in botany when a small
flower grows out of a large one.
113. Their wonted liveries, their usual dress ; mazed, be
wildered, in a maze of doubt. The only form now in use is
'amazed,' from a = in, and ' maze,' a labyrinth.
114. By their increase, by the fruits they produce ; cp. Sonn.
xcvii. 6, " The teeming autumn, big with rich increase " :
which is which, which of them is of which character.
116. debate, quarrel, contest ; used in a much stronger sense
than at present, and more in accordance with the literal meaning
of the verb, sc. to beat down ; cp. L. L. L. i. 1. 174, " From
tawny Spain lost in the world's debate " ; ii. H. IV. iv. 4. 2,
" this debate that bleedeth at our doors. "
117. original, first cause.
118. it, the present state of things between us : lies in you, is
in your power to do so.
119. Why should ... Oberon ? what reason is there (i.e. there is
no reason) that compels Titania to thwart him she once loved so
fondly ? said coaxingly.
121. henchman, attendant, page. Of disputed origin , but,

according to Skeat, probably from M. E. hengest, a horse, and E.
man : Set your heart at rest, said sarcastically ; do not for a
moment allow yourself to be agitated by any hope on the sub
ject ; make up your mind that such a thing is quite out of the
question.
122. The fairy ……. me, the whole fairyland is an insufficient bribe
to tempt me to give up the boy.
123. a votaress of my order, one enrolled as a devotee of mine ;
order, in the sense of a religious sisterhood ; cp. C.. E. v. 1. 107,
" It is a branch and parcel of my oath, A charitable duty of my
order," said by the Abbess.
124. spiced , scented with spices.
125. gossip'd, spent the time in familiar talk ; see note on ii.
1. 47 .
127. embarked traders, the merchant vessels pursuing their
course on the ocean ; cp. M. V. i. 1. 9-13, " where your argosies
with portly sail ... Do overpeer the petty traffickers, That curtsy
to them, do them reverence, As they fly by them with their
woven wings. ” For the transposition , see Abb. § 419 a.
130, 1. with pretty ... Following, copying with her pretty
undulating motion ; her graceful motion resembling that of
vessels as they rise and fall with the swell of the waves "" ; cp.
Oth. iii. 3. 178 , " To follow still the changes of the moon ; and
for the idea, the word ' curtsy ' in the above quotation from M. V.
134. voyage, dissyllable : rich, qualifying she in 1. 130.
138. intend you stay, for the omission of ' to ' before stay, see
Abb. § 349.
140. patiently, without displaying ill humour such as you have
of late so often displayed : round, dance in a circle ; cp. Macb.
iv. 1. 130, " While you perform your antic round."
142. spare your haunts, treat you with the same avoidance ;
not attempt to follow you about ; haunts, places you frequent.
145. chide downright, have a regular quarrel.
146. thy way, the way you choose to take : shalt not, i.e. go ;
for the ellipsis, see Abb. § 405.
147. injury, slight, contemptuous treatment ; so iii. H. VI. iv.
1. 107, " But what said Warwick to these injuries ? ", where
injuries means taunting language.
148, 9. Thou rememberest Since, you remember the time past
when, etc.; cp. W. vi. 1. 219, " Remember since you owed no
more to time Than I do now.'
150. mermaid. Warburton refers to the vulgar opinion that
mermaids by their songs allured men to destruction, and com

pares C. E. iii. 2. 45, “ O , train me not, sweet mermaid, with thy
note, To drown me in thy sister's flood of tears : " on a dolphin's
back, an allusion to Arion who for the love of his music was
saved by the dolphins when, in order to escape being murdered
by the sailors on his voyage from Sicily to Corinth, he threw him
self into the sea ; cp. T. N. i. 2. 15-7, " Where , like Arion on
the dolphin's back, I saw"" him hold acquaintance with the waves
So long as I could see.
151. breath, musical voice : used of singing, T. N. ii. 3. 21 ,
"so sweet a breath to sing " ; and of the sound of a trumpet,
Macb. y. 6. 9, “ Make all our trumpets speak ; give them all
breath."
152. rude, rough : civil, quiet , in antithesis with rude : at, on
hearing.
153. spheres, see note on 1. 7 above.
157. all arm'd, fully equipped with bow and arrows ; all,
adverbial : certain, which would not miss his mark.
158. At a ... west, a compliment to Queen Elizabeth's maiden
life, England being to the west of the rising sun.
159. loosed, let go ; a technical term in archery, as is also the
substantive loose : smartly, with a smart twang of the bow
string as the arrow left it ; indicating the determination with
which he shot his bolt.
160. As it should pierce. " As, ' like ' an,' appears to be
(though it is not) used by Shakespeare for " as if' the 'if' is
implied in the subjunctive " (Abb. § 107 ) ; as it would be loosed
should it pierce, i.e. in a case in which it would, etc.
161. might see, was able to see ; for might, the past tense of
' may, ' originally used in the sense of was able,' ' could , ' see
Abb. § 312.
162. watery moon, cp. " moist star, " Haml. i. 1. 118.
163. votaress, sc. of chastity ; vowed to a maiden life.
164. fancy-free, untouched by thoughts of love.
166. western, English.
168. love-in-idleness, one of the names given by rustics to the
pansy (F. pensée, thought) or heart's- ease ; cp. 7'. S. i. 1. 156, “ I
found the effect of love in idleness, " where the expression = idle
love. For the allegorical interpretations given to this passage,
see Introduction .
169. the herb, sc. which bears the flower.
171. or man or woman, any one of whichever sex ; or, a con
traction of other, i.e. either : dote, see note on i. 1. 109.
172. it, the being, whether man or woman.
G
173. be thou here again, take care to return.

174. leviathan, in Shakespeare meaning a huge whale ; cp.
H. V. iii. 3. 26, " As send precepts to the leviathan To come
ashore "; from " Heb. livyáthán, an aquatic animal, dragon,
serpent ; so called from its trailing itself in curves. -Heb. root
láváh, to cleave ; Arab. root lawa' , to bend " ... (Skeat, Ety.
Dict.).
175. I'll put round, I will circle the earth ; probably, as
Steevens says, a proverbial expression for circumnavigating the
globe. He quotes Chapman's Bussy d'Ambois , i. 1. 23, " To put
a girdle round about the world.”
179. The next ... upon, for the omission of the relative, see
Abb. § 244.
180. Be it on lion, whether it be a lion on which she looks.
181. meddling, mischievous : busy, sc. in ways that he should
not be busy ; so we speak of a ' busybody, ' meaning one who
interferes where he is not wanted.
182. the soul of love, the deepest love ; cp. above, i. 1. 82.
184. As I can take it, for so I can do.
186. I am invisible. "It is probable that here Oberon put on
a garment such as is mentioned in Henslowe's ' Diary,' which
speaks of stage properties, and among them ' a robe for to go
invisible. ' When this was assumed , the audience were to under
stand that the wearer was supposed to be unseen by the other
personages on the stage " (C. Clarke).
189. Where is, for the inflexion in -s preceding two singular
substantives, see Abb. § 336.
190. slayeth, kills me by refusing her love.
192. wode, mad ; from A.S. wód, mad ; cp. i. H. VI. iv. 7. 35,
" How the young whelp of Talbot's, raging-wood, Did flesh his
puny sword in Frenchmen's blood. "
193. my Hermia, Hermia whom I love with all my soul.
194. get thee gone. " An idiom ; that is to say, a peculiar
form of expression the principle of which cannot be carried out
beyond the particular instance. Thus we cannot say either
Make thee gone, or He got him (or himself) gone. Phraseologies,
on the contrary, which are not idiomatic are paradigmatic, or
may serve as models or moulds for others to any extent. All
expression is divided into these two kinds " ... (Craik, on J. C.
ii. 4. 2).
195. you hard-hearted adamant, you whose heart is as hard as
adamant ; adamant, from " Gr. ádáµas, ádáμavт-a, originally an
adjective invincible ... afterwards a name of the hardest metal,
probably steel ... The early medical Lat. writers apparently
explaining the word from adama-re ' to take a liking to, have an
attraction for, ' took the lapidem adamantem for the loadstone or
magnet ... ; and with this confusion the word passed into the
modern languages " ... (Murray, English Dict. ).
196, 7. But yet ... steel, if the reading is right, the meaning
probably is, ' Though you draw my heart it is not a substance
like iron, famed for its hardness, but a substance like steel famed
for its truth.' Lettsom suggests though ' for for, which gets rid
of all difficulty. There seems, however, the possibility that
Shakespeare sometimes used though ' and ' for ' convertibly ;
cp. Oth. iii . 3. 145, " I do beseech you -Though I perchance am
vicious in my guess , " where we should have expected " For I
perchance," etc.
197, 8. leave you ... shall, if you will abandon your power to
draw, I shall, etc.
199. Do I ... fair? questions of appeal equivalent to ' You well
know that I do not, ' etc. speak you fair, make you fair speeches,
pay you compliments.
201. nor I cannot, the emphatic double negative ; se Abb.
§ 406.
203. your spaniel, an illusion to the proverb, " A spaniel, a
woman, a walnut-tree, The more you beat them, the truer they
be"; for the, as the ablative of the demonstrative, see Abb. § 94.
204. I will fawn, i.e. the more I will fawn.
205. but as, i.e. no better.
206. lose me, cast me off and have nothing to do with me.
207. Unworthy as I am, though utterly unworthy, as I confess
myself to be.
208. worser, for the double comparative, see Abb. § 11.
209. And yet ... with me, and yet even that I look upon as a
place of honour.
214. impeach, expose to slander ; cp. R. II. i . 1. 189, " Shall I
seem crest-fall'n in my father's sight ? Or with pale beggar-fear
impeach my height Before this out-dared dastard?"; properly to
hinder, from F. empêcher, thence to arraign before a tribunal,
the first step towards that end being to hinder the escape of the
person charged.
215. To leave, by leaving ; on the infinitive used indefinitely,
see Abb. § 356.
217. the opportunity of night, the opportunity which the
night-time affords ; the subjective genitive.
218. the ill ... place, the suggestions to evil which a place so
lonely as this offers.
220. Your virtue ... that, it is your well-known virtue which

gives me the privilege of acting as I have acted ; knowing how
virtuous you are, I have ventured to trust myself alone with you
at such a time as this. The quartos and folios all put a colon at
privilege, beginning a new clause with for that = because. I have
followed Malone, Dyce, and Delius in accepting Tyrwhitt's
punctuation.
223. worlds of company, abundance of company.
224. in my respect , as I regard you ; cp. Cymb. ii . 3. 140,
"His meanest garment, ... is dearer In my respect than all the
hairs above thee."
227. me, myself : brakes, bushes, thickets.
229. The wildest, i.e. of wild beasts.
230. Run when you will, whenever you choose to run : the story,
i.e. of ancient mythology in which Daphne, daughter of the river
god Ladon, being pursued by Apollo was, in answer to her prayers,
changed into a laurel tree, which became in consequence Apollo's
favourite tree : changed , reversed.
231. holds the chase, maintains the pursuit, is the pursuer.
232. the griffin, a fabulous animal, frequently represented in
heraldry ; " a better spelling is griffon ...- F. griffon, -Gk. ypÚY …..
a fabulous creature named from its hooked beak.-Gk. YрUTÓS,
curved "... (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
233. bootless, vain ; see note on 1. 37.
235. thy questions, your reproachful speeches ; cp. M. V. iv.
1. 346, " I'll stay no longer question ."
237. But I shall, anything except that I shall : mischief, per
sonal injury ; cp. Lear, i. 2. 178, " which (sc. his displeasure) at
this instant so rageth in him, that with the mischief of your
person it would scarcely allay. "
238. the temple, the most sacred of places : the town, the most
frequented of places : the field, the most open of places.
240. Your wrongs, your cruelty to me ; your, used subjectively.
242. should be, ought to be ; see Abb. § 323.
243. make hell, find the happiness of heaven in enduring the
tortures to which you condemn me.
244. To die, by dying ; the indefinite infinitive : upon the hand,
falling upon and dying by the hand ; cp. T. G. ii. 4. 114, " l'lí
die on him that says so but yourself "; referring to Demetrius'
words in 1. 237, above.
245. Fare thee well, go, and good fortune go with you.
247. wanderer, you who wander by night ; cp. above, 11. 39, 43.
248. there, said as he produces it.
249. where, Pope reads ' whereon, ' and is followed by some
editors. If the reading is right, the word must be pronounced
as a dissyllable : wild thyme, a plant of which bees are especially
fond ; there is also a variety grown in gardens and used for
seasoning dishes : blows, blossoms.
250. oxlips, "the ' bold ox lip ' [ W. T. iv. 3. 125] ... is so like
both the Primrose and Cowslip that it has been by many supposed
to be a hybrid between the two It is a handsome plant, and is
a great favourite in cottage gardens " (Ellacombe, Plant Lore of
Shakespeare) : grows, the verb for the rhyme's sake being made
to agree with the singular noun only.
251. over-canopied, covered over as with a canopy. The
word ' canopy ' has a strange origin, it being from "the Greek
-
κωνωπειών , κωνωπεῖον ,an Egyptian bed with mosquito curtains.
Gr. Kwvwπ, -stem of kwvwy, a gnat, mosquito ; literally ' cone
faced,' or an animal with a cone-shaped head, from some fancied
resemblance to a cone.-Gk. Kŵvos, a cone ; and "y, a face, appear
ance " ...(Skeat, Ety. Dict. ) : luscious, sweet-scented ; Steevens for
the sake of the metre reads ' lush ' : woodbine, the great convol
vulus, or bindweed , so called from its twining about other plants ;
cp. M. A. ‫ در‬iii. 1. 30, " who even now Is couched in the woodbine
coverture.'
252. musk-roses, a species of rose prized more for its sweet
scent than for its beauty : eglantine, more commonly called
sweet- briar ; literally, the prickly-one, from its sharp thorns.
Cp. Cymb. iv. 2. 223, "The leaf of eglantine, whom not to slander,
Out-sweeten'd not thy breath. ”
253. of the night, during the night ; for the preposition with
this sense, see Abb. § 176 : for sometime see note on ii. 1. 38,
above.
255. throws, casts ; the word more commonly used : enamell'd,
glittering like enamel, a glass-like substance made of glass and
metals fused together.
256. Weed, covering ; from A.S. wed, and wœde, a garment,
in which sense it is frequent in Shakespeare. So we still speak
of ' widows' weeds , ' meaning the head-dress worn by widows.
257. streak, smear, as with a painter's brush.
258. fantasies, fancies, especially love-fancies.
261. disdainful, sc. of her love.
262, 3. But do it ... lady, but take care to do it at such a time
that the next thing she espies is sure to be the lady.
266. More fond on, more in love with ; on, of : her love, him
whom now she loves so distractedly.
267. look thou meet, take care to meet ; see note on 1. 19 : the
first cock crow, when the cock crows for the first time ; in Haml.
i. 1. 147, the cock is spoken of as crowing not long after mid

night ; in R. J. iv. 4. 3, " the second cock " crows at three o'clock
in the morning.
268. shall, denoting inevitable futurity without reference to
' will ' (desire) ; see Abb. § 315.
SCENE II.
1. a roundel, a round dance ; but used also for a song beginning
and ending with the same words.
2. hence, go hence ; the verb of motion omitted, as frequently.
3. cankers, small worms that prey upon blossoms""; cp. Haml.
i. 3. 89, " The canker galls the infants of the spring.
4. rere-mice, bats ; the word is still used in the west of Eng
land ; A.S. hrére-mus : for, in order to obtain.
7. At our quaint spirits, at our delicately- formed spirits ;
Titania speaks as a queen ; quaint, from " O. F. coint, ' quaint,
neat, fine, ' Cotgrave ... Certainly derived from Lat. cognitus,
known, though confused ... with Lat. comptus, neat, adorned ."
(Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
8. your offices, the different duties assigned to each.
9. double, forked ; cp. Temp. ii. 2. 13, " All wound with adders
who with cloven tongues Do hiss me into madness ”; and iii . 2.
72, below.
10. Thorny, with spines which they erect at will ; cp. Haml.
i. 5. 20, " Like quills upon the fretful porpentine. ”
11. Newts, a kind of lizard ; properly an ewt, the initial n being
borrowed from the indefinite article. Similarly formed words
are nick-name for an eke-name, nugget formerly niggot =- ningot for
an ingot. Conversely an adder is properly a nædder, an auger,
a nauger, an orange, a norange blind-worms, so called from the
smallness of their eyes, known also as ' slow-worms ' ; both again
mentioned in Macb. iv. 1. 14, 16.
13. Philomel, the nightingale ; in ancient mythology the
daughter of King Pandion of Attica, who was metamorphosed
into a nightingale.
14. Sing in ... lullaby, take part in singing our lullaby ; lullaby,
a song sung to soothe to rest, from the verb ‘ lull , ' to sing to rest.
16-8. Never ... Come, may it never come ; let it never come.
19. So ... lullaby, so may you sleep sweetly, accompanied by
your lullaby.
21. spinners, i.e. of the spider's web ; cp. R. J. i. 4. 59, " Her
waggon- spokes made of long spinners ' legs, " said of the chariot of
Queen Mab, the fairies' midwife.
26. One ... sentinel, let one of our number stand apart as
sentinel ; aloof, " perhaps immediately from Du. loef, in te loef,
to windward ... From the idea of keeping a ship's head to the
wind, and thus clear of the lee-shore or quarter to which she
might drift, came the general sense of steering clear of, ' or
' giving a wide berth to ' anything with which one might otherwise
come into contact with " (Murray, Engl. Dict. ).
29. languish, pine, grow weak.
30. ounce, a kind of lynx : cat, wild cat.
31. Pard, panther.
33. it is thy dear, it is the object with which you shall fall in
love.
34. Wake, may you wake.
35. you faint, you have become faint ; for with, used to express
the juxtaposition of cause and effect, see Abb. § 193.
36. troth, a doublet of ' truth ' ; forgot, for the curtailed
form of past participles, see Abb. § 343.
38. tarry .... day, wait for the comfort which daylight will bring
with it.
39. a bed, sc. for yourself.
42. One heart ... troth, since there is but one heart between us
(i.e. as we are one in heart), one bed will serve for us to lie upon ;
though there are two bosoms, there is but one faith between us
(i.e. that which we have pledged to each other).
45. O, take ... innocence ! " Understand the meaning of my
innocence, or my innocent meaning. Let no suspicion of ill
enter thy mind " (Johnson) ; take, apprehend ; cp. v. 1. 90,
below.
46. Love ... conference, in talk between those who love, love
catches the meaning intended by love ; where two mutually
love, each readily understands the thoughts of the other without
the need of gloss or commentary on the words used.
47. knit, for the omission of -ed in the participle of verbs ending
in -te, -t, and -d, see Abb. § 342.
48. So that ... it, so that, as I said (1. 43 ), we can make but
one heart out of the two ; it, used indefinitely, the circumstance,
the fact.
49. interchained , linked each to the other.
52. For lying ... lie, for in lying by your side, I am guilty of no
treachery ; with a pun on the two senses of lie.
54, 5. Now much ...lied, a mischief upon my bad manners
and my pride if in the words I used I meant to imply that
Lysander was false ; i.e. I am not so ill-mannered and arrogant
as to mean by what I said that Lysander was false ; beshrew,

