A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare, Sheba Blake

• Publisher: Sheba Blake Publishing
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781222296686
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Ancient & Classical Drama
• Index: Literature

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a classic comedy written by William Shakespeare.

Midsummer Night's Dream is Shakespeare's classic tale of two couples who can't quite pair up to everyone's satisfaction. Demetrius and Lysander love Hermia. Hermia loves Lysander but has been promised to Demetrius by her father. Hermia's best friend Helena loves Demetrius, but in his obsession for Hermia Demetrius barely even notices her smitten friend. When Hermia and Lysander plan to elope all four find themselves in the forest late at night where the fairy Puck and his lord Oberon wreck havoc on the humans with a love potion that causes the victim to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking.

As part of our mission to publish great works of literary fiction and nonfiction, Sheba Blake Publishing Corp. is extremely dedicated to bringing to the forefront the amazing works of long dead and truly talented authors.

I

Part One

Scene I

ATHENS. A ROOM IN THE PALACE OF THESEUS.

SCENE: Athens, and a wood not far from it.

[Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants.]

THESEUS Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Draws on apace; four happy days bring in Another moon; but, oh, methinks, how slow This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires, Like to a step-dame or a dowager, Long withering out a young man’s revenue.

HIPPOLYTA Four days will quickly steep themselves in nights; Four nights will quickly dream away the time; And then the moon, like to a silver bow New bent in heaven, shall behold the night Of our solemnities.

THESEUS Go, Philostrate, Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments; Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth; Turn melancholy forth to funerals— The pale companion is not for our pomp. —

[Exit PHILOSTRATE.]

Hippolyta, I woo’d thee with my sword, And won thy love doing thee injuries; But I will wed thee in another key, With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling.

[Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and DEMETRIUS.]

EGEUS Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke!

THESEUS Thanks, good Egeus: what’s the news with thee?

EGEUS Full of vexation come I, with complaint Against my child, my daughter Hermia.— Stand forth, Demetrius.—My noble lord, This man hath my consent to marry her:— Stand forth, Lysander;—and, my gracious duke, This man hath bewitch’d the bosom of my child. Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes, And interchang’d love-tokens with my child: Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung, With feigning voice, verses of feigning love; And stol’n the impression of her fantasy With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits, Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats,—messengers Of strong prevailment in unharden’d youth;— With cunning hast thou filch’d my daughter’s heart; Turned her obedience, which is due to me, To stubborn harshness.—And, my gracious duke, Be it so she will not here before your grace Consent to marry with Demetrius, I beg the ancient privilege of Athens,— As she is mine I may dispose of her: Which shall be either to this gentleman Or to her death; according to our law Immediately provided in that case.

THESEUS What say you, Hermia? be advis’d, fair maid: To you your father should be as a god; One that compos’d your beauties: yea, and one To whom you are but as a form in wax, By him imprinted, and within his power To leave the figure, or disfigure it. Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.

HERMIA So is Lysander.

THESEUS In himself he is: But, in this kind, wanting your father’s voice, The other must be held the worthier.

HERMIA I would my father look’d but with my eyes.

THESEUS Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.

HERMIA I do entreat your grace to pardon me. I know not by what power I am made bold, Nor how it may concern my modesty In such a presence here to plead my thoughts: But I beseech your grace that I may know The worst that may befall me in this case If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

THESEUS Either to die the death, or to abjure For ever the society of men. Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires, Know of your youth, examine well your blood, Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, You can endure the livery of a nun; For aye to be shady cloister mew’d, To live a barren sister all your life, Chanting faint hymns to the cold, fruitless moon. Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood To undergo such maiden pilgrimage: But earthlier happy is the rose distill’d Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn, Grows, lives, and dies, in single blessedness.

HERMIA So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord, Ere I will yield my virgin patent up Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke My soul consents not to give sovereignty.

THESEUS Take time to pause; and by the next new moon,— The sealing-day betwixt my love and me For everlasting bond of fellowship,— Upon that day either prepare to die For disobedience to your father’s will; Or else to wed Demetrius, as he would; Or on Diana’s altar to protest For aye austerity and single life.

DEMETRIUS Relent, sweet Hermia;—and, Lysander, yield Thy crazed title to my certain right.

LYSANDER You have her father’s love, Demetrius; Let me have Hermia’s: do you marry him.

EGEUS Scornful Lysander! true, he hath my love; And what is mine my love shall render him; And she is mine; and all my right of her I do estate unto Demetrius.

