A Midsummer Night's Dream (4 page)

PEASEBLOSSOM

COBWEB

MOTH

MUSTARDSEED

PHILOSTRATE
, an official in Theseus' court

Other Attendants at the court of Theseus; other Fairies attendant upon Oberon

THESEUS
    Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour

Draws on
apace
.
Four happy days
²
bring in

Another moon: but O, methinks, how slow

This old moon wanes; she
lingers
⁴
my desires,

Like to
a
stepdame
or a
dowager
⁵

Long
withering out
a
young man's revenue
⁶
.

HIPPOLYTA
    Four days will quickly
steep
⁷
themselves in nights,

Four nights will quickly dream away the time.

And then the
moon, like to a silver bow
⁹

New-bent
¹⁰
in heaven, shall behold the night

Of our
solemnities
¹¹
.

THESEUS
    Go, Philostrate,

Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments,

Awake the
pert
¹⁴
and nimble spirit of mirth,

Turn melancholy forth to funerals:

The
pale companion
is not for our
pomp
¹⁶
.

Hippolyta, I wooed thee
with my sword
¹⁷
,

And won thy love doing thee
injuries
¹⁸
.

But I will wed thee in another key,

With pomp, with
triumph
²⁰
and with revelling.

EGEUS
    Happy be Theseus, our renownèd duke.

THESEUS
    Thanks, good Egeus: what's the news with thee?

EGEUS
    Full of vexation come I, with complaint

Against my child, my daughter Hermia.

Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord,

This man hath my consent to marry her.

Stand forth, Lysander. And my gracious duke,

This man hath bewitched 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,

With
feigning
³²
voice verses of feigning love,

And
stol'n the impression of her fantasy
³³

With bracelets of thy hair, rings,
gauds
,
conceits
³⁴
,

Knacks
,
trifles
,
nosegays
,
sweetmeats
³⁵
— messengers

Of strong
prevailment
in
unhardened
³⁶
youth —

With cunning hast thou
filched
³⁷
my daughter's heart,

Turned her obedience, which is due to me,

To stubborn harshness.— And, my gracious duke,

Be it so
⁴⁰
she will not here before your grace

Consent to marry with Demetrius,

I beg the ancient privilege of Athens:

As she is mine, I may dispose of her;

Which shall be either to this gentleman

Or to her death, according to our law

Immediately
⁴⁶
provided in that case.

THESEUS
    What say you, Hermia? Be advised, fair maid,

To you your father should be as a god,

One that composed your beauties, yea, and one

To whom you are but as a form in wax

By him imprinted and within his power

To leave the figure or
disfigure
⁵²
it.

Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.

HERMIA
    So is Lysander.

THESEUS
    In himself he is.

But in this
kind
,
wanting
your father's
voice
⁵⁶
,

The other must be held the worthier.

HERMIA
    I
would
⁵⁸
my father looked but with my eyes.

THESEUS
    Rather your eyes must with his judgement look.

HERMIA
    I do entreat your grace to pardon me.

I know not by what power I am made bold,

Nor how it may
concern
⁶²
my modesty

In such a
presence
⁶³
here to plead my thoughts:

But I beseech your grace that I may know

The worst that may befall me in this case,

If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

THESEUS
    Either to
die the death
⁶⁷
or to abjure

Forever the
society
⁶⁸
of men.

Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires,

Know of
your youth, examine well your
blood
⁷⁰
,

Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice,

You can endure the
livery
⁷²
of a nun,

For
aye
to be in shady cloister
mewed
⁷³
,

To live a barren sister all your life,

Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon.

Thrice blessèd they that master so their blood,

To undergo such maiden pilgrimage.

But
earthlier happy
is the rose
distilled
⁷⁸

Than that which withering on the virgin thorn

Grows, lives and dies in
single blessedness
⁸⁰
.

HERMIA
    So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord,

Ere
I will yield my
virgin patent
⁸²
up

Unto
his lordship
⁸³
, whose unwishèd yoke

My soul consents not to give sovereignty.

THESEUS
    Take time to pause, and by the next new moon —

The
sealing day
⁸⁶
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
⁹⁰
,

Or on
Diana
's altar to
protest
⁹¹

For
aye
⁹²
austerity and single life.

DEMETRIUS
    Relent, sweet Hermia.— And, Lysander, yield

Thy
crazèd
title
⁹⁴
to my certain right.

LYSANDER
    You have her father's love, Demetrius:

Let me have Hermia's.
Do
⁹⁶
you marry him.