literally ' curse,' used as a gentle, sometimes very gentle, impre
cation ; e.g. M. V. iii. 2. 14, " Beshrew your eyes, They have
o'erlook'd and divided me "" ; said by Portia in loving reproach
to Bassanio.
56. for, for the sake of ; out of.
57-60. in human ….. distant, for the sake of that modesty which
men and women should observe, remain at such a distance from
me as may justly be said to be suitable to a virtuous bachelor and
a maid. There seems to be a confusion of constructions between
' let there be such a distance between us as may be justly said is
becoming between a virtuous, ' etc. , and ' be so far distant from
me as it may be justly said is becoming between , ' etc. Delius
takes in human modesty with as may well be said.
62. Amen, so be it ; commonly placed at the end of a prayer.
63. end life, may life end.
64. all his rest, all the peace he has in his gift.
65. With half ... press'd ! Nay, answers Hermia, may half of
his peace be yours !
68. approve, make trial of ; prove ; as frequently in Shake
speare.
69. stirring, exciting.
71. Weeds, see note on ii. 1. 256.
73. Despised, who despised ; for the omission of the relative,
see Abb. § 244.
74. sound, soundly.
75. dank, damp ; Skeat (Ety. Dict. ) remarks, "It is commonly
assumed that dank is another form of damp, but, being of
Scandinavian origin, it is rather to be associated with Swed.
dagg, dew ... and indeed it seems to be nothing else than a
nasalized form of the prov. Eng. dag, dew. "
76. durst, preterite of dare which, in the sense of challenge,
forms another preterite dared.
77. this lack-love, this churlish fellow so wanting in love
towards her who loves him ; accent on the first syllable : this
kill-courtesy, this boor who murders courtesy, is utterly without
good manners. To mend the metre, Walker would read ' nearer '
for Near, making the line one of ten syllables ; Theobald gives
" Near to this kill-courtesy. "
78. Churl, literally ' a countryman, ' and hence one with rustic,
rough, manners.
79. owe, possess ; the final -n of owen being dropped.
80, 1. let love ... eyelid, may love banish sleep from your eyes ;
SCENE II.] NOTES. 105
cp. Macb. i. 3. 19, 20, " Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang
upon his pent-house lid. "
82. So wake ... gone, I leave you to wake after I have gone
with this result (i.e. of your not being able to find sleep again).
86. darkling, in the dark ; cp. Lear, i. 4. 237, ""'So, out went
the candle, and we were left darkling. " "There were some
adverbs in O. E. , originally dative feminine singular, ending in
-inga, -unga, linga, lunga. A few of these, without the dative
suffix, exist under the form -ling or -long, as headlong (O. E. heed
linge), sideling, sidelong, darkling (darklong), flatling, and flat
long " (Morris, Hist. Outl. p. 194).
87. on thy peril, at thy peril, as we should now say ; i.e. at
the risk, if you follow me, of being ill-used by me : I alone will
go, I am determined to go unaccompanied by you.
88. fond, foolish ; the radical sense of the word.
89. the lesser ... grace, the less is the favour, kindness, I meet
with at your hands ; the, the ablative of the demonstrative.
91. blessed and attractive, happy in being able to attract to
her those she wishes to attract.
92. How came ... bright ? What is it that has made her eyes,
etc.
93. If so ... hers, for, in that case, mine would be brighter than
hers, seeing that they are oftener washed with such tears.
96. no marvel, it is no wonder.
97. Do, subjunctive : as a monster, as that of a monster.
98, 9. What wicked ... eyne ? how could any mirror be so
wickedly treacherous as to make me think my eyes rivalled the
star-like orbs of Hermia ? compare with, make comparison
between her eyes and mine, and assume an equality in bright
ness ; for this intransitive use, cp. Haml. v. 2. 146, " I dare not
confess that, lest I should compare with him in excellence " ; for
eyne, see note on i. 1. 242.
103. And run, I do so and will run.
104. Transparent, though indicating also the brilliancy of her
beauty, refers especially to the transparency of her nature which
enables him to see her heart through her bosom ; Nature and
Art are usually contrasted , but here Nature employs Art. With
Dyce, Delius, etc. , I have followed the later folios in reading
Nature here shows, the quartos giving ' Nature shewes.'
106, 7. O, how ... sword ! i.e. how well does the bearer of that
vile name deserve to perish at my hands ! Cp. above, ii. 1. 190.
109. What though, even though he loves your Hermia, that
does not matter ; that is not sufficient reason for you to wish to
kill him .
110. be content, be calm, do not be in such a passion ; a fre

quent use of the expression in Shakespeare.
111. Content with Hermia ! Lysander takes Helena's content in
the sense of satisfied with.'
112. tedious minutes, minutes which once seemed to fly so
swiftly because delightful, but which now seem a mere tedious
waste of time.
118. So I ... reason, so I, being but young when I loved
Hermia, only now ripen to reason, only now have acquired
mature reason ; for ripe, as a verb, cp. A. Y. L. ii. 7. 26, And
so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe. ”
119, 20. And touching ... will, and reason having now attained
its highest point of sagacity, having reached its fullest maturity,
guides my will in the way it should go ; for skill, = sagacity ,
mental power, cp. M. M. iv. 2. 164 , " if I read it not truly, my
ancient skill beguiles me " ; for marshal, cp. Haml. iii.""4. 205,
66 they must
sweep my way And marshal me to knavery. '
121. o'erlook, read over, peruse ; cp. Lear, v. 1. 50, “ I will
o'erlook thy paper. 99'
122. love's richest book, sc. her eyes ; cp. R. J. i. 4. 85, 6,
" And what obscured "" in this fair volume lies Find written in the
margent of his eyes.'
123. Wherefore ... born ? Why should I have been born to
endure such bitter irony ? i.e. I have done nothing myself to
deserve it.
124. at your hands, from you.
127. Deserve, win by any attractions of mine ; be thought
really worthy of.
128. But you .... insufficiency, but that you should think it
necessary, without your thinking it necessary, to jeer at my want
of power to win such a favour.
129. Good troth ... good sooth, in very truth.
130. In such ... woo, to make a mock of seeking my love in
these ironical terms of praise.
131. perforce, of necessity.
132. lord of, master of, possessed of ; gentleness, gentlemanly
feeling, manly kindness.
134. therefore be abused, on that account be insulted.
139. do leave , abjure.
140. of those, by those deceive, lead astray.
141. my surfeit ... heresy, of whose love I have tasted to
excess ; and belief in whose excellence I now cast away.
142. be, subjunctive used optatively ; the most of me, by me

more than any one.
143. And, all might, and let all the faculties I possess bend
their most loving and mightiest efforts : address, make ready ;
ultimately from Lat. directus, straight.
144. be her knight, swear yourself to her service and honour ;
as knights swore themselves to the service and honour of their
lady-loves.
147. Ay me, alas for me ! for pity, how piteous is my case !
149. Methought, for the abundance of impersonal verbs in Early
and Elizabethan English, see Abb. § 297 : away, completely ; used
as an intensive.
150. his cruel prey, the cruel prey he was making of me ; his
cruelty in preying upon me ; prey, the act, not the object ; cp.
H. V. i. 2. 169, For once the eagle England being in prey. "
151. removed ? have you moved away ?
152. out of hearing ? have you gone so far from me that you
cannot hear my cries ?
153. Alack, probably, according to Skeat, corruption of
M. E. Ah ! lák, i.e. ah, a loss ! an if, for this reduplication, see
Abb. § 103.
154. of all loves, in the name of everything that has to do
with love for this adjuration, cp. M. W. ii. 2. 119, " Mistress
Page would desire you to send her your little page, of all loves. ”
156. Either, metrically a monosyllable.
ACT III. SCENE I.

2. Pat, pat, in the very""nick of time ; cp. Haml. iii. 3. 73,
" Now might I do it pat.' Skeat says, " This can hardly be
other than the same word as pat, a tap.... But the sense is clearly
due to an extraordinary confusion with Du . pas, pat, fit, con
venient in time "...: marvellous, used adverbially ; see Abb. § 1 .
4. hawthorn-brake, thicket formed of hawthorn bushes : tiring
house, house for attiring ourselves, dressing- room : to ' tire,'
an abbreviation of ' attire,' is used specially of dressing the head ;
do it in action, act it.
7. bully, properly a blustering fellow, but frequently used by
Shakespeare in a familiarly patronizing sense.
10. abide, endure ; more properly ' aby, ' as in iii. 2. 175, the
word in this sense being from the A.S. ábicgan, to pay for, while
in the sense of " wait for ' it is from the A.S. ábidan, to expect.
10, 1. How answer you that ? What answer will you make to
that ? How will you meet that objection ?
108 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [АСТ III.
12. By'r lakin, by our little lady, i.e. the Virgin Mary, used in
an affectionate sense ; cp. Temp. iii. 3. 1 : parlous, a contraction
of ' perilous ' ; always used by Shakespeare with a certain comic
sense.
13, 4. when all is done, after all ; more commonly in modern
speech 6 when all is said and done.'
15. Not a whit, not in the least ; by no means ; whit, 66 a thing,
a particle, a bit. The h is in the wrong place ; whit"" stands for
wiht = wight, and is the same word as wight a person ... (Skeat,
Ety. Dict. ) : to make all well, to set everything straight ; to
obviate the difficulties you fear.
16. seem to say, merely Bottomese for ' say.' Wright compares
Launcelot's language, M. V. ii. 4. 11 , " An it shall please you to
break up this, it shall seem to signify."
18. more better, for the double comparative, see Abb. §11 .
22. written in eight and six, in verses alternately of eight and
six syllables.
25. afeard, afraid ; though in affeard a- represents a corruption
of the A.S. intensive of, the E. E. form of the verb being offeren,
while ‘ afraid ' is the participle of affray, to frighten.
26. I fear ... you, I fear they will be afraid, I can assure you.
27. consider with yourselves, ponder the matter among you.
28. God shield us ! God protect us ! Bottom is horrified at the
very idea. Malone compares a real occurrence at the Scottish
Court in the year 1594, at the christening of Prince Henry, when
a triumphal chariot was drawn in by a blackamoor because it was
feared that the lion by which it was intended to be drawn might
frighten the spectators, or the lighted torches drive the lion
to fury.
29. wild-fowl, of course for ' wild-beast : ' living goes with
wild-fowl, not with lion.
30. ought to look to 't, ought to be careful what we are doing.
35. defect, effect.
37, 8. my life for yours, I stake my life for yours ; I pledge
you by my life that there is no reason for you to fear.
38, 9. it were ... life, it would be a thing I should regret
most bitterly ; or6 perhaps of my life == I swear on my life ;
the phrase with of, ' as here, or ' on,' is frequent in Shake
speare ; e.g. M. M. ii. 1. 77, T. N. ii. 5. 14 ; for of = as regards,
see Abb. § 174.
40. there, at that point in his speech. Malone thinks there is
here an allusion to a contemporary incident. " There was a
spectacle presented to Queen Elizabeth upon the water, and
among others Harry Goldingham was to represent Arion upon the
dolphin's backe ; but finding his voice to be verye hoarse and

unpleasant, when he came to perform it, he tears off his disguise,
and swears he was none of Arion, not he, but even honest Harry
Goldingham ; which blunt discoverie pleased the queene better
than if he had gone through in the right way " ... (Merry Passages
and Jeasts, M.S. Harl. 6395).
41. joiner, carpenter.
42. there is, for the inflection in -s preceding a plural subject,
see Abb. §335, though here probably we have an intentional
vulgarism .
46. calendar, almanac ; from " Lat. calendarium, an account
book of interest kept by money-changers, so called because interest
became due on the calends (or first day) of each month ; in later
times a calendar " ... (Skeat, Ety. Dict.).
49. casement, window ; properly the frame forming a window,
or part of a window, which opened on hinges attached to the
upright side of the frame in which it was fixed.
53. disfigure, figure, personate.
56. did talk ... wall, in the story, Pyramus and Thisbe, living
in adjoining houses, made a hole in the partition wall through
which to carry on their love-making.
60. rough-cast, plaster mixed with small pebbles.
61. or is altered by Collier's M. S. Corrector into and, a reading
which Dyce, Delius and the Camb. Edd. adopt, but which does
not seem to be necessary. Bottom mentions two alternative
ways in which the wall may be symbolized ; first, by the actor
appearing daubed with marks of his occupation ; secondly, as the
story was so well known, by his holding his hand out with the
first and second fingers separated from the third and fourth to
signify a chink in the wall. It is true that in the representation
both means are adopted, but it does not follow that this was the
original intention.
64. every mother's son, every one of you.
66. brake, the thicket at the side represents the ' wings ' of the
stage behind which the actors retire when they have played their
parts : cue, according to some, from F. queue, a tail ; according
to others from Q, a note of entrance for actors, because it was
the first letter of the Latin word quando, when, showing when
to enter and speak.
67. What hempen ... here,6 what rude rustics do I find ranting
and strutting about here ? Homespun ' is literally coarse cloth
spun at home, and ' hemp ' is one of the materials used in the
manufacture.
68. So near ... queen ? Puck resents their daring to approach
so near the resting place of his sovereign.
69. toward, in preparation ; cp. Haml. v. 2. 376, " What feast

is toward in thine eternal cell ? "
72. savours, though there are many instances in Shakespeare
of the third person plural in -s, Bottom's illiterate speech is
probably indicated here.
76. a while, for a time, for a minute or two.
77. by and by, almost directly ; cp . Oth. ii. 3. 309, 10, " To
be now (i.e. at one moment) a sensible man, by and by (i.e. a
short time afterwards) a fool, and presently (i.e. almost imme
diately after that) a beast !"
78. here, Steevens supposes a reference to the theatre in which
the piece was being acted ; played, acted, represented.
80. marry, a corruption of ' Mary,' i.e. the Virgin Mary, the
Mother of Christ ; a petty adjuration.
81. goes but ... heard, Quince means that Bottom has gone to
find out how the noise he heard had been caused, but of course
the absurdity of seeing a noise is intentional ; cp. below, iv. 1.
206, 7 ; v. 1. 338, 9 : is to come, will come, may be certainly
expected to come.
82, 3. Most ... brier, whose complexion combines the delicate
white of the lily and the brilliant red of the rose ; cp. Constance's
poetical description of Arthur's beauty, K. J. iii. 1. 53, 4, " Of
Nature's gifts thou may'st with lilies boast And with the half
blown rose " : triumphant, rearing itself aloft.
84. juvenal, youth ; an imitation of euphuistic language, as in
L. L. L. i. 2. 8, " my tender juvenal " : eke, also, from the verb
eke, to augment : Jew, for the sake of the alliteration with juve
nal,
66 though in L. L. L. iii. 1. 136, Costard addresses Moth as
' my incony (i.e. delicate) Jew, " as though in compliment.
85. yet, i.e. however far he might go.
89. cues and all, including the cues.
89, 90. it is ... tire, i.e. you should enter to speak your speech
directly Flute has uttered the words ' never tire. '
93. If I were fair, Malone thinks we ought perhaps to punc
tuate If I were, fair Thisby, i.e. if I were as true, etc.: I were
only thine, I would dedicate myself wholly to your love.
96. I'll lead ... round, I will lead you a pretty dance ; about,
adverb.
97. Through bog ... brier, to complete the metre, Johnson,
would insert through mire, ' after bog, Ritson ' through burn,
Lettsom ' through brook. '
102, 3. this is ... afeard , this is one of their knavish tricks
played in order to make me afraid ; for afeard , see note on 1. 25,
above.
106. you see ... do you ? do you see as great a fool as yourself ?
Bottom is as yet unconscious of Puck's transformation of him by
the ass' head on his shoulders.
108. translated, transformed.
112. do what they can, whatever they may do to frighten me.
113. that, so that shall, the future where we should use the
subjunctive ; see Abb. 348.
114. ousel cock, the male blackbird, whose bill is of a bright
orange colour.
116. throstle, the song-thrush, which, like the blackbird, has
a very sweet note ; the word is " a variant of throshel [a form
not found], a diminutive of thrush " ... (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
117. quill, pipe, i.e. throat-pipe.
121. plain-song cuckoo, the cuckoo whose note is without
variation ; plain-song, " the uniform modulation or simplicity
of the chaunt was anciently distinguished , in opposition to prick
song or variegated music sung by note " (Warton).
122. Whose note ... mark, the cry of the bird, ' cuckoo ! ' was
of old supposed to be connected etymologically with the word
' cuckold," a man whose wife has been unfaithful to him, and,
when uttered, to point at some man thus situated.
123. dares not utter nay, is unable to repel the charge.
124. set his wit... bird, oppose his wit to, challenge, the cuckoo
by denying its slanderous accusation ; cp. T. C. ii. 1. 94, “ Will
you set your wit to a fool's ? "
125. give a bird the lie, tell a bird that it is lying : though ...
so, however often it might cry ' cuckoo ! '
127. of, with.
128. enthralled to thy shape, led captive by the beauty of
your form.
129. thy fair ... me, the overpowering modesty which restrains
you from urging your love, compels me, etc.
130. On the first view, hers is love at first sight, as we say :
to swear, not merely to say, but even to swear.
132, 3. reason ... now-a-days, are not often found together in
these times.
133. the more the pity, all the greater pity is it.
134. will not ... friends, will not do their best to bring them
more together.
135. gleek, jeer, joke in a satirical way ; cp. H. V. v. 1. 78,
" I have seen you gleeking and galling at this gentleman twice or
thrice." Staunton remarks, " The all-accomplished Bottom is
boasting of his versatility. He has shown, by his last profound
observation on the disunion of love and reason, that he possesses

