Act III, Scene 1

The wood. TITANIA lying asleep.

[Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT, and STARVELING]

• Bottom. Are we all met? 820

• Quince. Pat, pat; and here's a marvellous convenient place
  for our rehearsal. This green plot shall be our
  stage, this hawthorn-brake our tiring-house; and we
  will do it in action as we will do it before the duke.

• Bottom. Peter Quince,— 825

• Quince. What sayest thou, bully Bottom?

• Bottom. There are things in this comedy of Pyramus and
  Thisby that will never please. First, Pyramus must
  draw a sword to kill himself; which the ladies
  cannot abide. How answer you that? 830

• Snout. By'r lakin, a parlous fear.

• Starveling. I believe we must leave the killing out, when all is done.

• Bottom. Not a whit: I have a device to make all well.
  Write me a prologue; and let the prologue seem to
  say, we will do no harm with our swords, and that 835
  Pyramus is not killed indeed; and, for the more
  better assurance, tell them that I, Pyramus, am not
  Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver: this will put them
  out of fear.

• Quince. Well, we will have such a prologue; and it shall be 840
  written in eight and six.

• Bottom. No, make it two more; let it be written in eight and eight.

• Snout. Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?

• Starveling. I fear it, I promise you.

• Bottom. Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves: to 845
  bring in—God shield us!—a lion among ladies, is a
  most dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearful
  wild-fowl than your lion living; and we ought to
  look to 't.

• Snout. Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion. 850

• Bottom. Nay, you must name his name, and half his face must
  be seen through the lion's neck: and he himself
  must speak through, saying thus, or to the same
  defect,—'Ladies,'—or 'Fair-ladies—I would wish
  You,'—or 'I would request you,'—or 'I would 855
  entreat you,—not to fear, not to tremble: my life
  for yours. If you think I come hither as a lion, it
  were pity of my life: no I am no such thing; I am a
  man as other men are;' and there indeed let him name
  his name, and tell them plainly he is Snug the joiner. 860

• Quince. Well it shall be so. But there is two hard things;
  that is, to bring the moonlight into a chamber; for,
  you know, Pyramus and Thisby meet by moonlight.

• Snout. Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?

• Bottom. A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanac; find 865
  out moonshine, find out moonshine.

• Quince. Yes, it doth shine that night.

• Bottom. Why, then may you leave a casement of the great
  chamber window, where we play, open, and the moon
  may shine in at the casement. 870

• Quince. Ay; or else one must come in with a bush of thorns
  and a lanthorn, and say he comes to disfigure, or to
  present, the person of Moonshine. Then, there is
  another thing: we must have a wall in the great
  chamber; for Pyramus and Thisby says the story, did 875
  talk through the chink of a wall.

• Snout. You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?

• Bottom. Some man or other must present Wall: and let him
  have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast
  about him, to signify wall; and let him hold his 880
  fingers thus, and through that cranny shall Pyramus
  and Thisby whisper.

• 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 885
  speech, enter into that brake: and so every one
  according to his cue.

[Enter PUCK behind]

• Puck. What hempen home-spuns have we swaggering here,
  So near the cradle of the fairy queen? 890
  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. Odours, odours. 895

• 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. 905

• 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. 910

• 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 yet would 915
  never tire.

[Re-enter PUCK, and BOTTOM with an ass'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! 920

[Exeunt QUINCE, SNUG, FLUTE, SNOUT, and STARVELING]

• 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; 925
  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. 930

[Re-enter SNOUT]

• Snout. O Bottom, thou art changed! what do I see on thee?

• Bottom. What do you see? you see an asshead 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 ass of me; 940
  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 I will sing, that they shall hear
  I am not afraid.
  [Sings] 945
  The ousel cock so black of hue,
  With orange-tawny bill,
  The throstle with his note so true,
  The wren with little quill,—

• Titania. [Awaking] What angel wakes me from my flowery bed? 950

• Bottom. [Sings]
  The finch, the sparrow and the lark,
  The plain-song cuckoo gray,
  Whose note full many a man doth mark,
  And dares not answer nay;— 955
  for, indeed, who would set his wit to so foolish
  a bird? who would give a bird the lie, though he cry
  'cuckoo' never so?

• Titania. I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again:
  Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note; 960
  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 965
  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.

• Titania. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful.

• Bottom. Not so, neither: but if I had wit enough to get out 970
  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 no common rate;
  The summer still doth tend upon my state; 975
  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 980
  That thou shalt like an airy spirit go.
  Peaseblossom! Cobweb! Moth! and Mustardseed!

[Enter PEASEBLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH, and MUSTARDSEED]

• Peaseblossom. Ready.

• Cobweb. And I. 985

• Moth. And I.

• Mustardseed. And I.

• All. Where shall we go?

• Titania. Be kind and courteous to this gentleman;
  Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes; 990
  Feed him with apricocks 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, 995
  To have my love to bed and to arise;
  And pluck the wings from Painted butterflies
  To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes:
  Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies.

• Peaseblossom. Hail, mortal! 1000

• Cobweb. Hail!

• Moth. Hail!

• Mustardseed. Hail!

• Bottom. I cry your worship's mercy, heartily: I beseech your
  worship's name. 1005

• 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. 1010

• 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. 1015

• Bottom. Good Master Mustardseed, I know your patience well:
  that same cowardly, giant-like ox-beef hath
  devoured many a gentleman of your house: I promise
  you your kindred had made my eyes water ere now. I
  desire your more acquaintance, good Master 1020
  Mustardseed.

• Titania. Come, wait upon him; lead him to my bower.
  The moon methinks looks with a watery eye;
  And when she weeps, weeps every little flower,
  Lamenting some enforced chastity. 1025
  Tie up my love's tongue bring him silently.

[Exeunt]