Enter Pyramus.
THESEUS Pyramus draws near the wall: silence.
BOTTOM O grim-looked night, O night, with hue so black,
O night, which ever art when day is not,
O night, O night, alack, alack, alack,
I fear my Thisbe’s promise is forgot.
And thou, O Wall, O sweet, O lovely Wall,
That stand’st between her father’s ground and mine,
Thou Wall, O Wall, O sweet and lovely Wall,
Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne.
[Wall parts his fingers.]
Thanks, courteous Wall. Jove shield thee well for this.
But what see I? No Thisbe do I see.
O wicked Wall, through whom I see no bliss,
Curst be thy stones for thus deceiving me. (5.1.168-180)
It’s Pyramus! Shut up Demetrius, Theseus might as well say: Pyramus draws near the wall: silence. And it is an apostrophe to night: Juliet has one, Lucrece has one, so why not Pyramus, or indeed Bottom? O grim-looked night, O night, with hue so black—it’s DARK, yes, we get the picture, O night, which ever art when day is not (this is unarguable), and then—because black is crucial, non-negotiable, the rhyme has to be made up somehow. O night, O night, alack, alack, alack. Woe is me, night. WOE. WOE. Because I fear my Thisbe’s promise is forgot. WOE. Now the wall gets the apostrophe: and thou, O Wall, O sweet, O lovely Wall (steady on, thinks Snout), that stand’st between her father’s ground and mine—yes this has already been established—thou Wall, O Wall, O sweet and lovely Wall—get ON with it, thinks Snout—show my thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne. The chink, come on, do it, we’ve rehearsed this, we couldn’t think of any better way of doing it, just do it, mate. DONE. So, thanks, courteous Wall. Jove shield thee well for this. That wasn’t so bad now, was it? Bottom peers through the chink. But what see I? No Thisbe do I see. She’s not there! I HATE you, Wall! (Poor Snout.) O wicked Wall, through whom I see no bliss, curst be thy stones for thus deceiving me. This is in no way fair on the wall and Snout is justified in looking somewhat aggrieved.
