Faculty of English

TITANIA         Be kind and courteous to this gentleman. Hop in his walks, and gambol in his eyes. Feed him with apricots 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-worms’ eyes, To have my love to bed and to arise; And pluck the wings from painted butterflies To fan the […]

TITANIA         Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed! Enter four Fairies: PEASEBLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH and MUSTARDSEED. PEASEBLOSSOM        Ready. COBWEB                                And I. MOTH                                                 And I. MUSTARDSEED                                             And I. ALL     Where shall we go?   (3.1.156-7) Fairy time! More fairies than before, or at least the fairies who have appeared before get names: Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed! Titania summons them, and they duly appear, and they’re […]

TITANIA         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. TITANIA         Out of this wood do not desire to go. Thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no. I am a spirit of […]

TITANIA         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 […]

BOTTOM        The ousel cock so black of hue With orange-tawny bill, The throstle with his note so true, The wren with little quill. TITANIA         [Wakes.] What angel wakes me from my flowery bed? BOTTOM        The finch, the sparrow and the lark, The plainsong cuckoo gray, Whose note full many a man doth mark, And dares not answer nay. For indeed, who would set his wit to […]

BOTTOM        Why do they run away? This is a knavery of them to make me afeard Enter SNOUT. SNOUT            O Bottom, thou art changed. What do I see on thee? BOTTOM        What do you see? You see an ass-head of your own, do you? [Exit Snout.] Enter QUINCE. QUINCE          Bless thee Bottom, bless thee! Thou […]

Enter BOTTOM with an ass’s head, PUCK following. BOTTOM        If I were, fair Thisbe, I were only thine. QUINCE          O monstrous! O strange! We are haunted. Pray, masters; fly, masters. Help! [Exeunt all except PUCK and BOTTOM.] 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 […]

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 yet 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 […]

QUINCE          Speak, Pyramus. Thisbe, stand forth. BOTTOM        Thisbe, the flowers of odious savours sweet. QUINCE          Odours, odours. BOTTOM        … odours savours sweet. So hath thy breath, my dearest Thisbe dear. But hark, a voice. Stay thou but here a while, And by and by I will to thee appear.  (Exit.) PUCK  [aside] A stranger Pyramus than ere played here. [Exit.] FLUTE Must I speak now? QUINCE          Ay, […]

QUINCE          If that may be, then all is well. Come, sit down every mother’s son, and rehearse your parts. Pyramus, you begin. When you have spoken your speech, enter into that brake; and so every one according to his cue. PUCK  [aside] What hempen homespuns have we swaggering here, So near the cradle of the Fairy Queen? What, a play toward? I’ll […]