A Midsummer Night's Dream (10 page)

OBERON
    Flower of this purple dye,

Hit with Cupid's archery,

Sink in
apple
¹⁰⁴
of his eye.

When his love he doth espy,

Let her shine as glor'ously

As the Venus of the sky.

When thou wak'st, if she be by,

Beg of her for
remedy
¹⁰⁹
.

ROBIN
    Captain of our fairy band,

Helena is here at hand,

And the youth, mistook by me,

Pleading for a lover's
fee
¹¹³
.

Shall we their
fond pageant
¹¹⁴
see?

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

OBERON
    Stand aside: the noise they make

Will cause Demetrius to awake.

ROBIN
    Then will two at once woo one,

That must needs be sport
alone
¹¹⁹
.

And those things do best please me

That befall
preposterously
¹²¹
.

LYSANDER
    Why should you think that I should woo in scorn?

Scorn and derision never come in tears:

Look when
¹²⁴
I vow, I weep; and vows so born,

In their
nativity
¹²⁵
all truth appears.

How can these things in me seem scorn to you,

Bearing the
badge
¹²⁷
of faith to prove them true?

HELENA
    You do
advance
¹²⁸
your cunning more and more.

When
truth kills truth
, O
devilish-holy fray
¹²⁹
!

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
¹³³
.

LYSANDER
    I had no judgement when to her I swore.

HELENA
    Nor none, in my mind, now you give her o'er.

LYSANDER
    
Demetrius loves her, and he you
¹³⁶
.

DEMETRIUS
    O Helen, goddess, nymph, perfect, divine!

To what, my love, shall I compare thine eyne?

Crystal is muddy. O, how
ripe
in
show
¹³⁹

Thy lips, those kissing cherries, tempting grow!

That
pure congealèd white
, high
Taurus'
¹⁴¹
snow,

Fanned with the eastern wind,
turns to a crow
¹⁴²

When thou hold'st up thy hand. O, let me kiss

This princess of pure white, this
seal
¹⁴⁴
of bliss!

HELENA
    O spite! O hell! I see you all are
bent
¹⁴⁵

To
set against
¹⁴⁶
me for your merriment:

If you were civil and knew courtesy,

You would not
do me thus much injury
¹⁴⁸
.

Can you not hate me, as I know you do,

But you must
join in souls
¹⁵⁰
to mock me too?

If you were men, as men you are in show,

You would not use a
gentle
¹⁵²
lady so;

To vow, and swear, and
superpraise
my
parts
¹⁵³
,

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
¹⁵⁷
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.

LYSANDER
    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.

HELENA
    Never did mockers waste more idle breath.

DEMETRIUS
    Lysander, keep thy Hermia, I
will none
¹⁶⁹
:

If e'er I loved her, all that love is gone.

My heart to her
but as guestwise sojourned
¹⁷¹
,

And now to Helen is it home returned,

There to remain.

LYSANDER
    Helen, it is not so.

DEMETRIUS
    Disparage not the faith thou dost not know,

Lest to thy peril thou
abide
it
dear
¹⁷⁶
.

Look where thy love comes, yonder is thy dear.

HERMIA
    Dark night, that from the eye
his
¹⁷⁸
function takes,

The ear more quick of
apprehension
¹⁷⁹
makes,

Wherein it doth impair the seeing sense,

It pays the hearing double recompense.

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?

LYSANDER
    Why should he stay whom love doth press to go?

HERMIA
    What love could
press
¹⁸⁶
Lysander from my side?

LYSANDER
    Lysander's love, that would not let him
bide
¹⁸⁷
—

Fair Helena, who more
engilds
¹⁸⁸
the night

Than all
yon
fiery
oes
¹⁸⁹
and eyes of light.—

Why seek'st thou me? Could not this make thee know,

The hate I bear thee made me leave thee so?

HERMIA
    You speak not as you think; it cannot be.

HELENA
    Lo, she is one of this
confed'racy
¹⁹³
!

Now I perceive they have conjoined all three

To
fashion
this false sport
in spite
¹⁹⁵
of me.

