READ STUDY GUIDE: Act III, scene i |
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Act III, Scene i
| [Enter QUINCE, SNUG, BOTTOM, FLUTE, SNOUT, and STARVELING.] |
| BOTTOM |
| Are we all met? |
| 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,— |
| 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? |
| 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 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 |
| 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 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 it. |
| SNOUT |
| Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion. |
| 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 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. |
| 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 Thisbe meet by moonlight. |
| SNOUT |
| Doth the moon shine that night we play our play? |
| BOTTOM |
| A calendar, a calendar! look in the almanack; find 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. |
| QUINCE |
| Ay; or else one must come in with a bush of thorns and a |
| lantern, 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 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 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 speech, enter into that brake; and so |
| every one according to his cue. |
| [Enter PUCK behind.] |
| PUCK |
| What hempen homespuns have we swaggering 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. |
| PYRAMUS |
 'Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet,' |
| QUINCE |
| Odours, odours. |
| PYRAMUS |
| '—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! |
| [Aside.—Exit.] |
| THISBE |
| 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. |
| THISBE |
| '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.' |
| [Re-enter PUCK, and BOTTOM with an ass's head.] |
| THISBE |
| O,'—As true as truest horse, that yet would never tire.' |
| PYRAMUS |
| 'If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine:—' |
| QUINCE |
| O monstrous! O strange! we are haunted. Pray, masters! |
| fly, masters! Help! |
| [Exeunt Clowns.] |
| 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 changed! What do I see on thee? |
| BOTTOM |
| What do you see? you see an ass-head of your own, do you? |
| [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; 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.] |
| The ousel cock, so black of hue, |
| With orange-tawny bill, |
| The throstle with his note so true, |
| The wren with little quill. |
| TITANIA |
| [Waking.] |
| What angel wakes me from my flowery bed? |
| 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;— |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 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.— |
| Peasblossom! Cobweb! Moth! and Mustardseed! |
| [Enter Four Fairies.] |
| FIRST FAIRY |
| Ready. |
| SECOND FAIRY |
| And I. |
| THIRD FAIRY |
| And I. |
| FOURTH FAIRY |
| Where shall we go? |
| TITANIA |
| Be kind and courteous to this gentleman; |
| Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes; |
| 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, |
| 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. |
| FIRST FAIRY |
| Hail, mortal! |
| SECOND FAIRY |
| Hail! |
| THIRD FAIRY |
| Hail! |
| FOURTH FAIRY |
| Hail! |
| BOTTOM |
| I cry your worships mercy, heartily.—I beseech your |
| worship'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? |
| PEASBLOSSOM |
| Peasblossom. |
| BOTTOM |
| I pray you, commend me to Mistress Squash, your mother, and |
| to Master Peascod, your father. Good Master Peasblossom, 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 devoured 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. |
| 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. |
| Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently. |
| [Exeunt.] |
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