a pretty turn for the didactic and sententious ; but he wishes
Titania to understand that, upon a fitting occasion, he can be as
waggish as he has just been grave " ; ' gleek,' 66 sc. glaiks, reflec
tion of the rays of light from a lucid body in motion ; to cast the
glaiks on one, to dazzle, confound ; glaik, a deception, trick ; to
play the glaiks, get the glaiks, to cheat, be cheated. To glaik, to
trifle ; laiking, folly, wantonness ; O. N. leika, to play ; O. E.
to lake, to play ; lakin, plaything " (Wedgwood, Dict. ) : upon
occasion, when the occasion calls for a joke.
137. wit, wisdom .
138. to serve mine own turn, to suit my purpose.
141. rate, estimate ; cp. Temp. i. 2. 92, " With that which ...
O'erprized all popular rate. "
142. The summer state, the very summer is my slave and
follows me wherever I go ; still, ever ; state, regal greatness,
majesty ; cp. Temp. iv. 1. 101 , " High'st queen of state. "
145. jewels from the deep, Steevens compares R. III. i. 4. 31 ,
" reflecting gems That woo'd the shiny bottom of the deep. ”
146. pressed flowers, flowers strewed as a bed for you.
148. go, move about : here, fly as spirits do.
150. Where shall we go ? on what errand do you wish to
send us ?
152. Hop ... eyes, dance before him as he walks , and display
your gambols to amuse him.
153. apricocks, from " F. abricot, from Port. albricoque , an
apricot ... These words are traced, in Webster and Littré, back
to the Arabic al-barquq where al is the Arabic definite article,
and the word barqûq is no true Arabic word, but a corruption of
the Mid. Gr. πраikóкioν, pl . πрaiкóкia ; borrowed from the Lat.
præcoqua, apricots, neuter plural of "" præcoquus, another form of
præcox, lit. precocious, early-ripe (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ) . dew
berries, a fruit very like the blackberry, but coming at an
earlier season.
154. mulberries, a garden fruit, resembling blackberries,
though a good deal larger in size.
155. honey- bags, the small cysts in which 6 the honey is
carried humble-bees, humming bees ; to humble ' is to hum,
from M. E. humbelen ; also called ' bumble-bees, ' from O. Du.
bommelen, to buzz.
156. And for thighs, and crop their thighs of the wax with
which they are laden , to serve as tapers ; the pollen which is borne
home by the bees on the outside of their legs being apparently
taken by Shakespeare for wax : and waxen thighs not meaning
literally made of wax, but laden with wax.
SCENE I.] NOTES. 113
157. at the ... eyes, as the light of the glow-worm is in its tail,
Johnson thought he had here caught Shakespeare napping, but,
as Mason points out, ' eye ' is here used poetically for the
luminous point.
158. To have arise, to conduct my love to his bed, and to
wait on him when he gets up ; cp. C. E. ii. 2. 10, “ Your mistress
sent to have me home to dinner.'
159. painted, gaudily decorated.
160. to fan from, to keep off from, using the wings as
fans, shades.
161. Nod, bow.
162. Hail, health to you ; A.S. hæl, health.
166. I cry ... heartily, from the bottom of my heart I beg your
pardon ; an expression of deprecatory politeness frequent in
Shakespeare.
169. I shall desire ... acquaintance, I shall hope to become
better acquainted with you ; literally, I shall make a request
to you as regards more acquaintance ; for of, in this sense, see
Abb. § 174.
170. I shall you, I shall venture to make use of your
services ; the cobweb film being sometimes applied to a cut by
way of plaster.
173. commend me, make my respectful compliments to, and so
ensure me a welcome by, etc.: a squash ' is an unripe peascod ;
cp. T. N. i. 5. 166, " Not yet old enough for a man, nor young
enough for a boy ; as a squash is before ' tis a peascod, or a cod
ling when ' tis almost an apple. "
178. I know ... well, I know how much you have to endure.
179. that same oxbeef, that oxbeef which you and I know
so well.
179, 80. hath devoured house, mustard being taken as a
relish to beef, that meat is spoken of as devouring, etc.; house,
family.
180, 1. I promise now, I can assure you that the members of
your family have often brought tears into my eyes ; as though
the pungency of mustard which causes the eyes to water, had
made him weep for its family misfortunes.
183. bower properly means a chamber, thence used generally
of a shady recess formed by trees and shrubs.
184. with a watery eye, the watery look of the moon, caused
by vapours hanging round it, indicates rainy weather.
185. weeps ... flower, their tears being the dew.
186. enforced chastity, violence done to some chaste maiden.
H
SCENE II.
2. Then, what, then, if she has awaked, what, etc.

3. Which she ... extremity, which, from the potency of the
drug, she will be compelled to love with ridiculous passion.
4. How now, what is ' up ' now? as we say colloquially.
5. night-rule, night-work ; practice common to the night.
Some editors take -rule here as another spelling of ‘ revel, ' and
cite the title ' Lord of Mis-rule ' given to the conductor of
revels ; but ' Mis-rule ' in that phrase means licensed disorder :
haunted, Oberon applies to the presence of human beings the
term which they would use of the presence of fairies, spirits,
etc. , though the sense in which the word is so used is a
secondary one, the original meaning nothing more than to
'frequent. '
7. close, secret, carefully hidden.
8. her dull ... hour, that period of time during which her senses
are dulled by sleep.
9. patches, fools ; the word in this sense is probably due to the
patched, parti-coloured , dresses worn by fools, jesters ; mechani
cals, artizans ; cp. ii. H. VI. i. 3. 196, " Base dunghill villain and
mechanical.
10. That work ... stalls, that get their livelihood by such
occupations as weaving, etc.
13. The shallowest ... sort, the most empty-brained blockhead
of that dull lot (Poor Bottom ! that he should be so little
appreciated) ; for thick-skin, a term now used of those who are
wanting in proper sensitiveness, cp. M. W. iv. 5. 2, " What
wouldst thou have, boor ? what, thick-skin ? " ; for barren, cp.
T. N. i. 5. 90, " I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a
barren fool " ; for sort, R. II. iv. 1. 246,"" " a sort of traitors " ;
R. III. v. 3. 316, " A sort of vagabonds.
14. presented, acted the part of.
15. Forsook his scene, left the stage on which he was acting ;
for in, = into, see Abb. § 159.
16. When I did ... take, when I caught him thus alone.
17. nole, a comical word for ' head,' more commonly spelt
' nowl. ' Douce quotes a receipt from Albertus Magnus de
Secretis Naturæ for effecting this transformation ; and Steevens
refers to " a similar trick played by Dr. Faustus. "
18. Anon ... answered, a moment later the time comes for him
to re-appear on the stage and reply to the speech of him who
acted Thisbe.
19. And forth comes, and so this precious fellow who is to

act the part of Pyramus makes his appearance ; my, said con
temptuously ; Malone quotes Dekker and Jonson as using mimic
for actor.
20. creeping, sc. in order to snare them : fowler, bird- catcher.
21. russet- pated choughs, Marshall has ' shown in Notes and
Queries, sixth series, vol. ix. , Nos. 227, 233, that the bird here
meant is the jackdaw, not the Cornish chough, and that russet is
used in the sense of dark grey many in sort, many all together.
23. Sever themselves, quickly disperse : madly sweep the sky,
in wildest terror dash hither and thither across the sky.
25. at our stamp ... falls, at each stamp of ours, one after an
other falls to the ground.
26. He, another.
27, 8. Their sense ... wrong, their senses being thus weakened
and bewildered by overpowering fear, even inanimate objects
find courage to plague them.
30. Some sleeves ... catch, some of the briers and thorns strip
them of their sleeves ; some strip them of their hats ; some
strip of every article of dress those who are so ready to yield
them.
31. I led ... fear, they being in this state of distraction, I led
them hither and thither in all directions ; cp. Ariel's description
of the way in which he led Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo
" through Tooth'd briers, sharp furzes, pricking goss and thorns, "
Temp. iv. 1. 180.
32. Sweet Pyramus, said ironically, that Bottom of whose
good looks they were"" so proud ; see above i. 2. 75, " for Pyramus
is a sweet-faced man.' translated, see note on iii. 1. 109.
33. When in ... pass, and at that very moment it so happened
that Titania, etc.; so, here used almost as a correlative to when.
35. better than I could devise, even better than I hoped when
I planned my stratagem.
36. latch'd , is used twice elsewhere by Shakespeare, Sonn.
cxiii. 6, " For it no form delivers to the heart Of bird, of flower,
or shape, which it doth latch " ; Macb. iv. 3. 195, " But I have
words That would be howl'd out in the desert air Where hearing
should not latch them " ; the meaning in both passages being to
catch and retain. In the present passage Hanmer interprets the
word as ' lick over, ' ' anoint, ' from F. lecher, to lick, and many
editors accept his explanation, though no instance has been dis
covered of the word in that sense. Possibly the meaning may be
nothing more than ' closed,' i.e. in such a way that the juice
might work the required effect when the eyes were opened,
though Oberon speaks of performing the operation upon those
already asleep. But I believe we should read ' hatch'd,' a

word originally meaning to engrave (from F. hacher, to engrave),
but not seldom used in the sense of staining, smearing. Thus
in Beaumont and Fletcher's Custom of the Country, v. 5. 108,
" When thine own bloody sword cried against thee, Hatch'd in
the life of him , " i.e. smeared with his life - blood ; The Humorous
Lieutenant, i. 1. 172, “ His weapon hatch'd in blood. " In T. C.
i. 3. 65, " As venerable Nestor hatch'd in silver," the meaning is
streaked with silvery hairs resembling the lines made in en
graving ; while in T. N. iii. 4. 257, the old reading " unhatch'd
rapier " probably = unstained rapier. The sense of stained,
smeared, well agrees with ii. 1. 257, “ And with the juice of this
I'll streak her eyes."
38. took, caught ; cp. Haml. iii. 3. 80, " He took my father
grossly, full of bread. "
40. That ... eyed , so that whenever he should awake he could
not help seeing her.
41. close, so as not to be seen ; cp T. N. ii . 5. 17, " Close, in
the name of jesting ! " same Athenian, the one I meant.
42. the man, sc. whose eyes I smeared with the juice.
44. Lay breath ... foe, keep such bitter words for one who de
serves them.
45. NowI but chide, so far I only use reproach : should , ought to.
48. Being o'er shoes ... deep, having gone so far in guilt, go
further still ; make your guilt complete ; cp. Macb. iii. 4. 136-8,
"I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er "; T. G. i. 1. 24, “ For he
was more than over shoes in love. "
50. true unto the day, sc. in regulating the time. Wright
compares T. C. iii. 2. 185, " As true as steel, as plantage to the
moon, As sun to day, as turtle to her mate."
53. bored, pierced right through from surface to surface.
54, 5. displease ... Antipodes , by her sudden presence annoy
her brother then holding noontide with the Antipodes, then at
his zenith in the Antipodes.
57. So should ... look, so might a murderer be expected to look ;
dead, deadly looking ; cp . K. J. v. 7. 65, "You breathe these
dead news in as dead an ear. 99
61. glimmering, glittering ; properly shining faintly ; for
sphere, see note on ii. 1. 9.
62. What's this ...Lysander ? what has all this to do with my
Lysander? All this foolish talk of yours is beside the matter,
and is employed merely in order to shirk the question of his
whereabouts .
65, 6. thou drivest ... patience, you enrage me beyond what it is

possible for a maiden to endure with calmness : then, since you
say that you would rather give his dead body to your hounds to
be torn to pieces in the way that hounds are allowed to tear their
prey.
67. Henceforth ... men ! henceforth be accounted a devil rather
than a man !
68. once, for once in a way ; cp. L. L. L. iv. 3. 361 , " Let us
once lose our oaths to find ourselves ": tell true, speak the truth :
even for my sake, even when entreated by one you hate so
bitterly.
69, 70. Durst thou ... sleeping? Have you, who would not for
a moment have dared to face him when awake, killed him in his
sleep? Durst thou have look'd , i.e. you know well you would not
have dared : O brave touch ! O valiant deed ! Schmidt takes
touch as = ' test or proof of bravery,' comparing Cor. iv. 1. 49,
"My friends of noblest touch, " i.e. of tried nobleness.
71. worm, snake ; as frequently in Shakespeare.
72. doubler, used to indicate the figurative idea of duplicity,
treachery, as well as the literal idea of being forked.
74. You spend ... mood, you waste your indignation by in
dulging in a mistaken humour, i.e. the indignation in which you
indulge has no real foundation ; passion, used by Shakespeare of
any strong emotion
76. for aught ... tell, so far as I know.
78. therefore, as a return for telling you, etc.
79. A privilege, sc. since to you, who so detest me, never to
see me again must be a boon.
81. whether, metrically a monosyllable.
82. in this fierce vein, while she is in this angry mood.
84, 5. So sorrow's ... owe, as I am, in my present condition,
the grief with which I am burdened becomes more burdensome
in consequence of the debt that sleep owes to sorrow not being
paid ; in Macb. ii. 2. 37, 9, we have, " Sleep that knits up the
ravelled sleave of care ... Balm of hurt minds, " and here sleep is
spoken of as something properly due to those in trouble. So
seems out of place here, it not being correlative to anything ;
possibly it is a mistake for since, the so- of sorrow being caught
by the transcriber's eye.
86, 7. Which now . stay, which debt it will pay in part (as a
bankrupt pays so-much in the pound) if I wait here to receive its
offer of such part ; cp. Cymb. v. 4. 18-21 , where Posthumus, ad
dressing the gods and offering his life in payment of his
offence, says, " I know you are more clement than vile men,
Who of their broken debtors take a third, A sixth, a tenth ,

letting them thrive again On their abatement. "
88. hast mistaken quite, have made a complete mistake in
what you have done.
89. some true-love's sight, the eyes of some constant lover.
90, 1. Of thy ... true, the result of your mistake must be that
some constant lover will have turned inconstant, instead of an
inconstant lover becoming constant, as I intended 66 ; for mis
prision, cp. above 1. 74, and. i. H. IV. i. 3. 27, ' Either envy,
therefore, or misprision Is guilty of this fault and not my
son. 99
92, 3. Then fate ... oath. Puck's excuse for his carelessness
does not seem to be very logical. Possibly the meaning is, Then,
if that happens, the fault is fate's, who so often is too strong for
men's intentions that, for one man who keeps faith, a million,
whatever their intentions, give way and break oath after oath,
i.e. any number of oaths.
94. About the wood go, search the wood in every direction.
95. look thou find, take care to find ; for the subjunctive after
verbs of command, see Abb. § 369.
96. All fancy- sick, utterly love - sick : pale of cheer, pale in
countenance, see note on i. 1. 122, above.
97. that costs dear, that make a terrible drain on the
resources of the blood ; costs, on the relative with a singular
verb, though the antecedent be plural, see Abb. § 247 ; for the
supposed effect of sighs, cp. ii. H. VI. iii . 2. 63, " I would be
blind with weeping, sick with groans, Look pale as primrose
with blood-drinking sighs. "
99. I'll charm ... appear, I will lay the spell upon his eyes in
anticipation of her coming, so that he may be ready to look upon
her with love when she comes ; against she do appear, elliptically
for against the time when, ' etc.; cp. T. S. iv. 4. 104, " bid the
priest be ready to come against you come " ; do, subjunctive.
101. the Tartar's bow, the nomad hordes of Tartary were
famous for their archery. The spelling of the word, which
should be ' Tatar, ' is due to a false etymology, the Tartars,
from their cruelty, being supposed to have proceeded out of
Tartarus, or hell.
103. Hit ... archery, see above , ii. 1. 165-7.
104. apple, the ball of the eye, so called from being round.
For the omission of the article, see Abb. § 89.
107. the Venus of the sky, the bright planet Venus.
108. by, near at hand.
109. Beg remedy, ask her to cure you by granting you