Injurious
¹⁹⁶
Hermia, most ungrateful maid,

Have you conspired, have you with these contrived

To
bait
¹⁹⁸
me with this foul derision?

Is all the
counsel
¹⁹⁹
that we two have shared,

The sisters' vows, the hours that we have spent,

When we have
chid
²⁰¹
the hasty-footed time

For parting us — O, is all forgot?

All schooldays' friendship, childhood innocence?

We, Hermia, like two
artificial
²⁰⁴
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
²⁰⁷
,

As if our hands, our sides, voices and minds,

Had been
incorporate
²⁰⁹
. So we grew together

Like
²¹⁰
to a double cherry, seeming parted,

But yet a union in partition,

Two lovely berries moulded on one stem,

So with two seeming bodies but one
heart
²¹³
,

Two of the
first
, like
coats
²¹⁴
in heraldry,

Due but to one and crownèd with one
²¹⁵
crest.

And will you
rent
our
ancient
love
asunder
²¹⁶
,

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.

HERMIA
    I am amazèd at your passionate words.

I scorn you not; it seems that you scorn me.

HELENA
    Have you not set Lysander, as in scorn,

To follow me and praise my eyes and face?

And made your other love, Demetrius,

Who even but now did spurn me with his foot,

To call me goddess, nymph, divine and
rare
²²⁷
,

Precious, celestial? Wherefore speaks he this

To her he hates? And wherefore doth Lysander

Deny your love, so rich within his soul,

And
tender
²³¹
me, forsooth, affection,

But by your setting on, by your consent?

What though I be not so in
grace
²³³
as you,

So hung upon with love, so fortunate,

But miserable most, to love unloved?

This you should pity rather than despise.

HERMIA
    I understand not what you mean by this.

HELENA
    Ay, do.
Persever
, counterfeit
sad
²³⁸
looks,

Make
mouths
²³⁹
upon me when I turn my back,

Wink each at other,
hold the sweet jest up
²⁴⁰
:

This sport well
carried
²⁴¹
shall be chronicled.

If you have any pity, grace, or manners,

You would not make me such an
argument
²⁴³
.

But fare ye well. 'Tis partly my own fault,

Which death or absence soon shall remedy.

LYSANDER
    Stay, gentle Helena, hear my excuse:

My love, my life, my soul, fair Helena!

HELENA
    O excellent!

HERMIA
    Sweet, do not scorn her so.

DEMETRIUS
    If she cannot entreat, I can compel.

LYSANDER
    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;

I swear by that which I will lose for thee,

To prove him false that says I love thee not.

DEMETRIUS
    I say I love thee more than he can do.

LYSANDER
    If thou say so,
withdraw
²⁵⁷
, and prove it too.

DEMETRIUS
    Quick, come!

HERMIA
    Lysander,
whereto
²⁵⁹
tends all this?

LYSANDER
    Away, you
Ethiope
²⁶⁰
!

DEMETRIUS
    No, no, sir,

Seem to break loose;
take on as
²⁶²
you would follow,

But yet come not: you are a tame man, go!

LYSANDER
    
Hang off
, thou cat, thou
burr
! Vile thing,
let loose
²⁶⁴
,

Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent!

HERMIA
    Why are you grown so
rude
²⁶⁶
?

What change is this, sweet love?

LYSANDER
    Thy love?
Out
,
tawny
Tartar
²⁶⁸
, out!

Out, loathèd
medicine
²⁶⁹
! O hated potion, hence!

HERMIA
    Do you not jest?

HELENA
    Yes,
sooth
²⁷¹
, and so do you.

LYSANDER
    Demetrius, I will keep my word with thee.

DEMETRIUS
    I would I had your bond, for I perceive

A
weak bond
²⁷⁴
holds you; I'll not trust your word.

LYSANDER
    What, should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead?

Although I hate her, I'll not harm her so.

HERMIA
    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
²⁸⁰
.

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?

LYSANDER
    Ay, by my life;

And never did desire to see thee more.

Therefore be
out of
²⁸⁶
hope, of question, of doubt;

Be certain, nothing truer: 'tis no jest

That I do hate thee and love Helena.