William Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition (179 page)
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Authors: William Shakespeare
Tags: #Drama, #Literary Criticism, #Shakespeare
BOOK: William Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition
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BENVOLIO Queen Mab, what’s she?
MERCUTIO
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate stone
On the forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomi
Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep.
Her wagon spokes made of long spinners’ legs;
The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers;
Her traces, of the moonshine’s wat‘ry beams;
Her collars, of the smallest spider web;
Her whip, of cricket’s bone, the lash of film;
Her wagoner, a small grey-coated gnat
Not half so big as a round little worm
Pricked from the lazy finger of a maid.
Her chariot is an empty hazelnut
Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,
Time out o’ mind the fairies’ coachmakers.
And in this state she gallops night by night
Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love;
O’er courtiers’ knees, that dream on curtsies straight;
O’er ladies’ lips, who straight on kisses dream,
Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues
Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are.
Sometime she gallops o’er a lawyer’s lip,
And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig’s tail
Tickling a parson’s nose as a lies asleep;
Then dreams he of another benefice.
Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscados, Spanish blades,
Of healths five fathom deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
And being thus frighted, swears a prayer or two,
And sleeps again. This is that very Mab
That plaits the manes of horses in the night,
And bakes the elf-locks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which once untangled much misfortune bodes.
This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage.
This is she—
In shape no bigger than an agate stone
On the forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomi
Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep.
Her wagon spokes made of long spinners’ legs;
The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers;
Her traces, of the moonshine’s wat‘ry beams;
Her collars, of the smallest spider web;
Her whip, of cricket’s bone, the lash of film;
Her wagoner, a small grey-coated gnat
Not half so big as a round little worm
Pricked from the lazy finger of a maid.
Her chariot is an empty hazelnut
Made by the joiner squirrel or old grub,
Time out o’ mind the fairies’ coachmakers.
And in this state she gallops night by night
Through lovers’ brains, and then they dream of love;
O’er courtiers’ knees, that dream on curtsies straight;
O’er ladies’ lips, who straight on kisses dream,
Which oft the angry Mab with blisters plagues
Because their breaths with sweetmeats tainted are.
Sometime she gallops o’er a lawyer’s lip,
And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
And sometime comes she with a tithe-pig’s tail
Tickling a parson’s nose as a lies asleep;
Then dreams he of another benefice.
Sometime she driveth o’er a soldier’s neck,
And then dreams he of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscados, Spanish blades,
Of healths five fathom deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear, at which he starts and wakes,
And being thus frighted, swears a prayer or two,
And sleeps again. This is that very Mab
That plaits the manes of horses in the night,
And bakes the elf-locks in foul sluttish hairs,
Which once untangled much misfortune bodes.
This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage.
This is she—
ROMEO Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace!
Thou talk’st of nothing.
MERCUTIO True. I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air,
And more inconstant than the wind, who woos
Even now the frozen bosom of the north,
And, being angered, puffs away from thence,
Turning his face to the dew-dropping south.
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air,
And more inconstant than the wind, who woos
Even now the frozen bosom of the north,
And, being angered, puffs away from thence,
Turning his face to the dew-dropping south.
BENVOLIO
This wind you talk of blows us from ourselves.
Supper is done, and we shall come too late.
Supper is done, and we shall come too late.
ROMEO
I fear too early, for my mind misgives
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night’s revels, and expire the term
Of a despised life, closed in my breast,
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.
But he that hath the steerage of my course
Direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen.
Some consequence yet hanging in the stars
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date
With this night’s revels, and expire the term
Of a despised life, closed in my breast,
By some vile forfeit of untimely death.
But he that hath the steerage of my course
Direct my sail! On, lusty gentlemen.
BENVOLIO Strike, drum.
They march about the stage and
⌈
exeunt
⌉
⌈
Peter
⌉
and other Servingmen come forth with napkins
⌈PETER⌉ Where’s Potpan, that he helps not to take away?
He shift a trencher, he scrape a trencher!
He shift a trencher, he scrape a trencher!
FIRST SERVINGMAN When good manners shall lie all in one
or two men’s hands, and they unwashed too, ’tis a foul
thing.
or two men’s hands, and they unwashed too, ’tis a foul
thing.
⌈PETER⌉ Away with the joint-stools, remove the court–
cupboard, look to the plate. Good thou, save me a piece
of marzipan, and, as thou loves me, let the porter let in
Susan Grindstone and Nell. Anthony and Potpan I
cupboard, look to the plate. Good thou, save me a piece
of marzipan, and, as thou loves me, let the porter let in
Susan Grindstone and Nell. Anthony and Potpan I
SECOND SERVINGMAN Ay, boy, ready.