her love.
112. mistook, for the curtailed form of participles, see Abb.
§ 343.
113. a lover's fee, according to Halliwell, this was a reward
of three kisses. He quotes an old ballad, " How many (i.e.
kisses) says Batt ; why, three, says Matt, For that's a maiden's
fee."
114. their fond pageant, their display of foolish love.
119. needs, necessarily ; the old genitive used adverbially :
alone, beyond everything else, unique ; cp. T. G. ii. 4. 167,
"To her whose worth makes other worthies nothing ; She is
alone. "
121. befall, the original meaning of be- , as a prefix, was
'about ' ; with verbs it frequently becomes merely intensive, as
'be-muddle,' ' be-grudge,' or gives a figurative sense as in
'befall,' to fall as an accident : preposterously, used by Shake
speare more in accordance with its literal sense than is com
monly the case now, ' preposterous ' meaning ' having that first
which ought to be last, hence ' perverted , ' ' absurd ' ; cp. H. V.
ii. 2. 112, " That wrought upon thee so preposterously, i.e. in a
manner so unnatural.
122. should woo, was likely to woo.
123. never come, never show themselves in the guise of, etc.
124. vows so born, vows being so born ; when vows have such
a birth.
125. In their ... appears, perfect truth manifests itself in their
nativity, is a necessary accompaniment to their birth.
127. Bearing ... true, when they bear the outward symbol of
good faith in proof of their sincerity ; ' badges ' of silver, etc. ,
with the arms of the family engraved on them, were in Shake
speare's time worn by liveried servants ; for the word in this
figurative sense, cp. Sonn . xliv. 14, " heavy tears , badges of
either's woe. "
128. You do ... more, you make your cunning more and more
conspicuous by the language you use ; in advance the figure is
that of bringing a standard more to the front ; cp. M. W. iii. 4.
85, "I must advance the colours of my love " ; M. A. iii. 1. 10,
"like favourites ... that advance their pride Against the power
that bred it. "
129. When truth ... fray ! " If Lysander's present protesta
tions are true, they destroy the truth of his former vows to
Hermia, and the contest between these two truths, which in
themselves are holy, must in the issue be devilish and end in the
destruction of both " (Wright).
130. give her o'er, abandon your interest in her ; throw her
over, as we say colloquially.
131. Weigh ... weigh, if you weigh the worth of your oath to
her with the worth of your oath to me, you will find that you
are weighing nothing at all ; each of the oaths, as she goes on to
say, being equally worthless.
133. tales, mere empty stories ; cp. A. C. ii. 3. 136, “ Truths
would be tales, When now half tales be truths. "
134. swore, sc. my oaths of loyalty.
135. mind, opinion, judgment.
138. eyne, see note on i. 1. 142, above.
139. Crystal is muddy, i.e. in comparison with your bright
eyes.
139, 40. O, how ripe ... grow ! O, how ripe your lips show,
growing like two cherries resting against each other, and tempt
ing one to pluck them ; ripe and tempting used adverbially.
141. Taurus, a chain of mountains running through Asia from
W. to E., forming the southern margin of the great tableland of
Central Asia ; the word Taurus means a high mountain.
142. Fann'd ... wind, which the east wind winnows of all stains
upon its whiteness ; Wright compares W. T. iv. 4. 375, " I
take thy hand, this hand , As soft as dove's down and as white
as it, Or Ethiopian's tooth, or the fann'd snow that's bolted By
the northern blasts twice over " ; for with by, see Abb. § 193 :
turns to a crow, appears as black as a crow.
144. This princess ... white, this hand so peerless in its white
ness ; for princess, in the sense of supreme impersonation of a
thing, Malone compares W. T. iv. 4. 161, " she is The queen of
curds and cream.' Staunton adopts Collier's conjecture ' im
press, ' quoting in its support Virolet's apostrophe to Juliana's
hand in Beaumont and Fletcher's Double Marriage, iv. 3, " White
seal of virtue " ; but though a hand may be said to be a seal of
bliss, we could scarcely talk of an ' impress of pure white,'
whether impress ' means an impression or a device.
145. spite, misfortune, misery : bent, determined.
146. To set against me, to make a set against me ; to unite in
flouting me ; the figure here, as in iii. 1. 137 , is probably from
card-playing, in which a sum is set, staked, by one party against
a sum staked by another party.
147. civil, well-bred : knew, were practically acquainted with.
148. injury, wrong in the shape of insult ; see note on ii.
1. 147.
150. But you must join, without your joining ; in souls, soul
with soul, as we talk of ' joining hand in hand, ' in heartily doing
something together.
51. in show, in appearance, outwardly.
152. gentle, tenderly nurtured.
153. To vow, by vowing ; the indefinite infinitive ; superpraise,
praise in exaggerated and insincere terms.
156. And now... mock, and now rival one another in mocking ;
the substantive verb ' are ' being supplied from the former line.
157. A trim exploit, a pretty piece of bravery, a fine exhibition
of your courage ; for trim, in this ironical sense, cp. T. C. iv. 5.
33, " O, this is trim ! " ; T. A. v. 1. 96 " and 'twas Trim sport
for them that had the doing of it. "
159. sort, nature, condition.
160. offend, affront.
160, 1. and extort ... patience, exhaust the power of endurance
of one so forlorn as myself ; literally, twist it out of me : all …..
port, wholly and solely to amuse yourselves.
164. with all good will, most willingly and sincerely.
166. And yours ... bequeath, and do you, on your part, leave
me all your share in Helena's love ; bequeath, generally used of
devising property by will ; though there is nothing in the deri
vation so to limit the sense, the word being from the A.S. be
cweðan, to say, declare.
169. I will none , I will none of her, i.e. I do not want to have
anything to do with her, to have any part in her love ; cp. , for
this adverbial use of none, T. N. i. 3. 113, " it's four to one
she'll none ofme " ; ii. 2. 13, “ She took the ring of me ; I'll none
ofit.'
171. but as sojourn'd, stayed for a short visit as a guest
does with his host ; as guest-wise is redundant ; guest-wise by
itself meaning ' in the way of a guest ' ; for the sentiment, cp.
Tennyson, The Gardener's Daughter, 14-7, " she To me myself,
for some three careless moons, The summer pilot of an empty
heart Unto the shores of nothing ! " to, some editors adopt
Johnson's conjecture with ' ; but probably, as Delius points
out, to belongs to guest-wise, i.e. as a guest to her. Malone
quotes Sonn. cix. 5, 6, " This is my home ""of love : if I have
ranged, Like him that travels I return again. '
175. to thy peril, here to expresses the consequence : aby it
dear, pay dearly for it ; see notes on iii. 1. 12, above, and 1. 426 ,
below.
177. his function, its office ; sc. of seeing.
178. quick, lively.
179, 80. Wherein ... recompense, by that same act (i.e. of dark
ening the earth) by which it weakens the sense of sight, it makes
a double recompense in giving greater acuteness to the sense of
hearing ; impair, through F. empeirer, from Low Lat. impeiorare,
to make worse.
182. thy sound, the sound made by you, i.e. your voice.
184. press, ply hard, constrain ; probably in this and the next
line used in the sense of ' pressing ' for service ; the word in that
sense being a corruption of prest, ready, prest-money, ready money
advanced when a man was hired for service.
186. bide, stay, remain.
188. oes and eyes of light, stars ; oes, for round objects, leads
to the pun upon the letters O and I. For oes, cp. H. V. Prol. i.
13, " Within this wooden O, " i.e. the circular building of the
Globe Theatre ; A. C. v. 2. 81 , " The little O, the earth "; L. L. L.
v. 2. 45, “ O, that your face were not so full of O's " ( i.e. marks
of small-pox) ; also quotation from Bacon's Essays on ii. 1. 29.
189, 90. could not ... so ? could not the fact of my leaving you
teach you that I did so because of the hatred I feel towards you?
191. it cannot be, sc. that you hate me, as you say.
192. she is ... confederacy, she has banded herself together
with Lysander and Demetrius.
194. fashion, shape, concoct : false, treacherous, cowardly : in
spite of me, out of malice towards me ; not ' without regard to
me,' ' caring nothing for me, ' as the words would mean in modern
use.
195. Injurious, insulting.
196. contrived, plotted ; cp. Haml . iv. 7. 136, “ Most generous
and free from all contriving.
197. bait, worry ; as dogs worry a bear ; to ' bait ' is properly
to cause to bite.
198. counsel, mutual confidences ; as above, i. 1. 216.
199. The sisters' vows, the vows of sisterly love ; protestations
such as two sisters would make to each other : spent, wearily
passed.
200. chid, for the curtailed form of the participle, see Abb. §
343 : hasty-footed, so quickly slipping away.
201. O, is it all forgot ? Various suggestions have been made to
complete the metre, but the pause probably accounts for the
syllable wanting.
202. Childhood innocence, the innocence of children ; cp. M. V.
i. 1. 144, " I urge this childhood proof"; and for substantives used
as adjectives, see Abb. § 3.
203. artificial, creative ; now used chiefly in opposition to what

is natural and especially of what is an imitation of what is
genuine.
204. needles, metrically a monosyllable ; many editors give the
contracted form neelds , which is common in E. E.: created both
one flower, both worked at the same flower in our embroidery,
i.e. each doing a part of it.
205. sampler, literally, a pattern ; used here and commonly for
a piece of work given to children to do as a sample of their
capacity.
206. warbling of, for ' of, ' following a verbal noun, see Abb.
§ 178 : in one key, in unison of note.
209. a double cherry, a twin cherry originating out of a single
blossom : seeming, seemingly, apparently.
210. But yet ... partition, but yet really united in spite of the
line of seeming partition ; what the Siamese Twins were in human
physiology.
211. lovely, according to Dyce = loving, and so Delius :
moulded, shaped by Nature.
212-4. with two crest. Douce explains , " Helen says, ' we
had two seeming bodies but only one heart. ' She then exempli
fies her position by a simile-' we had two of the first, i.e. bodies,
like double coats in heraldry that belong to man and wife as one
person, but which, like our single heart, have but one crest. " "
Wright makes this more clear by adding that in " the language of
heraldry ... when a tincture has been once mentioned in the de
scription of a coat of arms, it is always afterwards referred to
according to the order in which it occurs in the description ; and
a charge is accordingly said to be ' of the first, ' ' of the second ,'
etc. , if its tincture be the same as that of the field which is always
mentioned first, or as that of the second or any other that has
been specified ."
215. rent, tear ; an older form of ' rend ' frequent in Shake
speare.
218, 9. Our sex injury, though I alone suffer from your be
haviour, our whole sex is dishonoured by it.
220. amazed, utterly bewildered ; see note on ii . 1. 113.
225. even but now, only a moment ago ; even but is redun
dant.
229. Deny your love, deny all love for you ; your, objectively.
231. But by ... on, unless it be that you have incited him to do
So.
232. What though, even if ; supposing it to be the case : so in
grace, looked upon with such favour.
233. So hung upon with love, so lovingly clung to ; the idea

being that of arms thrown round a person in loving embrace ;
cp. M. A. i. 1. 86, " O Lord, he will hang upon him like a
disease.'
234. But miserable ... unloved, but suffering from that worst
of miseries, the misery of loving without being loved in return.
237. persever, with the accent on the penultimate, as always
in Shakespeare .
238. mouths, grimaces ; cp. Lear, iii. 2. 36 , " For there was
never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass. "
239. hold up, encourage each other in keeping up the fine
joke you have between you.
240. well carried, if well managed ; cp. M. A. iv. 1. 212,
" Marry, this well carried shall on her behalf Change slander to
remorse : shall be chronicled, will be thought worthy of being
recorded as a good story.
241. grace, good feeling.
242. would not, for this irregular sequence of tenses, see Abb.
§370 : argument, subject of your merriment ; cp. M. A. i. 1. 258,
" Thou wilt prove a notable argument."
247. O excelient ! Capital ! Well done !
248. cannot entreat, cannot effect anything by her entreaties :
I can compel, I can force Lysander to desist from mocking
Helena.
252. lose, readily sacrifice ; sc. his life.
255. withdraw ... too, walk aside with me and prove it in
mortal combat.
256. whereto tends all this ? what object have you in view in
acting thus ?
257. Ethiope, dark as an Ethiopian. No, no ; he 'll ... , the
first quarto reads ' No, no ; heele seeme,' etc.; the second,
' No, no, he'el seeme, ' etc.; the folios, ' No, no, sir, seem , ' etc.
The Camb. Edd. mark a lacuna, but possibly nothing more is
intended than a change of thought which causes Demetrius
suddenly to break off in addressing Hermia and turn tauntingly
to Lysander.
258. take on ... follow, behave in a furious manner as though
you intended to follow me : for take on, in this sense, cp. M. W.
iii. 5. 40, "she does so take on with her men " ; iii. H. VI. ii. 5.
104, " How will my mother for a father's death Take on with me
and ne'er be satisfied ! "
259. a tame man, a coward, poltroon ; cp. ii. H. IV. ii. 4. 105,
" He's no swaggerer, hostess ; a tame cheater, i' faith . ”
260. Hang off ... cat ! cease to claw me as a cat does its prey ;
said to Hermia as she throws her arms around him to prevent
his following Demetrius : for cat, used in a contemptuous sense,
cp. A. W. iv. 3. 295, " he's more and more a cat ” : burr, the
prickly case of the seeds of certain plants, e.g. the burdock,
which clings to anything it touches.
264. loathed medicine, as nauseous to me as medicine.
265. Do you not jest ? Surely you must be jesting.
267, 8. I would ... you : I wish I had something more than your
word, -your bond ; for I see (alluding to Hermia's throwing her
arms round Lysander and so detaining him) you are easily held
by a bond.
269. What, should ... dead ? What, does your taunt mean that
you expect me to be so inhuman as to prevent her from clinging
to me by striking her dead ?
271. what, hate ? i.e. you need not be scrupulous about
striking me, for no personal injury you can do me will be worse
than your hatred .
272. what news, that is a strange story to tell me (sc. that you
hate me).
274. erewhile, only a short time ago (when you swore you
loved me) ; literally, before (the present) time ; in Temp. iii. 2.
117, we have while-ere, = during (the time) , before, while being
there used adverbially.
275. Since night ... me, no longer ago than last night you, etc.;
it is but the time since night that you, etc.
276, 7. Why, then ... say ? Am I then to say, to believe, that
you were in earnest in leaving me, that you really meant to
have nothing more to do with me ? May the gods forbid such a
thing !
279. Therefore ... doubt, cease therefore to retain any hope,
cease to question me on the subject, or to buoy yourself up with
the possibility that you are mistaken. I have followed Pope in
omitting 6 of before doubt. Lettsom compares ii. 1. 237, 67 Ay,
in the temple, in the town, the field. "
280. nothing truer, i.e. that nothing is more certain.
282. juggler, cheat : canker-blossom, you who have destroyed
the love which was blossoming between Lysander and myself
just as the canker destroys the blossoms of flowers ; cp. above,
ii. 2. 3, and, for the figurative use of the word, Temp. i. 2. 415,
66 grief that's beauty's canker " ; i. H. IV. iv. 2. 32, “ the
cankers of a calm world and a long peace.'"" The word is a
doublet of C cancer, ' from Lat. cancer, a crab, the tumour being
so named from its eating into the flesh.
126 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT III.
284. Fine, i' faith, truly a fine apostrophe that !

