QUINCE          This grisly beast, which Lion hight by name,

The trusty Thisbe, coming first by night,

Did scare away, or rather did affright;

And as she fled, her mantle she did fall,

Which Lion vile with bloody mouth did stain.

Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth and tall,

And finds his trusty Thisbe’s mantle slain;

Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade,

He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast,

And Thisbe, tarrying in mulberry shade,

His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest,

Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall and lovers twain

At large discourse, while here they do remain.

([Exeunt] all but Wall.)         (5.1.138-150)

It’s LION! Hello Snug, don’t be shy. This grisly beast—look grisly, do your roaring! Show your claws!—which Lion hight by name, the trusty Thisbe, coming first by night, did scare away, or rather did affright—and this bit can be shown in dumbshow, if the whole thing is being acted out—and as she fled, her mantle she did fall (tricky to get right, Thisbe will probably have to drop it extremely intentionally, perhaps even going back to do so), which Lion vile with bloody mouth did stain. (Why does the Lion have a bloody mouth? It’s a mystery.) Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth and tall—has Bottom been rewriting this? almost certainly—and finds his trusty Thisbe’s mantle slain. Much miming of finding, recognising, lamenting? Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade, he bravely broached his boiling bloody breast. All the Bs, is that Bottom too? Alliteration for impact, SO much alliteration. And Thisbe, tarrying in mulberry shade—a glimpse of the Ovid, in which the mulberry tree’s fruit is transformed from white to purple by Pyramus’s blood—his dagger drew, and died. (The dagger detail glances at Romeo and Juliet.) Almost there, Quince! Who would have thought a prologue could be so exhausting? For all the rest, let Lion, Moonshine, Wall and lovers twain at large discourse, while here they do remain. Everything else, they’ll tell you themselves. The other actors, apart from Snout-as-Wall, probably step back rather than exiting completely. But now the stage is set, the argument is delivered, and it’s Snout’s big moment!