⌈PETER⌉ You are looked for and called for, asked for and
sought for, in the great chamber.
sought for, in the great chamber.
⌈FIRST⌉ SERVINGMAN We cannot be here and there too.
Cheerly, boys! Be brisk a while, and the longest liver take all.
⌈
They come and go, setting forth tables and chairs.
⌉
Enter
⌈
Musicians, then
⌉
at one door Capulet,
⌈
his Wife,
⌉
his Cousin, Juliet.,
⌈
the Nurse,
⌉
Tybalt, his page, Petruccio, and all the guests and gentlewomen; at another door, the masquers:
⌈
Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio
⌉
CAPULET
(to the masquers)
(to the masquers)
Welcome, gentlemen. Ladies that have their toes
Unplagued with corns will walk a bout with you.
Aha, my mistresses, which of you all
Will now deny to dance? She that makes dainty,
She, I’ll swear, hath corns. Am I come near ye now?
Welcome, gentlemen. I have seen the day
That I have worn a visor, and could tell
A whispering tale in a fair lady’s ear
Such as would please. ’Tis gone, ’tis gone, ’tis gone.
You are welcome, gentlemen. Come, musicians, play.
A hall, a hall! Give room, and foot it, girls.
(
To Servingmen)
More light, you knaves, and turn the
tables up,
And quench the fire, the room is grown too hot.
(To his Cousin) Ah sirrah, this unlooked-for sport comes
well.
Nay, sit, nay, sit, good cousin Capulet,
For you and I are past our dancing days.
How long is’t now since last yourself and I
Were in a masque?
Unplagued with corns will walk a bout with you.
Aha, my mistresses, which of you all
Will now deny to dance? She that makes dainty,
She, I’ll swear, hath corns. Am I come near ye now?
Welcome, gentlemen. I have seen the day
That I have worn a visor, and could tell
A whispering tale in a fair lady’s ear
Such as would please. ’Tis gone, ’tis gone, ’tis gone.
You are welcome, gentlemen. Come, musicians, play.
Music plays, and the masquers, guests, and gentlewomen dance.
⌈
Romeo stands apart
⌉
(
To Servingmen)
More light, you knaves, and turn the
tables up,
And quench the fire, the room is grown too hot.
(To his Cousin) Ah sirrah, this unlooked-for sport comes
well.
Nay, sit, nay, sit, good cousin Capulet,
For you and I are past our dancing days.
⌈
Capulet
and his Cousin sit⌉
Were in a masque?
CAPULET’S COUSIN By’r Lady, thirty years.
CAPULET
What, man, ’tis not so much, ’tis not so much.
’Tis since the nuptial of Lucentio,
Come Pentecost as quickly as it will,
Some five-and-twenty years; and then we masqued.
’Tis since the nuptial of Lucentio,
Come Pentecost as quickly as it will,
Some five-and-twenty years; and then we masqued.
CAPULET’S COUSIN
’Tis more, ’tis more. His son is elder, sir.
His son is thirty.
His son is thirty.
CAPULET Will you tell me that?
His son was but a ward two years ago.
ROMEO
(to a Servingman)
(to a Servingman)
What lady’s that which doth enrich the hand Of yonder knight?
SERVINGMAN I know not, sir.
ROMEO
O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
As a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear—
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows
As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand,
And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight,
For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
As a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear—
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear.
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows
As yonder lady o’er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I’ll watch her place of stand,
And, touching hers, make blessèd my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight,
For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.
TYBALT
This, by his voice, should be a Montague.
Fetch me my rapier, boy. ⌈
Exit page
⌉
Fetch me my rapier, boy. ⌈
Exit page
⌉
What, dares the slave
Come hither, covered with an antic face,
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity?
Now, by the stock and honour of my kin,
To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity?
Now, by the stock and honour of my kin,
To strike him dead I hold it not a sin.
CAPULET ⌈
standing
⌉
standing
⌉
Why, how now, kinsman? Wherefore storm you so?
TYBALT
Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe,
A villain that is hither come in spite
To scorn at our solemnity this night.
A villain that is hither come in spite
To scorn at our solemnity this night.
CAPULET
Young Romeo, is it?
TYBALT ’Tis he, that villain Romeo.
CAPULET
Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone.
A bears him like a portly gentleman,
And, to say truth, Verona brags of him
To be a virtuous and well-governed youth.
I would not for the wealth of all this town
Here in my house do him disparagement.