285. maiden, maidenly.
286. touch, spice, smack ; cp. T. N. ii. 1. 13, " But I perceive
in you such an excellent touch of modesty "; H. V. iv. Chor. 47,
" Behold, as may unworthiness define, A little touch of Harry
in the night. "
286, 7. What ... tongue ? What, are you determined by your
abuse to compel impatient answers from one so gentle of speech
as you know me to be?
288. you counterfeit, you pretended friend of mine : you
puppet, you doll, who in the hands of others are made to play
any part they like.
289. why so ? ... game, what makes you call me a puppet ?
what is the point of your calling me puppet ? Then, discovering,
as she thinks, Helena's meaning, she adds, ah, now I see the
game you are playing.
290, 1. Now I perceive ... statures, now I see that she has been
drawing an invidious comparison between herself and me as
regards her superior height ; compare, comparison, as frequently
in Shakespeare.
292. her tall personage, her stately figure ; cp. T. N. i . 5. 164,
" Of what personage and years is he ?"
293. prevail'd with him, won him over to admire her more
than me.
294. grown so high, reached such a height ; with a pun on the
word high in its literal and figurative senses .
296. thou painted maypole, a reference to the old custom ,
observed on the first of May, when villagers bedecked with
ribbons and finery, assembled to dance and sing round a May
pole diagonally painted in various colours, and festooned with
sprigs of May-blossom, ribbons, etc. The custom is now dying
out, though it was pretty widely observed some thirty years
ago. In painted Hermia hints that Helena owes her complexion
to art.
299. though you mock me, even though you think proper to,
etc.
300. curst, shrewish, spiteful ; cp . 7. S.99 i. 2. 70, " curst and
shrewd " ; i. 2. 128, " Katherine the curst.
301. I have no ... shrewishness, I am not in the least endowed
with shrewishness ; shrewishness is no part of my nature ; for
have no gift, cp. T. C. iv. 2. 75, " the secrets of nature Have not
more gift in taciturnity."
302. a right maid, a thorough girl, one thoroughly deserving
in point of timidity the name of, etc.; cp. A. C. iv. 12. 28,
" Like a right gipsy " ; ii. H. IV. ii. 1. 206, “ This is the right
fencing grace " ; for, as regards, in the matter of.
304. something, somewhat.
305. That I can match her, that I am her match, her equal in
a quarrel.
308. counsels, secrets entrusted to me ; cp. above, i. 1. 216.
310. your stealth, your having stolen away, secretly gone ; cp.
Macb. ii . 3. 152, "there's warrant in that theft Which steals
itself, when there's no mercy left, " said by Malcolm to Don
albain as they are preparing to steal away from Macbeth's
castle.
311. for love, out of love.
314. so, provided that.
315. bear my folly back, rid you of my foolish self, and bear
alone the burden of my folly.
317. simple, silly : fond, foolish.
318. get you gone, see note on ii. 1. 194.
319. A foolish ... behind, my heart is with Demetrius here,
and drags me back though wishing to go.
322. though part, even though you espouse her cause (sc.
Helena's) and are thus guilty of an officious piece of interference.
As below, 330-3, Demetrius resents even an act of kindness to
wards one whom he considers to belong entirely to himself, and
whose cause he claims to uphold alone.
323. shrewd , bitter-tongued ; see note on ii. 1. 33, above.
"" 324. a vixen, a sharp-tempered hussy ; properly, a she-fox ;
by the ordinary laws of vowel-change, the feminine form is
fyx-en, made by changing the vowel from o to y, and adding the
feminine suffix -en ... The use of vox for fox is common ; so
also vane for fane, and vat for fat "... (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
327. flout, jeer at.
329. minimus, an atom ; literally, smallest one : of hindering ...
made, Steevens points out that knot-grass was anciently supposed
to prevent the growth of animals and children, and compares
Beaumont and Fletcher's Coxcomb, ii. 2, " We want a boy ex
tremely for this function, Kept under for a year with milk and
knot-grass."
330. bead, no bigger than a bead or drop ; a name given to a
fairy in M. W. v. 5. 53.
330, 1. You are ... services, you put yourself forward a great
deal too much in offering to help one who scorns both you and
your offers of help ; for her, as the antecedent of a relative, see
Abb. § 218.
128 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [АСТ III.
333, 4. if thou dost ... her, if you venture to make the least
display of love to her ; for intend = put forward, direct, cp. M.
W. ii. 1. 188, " If he should intend this voyage towards my wife ":
Never so little, however small ; literally, a show of love so little
as has never been shown.
335. aby, pay dearly for ; see note on 1. 175, above : holds me
not, no longer clings to me and prevents my following you, as
you just now (1. 268) taunted me with not doing.
336, 7. to try ... Helena, to put to the test of combat the ques
tion which of us has the better claim to Helena : a confusion of
two constructions (1 ) to try whose right, yours or mine, is most ,
etc. (2) to try which, of you or me (i.e. us ), has most, etc. Cp.
Temp. ii. 1. 28, 9, " Which of he or Adrian, for a good wager,
first begins to crow. "
338. cheek by jole, with the utmost closeness ; literally, as
near as cheek is to cheek ; jole, an old spelling of jowl, and " a
corruption of chole, chowl, or chaul ... Again, chaul is a corruption
of chavel = chavel ...-A.Ś. ceafle, the jaw " ... (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
339. coil, trouble, disturbance ; cp. K. J. ii. 1. 165, " I am
not worth this coil " : 'long of you, of your doing ; literally, in
close connection with you, and so due to you ; now used pro
vincially only.
342. for a fray, when a quarrel has to be decided.
343. to run away, for running away ; when the question comes
of running away.
345. still, constantly.
347. shadows, shadowy beings, the fairies ; cp. below, v. 1.
408, " If we shadows have offended. "
352, 3. And so far . sport, and my gladness that matters
turned out as they did is proportionate to the amusement their
quarrelling affords me ; so and As are correlative ; sort, turn out,
from Lat. sors, lot, destiny ; cp. M. A. v. 4. 7, " I am glad that
all things sort so well. "
355. overcast the night, envelope the night in a mantle of
darkness.
356. welkin, sky ; A.S. wolcnu, plural of wolcen, a cloud.
357. Acheron, the name of several classical rivers , and one of
the five rivers of the lower world ; also used in late classical
writers for the whole of the lower world. Shakespeare seems to
have taken it for a burning lake.
358. testy, quarrelsome ; literally, heady ; from O. F. teste,
M. F. tête, the head.
359. As, as that, so that.
360. Like to ... tongue, at one time attune your voice to that
of Lysander.
361. wrong, insults.
363. from, away from.
364. death-counterfeiting, cp. Macb. ii. 3. 81, " Shake off this
downy sleep, death's counterfeit ” ; Cymb. ii. 2. 31 , “ O sleep ,
thou ape ofdeath. "
365. batty wings, wings like those of bats, who fly abroad in
the night-time only ; hence slumberous.
367. This virtuous property, this efficacy belonging to it ;
' virtue ' in this sense is very frequent in Shakespeare ; cp. ii.
H. IV. iv. 5. 76, " Culling from every flower the virtuous
sweets. "
308. all error, all delusions ; his, its ; see Abb. § 228 : might,
power.
369. wonted sight, usual vision.
370. this derision, this deception of which they have been
made the fools.
371. fruitless, empty.
372. wend, go, take their way ; from " A.S. wendan, ( 1 ) transi
tive, to turn ; (2) intransitive, to turn oneself, proceed ; its past
tense, went, is now used as the past tense of go " (Skeat, Ety.
Dict.).
373. league, sc. of friendship.
374. Whiles, the old genitive used adverbially.
375. I'll to, the verb of motion being omitted , as frequently.
377. From monster's view, from the sight of the monster with
whom she is in love ; for the omission of the article, see Abb. §
89.
379. night's swift dragons, cp. Cymb. ii. 2. 48, " Swift, swift,
you dragons of the night, that dawning May bare the raven's
eye !" and Il Penseroso, 59, " While Cynthea checks her dragon
yokes : " dragons , because of their supposed wakefulness : full
fast, with all possible speed.
380. Aurora's harbinger, the forerunner of the goddess of
the dawn, i.e. the day-star ; harbinger, forerunner ; properly an
officer in the royal household , whose duty it was to allot and mark
the lodgings of the king's attendants in a royal progress.
382. Troop churchyards , hurry back in troops to their graves
in the churchyard : cp. Haml. i. 1. 150-6.
383. in crossways, suicides were formerly buried in crossways
so that their graves instead of being kept sacred as in churchyards
might be trodden by every wayfarer ; a stake was also driven
I
through their hearts to mark their burial : floods, according to

Steevens, the ghosts of those who were drowned were condemned,
in consequence of their not having received the rites of burial to
wander for a hundred years. He quotes Milton's Ode on the
Death of an Infant, “ Or that thy beauties lie in wormy bed."
387. consort, have their lot with ; for this word and for sort
in the next line, see note on 1. 352, above.
389. the morning's love, " by the morning's love I apprehend
Cephalus, the mighty hunter and paramour of Aurora, is intended ”
(Holt White).
391 , 2. Even till ... beams, even till the sun, issuing forth from
the eastern gate, lights up the sea, etc. The gate of the east is
an idea derived from ancient mythology in which the sun is a
deity.
399. Goblin, a mischievous sprite ; from " O. F. gobelin,
Low Lat. gobelinus, an extension of Low Lat. cobalus, a goblin ,
demon. Gk. kóẞalos, an impudent rogue, a sprite, goblin. "
(Skeat, Ety. Dict. )
402. drawn, with my sword drawn ; cp. H. V. ii. 1. 39, “ O
well a day, Lady, if he be not drawn now ; R. J. i. 1. 73, " What,
art
"" thou drawn among these heartless hinds ?" Cymb. iii. 4. 111 ,
Why hast thou gone so far To be unbent when thou hast ta'en
thy stand, The elected deer before thee ?"
403. straight, straightway, immediately.
404. plainer, more level, and so more suitable for their combat.
408. look'st for wars, are in eager expectation of a combat.
409. recreant, coward ; from F. recroire, " to believe again, or
alter one's faith ... also used in the phrase se recredere, to own
oneself beaten in a duel or judicial combat " ... (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
410. whip thee with a rod, i.e. treat you as an insolent child
deserves to be treated : he, any one ; see Abb. § 224.
412. we'll try ... here, we will not make trial of one another's
courage and skill here.
413. dares me on, challenges me to come on.
414. then he is gone, then I find him gone.
415. lighter-heel'd, nimbler in running ; cp. i. H. IV. ii. 4. 53,
" show it a fair pair of heels and run from it. "
419. grey, as the light is before the sun is above the horizon.
420. revenge this spite, revenge the insult he has put upon me.
422. Abide me, wait till I come up with you : wot, know.
423. shifting every place, changing your place every moment.
426. then, i.e. it is plain : buy this dear, pay for this dearly ;
' buy ' and ' aby ' are both from the A.S. bicgan, to buy ; cp.
above, iii. 2. 175. “' Lest, to thy peril, thou aby it dear."
428. Faintness, weariness.
429. To measure ... length, cp. Lear, i. 4. 100, “ If you will
measure your lubber's length again, tarry, " i.e. if you wish to be
knocked down again.
430. look to be visited, expect to be met and punished by
me.
432. Abate thy hours, shorten your duration : Shine comforts,
let comforts shine ; the imperative used optatively.
435. sleep, that ... eye, see note on iii. 2. 85, above.
436. steal, gently remove.
437. Yet but three ? are there only three here as yet ? Come
one more, let one more come.
439. curst, see note on 1. 300.
442. Never, on this word where we more commonly use ' ever, '
see Abb. § 52.
443. Bedabbled, wetted thoroughly, see note on 1. 121 .
444. go, walk.
447. mean a fray, intend to fight.
458. And the ... known, and the proverb so well known to
rustics.
460. In your ... shown, shall be exemplified in your case when
you awake.
461. Jack shall have Jill, every lad shall have his lass ; Jack
and Jill, names common among rustics ; cp. L. L. L. v. 2. 885,
"Our wooing doth not end like an old play ; Jack hath no Jill.”
ACT IV. SCENE I.
2. amiable, lovely ; the word is now applied only to the dis

position of persons : coy, stroke softly ; ultimately from Lat.
quietus, quiet, still.
3. sleek, smooth, glossy.
4. my gentle joy, you gentle one in whom I take such delight.
7. Mounsieur, so the quartos and folios throughout Bottom's
speeches, —a spelling probably intended to represent his pro
nunciation, though the Camb. Edd . point out that the word was
generally so spelt. Compare Pistol's French in H. V.
11. red-hipped , Marshall points out that many of the humble
bees have the lower half of the abdomen bright coloured, and one
132 A MIDSUMMER - NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT IV.
of the commonest species (Bombus lapidarius) has the last three

abdominal segments bright red.
13. Do not ... action, don't fatigue yourself too much in doing
it.
15. to have you overflown, that you should be smothered by the
honey flowing out of the honey-bag.
18. neaf, or ' neif, ' fist ; from " Icel. hnefi, the fist. " (Skeat,
Ety. Dict. ). Cp. ii. H. IV. ii. 4. 200, " I kiss thy neaf, " Pistol's
speech.
19. leave your courtesy, do not trouble yourself to be so
ceremonious ; cp. L. L. L. iv. 2. 147, " Stay not to compliment ;
I forgive thy duty."
20. What's your will ? What do you desire of me ? said as
though he were addressing some great personage.
21. Cavalery, Bottom's version of ' Caballero, ' Spanish for
cavalier, chevalier, literally a horseman ; cp. M. W. ii. 3. 77,
" Cavaleiro Slender, " the Hostess ' speech ; Cobweb, either a
misprint for " Peaseblossom," or Bottom's forgetfulness, Cobweb
having already been despatched on his mission for the honey-bag.
22. must to, must go to, pay a visit to.
23. marvellous, used adverbially.
23, 4. I am such ... scratch. Bottom compliments himself on
his delicate sensitiveness , as he has before done on his various
accomplishments, and does immediately afterwards on his good
ear for music.
26. I have ... music, Bottom was a weaver, and weavers in
Shakespeare's day were famed for their singing ; cp. T. N. ii. 3.
61 , " shall we rouse the night-owl in a catch that will draw three
souls out of one weaver ?
26, 7. the tongs, a pair of tongs struck with a key or a piece
of iron, something after the way of the modern ' triangle, ' were
used by rustics in place of better music. the bones, flat pieces of
bone held between alternate fingers and clacked together as
by ' nigger ' minstrels in the present day.
29. provender, dry food for beasts, hay, corn ; from " F. pro
vende ... Lat. præbenda, a payment ; in late Lat. a daily allow
ance of provisions " ... (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ) : your, that you and
everybody know so well ; see Abb. § 221 .
30. a desire to, a longing for : bottle, bundle ; O. F. botel, a
diminutive of botte, a bundle of hay, etc.
31. fellow, equal.
32. venturous, the exploit of stealing his nuts from a creature
so formidable (to fairies) as a squirrel being a dangerous one.
33. thence is Hanmer's insertion for the sake of the metre ;
Steevens' remedy of treating hoard as a dissyllable is unsatis

factory as involving an undue emphasis on thee.
35, 6. an exposition of sleep, a disposition to sleep.
38. be all ways away, disperse yourselves in every direction to
your several duties ; be, perhaps indicating the instantaneous
movements of fairies.
39. woodbine, the greater convolvulus ; cp. above, ii. 1. 251 .
40. entwist, wind its tendrils about : female ivy, as needing
the masculine support of some stronger tree ; generally in poetry
represented as married to the elm. In C. E. ii. 2. 176-8, it is
the vine that is so represented, " Thou art an elm, my husband,
I a vine, Whose weakness married to thy stronger state Makes
me with thy strength to communicate. "
41. Enrings, Henley sees here and in fingers an allusion to
the ring of the marriage rite ; the barky fingers, the sprays covered
with rough bark ; for adjectives formed from substantives by the
suffix -y, see Abb. § 450.
46. sweet favours fool, sweet-scented flowers to decorate
this odious fool ; we still use the word ' wedding-favours ' in the
sense of knots of ribbon with which the wedding-guests are
decorated. The second quarto and the three first folios read
' savours,' which some editors adopt.
47. upbraid, reproach ; Skeat says that the original sense of
the word was probably to lay hands upon, lay hold of, hence to
attack, lay to one's charge, it being derived from A.S. upp, up,
and bregdan, bredan, to braid, weave, also to lay hold of, pull,
draw.
48. rounded, encircled ; cp. R. II. iii. 2. 161"" , " the hollow
crown That rounds the mortal temples of a king. '
50. that same dew, the very dew : sometime, once upon a
time ; see note on ii. 1. 38.
51. orient, bright ; the East being the
"" source of light ; applied
to a tear, V. A. 981, “ an orient drop . '
52. eyes, the centre of a flower was called the ' eye.'
53. that did ... bewail, sc. being used for such a purpose.
54. at my pleasure, as long as I pleased, with no one to stop
me.
55. begg'd my patience, begged me not to be angry with her.
57. straight, immediately : her fairy, her personal attendant.
59, 60. And now I have, and now that I have : I will ... eyes, I
will take off from her eyes this deception which prevents her
from seeing things as they really are.
61. this transformed scalp, this transforming head, this head
with which he has been transformed ; scalp is properly the skin

