Brick Shakespeare: The Comedies—A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Taming of the Shrew (21 page)

SNOUT [as 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

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.

THESEUS

Would you desire lime and hair to speak better?

DEMETRIUS

It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard discourse, my lord.

THESEUS

Pyramus draws near the wall: silence!

BOTTOM [as Pyramus]

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,

I fear my Thisby’s promise is forgot!

BOTTOM [as Pyramus] (cont).

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!

BOTTOM [as Pyramus] (cont).

Thanks, courteous wall: Jove shield thee well for this!

But what see I? No Thisby do I see.

BOTTOM [as Pyramus] (cont).

O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss!

Cursed be thy stones for thus deceiving me!

THESEUS

The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse again.

BOTTOM

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.

FLUTE [as thisby]

O wall, full often hast thou heard my moans,

For parting my fair Pyramus and me!

FLUTE [as thisby] (cont.)

My cherry lips have often kiss’d thy stones,

Thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee.

BOTTOM [as Pyramus]

I see a voice: now will I to the chink,

To spy an I can hear my Thisby’s face. Thisby!

FLUTE [as thisby]

My love thou art, my love I think.