Prev
| Next
| Contents
SCENE III. Another part of the wood.
[Enter TITANIA, with her Train.]
TITANIA Come, now a roundel and a fairy song; Then, for the third part of a minute,
hence; Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds; Some war with rere-mice for their
leathern wings, To make my small elves coats; and some keep back The clamorous owl, that
nightly hoots and wonders At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep; Then to your
offices, and let me rest.
SONG.
I. FIRST FAIRY You spotted snakes, with double
tongue, Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen; Newts and blind-worms do no
wrong; Come not near our fairy queen:
CHORUS. Philomel, with melody, Sing in our sweet lullaby: Lulla, lulla,
lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby: Never harm, nor spell, nor charm, Come our lovely
lady nigh; So good-night, with lullaby.
II. SECOND FAIRY Weaving spiders, come not here; Hence, you
long-legg'd spinners, hence; Beetles black, approach not near; Worm nor snail do
no offence.
CHORUS Philomel with melody, &c.
FIRST FAIRY Hence away; now all is well. One, aloof, stand sentinel.
[Exeunt Fairies. TITANIA sleeps.]
[Enter OBERON.]
OBERON What thou seest when thou dost wake, [Squeezes the flower on TITANIA'S
eyelids.] Do it for thy true-love take; Love and languish for his sake; Be it ounce, or
cat, or bear, Pard, or boar with bristled hair, In thy eye that shall appear When thou
wak'st, it is thy dear; Wake when some vile thing is near.
[Exit.]
[Enter LYSANDER and HERMIA.]
LYSANDER Fair love, you faint with wandering in the wood; And, to speak troth, I
have forgot our way; We'll rest us, Hermia, if you think it good, And tarry for the
comfort of the day.
HERMIA Be it so, Lysander: find you out a bed, For I upon this bank will rest my
head.
LYSANDER One turf shall serve as pillow for us both; One heart, one bed, two
bosoms, and one troth.
HERMIA Nay, good Lysander; for my sake, my dear, Lie farther off yet, do not lie so
near.
LYSANDER O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence; Love takes the meaning in
love's conference. I mean that my heart unto yours is knit; So that but one heart we can
make of it: Two bosoms interchained with an oath; So then two bosoms and a single
troth. Then by your side no bed-room me deny; For lying so, Hermia, I do not lie.
HERMIA Lysander riddles very prettily:-- Now much beshrew my manners and my
pride If Hermia meant to say Lysander lied! But, gentle friend, for love and
courtesy Lie further off; in human modesty, Such separation as may well be said Becomes
a virtuous bachelor and a maid: So far be distant; and good night, sweet friend: Thy
love ne'er alter till thy sweet life end!
LYSANDER Amen, amen, to that fair prayer say I; And then end life when I end
loyalty! Here is my bed: Sleep give thee all his rest!
HERMIA With half that wish the wisher's eyes be pressed!
[They sleep.]
[Enter PUCK.]
PUCK Through the forest have I gone, But Athenian found I none, On whose
eyes I might approve This flower's force in stirring love. Night and silence! Who is
here? Weeds of Athens he doth wear: This is he, my master said, Despised the
Athenian maid; And here the maiden, sleeping sound, On the dank and dirty
ground. Pretty soul! she durst not lie Near this lack-love, this
kill-courtesy. Churl, upon thy eyes I throw All the power this charm doth
owe; When thou wak'st let love forbid Sleep his seat on thy eyelid: So awake when
I am gone; For I must now to Oberon.
[Exit.]
[Enter DEMETRIUS and HELENA, running.]
HELENA Stay, though thou kill me, sweet Demetrius.
DEMETRIUS I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus.
HELENA O, wilt thou darkling leave me? do not so.
DEMETRIUS. Stay on thy peril; I alone will go.
[Exit DEMETRIUS.]
HELENA O, I am out of breath in this fond chase! The more my prayer, the lesser is
my grace. Happy is Hermia, wheresoe'er she lies, For she hath blessed and attractive
eyes. How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears: If so, my eyes are oftener
wash'd than hers. No, no, I am as ugly as a bear; For beasts that meet me run away for
fear: Therefore no marvel though Demetrius Do, as a monster, fly my presence thus. What
wicked and dissembling glass of mine Made me compare with Hermia's sphery eyne?-- But
who is here?--Lysander! on the ground! Dead? or asleep? I see no blood, no
wound. Lysander, if you live, good sir, awake.
LYSANDER [Waking.] And run through fire I will for thy sweet sake. Transparent
Helena! Nature shows art, That through thy bosom makes me see thy heart. Where is
Demetrius? O, how fit a word Is that vile name to perish on my sword!
HELENA Do not say so, Lysander; say not so: What though he love your Hermia? Lord,
what though? Yet Hermia still loves you: then be content.
LYSANDER. Content with Hermia? No: I do repent The tedious minutes I with her have
spent. Not Hermia but Helena I love: Who will not change a raven for a dove? The will
of man is by his reason sway'd; And reason says you are the worthier maid. Things
growing are not ripe until their season; So I, being young, till now ripe not to
reason; And touching now the point of human skill, Reason becomes the marshal to my
will, And leads me to your eyes, where I o'erlook Love's stories, written in love's
richest book.
HELENA Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born? When at your hands did I deserve
this scorn? Is't not enough, is't not enough, young man, That I did never, no, nor never
can Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye, But you must flout my insufficiency? Good
troth, you do me wrong,--good sooth, you do-- In such disdainful manner me to woo. But
fare you well: perforce I must confess, I thought you lord of more true gentleness. O,
that a lady of one man refus'd Should of another therefore be abus'd!
[Exit.]
LYSANDER She sees not Hermia:--Hermia, sleep thou there; And never mayst thou come
Lysander near! For, as a surfeit of the sweetest things The deepest loathing to the
stomach brings; Or, as the heresies that men do leave Are hated most of those they did
deceive; So thou, my surfeit and my heresy, Of all be hated, but the most of me! And,
all my powers, address your love and might To honour Helen, and to be her knight!
[Exit.]
HERMIA [Starting.] Help me, Lysander, help me! do thy best To pluck this crawling
serpent from my breast! Ay me, for pity!--What a dream was here! Lysander, look how I do
quake with fear! Methought a serpent eat my heart away, And you sat smiling at his cruel
prey.-- Lysander! what, removed? Lysander! lord! What, out of hearing? gone? no sound,
no word? Alack, where are you? speak, an if you hear; Speak, of all loves! I swoon
almost with fear. No?--then I well perceive you are not nigh: Either death or you I'll
find immediately.
[Exit.]
Prev
| Next
| Contents
|