of the head on which the hair grows.
63, 4. That, he ... repair, equivalent to ' That they all awaking
together, may,' etc.; for other, used as a plural, see Abb. § 12 ;
repair, in this sense from Lat. repatriare, to return to one's
country.
65. accidents, incidents ; cp. Temp. v. 1. 305, " the story of
my life And the particular accidents gone by Since I came to this
isle."
66. But as ... dream, than as the fancies by which one is
tortured in a dream .
70. Dian's bud, Steevens says this is the bud of the Agnus
Castus, or Chaste Tree ; and quotes Macer's Herball, " The
vertue of this herbe is, that he wyll kepe man and woman
chaste." Halpin, in his explanation of Oberon's vision, sees here
an allusion to Elizabeth's maiden purity ; she being symbolized
under the title of Diana.
75. your love, he whom you loved.
77. Silence, possibly a reference to the necessity of silence
while a spell was being allowed to work ; cp. Temp. iv. 1. 59,
127, Epilogue, 10.
78. music call, summon your fairies to play to you.
78, 9. and strike .. sense, and overpower, more completely
than ordinary sleep would do, the sense of these five, viz. ,
Hermia, Helena, Lysander, Demetrius, Bottom.
80. such as ... sleep ! i.e. soft music, which acts as a charm in
producing sleep.
STAGE DIRECTION. Music, still . According to Dyce, with whom
Delius and Staunton agree, these words mean still or soft music ;
and in opposition to Collier, who thinks that the music was to
be heard for a while, and to cease before Puck spoke, Dyce
contends that the music was not intended to begin at all till
Oberon had exclaimed " Sound music, " 1. 82. " The stage
direction," he says, "" (as is often the case with stage directions
in old plays) was placed thus early to warn the musicians to be
in readiness. '
81. with thine . peep, see things with your own foolish eyes,
as you have been wont to do, and not with the eyes of an ass
with which you have lately seen things .
82. take hands, join hands ; Dyce points out that here " some
sort of a pas de deux is danced by the fairy king and queen."
83. rock the ground , “ like a cradle ” (Wright) .
84. are new in amity, are newly made friends again.
86. triumphantly, festively, with all signs of joy and gladness.
87. And bless ... prosperity, and shower our blessings upon it
with the result of its being ever prosperous .
89. with, at the same time with.
91. the ... lark, cp. R. J. iii. 5. 6, " It was the lark, the herald
of the morn. ""
92. sad, sober ; as frequently in Shakespeare.
93. Trip we shade, let us lightly follow the darkness of the
night to that part of the globe which it will be shadowing.
95. Swifter, see note on " moon's sphere, " ii. 1. 7, above.
100. the forester, the huntsman who was to bring the hounds
for the chase.
101. our perform'd , our rites to the May morning have been
duly observed ; cp. above i. 1. 167.
(
102. vaward, forepart ; another spelling of vanward ' (or
‘ vanguard '), from O. F. avant before and ward ' (or ' guard ').
For the word used in a figurative sense, cp. ii. H. IV. i. 2. 199,
" and we that are in the vaward of our youth, I must confess, are
wags too. "
103. My love, sc. Hippolyta : music, tuneful voices.
104. Uncouple, let the dogs out of the slips. For the sake of
the metre, Pope omits the words let them, and Dyce follows him.
105. Dispatch, make haste.
106. We will ... up, the verb of motion omitted.
107. the musical confusion, the harmonious blending of the
baying of dogs and the echo of that baying.
110. bay'd the bear, brought the bear to a stand-still ; " bay
-F. abois, abbois. Cotgrave says ' a stag is said rendre les
pois, when, weary of running, he turns upon the hounds, and
holds them at or puts them to a bay ' The original sense of aboi
is the bark of a dog" (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ) : bear was altered by
Hanmer to boar, ' but bear-hunting is frequently mentioned in
old English literature, and bear-baiting was a pastime common in
Shakespeare's day.
111. hounds of Sparta, the Spartan hounds were from early
days a famous breed.
112. chiding, noise made by the hounds giving tongue ; used of
the wind in A. Y. L. ii. 1. 7, of the sea in H. VIII. iii. 2. 197,
of the tempest in T. C. i. 3. 54.
113. fountains has been objected to on the ground that water
could not give an echo (though Virgil, quoted by Malone, has the
same thought) and mountains ' proposed in its place ; but
Shakespeare in speaking of the whole landscape is not careful
whether each item in his catalogue of particulars would really

give an echo.
114. seem'd ... cry, seemed all to share and re-echo the cry to
each other.
115. So musical a discord, properly so harmonious a want of
harmony ; a want of concord which at the same time was so
harmonious.
116. kind, breed.
117. So flew'd, with flews like those of the Spartan breed ;
' flews ' are the large chaps of a hound : so sanded, of the same
sandy colour, a colour " which is one of the true denotements of
a bloodhound " (Steevens).
118. With ears dew, i.e. so long that they almost touch the
ground.
119. dew-lapp'd bulls, with dewlaps as broad as those of,
etc.; cp. Temp. iii. 3. 45, " Dew-lapp'd like bulls " ; and see note
on ii. 1. 50.
120, 1. match'd ... each. A writer in the Edinburgh Review
for October, 1872, points out in Shakespeare's day the
greatest attention was paid to the musical quality of the cry of a
pack of hounds ; and quotes extracts from a contemporary of
Shakespeare's to show by what admixture of breeds ' sweetnesse
of cry, lowdnesse of cry,' and ' deepnesse of cry,' were sever
ally obtained ; for mouth, - voice, cp. H. V. ii . 4. 70, " for
coward dogs Most spend their mouths when what they seem to
threaten Runs far before them . "
121. tuneable, tuneful ; see Abb. § 3.
122. Was never holla'd to, was never answered by the hunts
man encouraging his dogs.
128. wonder of, wonder regarding, i.e. wonder at.
130. The rite of May, see Introduction.
131. in grace of, to grace : solemnity, marriage ceremony.
133. That Hermia ... choice, on which Hermia is bound to tell
us which of her two lovers she accepts ; for That, = when, see
Abb. § 284.
136. Saint Valentine is past, on Valentine's day, the fourteenth
of February, birds were supposed to pair for the season. See
Introduction.
137. Begin ... now? are these wood-birds so late in pledging
their faith ? wood-birds, because they had been found in the
wood ; the figure being kept up in couple.
138. Pardon, my lord, said as he makes obeisance to Theseus.
139. rival enemies, rivals and so enemies.
140-2. How comes ... enmity ? How does such gentle concord
prevail in the world that hatred is so completely a stranger to
suspicion as to sleep side by side with hatred without fearing any
injury ? i.e. how is it that you and Demetrius, who are known to
hate each other so bitterly, should be found lying close to one an
other, each without any fear of injury from the other ? for
jealousy , = suspicion, cp. H. V. ii. 2. 126, " O, how hast thou
with jealousy infected The sweetness of affiance ! " for so ... that,
see Abb. § 281 .
143, 4. I shall ... waking, my answer must be made in a be
wildered way as by one half asleep, half waking ; there seems to
be a confusion of constructions between ' I shall reply half asleep,
half waking,' and ' my reply shall be half sleep, half waking. '
Delius and Staunton read sleep, ' i.e. asleep for shall, = must,
see Abb. § 318.
146. for truly ... speak, for I should wish to speak the truth.
147. so it is, this is the state of matters.
149, 50. Was to be ... law, was to escape from Athens to some
place or other beyond the reach of the Athenian law. If the read
ing is right, the construction seems to be ' Was to be gone with
out the peril of the Athenian law by going from Athens where we
might.' Fisher's quarto puts a dash after law, to signify that
the speech is incomplete ; Hanmer gives "Be without peril
of th³ Athenian law" ; for without, used locally = outside, see
Abb. § 197.
151. you have enough, enough has been admitted by Lysander
to prove their guilt.
152. I beg the law, i.e. the application of the law ; cp. M. V.
iv. 1. 141, " I stand here for law."
154. Thereby me, so that they might in that way disappoint
both of us ; cp. H. V. iv. 175, " Now, if these me: have de
feated the law and outrun native punishment " ; Sonn. xx. 11 ,
"Till Nature ... fell a-doting And by addition me of thee de
feated."
157. their stealth, their stealing away.
158. Of this ... wood, of this intention of theirs to make for
this wood.
160. in fancy, out of love for me.
163. Melted, being melted. I have followed Dyce in inserting
melts before snow ; other conjectures are, " Melteth as does,"
etc.; " All melted as, " etc.
164. gawd, toy, bauble ; see above, i. 1. 33.
166-8. And all ... Helena, all the firm loyalty of my heart has
Helena for its mark, she is the sole object of delight to my eye.
170-2. But ... wish it, but, just as one in sickness loathes the
most pleasant food, so did I loathe Helena ; yet again, just as
one in health desires pleasant food, so I, having now recovered
my natural taste, desire Helena ; But and But, if the reading is
correct, may be used as correlatives = as, so.
175. this discourse, this narrative.
176. overbear, bear down by my command, over-rule.
177. by and by, in a short time ; see note on iii. 1. 77.
179. for, since : is something worn, has partly gone by.
181. three and three, each of us three with the object of our
love.
184. These things ... undistinguishable, these matters to which
I attached so much importance, now that I am awake and in my
right mind, seem so trifling as to be scarcely perceptible.
185. turned into clouds, which to the physical eye look no
more substantial than clouds.
186. with parted eye, as one would if one's eyes were not in
focus with each other.
188, 9. And I ... own, and as when a man finds a jewel and
does not know whether he may call it his own, or whether he
will have to give it up to some one claiming it, so I, in finding
Demetrius, feel the same uncertainty as to his really belonging
to me.
190. That we are awake ? Capell and Lettsom both conjecture
' well ' before awake ; Malone would insert ' now.'
196. by the way, as we go along.
198. next, sc. cue.
200. God's my life, i.e. by God who is my life, or as God is my
life.
202. past the wit was, which it is beyond the wisdom of
man to say what its nature was.
203. go about, endeavour.
205. a patched fool, no better than a fool dressed in motley.
206. offer, attempt .
206-9. The eye ... was. Bottom is clumsily parodying Scrip
ture ; see i. Corinthians, ii. 9.
210. of this dream, on the subject of this dream.
212. our is Walker's conjecture for ‘ a. '
213. gracious, pleasing : her death, if the true reading, can
refer to Thisbe only ; Theobald conjectured after ' for at her,
i.e. after he has slain himself in the character of Pyramus.
SCENE II.
3. transported, made away with, carried off by some agency ;

it seems hardly necessary to take the word as an euphemism for
'murdered,' as Schmidt does.
8. discharge, play ; see note on i. 2. 84.
9, 10. the best ... man, a confusion of constructions between
' a better wit than any handicraft man, ' and ' the best wit of all
handicraft men ' ; handicraft, from " A.S. handcraft, a trade,
the insertion of being due to an imitation of the form of handi
work, in which i is a real part of the word ... from A.S. hand and
geweorc, another form of weorc, work " ... (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
13. paragon, " a model of excellence ... F. paragon, ' a paragon,
or peerlesse one ' ; Cot. - Span. paragon, a model, paragon. A
singular word owing its origin to two prepositions united in a
phrase. -Span. para con ... -Span. para, for ... which is itself a
compound preposition, answering O. Span. pora, from Lat. pro
ad ... and con from Lat. cum. Thus it is really equivalent to the
three Lat. prepositions pro, ad, cum " (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
14. a thing of naught, a worthless thing ; naught, from which
our word naughty, being the A.S. nawhit, no thing.
15. from the temple, i.e. after his marriage there.
17. had gone forward, had been carried out ; if our play had
been acted : we had ... men, our fortunes would have been made ;
cp. T. N. ii . 5. 168, " Go to, thou art made, if thou desirest to
be so. ""
18. bully, see note on iii. 1. 7.
19. ' scaped, missed getting ; Flute employs for missing a piece
of good fortune a word more properly used of getting out of a
difficulty , scrape.
20, 1. an the duke ... hanged, I'll be hanged if the duke would
not have given, etc. , i.e. assuredly the duke would have given.
22. sixpence ... nothing, if he were rewarded at all, as he was
sure to have been, the reward for his playing Pyramus could not
have been less than sixpence a day for life in Pyramus , in
his character as Pyramus. Steevens thinks there may here be
an allusion to a pension of twenty pounds a year bestowed on
one Thomas Preston for his acting before Elizabeth at Cambridge
in 1564.
66 23. hearts, brave fellows, sc. his comrades ; cp. Temp. i. 1. 7,
cheerly, cheerly, my hearts ! ”
24. courageous, possibly Bottom means ' auspicious.'
26. I am to, I have to ; it is what I am bound to do ; cp.
Tim. i . 2. 155, " I am to thank you for it " ; and see Abb. § 405.
140 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT IV. SC. II.
31 , 2. good strings to your beards, i.e. so that they may not

fall off in the acting : pumps, court shoes, thin-soled shoes. "So
called ... because worn for ' pomp ' or ornament, by persons in
full dress. - F. pompe, pomp, state ... a pied de plombe et de
pompe, with a slow and stately gate [gait] : Cot. ' " (Skeat, Ety.
Dict.).
34. the short
" and the long, the fact ; the whole story ; more
commonly the long and the short of the matter ' : preferred, is
generally explained as ' offered for acceptance ' ; but Bottom
seems certain that the play has been accepted, and probably
the word means has ' received the honour of being accepted. '
36. shall hang, are bound to hang, must hang.
38. we are to utter, it is our duty to breathe.
ACT V. SCENE I.
1. that, for the omission of the relative where the antecedent

clause is emphatic, see Abb. § 244.
2. may, can ; the original sense of ' may ' ; see Abb. § 307, 310.
3. antique, literally ancient, and so grotesque : toys, absurdi
ties.
4. seething, boiling ; cp. W. T. iii. 3. 64, " Would any but
these boiled brains of nineteen and two-and-twenty hunt this
weather ?"
5. Such shaping fantasies, fancies capable of giving form and
shape to things that have no existence : apprehend, seize hold of;
perceive the existence of.
6. comprehends, takes hold of and assimilates to itself. The
hasty clutching at an idea by fancy is contrasted with the deliber
ate manner in which reason examines an idea before accepting
and making it a part of herself.
8. compact, made up of ; put together with ; cp. V. A. 149,
" Love is a spirit all compact of fire " ; A. Y. L. ii. 7. 5, “ If he,
compact of jars, grow musical. "
10. all, wholly.
11. in a brow of Egypt, in the face of a gipsy ; the fair com
plexion of Helen is contrasted with the swarthiness of a gipsy.
12. in a fine frenzy rolling, rolling in the ecstasy of inspiration ;
cp. K. J. iv. 2. 192 , " With wrinkled brows, with nods, with
rolling eyes " ; and for the transitive use, Lucr. 368, " Rolling
his greedy eyeballs in his head. "
14. bodies forth, presents as something concrete.
ACT V. SC. I. ] NOTES. 141
18. tricks, feats of conjuring.

19, 20. That, if ... that joy, that if its intention is merely to
conceive some joy, it necessarily conceives also, etc. In the
language of logicians, the idea denoting some joy is connoted by
the idea of some cause of that joy.
21. imagining, if one imagines ; by a person imagining ; for the
participle without a noun subject, see Abb. § 378 : fear, object of
fear ; cp. i. H. IV. i. 3. 87, " Shall we buy treason ? and indent
with fears, When they have lost and forfeited themselves ? "
22. easy, easily.
23-7. But all ….. admirable, but the narration in all its particu
lars of what happened to them in the night, with the fact of their
minds being all at one time affected by a similar transformation ,
gives proof of something more than fanciful imagination , and
taken together has the appearance of real consistency ; but this
in any case, be that as it may (i.e. consistent or not), is worthy
of wonder ; witnesseth , the singular as though we had with '
instead of and ; constancy , cp. the adjective in T. N. iv. 2. 53,
" I am no more mad than you are : make trial of it in any con
stant question " ; for howsoever, cp. T. C. iii. 3. 297, “howsoever,
he shall pay for me ere he has me ; Cymb. iv. 2. 146, " howsoe'er,
My brother hath done well. "
29. Joy, i.e. be to you : fresh days of love, days in which love
will have lost none of its first freshness.
30. More, sc. joy.
31. Wait ... bed, be with you ever and everywhere.
33. this long ... hours, the three hours that will otherwise seem
an age.
34. after-supper, the rear supper, as it was also called , refresh
ments taken after supper and answering to the dessert after
dinner ; cp. R. III. iv. 3. 31 , "Come to me, Tyrrel, soon at
after supper. "
35. our manager of mirth, the master of our revels, provider
of entertainments.
36. in hand, preparing.
39. abridgement, amusement to make the time pass quickly ;
in Haml. ii. 2. 439, " my abridgement " means he who by his
appearance cuts short my speech.
41. The lazy time, the time which passes so slowly when un
occupied .
42. brief, short statement ; cp. A. C. v. 2. 138, " This is the
brief of money, plate, and jewels I am possess'd of : " ripe, sc.
for performance, ready.
43. of, redundant ; see Abb. § 179.
1
142 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT V.
44. Centaurs, i.e. the Bull-killers, an ancient mythological