EGEUS
    Scornful Lysander! True, he hath my love;

And what is mine my love shall
render
⁹⁸
him.

And she is mine, and all my right of her

I do
estate unto
¹⁰⁰
Demetrius.

LYSANDER
    I am, my lord, as well
derived
¹⁰¹
as he,

As well
possessed
¹⁰²
: my love is more than his,

My fortunes every way as
fairly
¹⁰³
ranked,

If not
with vantage, as Demetrius'
¹⁰⁴
,

And, which is more than all these boasts can be,

I am beloved of beauteous Hermia.

Why should not I then
prosecute
¹⁰⁷
my right?

Demetrius, I'll
avouch
it to his
head
¹⁰⁸
,

Made love to
Nedar's daughter,
Helena
¹⁰⁹
,

And won her soul: and she, sweet lady,
dotes
¹¹⁰
,

Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,

Upon this
spotted
¹¹²
and inconstant man.

THESEUS
    I must confess that I have heard so much,

And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof,

But, being over-full of
self-affairs
¹¹⁵
,

My mind did
lose
¹¹⁶
it. But, Demetrius, come,

And come, Egeus, you shall go with me.

I have some private
schooling
¹¹⁸
for you both.

For you, fair Hermia,
look
you
arm
¹¹⁹
yourself

To fit your
fancies
¹²⁰
to your father's will,

Or else the law of Athens yields you up —

Which by no means we may
extenuate
¹²²
—

To death or to a vow of single life.—

Come, my Hippolyta. What cheer, my love?—

Demetrius and Egeus,
go
¹²⁵
along:

I must employ you in some business

Against
¹²⁷
our nuptial and confer with you

Of something
nearly that
¹²⁸
concerns yourselves.

EGEUS
    With duty and desire we follow you.

LYSANDER
    How now, my love! Why is your cheek so pale?

How chance the roses there do fade so fast?

HERMIA
    
Belike
¹³²
for want of rain, which I could well

Beteem
¹³³
them from the tempest of mine eyes.

LYSANDER
    Ay me, for
aught
¹³⁴
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
¹³⁷
—

HERMIA
    O
cross
¹³⁸
! Too high to be enthralled to low.

LYSANDER
    Or else
misgraffèd
¹³⁹
in respect of years—

HERMIA
    O spite! Too old to be engaged to young.

LYSANDER
    Or else it
stood
upon the choice of
merit
¹⁴¹
—

HERMIA
    O hell! To choose love by another's eyes.

LYSANDER
    Or if there were a
sympathy
¹⁴³
in choice,

War, death or sickness did lay siege to it,

Making it
momentary
¹⁴⁵
as a sound,

Swift as a shadow, short as any dream:

Brief as the lightning in the
collied
¹⁴⁷
night,

That in a
spleen
unfolds
¹⁴⁸
both heaven and earth,

And
ere
¹⁴⁹
a man hath power to say ‘Behold!'

The jaws of darkness do devour it up:

So
quick
bright things come to
confusion
¹⁵¹
.

HERMIA
    If then true lovers have been
ever crossed
¹⁵²
,

It stands as an edict in destiny.

Then let us teach our
trial
¹⁵⁴
patience,

Because it is a customary cross,

As due to love as thoughts and dreams and sighs,

Wishes and tears, poor
fancy's
¹⁵⁷
followers.

LYSANDER
    A good
persuasion
¹⁵⁸
. Therefore hear me, Hermia.

I have a widow aunt, a dowager

Of great revenue, and she hath no child.

From Athens is her house removed
seven leagues
¹⁶¹
,

And she
respects
¹⁶²
me as her only son.

There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee,

And to that place the sharp Athenian law

Cannot pursue us. If thou lov'st me, then

Steal forth thy father's house tomorrow night,

And in the wood, a league
without
¹⁶⁷
the town,

Where I did meet thee once with Helena,

To
do observance to a morn of May
¹⁶⁹
,

There will I
stay
¹⁷⁰
for thee.

HERMIA
    My good Lysander!

I swear to thee, by
Cupid's
¹⁷²
strongest bow,

By his
best arrow with the golden head
¹⁷³
,

By the
simplicity
of Venus'
doves
¹⁷⁴
,

By that which
knitteth
¹⁷⁵
souls and prospers love,

And by that fire which burned the
Carthage queen
¹⁷⁶
,

When the
false Troyan
¹⁷⁷
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,

Tomorrow truly will I meet with thee.

LYSANDER
    Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena.