the formation of a whole. Oberon is desirous of reliev- Hippolita are, as it were, a splendid frame for the picing the lovers from their perplexities, and greatly adds ture; they take no part in the action, but appear with a to them through the misapprehension of his servant, till stately pomp. The discourse of the hero and his Amahe at last comes to the aid of their fruitless amorous zon, as they course through the forest with their noisy pain, their inconstancy and jealousy, and restores fide-hunting train, works upon the imagination like the fresh lity to its old rights. The extremes of fanciful and vul- breath of morning, before which the shapes of night gar are united when the enchanted Titania awakes and disappear."* falls in love with a coarse mechanic with an ass's head, who represents, or rather disfigures the part of a tragical lover. The droll wonder of the transmutation of Bottom is merely the transmutation of a metaphor in its literal sense; but, in his behaviour during the tender homage of the Fairy Queen, we have a most amusing proof how much the consciousness of such a head-dress heightens the effect of his usual folly. Theseus and

This is a production of the youthful and vigourous imagination of the poet. Malone places the date of its composition in 1594. There are two quarto editions, both printed in 1600: one by Thomas Fisher, the other by James Roberts.

* Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. ii. p. 176.

ACT I.

SCENE I. Athens. A Room in the Palace of
Theseus. Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHI-
LOSTRATE, and Attendants.
Theseus.

Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace; four happy days bring in
Another moon: but, oh, 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
nights;

Four nights will quickly dream away the time;
And then the moon, like to a silver bow
Now bent in heaven, shall behold the night
Of our solemnities.

Stand forth, Demetrius ;-My noble lord,
Stand forth, Lysander ;-and, my gracious duke,
This man hath my consent to marry her :-
This hath bewitch'd' the bosom of my child:
Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes,
And interchang'd love tokens with my child:"
Thou hast by moon-light at her window sung,
With feigning voice, verses of feigning love;
And stol'n the impression of her fantasy
With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweet-meats; 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,

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 advis'd, fair
maid:

To you your father should be as a god;
One that compos'd 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 it.
Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.
Her. So is Lysander.

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.

172

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.

Her. I do entreat your grace to pardon me. know not by what power I am made bold; Nor how it may concern my modesty,

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;
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 happy2 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

Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke
My soul consents not to give sovereignty.

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
Beteem them from the tempest of mine eyes.

Lys. Ah me! for aught that ever I could 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 eye!
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, 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, It stands as an edict in destiny:

The. Take time to pause: and, by the next new Then let us teach our trial patience,

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:

Or on Diana's altar to protest,

For aye, austerity and single life.

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;

Dem. Relent, sweet Hermia ;-And, Lysander, And she respects me as her only son.

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 deriv'd as he,
As well possess'd; my love is more than his;
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 belov'd 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.

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,

both.

My mind did lose it. But, Demetrius, come:
And come, Egeus; you shall go with me,
you
I have some private schooling for
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)
To death, or to a vow of single life.-

L

Come, my Hippolyta: What cheer, my love?-
Demetrius, and Egeus, go along:

I must employ you in some business
Against our nuptial; and confer with you
Of something nearly that concerns yourselves.
Ege. With duty and desire we follow you.
[Exeunt THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS,
DEMETRIUS, and Train.

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 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;
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 Trojan under sail was seen;
By all the vows that ever men have broke,
In number more than women ever 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?
Hel. Call you me fair? that fair again unsay.
Demetrius loves your fair : O happy fair!
Your eyes are lode-stars; 10 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 favour11 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 me-

lody.

Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated,
The rest I'll give to be to you translated.12

7 Fancy is love. So afterwards in this play:
Fair Helena in fancy following me.'

8 Shakspeare forgot that Theseus performed his ex. ploits before the Trojan war, and consequently long be fore the death of Dido.

9 Fair for fairness, beauty. Very common in writers of Shakspeare's age.

10 The lode-star is the leading or guiding star, that is the polar star. The magnet is for the same reason called the lode-stone.

11 Countenance, feature.
12 i. e. changed, transformed

3 In this scene Shakspeare takes advantage of his knowledge of the theatre, to ridicule the prejudices and 5 This passage shows how the want of women on the competitions of the players. Bottom, who is generally old stage was supplied. If they had not a young man acknowledged the principal actor, declares his inclina- who could perform the part with a face that might pass tion to be for a tyrant, for a part of fury, tumult, and for feminine, the character was acted in a mask, which noise, such as every young man pants to perform when was at that time a part of a lady's dress, and so much he first appears upon the stage. The same Bottom, in use that it did not give any unusual appearance to the who seems bred in a tiring-room, has another histrioni-scene; and he that could modulate his voice to a female cal passion. He is for engrossing every part, and would' tone might play the woman very successfully.