race, inhabiting Mt. Pelion in Thessaly. They are particularly
celebrated in ancient story for their fight with the Lapithæ,
which arose at the marriage-feast of Pirithous. This fight is
sometimes placed in connection with a combat of Hercules with
the Centaurs.
45. to the harp, with the music of the harp as an accompani
ment.
47. my kinsman, according to Plutarch, " they were near
kinsmen, being cousins removed by the mother's side " (Shake
speare's Plutarch, ed . Skeat, p. 178).
48. Bacchanals, the frenzied devotees of the god Dionysus
(Bacchus, in Roman mythology), who in their orgies tore to
pieces the poet Orpheus for the contempt he had shown them by
secluding himself from all female society after the loss of his
wife, Eurydice.
51. from Thebes, where, aiding Adrastus in recovering the
dead bodies of those slain in the war of the " Seven against
Thebes," he captured the city.
52, 3. The thrice ... beggary. By Warton and others this is
supposed to allude to Spenser's poem The Tears of the Muses,
which, however, could only be called a satire in the sense that
the decay of poetry was in it held up to scorn. Knight thinks
that the allusion is to a satire of Harvey's upon Robert Greene,
lately dead, who as a Master of Arts in both Universities might
have been ironically personified as Learning.
55. sorting, agreeing with , being appropriate to.
56. tedious brief, not necessarily a contradiction of terms, as
Philostrate afterwards explains, though here so taken by Theseus.
59. wondrous strange, if the true reading, will mean as strange
in nature as hot ice ; for wondrous, as a trisyllable, see Abb.
§ 477. Various conjectures have been made in place of strange,
e.g. ' scorching, ' ' seething,' ' swarthy, ' ' staining, ' etc.
60. How shall ... discord ? how can things so completely
opposed to each other go harmoniously together ?
61. some, about ; see Abb. § 21.
65. fitted, given a part suitable to his capacity.
68. Which ... rehearsed, and this when I saw it rehearsed.
70. passion, strong feeling ; see note on iii. 2. 74.
71. What, of what kind ; less definite than ' who.'
72. Hard-handed, whose hands have been hardened by toil ;
cp. J. C. iv. 4. 74, " to wring From the hard hands of peasants
their vile trash " ; Tennyson, Princess, ii. 143, 66 horn-handed
breakers of the glebe. "
74, 5. And now ... nuptial, and now have exercised their
hitherto unpractised memories in studying this play I have men
tioned in preparation for your66 wedding feast ; for toil'd, transi
tive, cp. Haml. i. 1. 72, 'Why this same strict and most
observant watch So nightly toils the subject of the land " ; in
unbreathed the figure is from exercising horses and so getting
them into good wind ; cp. A. Y. L. i. 2. 230, " Yes, I beseech
your grace : I am not yet well breathed " ; T. S. Ind. ii. 50, 66 as
swift As breathed stags " ; for against your nuptial, see note on i.
1. 125.
77. not for you, not fitted for one of your greatness.
79, 80. Unless ... pain, unless the fact that they have desired
to please you, and with that desire have laboured to the utmost
in getting up their parts, will afford you amusement in spite of
their shortcomings ; properly speaking, it is not the intents that
are Extremely stretch'd, but their labour due to those intents ;
conn'd, see note on i. 2. 102.
83. When simpleness ... it, when offered out of simple-minded
loyalty
"" ; Steevens compares Ben Jonson, Cynthia's Revels,
Nothing which duty and desire to please Bears written on the
forehead, comes amiss. "
85, 6. I love not ... perishing, it is no pleasant sight to me to
see poor wretches labouring under a task too heavy for them, and
those who from a feeling of duty offer their services failing in
their attempt to acquit themselves well ; Hippolyta is unwilling
that the poor rustics should be allowed to play before her and
break down in the attempt ; his, its ; for perishing, in this
sense,"" cp. M. M. v. 1. 458, " an intent That perish'd by the
way. "
88. kind, way, i.e. of acting.
89. The kinder ...nothing, if so, answers Theseus playing upon
the word kind, our gracious thanks will be all the more gracious
as being given for what does not in itself deserve them.
90. Our sport mistake, our amusement shall consist in
accepting, as something worthily offered, their shortcomings ,
whatever they may be.
91, 2. And what ... merit, and in a case where poor creatures,
anxious to show their duty, fail in their efforts, a generous mind
accepts those efforts, taking into consideration their capacity as
performers rather
( than the merit of their performance. Seymour
would insert aright, ' Coleridge, ' yet would ' after do, putting
noble respect into the latter of the two lines.
93. great clerks, deeply learned men ; " learning," as Wright
points out, "having been at one time almost confined to the
clergy." He compares Per. v. Prol. 5, “ Deep clerks she dumbs, ”
i.e. she puts to silence profound scholars.'
144 A MIDSUMMER -NIGHT'S DREAM. [ACT V.
95. Where, and in such cases.

96. Make periods, come to a stand-still.
97. Throttle fears, in their nervous excitement choke the
utterance of those sentences which they had spent so much pains
in committing to memory.
98, 9. And in conclusion ... welcome, and have ended in break
ing off short in their address without giving me the welcome
they had intended. For the ellipsis of the nominative, see Abb.
§ 399.
100. Out of ... welcome, yet from this very silence of theirs I
gathered a welcome ; cp. M. V. ii. 9. 48, " how much honour
Pick'd from the chaff and ruin of the times. "
101-3. And in ... eloquence, and in the nervous bashfulness
which these loyal creatures have betrayed, I have discovered as
much real welcome as in the glib, fluent speech of those who
were hindered by no scruples of diffidence.
104, 5. Love, therefore ... capacity, to my judgment, therefore,
love and hesitating simplicity are most eloquent, though they
can find but few words to express their feelings ; Love and
simplicity, loving and simple-minded creatures, the abstract for
the concrete ; for capacity, cp. T. N. ii. 5. 128, " this is evident
to any formal capacity. "
106. So please your grace, if your grace is willing to hear it ;
address'd, prepared, ready ; see note on ii. 2. 143.
STAGE DIRECTION. Flourish of trumpets. Steevens shows that
the Prologue was anciently ushered in by trumpets.
108-17. If we ... know. In Udall's Ralph Roister Doister, iii.
4. 34-68, there is a metrical epistle in which the stops are as
carefully misplaced as in Quince's Prologue . The lines should be
stopped as follows :
If we offend, it is with our good will
That you should think we come not to offend ;
But with good will to show our simple skill :
That is the true beginning of our end.
Consider then ; we come ; but in despite
We do not come : as minding to content you,
Our true intent is all for your delight ;
We are not here that you should here repent you.
The actors are at hand ; and by their show
You shall know all that you are like to know.
108, 9. it is ... offend, we sincerely hope that you will believe
that we do not come with the intention of offending.
110. But with ... skill, but we come with the desire to show,
etc.
111. That is ... end, that is the object we really have in

view.
112, 3. but in ... come, but we do not come with a bad
purpose.
113, 4. as minding ... delight, desiring to satisfy you, our real
intention is wholly to give you pleasure.
115. We are not ... you, we are not present here in order that
you should regret wasting your time upon us.
117. like, likely.
118. doth not ... points, has no respect for stops.
119, 20. He hath ... stop, his prologue goes with the paces
of an unbroken colt that pays no regard to the check of its
rider.
123. recorder, a sort of flute or flageolet with six stops ; a
sound government, producing a sound, it is true, but not a
musical one ; not one over which he has proper control ; cp.
Haml. iii. 2. 372-6, where Hamlet is addressing the player who
enters with a recorder.
124, 5. nothing ... disordered, in no way injured, but thrown
into complete confusion.
126. Gentles, gentlemen ; ‘ gentle and simple ' was a common
phrase for well-born and lowly-born ' : show, dumb show, no
speech being so far given to the actors.
128. would know, desire to know.
129. certain, " A burlesque was here intended on the frequent
recurrence of certain as a bungling rhyme in poetry more
ancient than the age of Shakespeare " (Steevens), who quotes
several instances.
132. are content, have to put up with.
135. if you will know, if you desire to hear the story.
136. did ... think no scorn, were not ashamed.
138. grisly, grim, horrible ; hight, is called ; an archaism,
and " the sole instance in Eng. of a passive verb" (Skeat, Ety.
Dict.).
139. trusty, faithful in keeping her promise to meet Pyramus.
141. fall, transitive, let fall ; as frequently in Shakespeare.
143. Anon, a minute later ; see note on ii. 1. 17 : tall, brave.
144. And finds slain, and finds the mantle of his faithful
Thisbe who had been slain by the lion, as he fancied.
145, 6. Whereat ... breast, ridiculing the love of alliteration
common in Shakespeare's day : broach'd, tapped ; as a cask is
tapped to draw the liquor ; cp. Tim. ii. 2. 186, " If I would
broach the vessels of my love."
K
147, 8. And Thisby ... died, and Thisbe, who was hiding her
self, for fear of the lion, in the shelter of the mulberry trees,
coming out drew the dagger from his wound and killed herself
with it : For all the rest, as for the rest of the story.
150. At large, at length, in full detail.
151. be to speak, has to make a speech.
152. No wonder, it would be nothing wonderful if he had to, etc.
154. interlude, properly something played in the intervals of
a festivity.
157. crannied hole, a crevice cut in the wall.
162. right and sinister, going right and left ; sinister, an
affectation partly for the sake of a rough rhyme with whisper.
164. Would you . better ? Could any one expect lime and
hair to speak more eloquently ? hair, an admixture with lime to
give it greater consistency ; cp. below, 1. 193.
165. partition, Fanner proposed "This is the wittiest partition
that ever I heard in discourse," with an allusion to the many
absurd partitions in the argumentative writings of the time.
168. grim-look'd, for the termination -ed loosely employed for
ful, -ing, see Abb. § 374.
175. blink, peep through.
176. shield, guard, protect from storms.
180. sensible, endowed with sense ; the wall being represented
by a man should, ought, might be expected to : curse again,
return curse for curse.
181. he should not, Bottom, taking Theseus' words seriously,
replies, ' No, that is not in his part. '
183. pat, exactly ; see above, iii. 1. 2.
186. For parting, on account of your separating.
188. hair ... thee, see note on 1. 164 above.
189. see a voice, see above, iii. 1. 82.
192. thy lover's grace, your graceful lover.
193. Limander, for Leander, as Helen is for Hero, Shafalus for
Cephalus, and Procrus for Procris. Everyone knows the story of
Hero and Leander ; Cephalus, son of Hermes and Herse, was
loved by Aurora, but out of loyalty to his wife Procris, rejected
the offers of the goddess.
200. 'Tide life, ' tide death, whether life or death happen to
me ; 'tide, for ' betide. '
201. discharged, enacted ; cp. above, i. 2. 82.
202. being done, the part being played.
203. mural, if the right reading, = wall ; Theseus probably
imitating the affectation of the actor's language by coining a

word from the Lat. adjective muralis, from murus, a wall. Col
lier conjectures ' wall. '
204, 5. No remedy ... warning, nothing else could be done than
to throw walls down when they take to overhearing in this clan
destine way, without giving any warning of their presence as
an honourable person would do rather than overhear a secret
conversation ; an allusion to the proverb "Walls have ears, " i.e.
it is not safe to tell a secret when some one may be concealed be
hind a wall and overhear it.
207. in this kind, i.e. in dramatic representations.
208. no worse them, nothing worse than shadows, if the
faults in their acting be pierced out by imagining what good
acting of the parts would be.
209. It must theirs, it must be your imagination then, for
they are quite without that faculty.
211. pass for, pass current as ; be accepted generally.
212. in a man and a lion, in the persons of a, etc.
214. smallest monstrous, an intentional contradiction of terms.
218. A lion fell ... dam, neither a cruel lion, nor a lioness
editors read either ' No lion fell,' ' A lion's fell, ' or ' A lion-fell,'
'fell ' in the two latter readings = skin. But probably Snug is
here made to misplace his negatives, making up for the omission
at the beginning of the line by an excess in the latter part, for it
is unlikely that a lion's skin would be contrasted with a lion's
dam for a similar omission of the former of two negatives, cp.
M. M. iii. 2. 86, " Pomp. You will not bail me, then, sir ? Lucio.
Then, Pompey, nor now " : dam, a mere variation of dame, used
for the mother of animals, or of human beings when likened to
animals , though occasionally without any contemptuous sense, e.g.
W. T. iii. 2. 199, " his gracious dam," said by Paulina of her
loved mistress Hermione.
220. 'twere pity on my life, see note on iii. 1. 38, 9.
221. of a good conscience, i.e. as shown by his letting the
spectators know that they need not be afraid of him.
222. at a beast, for a beast, in playing the part of a wild beast ;
cp. L. L. L. i. 2. 42, " I am ill at reckoning "; Haml. ii. 2. 120,
" I am ill at these numbers," i.e. a bad hand at writing verses.
223. a very ... valour, a true fox as regards valour, i.e. not val
orous at all, the fox always securing its prey by cunning.
224. a goose ... discretion, with no more discretion than a
goose. Delius refers to the antithesis between valour and dis
cretion in i. H. IV. v. 4. 121 , " The better part of valour is
discretion."
225, 6. Not so ....goose, that simile will not hold, for if he

were like a fox in point of valour, and a goose in point of
discretion, his valour ought to be able to carry his discretion,
as the fox carries the goose ; carry in the former case being used in
the sense of ' be equal to the burden of,' in the latter of ' bear
away his prey.'
227, 8. His discretion ... fox, if his discretion, as you say, is
too much for his valour (i.e. if his discretion prevents him from
exhibiting his valour), I am sure on the other hand that his
valour is too much for his discretion (i.e. will not allow his
discretion to show itself), for, as we all know, it is not the goose
that carries the fox.
228, 29. leave it to his discretion, leave him to manage matters
as he thinks fit.
230. the horned moon, the crescent moon ; cp. Cor. "" i. 1. 217,
"As they would hang them on the horns o' the moon.'
231. He should ... head, to show that he is a cuckold ; an
allusion to the old belief that when a man's wife was unfaithful
to him, horns sprouted from his forehead.
232, 3. He is no crescent ... circumference, if he represented the
crescent moon, his horns would show ; but he represents the full
moon, and therefore his horns are hidden like those of the moon
when at the full.
235. do seem to be, represent.
236, 7. This is ...lanthorn, if, as he says, the lanthorn represents
the moon, then he, in not being inside the lanthorn, is guilty of a
greater blunder in acting than any of the others ; the greatest ...
rest, an imitation of a Greek idiom in which two constructions
are confused, (1 ) the greatest error of all, (2) a greater error than
all the rest ; cp. above iv. 2. 9, and Milton, P. L. iv. 323, 4, " Adam
the goodliest man of men since born His sons, the fairest of her
daughters Eve."
237, 8. How is ... moon? a question of appeal equivalent to ' in
no other way can he be the man in the moon .'
239. for the candle, because of the candle ; for fear of being
burnt by the candle ; see Abb. § 150.
240. in snuff, a pun upon the phrase to take something in
snuff, i.e. to be offended at something as shown by snuffing up
the nose, and secondly upon the word ' snuff' =the burnt-out part
of the wick of a candle ; cp. i. H. IV. i. 3. 41, "A pouncet-box,
which ever and anon He gave his nose and took ' t away again ;
Who therewith angry, when it next came there, Took it in snuff."
241. aweary, the prefix a- here represents the A.S. intensive
of.
242, 3. It appears . wane, it appears, so far as we can judge

by the small amount of sense in his words, that he will soon be
no longer visible, i.e. that he will soon leave the stage ; we should
now say ' on the wane. '
244. the time, i.e. the time fixed for his disappearance from the
scene.
249, 50. for all ... moon, for we see all these in the moon ; the
mountains in the moon having been likened to these objects.
257. moused, to ' mouse ' is to tear as a cat tears a mouse ; cp.
K. J. ii. 1. 354, " mousing the flesh of men, " said of Death.
258. And so ... vanished, and at the point, i. e. after mousing
the garment. I follow Spedding in transposing this and the next
line, as, in the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, Pyramus came to
the place after the lion had torn Thisbe's garment.
262. gleams, Knight's conjecture for ' streams ' or ' beams ' of
the old copies, and evidently required for alliteration.
263. take, for ' catch,' for the sake of the alliteration.
264. spite ! misfortune ! woe is me !
265. poor knight, apostrophizing himself.
266. dole, grief ; cp. Haml. i. 2. 13, “ In equal scale weighing
delight and dole. "
269. O dainty duck ! apostrophizing Thisbe ; duck being a
common term of endearment.
270. good, fine ; for the sake of the rhyme.
274. Cut thread and thrum, " Thrum is the end or extremity
of a weaver's warp ; it is popularly used for very coarse yarn.
The maids now call a mop of yarn a thrum mop " (Warner).
275. Quail, crush, destroy ; transitive as in A. C. v. 2. 85,
"But when he meant to quail and shake the orb " ; but here
used for the sake of the assonance with crush, etc.; quell, kill ;
A.S. cwellan, to kill.
276, 7. This passion ... sad, a grim joke of Theseus', as though
the death of a dear friend were not sufficient without such pathos
as that of Pyramus to make a man look sad ; for passion, see
note on iii. 2. 74.
278. Beshrew ...man, bad luck to me if I do not pity the man ;
for Beshrew, see note on ii. 2. 54.
280. deflower'd, here misused by Bottom in the sense of cutting
off a flower in its bloom.
281. no, no , i.e. I must not say is but was.
282. look'd with cheer, looked bright and cheerful ; for the
derivation of the word, see note on iii. 2. 96.
283. confound, throw me into a state of distraction ; if, indeed,