LYSANDER I am, my lord, as well deriv’d as he, As well possess’d; my love is more than his; My fortunes every way as fairly rank’d, If not with vantage, as Demetrius’s; And, which is more than all these boasts can be, I am belov’d of beauteous Hermia: Why should not I then prosecute my right? Demetrius, I’ll avouch it to his head, Made love to Nedar’s daughter, Helena, And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes, Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry, Upon this spotted and inconstant man.

THESEUS I must confess that I have heard so much, And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof; But, being over-full of self-affairs, My mind did lose it.—But, Demetrius, come; And come, Egeus; you shall go with me; I have some private schooling for you both.— For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself To fit your fancies to your father’s will, Or else the law of Athens yields you up,— Which by no means we may extenuate,— To death, or to a vow of single life.— Come, my Hippolyta: what cheer, my love? Demetrius, and Egeus, go along; I must employ you in some business Against our nuptial, and confer with you Of something nearly that concerns yourselves.

EGEUS With duty and desire we follow you.

[Exeunt THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, EGEUS, DEMETRIUS, and Train.]

LYSANDER How now, my love! why is your cheek so pale? How chance the roses there do fade so fast?

HERMIA Belike for want of rain, which I could well Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.

LYSANDER Ah me! for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth: But either it was different in blood,—

HERMIA O cross! Too high to be enthrall’d to low!

LYSANDER Or else misgraffed in respect of years;—

HERMIA O spite! Too old to be engag’d to young!

LYSANDER Or else it stood upon the choice of friends:

HERMIA O hell! to choose love by another’s eye!

LYSANDER Or, if there were a sympathy in choice, War, death, or sickness, did lay siege to it, Making it momentary as a sound, Swift as a shadow, short as any dream; Brief as the lightning in the collied night That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and earth, And ere a man hath power to say, Behold! The jaws of darkness do devour it up: So quick bright things come to confusion.

HERMIA If then true lovers have ever cross’d, It stands as an edict in destiny: Then let us teach our trial patience, Because it is a customary cross; As due to love as thoughts, and dreams, and sighs, Wishes and tears, poor fancy’s followers.

LYSANDER A good persuasion; therefore, hear me, Hermia. I have a widow aunt, a dowager Of great revenue, and she hath no child: From Athens is her house remote seven leagues; And she respects me as her only son. There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee; And to that place the sharp Athenian law Cannot pursue us. If thou lovest me then, Steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night; And in the wood, a league without the town, Where I did meet thee once with Helena, To do observance to a morn of May, There will I stay for thee.

HERMIA My good Lysander! I swear to thee by Cupid’s strongest bow, By his best arrow, with the golden head, By the simplicity of Venus’ doves, By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves, And by that fire which burn’d the Carthage queen, When the false Trojan under sail was seen,— By all the vows that ever men have broke, In number more than ever women spoke,— In that same place thou hast appointed me, Tomorrow truly will I meet with thee.

LYSANDER Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena.

[Enter HELENA.]

HERMIA God speed fair Helena! Whither away?

HELENA Call you me fair? that fair again unsay. Demetrius loves your fair. O happy fair! Your eyes are lode-stars; and your tongue’s sweet air More tuneable than lark to shepherd’s ear, When wheat is green, when hawthorn buds appear. Sickness is catching: O, were favour so, Yours would I catch, fair Hermia, ere I go; My ear should catch your voice, my eye your eye, My tongue should catch your tongue’s sweet melody. Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated, The rest I’d give to be to you translated. O, teach me how you look; and with what art You sway the motion of Demetrius’ heart!

HERMIA I frown upon him, yet he loves me still.

HELENA O that your frowns would teach my smiles such skill!

HERMIA I give him curses, yet he gives me love.

HELENA O that my prayers could such affection move!

HERMIA The more I hate, the more he follows me.

HELENA The more I love, the more he hateth me.

HERMIA His folly, Helena, is no fault of mine.

HELENA None, but your beauty: would that fault were mine!

HERMIA Take comfort; he no more shall see my face; Lysander and myself will fly this place.— Before the time I did Lysander see, Seem’d Athens as a paradise to me: O, then, what graces in my love do dwell, That he hath turn’d a heaven unto hell!

LYSANDER Helen, to you our minds we will unfold: To-morrow night, when Phoebe doth behold Her silver visage in the watery glass, Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass,— A time that lovers’ flights doth still conceal,— Through Athens’ gates have we devis’d to steal.

HERMIA And in the wood where o...

Table of contents

• Persons Represented
• I. PART ONE
• Scene I
• Scene II
• II. PART TWO
• Scene I
• Scene II
• III. PART THREE
• Scene I
• Scene II
• IV. PART FOUR
• Scene I
• Scene II
• V. PART FIVE
• Scene I
• Scene II