Therefore be patient, take no note of him.
It is my will, the which if thou respect,
Show a fair presence and put off these frowns,
An ill-beseeming semblance for a feast.
A bears him like a portly gentleman,
And, to say truth, Verona brags of him
To be a virtuous and well-governed youth.
I would not for the wealth of all this town
Here in my house do him disparagement.
Therefore be patient, take no note of him.
It is my will, the which if thou respect,
Show a fair presence and put off these frowns,
An ill-beseeming semblance for a feast.
TYBALT
It fits when such a villain is a guest.
I’ll not endure him.
I’ll not endure him.
CAPULET He shall be endured.
What, goodman boy, I say he shall. Go to,
Am I the master here or you ? Go to—
You’ll not endure him! God shall mend my soul.
You’ll make a mutiny among my guests,
You will set cock-a-hoop! You’ll be the man!
Am I the master here or you ? Go to—
You’ll not endure him! God shall mend my soul.
You’ll make a mutiny among my guests,
You will set cock-a-hoop! You’ll be the man!
TYBALT
Why, uncle, ’tis a shame.
CAPULET Go to, go to,
You are a saucy boy. Is’t so, indeed?
This trick may chance to scathe you. I know what,
You must contrary me. Marry, ’tis time—
This trick may chance to scathe you. I know what,
You must contrary me. Marry, ’tis time—
⌈
A dance ends. Juliet retires to her place of stand, where Romeo awaits her
⌉
(To the guests)
Well said, my hearts!
(To Tybalt)
You are
a princox, go.
Be quiet, or—
(to Servingmen)
more light, more light!—
(to
Tybalt)
for shame,
I’ll make you quiet. (To the guests) What, cheerly, my
hearts!
Well said, my hearts!
(To Tybalt)
You are
a princox, go.
Be quiet, or—
(to Servingmen)
more light, more light!—
(to
Tybalt)
for shame,
I’ll make you quiet. (To the guests) What, cheerly, my
hearts!
⌈
The music plays again, and the guests dance
⌉
TYBALT
Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting
Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting.
I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall,
Now seeming sweet, convert to bitt’rest gall. Exit
Makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting.
I will withdraw, but this intrusion shall,
Now seeming sweet, convert to bitt’rest gall. Exit
ROMEO
(to Juliet, touching her hand)
(to Juliet, touching her hand)
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentler sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
This holy shrine, the gentler sin is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
JULIET
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this.
For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.
Which mannerly devotion shows in this.
For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.
ROMEO
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers, too?
JULIET
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
ROMEO
O then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do:
They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
JULIET
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.
ROMEO
Then move not while my prayer’s effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purged.
He kisses her
JULIET
Then have my lips the sin that they have took.
ROMEO
Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.
He kisses her
JULIET You kiss by th’ book.
NURSE
Madam, your mother craves a word with you.
⌈
Juliet departs to her mother
⌉
ROMEO
What is her mother?
NURSE Marry, bachelor,
Her mother is the lady of the house,
And a good lady, and a wise and virtuous.
I nursed her daughter that you talked withal.
I tell you, he that can lay hold of her
Shall have the chinks.
And a good lady, and a wise and virtuous.
I nursed her daughter that you talked withal.
I tell you, he that can lay hold of her
Shall have the chinks.
ROMEO (aside) Is she a Capulet?
O dear account! My life is my foe’s debt.
BENVOLIO
Away, be gone, the sport is at the best.
ROMEO
Ay, so I fear, the more is my unrest.
CAPULET
Nay, gentlemen, prepare not to be gone.
We have a trifling foolish banquet towards.
We have a trifling foolish banquet towards.
⌈
They whisper in his ear
⌉
Is it e’en so? Why then, I thank you all.
I thank you, honest gentlemen. Good night.
More torches here ! Come on then, let’s to bed.
(To his Cousin)
Ah, sirrah, by my fay, it waxes late.
I’ll to my rest.
I thank you, honest gentlemen. Good night.
More torches here ! Come on then, let’s to bed.
(To his Cousin)
Ah, sirrah, by my fay, it waxes late.
I’ll to my rest.
Exeunt Capulet,
⌈
his Wife,
⌉
and his Cousin. The guests, gentlewomen, masquers, musicians, and servingmen begin to leave
JULIET
Come hither, Nurse. What is yon gentleman?
NURSE
The son and heir of old Tiberio.
JULIET
What’s he that now is going out of door?
NURSE
Marry, that, I think, be young Petruccio.
JULIET
What’s he that follows here, that would not dance?
NURSE I know not.
JULIET
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