Bottom is to be flattered by supposing him to have a definite
meaning.
292, 3. Tongue ... flight, Halliwell would read ' Sun ' for
Tongue, but surely the nonsense is intentional, and Pyramus, if
made to talk sense, would have said, ' Breath, take thy flight ;
Moon, lose thy light.'
295. No die ... him, a die is a cube (generally of ivory) used in
gaming, and on its six sides are marked the numbers (ace) one to
(seize) six ; so Theseus says the word is not applicable to
Pyramus seeing that he is but one.
299. How chance Thisbe, how does it chance that, etc.; see
note on i. 1. 129.
302. passion, passionate lament.
305, 6. A mote ... better, the very smallest atom will be enough
to turn the balance between them, they being so evenly matched,
and show which of the two is the better actor ; mote, a particle
of dust, a speck, spot ; which Pyramus ... better, apparently a
confusion between (1 ) which of the two, Pyramus and Thisbe, is
the better, and (2) whether Pyramus or Thisbe is the better of
the two.
306, 7. he for ... bless us, he in his capacity as a man, if we
may be forgiven for dignifying him with such a title ; she in her
capacity as a woman, if in so dignifying her we may hope for
God's blessing ; cp. A. Y. L. iii. 3. 5, " Your features ! Lord
warrant us what features ? ‫در‬
309. and thus she means, and this is what she means to say ;
videlicet, to wit, namely ; Lat. for videre licet, it is allowable to
see, it is easy to see, hence ' plainly,' ' to wit. '
316-8. These lily ...cheeks, the epithets in these lines are of
course intentionally absurd.
321. leeks, onions.
322. Sisters Three, the Fates ; Clotho, who held the distaff ;
Lachesis, who spun the thread of life ; Atropos, who cut it.
326, 7. shore ... silk, i.e. put an end to his beautiful life ; for
the curtailed participle, see Abb. § 343.
330. imbrue, drench in blood.
337, 8. the wall ... fathers, i.e. and therefore cannot assist in
burying the dead. The irrepressible Bottom, who has been
ready throughout to set everybody right, though he ought to be
lying dead, cannot resist this last opportunity of showing his
wisdom.
338. a Bergomask dance, a burlesque dance such as was com
mon at Bergamo in Italy. Though, according to Marshall, the
people of the place seem to have been sometimes called_‘Berga

maschi, ' the word is probably here spelt Bergomask from Bottom's
belief that it had something to do with a mask : see and hear,
intentionally transposed.
341 , 2. needs no excuse, sc. such as was commonly made in
epilogues.
343. there need ... blamed, none can come in for blame.
346. very notably discharged, very finely acted : come, your
Bergomask, come, let us have the dance you offered just now.
348. told, counted, numbered.
349. almost fairy time, time for the fairies to be at their
sports.
351. As much ... overwatch'd, by as long a time as we have
kept awake beyond night-fall.
352. palpable-gross play, play whose dulness is so palpable.
353. heavy gait of night, slowly passing hours of night ; gait,
<< manner of walking ... . A particular use of the M. E. gate, a
way popularly connected with the verb to go ; at the same
time, the word is not really derived from that verb, but from the
verb to get" (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
354. hold we, we intend to hold.
355. new jollity, some fresh diversion each succeeding night.
357. behowls, howls at ; see Abb. § 438.
359. fordone, exhausted ; for-, intensive.
360. wasted brands, logs which have long been burning
brightly, and so are partly burnt out.
361. screech-owl, cp. Macb. ii. 2. 3, 4, “ It was the owl that
shriek'd , the fatal bellman, which gives the stern'st good
night. "
362, 3. Puts ... shroud, leads the poor wretch who lies on a
bed of sickness to think of his death ; shroud, the garment in
which the dead are dressed ; " closely allied to shred ... the
original sense was a shred or piece of cloth or stuff, a sense
nearly retained in that of winding-sheet " (Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
364, 5. Now it is ... wide, cp. Haml. iii. 2. 406, 7, ""Tis now
the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn."
367. church-way paths, the paths in the churchyard leading to
the church.
369. By the triple Hecate's beam, by the side of the chariot of
Hecate known under three forms ; the diva triformis of classical
writers ; Luna, in heaven ; Diana, on earth ; Hecate or Proser
pina, in the infernal regions ; Hecate, always a dissyllable in
Shakespeare, except in i. H. VI. iii. 2. 64.
152 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM . [ACT V.
371. like a dream, as the events of the day follow a man in

sleep.
372. frolic, frolicsome, merry.
375. To sweep ... door, where it would gather if the door was
left open long.
376, 7. Through ... fire, now that the fires in the house have
been allowed to go out, in their stead light up the rooms with
your fairy light.
380. ditty, literally a thing dictated (Lat. dictatum), then a
song, and more usually a plaintive one.
381. dance it trippingly, trip lightly in your dance ; cp. Temp.
i. 2. 380, " Foot it featly here and there " ; and for this indefinite
use of it, see Abb. § 226.
382. by rote, repeating the words from memory ; rote, from
" O. F. rote ... Mod. F. route, a road, way, beaten track... Hence
by rote = along a beaten track, or with constant repetition ' ...
(Skeat, Ety. Dict. ).
383. To each ……. note, accompanying each word by a musical
note.
387. each fairy stray, let each fairy stray.
388. To the we, we, i.e. Titania and himself, as king and
queen of the fairies, will make our way to the chief bed of the
house occupied by Hippolyta and Theseus. Douce shows that it
was customary to bless the bed at all marriages, and quotes a
form of blessing from the Manual for the use of Salisbury.
390. create, created ; for the omission of -ed in the participle
of verbs ending in -t, -te, and -d, see Abb. § 342.
394. blots, such as those mentioned in 1. 396.
395. shall not stand, shall never be found among their
children.
396. hare-lip, lip divided in the middle, and thought to re
semble the lip of a hare ; cp. Lear, iii. 4. 123, “ This is the foul
fiend Flibbertigibbet : he ... gives the web and pin, squints the
eye, and makes the hare-lip. " Steevens says that this defect in
children was much dreaded, and numerous charms were applied
for its prevention .
397. mark prodigious, ill-omened mark.
398. Despised in nativity, looked upon with horror, regarded
as hateful, in a new-born child.
400. consecrate, see note on 1. 390, above.
401. take his gait, take his way ; see note on 1. 353, above.
402. several, separate, individual.
404, 5. And the owner rest, I have followed Staunton in

transposing these lines, though sense might be made of them as
(
they stood in the old copies, by construing Ever shall the
owner of it rest in safety and blest.' Dyce, retaining the old
order, reads · Ever shall 't, ' etc.
407. by break of day, as soon as the day breaks.
408. we shadows, we shadowy beings ; as in iii. 2. 347.
409-11. Think but ... appear, all you have to do is to imagine
that you were asleep when these visions appeared to you, and
then everything will be well.
412-4. And this ... reprehend, and do not blame this slight
subject of our merriment, the outcome of which has been nothing
more than a dream.
415. mend, intransitive, improve in our behaviour.
416-9. And, as I am ....long, and on my word as an honest
fairy, if we are so fortunate, though we do not deserve it, as to
escape being hissed, we will shortly present you with something
better worthy of your attention ; serpent's tongue, Steevens
quotes Markham's English Arcadia, 1607 , " But the nymph,
after the custom of distrest tragedians, whose first act is enter
tained with a snaky salutation," etc.
420. Else, if I do not keep my promise : the Puck, the hob
goblin you now know so well.
422. Give me your hands, applaud us by clapping your hands ;
cp. Temp. Epil. 20, " But release me from my bands With the
""
help of your good hands.
423. restore amends, in return show you marks of our friend
ship.
INDEX TO THE NOTES.
A Between, i. 1. 131.
Bob, ii. 1. 49.
Abide, iii. 1. 10. Brake, iii. 1. 66.
Abridgement, v. 1. 39. Breath, ii. 1. 151 .
Aby, iii. 2. 175. Breath'd, v. 1. 74.
Accidents, v. 1. 34. Brief (sb. ) , v. 1. 42.
Acheron, iii. 2. 357. Broach'd, v. 1. 146.
Adamant, ii. 1. 195. Bully, iii. 1. 7.
Advance, iii. 2. 128. Burr, iii. 2. 260.
Advised, i. 1. 46. Buskin'd, ii. 1. 71 .
Afeard, iii. 1. 25.
After-supper, v. 1. 34.
Against, i. 1. 125 ; iii. 2. 99. C
Amiable, iv. 1. 2. Calendar, iii. 1. 46.
Apace, i. 1. 2. Canker-blossom, iii. 2. 282.
Approve, ii. 2. 68. Cankers, ii. 2. 3.
Apricocks, iii. 1. 153. Capacity, v. 1. 105.
Argument, iii. 2. 242. Carried, iii. 2. 240.
Artificial, iii. 2. 203.
Avouch, i. 1. 106. Carthage queen, i. 1. 173.
Casement, iii. 1. 49.
Aweary, v. 1. 241. Chance (vb. ), i. 1. 129 ; v. 1 .
B 300.
Changeling, ii. 1. 23.
Bacchanals, v. 1. 48. Cheer, i. 1. 122.
Badges, iii. 127. Chiding, iv. 1. 112.
Bait, iii. 2. 197. Childhood (adj. ), iii. 2. 202.
Barren, iii. 2. 13. Childing, ii. 1. 112.
Bay'd, iv. 1. 110. Civil, iii. 2. 147.
Bead, iii. 2. 330. Clerks, v. 1. 93.
Bean-fed, ii. 1. 45. Cloister, i. 1. 71.
Bedabbled, iii. 2. 443. Coats in heraldry, iii. 2. 213.
Bequeath, iii. 2. 166. Coil, iii. 2. 339.
Bergomask, v. 1. 338, 346. Collied, i. 1. 145.
Beshrew, ii. 2. 54. Compact, v. 1. 8.
154
INDEX TO THE NOTES. 155
Companion , i. 1. 15 . G
Compare (sb. ), iii. 2. 290. Gait, v. 1. 353.
Con, i. 2. 88. Gawds, i. 1. 33.
Condole, i. 2. 23. Glance at, ii. 1. 75.
Confusion , i. 1. 149. Gleek, iii. 1. 135.
Contagious , ii. 1. 90. Goblin, iii. 2. 399.
Contrived , iii 196.
Counsel, i. 1. 216 ; iii. 2. 198. Gossip, ii. 1. 47.
Grisly, v. 1. 138.
Crab, ii. 1. 48. Guest-wise, iii. 2. 171.
Crazed, i. 1. 92.
Crossways , iii. 2. 383. H
Cue, iii. 1. 66.
Hail'd down, i. 1. 243.
D Handicraft, iv. 2. 10.
Harbinger, iii. 2. 380.
Dank, ii. 2. 75. Hare-lip, v. 1. 396.
Darkling , ii. 2. 86. Hearts, iv. 2. 23.
Death- counterfeiting, iii. 2. 364. Hempen, iii. 1. 67.
Debate, ii. 1. 116. Henchman, ii. 1. 121 .
Derived, i. 1. 99. Homespuns, iii. 1. 67.
Dian's bud, iv. 1. 70. Humble-bees, iii . 1. 155.
Ditty, v. 1. 380.
Discharge , i. 2. 82 ; iv. 2. 8. I
Distemperature , ii. 1. 106.
Dotes, i. 1. 109. Impair, iii. 2. 180.
Dowager , i. 1. 5. Impeach , ii. 1. 214.
Duke, i. 1. 20. Injury, ii. 1. 147.
Intend, iii. 2. 333.
E Interlude, v. 1. 154.
Edict, i. 1. 151 . J
Eglantine , ii. 1. 252.
Erewhile , iii. 2. 274. Jack, iii. 2. 461 .
Estate unto, i. 1. 98. Jealousy , iv. 1. 141 .
Exposition , iv. 1. 35. Jill, iii. 2. 461.
Extenuate , i. 1. 120. Jole, iii. 2. 368.
Eyne, i. 1. 242. Juvenal, iii. 1. 84.
F " K
Kind (sb. ), i. 1. 54.
Fair (sb. ) , i. 1. 182. Knacks, i. 1. 34.
Fantasy, i. 1. 32. Know, = ascertain, i. 1. 68.
Favour, = appearance, i. 1. 186.
Fell, v. 1. 218. L
Flew'd, iv. 1. 117.
Forsworn, ii. 1. 62. Lakin, iii. 1. 12.
French-crown- colour, i. 2. 84. Latch'd, iii. 2. 36.
Fruitless, i. 1. 73. Leviathan, ii. 1. 174.
156 A MIDSUMMER- NIGHT'S DREAM .
Lingers (trans. vb. ) , i. 1. 4. Pelting, ii. 1. 91 .

Livery, i. 1. 70. Pensioners, ii. 1. 10.
Lob, ii. 1. 16. Perishing, v. 1. 86.
Lode-stars, i. 1. 183. Persuasion, i. 1. 1.56.
Lover's fee, iii. 2. 113. Pert, i. 1. 13.
Pilgrimage, i. 1. 75.
M Plain-song, iii. 1. 121 .
Margent, ii. 1. 85. Plead, i. I. 61.
Maypole, iii. 2. 296. Preferred, iv. 2. 34.
Mazes, ii. 1. 99. Primrose-beds, i. 1. 215.
Methinks, i. 1. 3. Princess, iii. 2. 144.
Protest, i. 1. 89.
Mew'd, i. 1. 71. Provender, iv. 1. 29.
Middle summer, ii. 1. 82.
Misgraffed, i. 1. 137.
Momentany, i . 1. 143. Q
Morris, ii. 1. 98. Quaint, ii. 2. 7.
Mote, v. 1. 305. Quail, v. 1. 275.
Moused, v. 1. 257. Quantity, i. 1. 232.
Mouths, iii. 2. 238. Quell, v. 1. 275.
Mural, v. 1. 203. Quern, ii. 1. 36.
Murrion, ii. 1. 97. Quire, ii. 1. 55.
N R
Neaf, iv. 1. 18.
Needles, iii. 2. 204. Recorder, v. 1. 123.
Newts, i. 1. 125. Recreant, iii. 2. 409.
Night-rule, iii . 2. 5. Red-hipped, iv. 1. 11.
Nole, iii. 2. 17. Rehearse, i. 2. 90.
Nuptial, i. 1. 125. Rere-mice, ii. 2. 4.
Ringlets, ii. 1. 86.
0 Robin Goodfellow, ii. 1. 34.
Rounded, iv. 1. 48.
Oes, iii. 2. 188. Roundel, ii. 2. 1.
Orange-tawny, i. 2. 83. Russet-pated, iii. 2. 21.
Orbs, fairy-rings, ii. 1. 9.
Orient, iv . 1. 51. S
Other some, i. 1. 226.
Ounce, ii. 2. 30. Sampler, iii. 2. 205.
Ousel, iii. 1. 114. Sanded, iv. 1. 117.
Over-canopied, ii. 1. 251 . Scalp, iv. 1. 61 .
Schooling, i. 1. 116.
P Scrip, i. 2. 3.
Sealing-day, i. 1. 84.
Paragon, iv. 2. 13. Seething, v. 1. 4.
Passing, exceedingly, ii. 1.20. Self-affairs, i. 1. 113.
Pat, iii. 1. 2. Serpent's tongue, v. 1. 417.
Patches, iii. 2. 9. Shaping, v. 1. 5.
Pearl, i. 1. 211. Shrewd, ii . 1. 33.
INDEX TO THE NOTES. 157
Simplicity, i. 1. 171 . Trim, iii. 2. 157.

Snuff, v. 1. 240. Triumph, i. 1. 19.
Solemnities, i. 1. 11 ; iv. 1 . Tuneable, i. 1. 184.
131 , 2.
Spangled, ii. 1. 29. U
Sphere (the moon's ), ii. 1. 7.
Spinners, ii. 2. 21 . Undergo, i. 1. 75.
Spleen, i. 1. 146. Upbraid, iv. 1. 47.
Spotted, i. 1. 110.
V
Square (vb. ), ii. 1. 30.
Step-dame, i. 1. 5. Vaward, iv. 1. 102.
Steppe, ii. 1. 68. Villagery, ii. 1. 35.
Study (vb. ), i. 2. 60. Virgin patent, i. 1. 80.
Sympathy, i. 1. 141 . Vixen, iii. 2. 324.
Votaress, ii. 1. 123.
T
W
Tailor, ii. 1. 54.
Take on, iii. 2. 258. Waxen (vb. ), ii. 1. 56.
Testy, iii. 2. 358. Weed, ii. 1. 256.
Thrum, v. 1. 274. Welkin, iii. 2. 356.
Touch, iii. 2. 69. Wend, iii. 2. 372.
Toward, iii. 1. 69. Wode, ii. 1. 192.
Translated, i. 1. 191 ; iii. 1 . Woodbine, ii. 1. 251 ; iv. 1. 39.
108. Wrath (adj . ), ii. 1. 20.
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AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES

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INDEX TO NOTES, 154

THOUGH A Midsummer-Night's Dream was first printed Date of the

Puck, a mischievous sprite in his service, to smear the

success of his stratagem. While they are in conver

and the fairies disappearing, Theseus, accompanied by

such an attempt as this would be worse even than

audience, he confides to his fellows that his " chief

himself perfectly affable to the elfin attendants placed at

sprite, called Robin Goodfellow ' ... The haunts of the

'On hill, in dale, forest or mead,

And the place of Titania's repose is

The powers of the poet are exerted to the utmost to

They are either not mortal, or their date of life is inde

at midnight ; and you have also heard that he would .

Paracelsus those which in Germany ' do usually walk

'Pray, sir, be patient : 'tis as much impossible—

... In Chaucer's ' Court of Love,' we read that early on

of Kent to gather the May, and were met on Shooter's

Many of the ballads sung now-a-days in country places

Saint Valen On the feast of Saint Valentine, referred to in iv. 1 .

Douce traces the custom of choosing lovers on this day

ship of Leicester with the Queen and his secret paramour.

the time carrying on an intrigue ; " before milk-white,"

THESEUS, Duke of Athens.

HIPPOLYTA, queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus.

OBERON, king of the fairies.

Other fairies attending their King and Queen.

SCENE I. Athens. The palace of THESEUS.

Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants.

The. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour

Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and Demetrius.

Or on Diana's altar to protest

Against our nuptial and confer with you

And she respects me as her only son. 160

You sway the motion of Demetrius' heart.

But what of that ? Demetrius thinks not so ;

SCENE II . Athens. QUINCE's house.

Quin. Is all our company here ?

Bot. Well, I will undertake it. What beard were I best

SCENE I. A wood near Athens.

Enter, from opposite sides, a Fairy, and PUCK.

Puck. How now, spirit ! whither wander you ?

In their gold coats spots you see ;

Neighing in likeness of a filly foal :

And make him with fair Ægle break his faith ,

And this same progeny of evils comes

Since once I sat upon a promontory ,

And ere I take this charm from off her sight,

Enter DEMETRIUS, HELENA following him.

To trust the opportunity of night

Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, 250

SCENE II . Another part ofthe wood.

Newts and blind- worms , do no wrong,

For I upon this bank will rest my head. 40

And here the maiden, sleeping sound,

Is that vile name to perish on my sword !