The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Part 371

PUCK. What hempen homespuns have we swagg'ring here, So near the cradle of the Fairy Queen?

What, a play toward! I'll be an auditor; An actor too perhaps, if I see cause.

QUINCE. Speak, Pyramus. Thisby, stand forth.

BOTTOM. Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet- QUINCE. 'Odious'- odorous!

BOTTOM. -odours savours sweet; So hath thy breath, my dearest Thisby dear.

But hark, a voice! Stay thou but here awhile, And by and by I will to thee appear. Exit PUCK. A stranger Pyramus than e'er played here! Exit FLUTE. Must I speak now?

QUINCE. Ay, marry, must you; for you must understand he goes but to see a noise that he heard, and is to come again.

FLUTE. Most radiant Pyramus, most lily-white of hue, Of colour like the red rose on triumphant brier, Most brisky juvenal, and eke most lovely Jew, As true as truest horse, that would never tire, I'll meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny's tomb.

QUINCE. 'Ninus' tomb,' man! Why, you must not speak that yet; that you answer to Pyramus. You speak all your part at once, cues, and all. Pyramus enter: your cue is past; it is 'never tire.'

FLUTE. O- As true as truest horse, that y et would never tire.

Re-enter PUCK, and BOTTOM with an a.s.s's head

BOTTOM. If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine.

QUINCE. O monstrous! O strange! We are haunted. Pray, masters! fly, masters! Help!

Exeunt all but BOTTOM and PUCK PUCK. I'll follow you; I'll lead you about a round, Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier; Sometime a horse I'll be, sometime a hound, A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire; And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn, Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn.

Exit BOTTOM. Why do they run away? This is a knavery of them to make me afeard.

Re-enter SNOUT

SNOUT. O Bottom, thou art chang'd! What do I see on thee?

BOTTOM. What do you see? You see an a.s.s-head of your own, do you?

Exit SNOUT

Re-enter QUINCE

QUINCE. Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee! Thou art translated.

Exit BOTTOM. I see their knavery: this is to make an a.s.s of me; to fright me, if they could. But I will not stir from this place, do what they can; I will walk up and down here, and will sing, that they shall hear I am not afraid. [Sings]

The ousel c.o.c.k, so black of hue, With orange-tawny bill, The throstle with his note so true, The wren with little quill.

t.i.tANIA. What angel wakes me from my flow'ry bed?

BOTTOM. [Sings]

The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, The plain-song cuckoo grey, Whose note full many a man doth mark, And dares not answer nay- for, indeed, who would set his wit to so foolish a bird?

Who would give a bird the he, though he cry 'cuckoo' never so?

t.i.tANIA. I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again.

Mine ear is much enamoured of thy note; So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape; And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me, On the first view, to say, to swear, I love thee.

BOTTOM. Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that.

And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together now-a-days. The more the pity that some honest neighbours will not make them friends. Nay, I can gleek upon occasion.

t.i.tANIA. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful.

BOTTOM. Not so, neither; but if I had wit enough to get out of this wood, I have enough to serve mine own turn.

t.i.tANIA. Out of this wood do not desire to go; Thou shalt remain here whether thou wilt or no.

I am a spirit of no common rate; The summer still doth tend upon my state; And I do love thee; therefore, go with me.

I'll give thee fairies to attend on thee; And they shall fetch thee jewels from the deep, And sing, while thou on pressed flowers dost sleep; And I will purge thy mortal grossness so That thou shalt like an airy spirit go.

Peaseblossom! Cobweb! Moth! and Mustardseed!

Enter PEASEBLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH, and MUSTARDSEED

PEASEBLOSSOM. Ready.

COBWEB. And I.

MOTH. And I.

MUSTARDSEED. And I.

ALL. Where shall we go?

t.i.tANIA. Be kind and courteous to this gentleman; Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes; Feed him with apric.o.c.ks and dewberries, With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries; The honey bags steal from the humble-bees, And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs, And light them at the fiery glow-worm's eyes, To have my love to bed and to arise; And pluck the wings from painted b.u.t.terflies, To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes.

Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies.

PEASEBLOSSOM. Hail, mortal!

COBWEB. Hail!

MOTH. Hail!

MUSTARDSEED. Hail!

BOTTOM. I cry your wors.h.i.+ps mercy, heartily; I beseech your wors.h.i.+p's name.

COBWEB. Cobweb.

BOTTOM. I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good Master Cobweb. If I cut my finger, I shall make bold with you. Your name, honest gentleman?

PEASEBLOSSOM. Peaseblossom.

BOTTOM. I pray you, commend me to Mistress Squash, your mother, and to Master Peascod, your father. Good Master Peaseblossom, I shall desire you of more acquaintance too. Your name, I beseech you, sir?

MUSTARDSEED. Mustardseed.

BOTTOM. Good Master Mustardseed, I know your patience well. That same cowardly giant-like ox-beef hath devour'd many a gentleman of your house. I promise you your kindred hath made my eyes water ere now. I desire you of more acquaintance, good Master Mustardseed.

t.i.tANIA. Come, wait upon him; lead him to my bower.

The moon, methinks, looks with a wat'ry eye; And when she weeps, weeps every little flower; Lamenting some enforced chast.i.ty.

Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently. Exeunt

SCENE II.

Another part of the wood

Enter OBERON

OBERON. I wonder if t.i.tania be awak'd; Then, what it was that next came in her eye, Which she must dote on in extremity.

Enter PUCK

Here comes my messenger. How now, mad spirit!

What night-rule now about this haunted grove?

PUCK. My mistress with a monster is in love.

Near to her close and consecrated bower, While she was in her dull and sleeping hour, A crew of patches, rude mechanicals, That work for bread upon Athenian stalls, Were met together to rehea.r.s.e a play Intended for great Theseus' nuptial day.

The shallowest thickskin of that barren sort, Who Pyramus presented, in their sport Forsook his scene and ent'red in a brake; When I did him at this advantage take, An a.s.s's nole I fixed on his head.

Anon his Thisby must be answered, And forth my mimic comes. When they him spy, As wild geese that the creeping fowler eye, Or russet-pated choughs, many in sort, Rising and cawing at the gun's report, Sever themselves and madly sweep the sky, So at his sight away his fellows fly; And at our stamp here, o'er and o'er one falls; He murder cries, and help from Athens calls.

Their sense thus weak, lost with their fears thus strong, Made senseless things begin to do them wrong, For briers and thorns at their apparel s.n.a.t.c.h; Some sleeves, some hats, from yielders all things catch.

I led them on in this distracted fear, And left sweet Pyramus translated there; When in that moment, so it came to pa.s.s, t.i.tania wak'd, and straightway lov'd an a.s.s.

OBERON. This falls out better than I could devise.

But hast thou yet latch'd the Athenian's eyes With the love-juice, as I did bid thee do?

PUCK. I took him sleeping- that is finish'd too- And the Athenian woman by his side; That, when he wak'd, of force she must be ey'd.

Enter DEMETRIUS and HERMIA

OBERON. Stand close; this is the same Athenian.

PUCK. This is the woman, but not this the man.

DEMETRIUS. O, why rebuke you him that loves you so?