A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

By William Shakespeare

ACT I
SCENE I. ATHENS. THE PALACE OF THESEUS.
(ENTER THESEUS AND HIPPOLYTA.)

THESEUS: Hippolyta, our wedding is near, it just four days away. But this old moon seems to
be dragging its feet, making the wait feel like an eternity.
HIPPOLYTA: Four days will vanish into darkness, and four nights will slip away in dreams. Then
a new moon, like a silver bow in the sky, will witness our wedding celebrations.
THESEUS: Let’s wake up everyone’s happy and energetic side. We don’t want to be sad at our
wedding. Let’s leave that for funerals.
THESEUS: Hippolyta, I won your heart with my sword. That was a rough way to do it. But this
time, our wedding will be different – full of joy, celebration, and festivities. [laughing]

(ENTER EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and DEMETRIUS)

EGEUS: Cheers to Theseus, our amazing Duke!
THESEUS: Thanks Egeus! What’s new with you? Is anything exciting happening?
EGEUS: My Lord Duke, I’m here with a complaint about my daughter, Hermia. She’s fallen for
Lysander, despite my consent for her to marry Demetrius.
THESEUS: Hermia, listen carefully. Your father should be like a god to you. He’s the one who
created your beauty, and you are like a wax figure in his hands, ready to be molded. Demetrius
is a fine man, and it’s important to respect your father’s wish.
HERMIA: So is Lysander!
THESEUS: Demetrius is a good man and that’s undeniable. But in this matter, without your
father’s approval, the other suitor must be considered as the better choice.
HERMIA: I wish my father could see things the way I do.
THESEUS: Rather your eyes must look his judgment.
HERMIA: Your Grace, please forgive me. I don’t know where I find the courage to speak up, or
if it’s proper for me to voice my thoughts in such a setting. But I would like to know what the
worst thing that could happen if I refuse to marry Demetrius.
THESEUS: Hermia, your choices are limited: either you accept your father’s decision and marry
Demetrius, or you face the consequences of Athenian law.
HERMIA: I would rather grow, live, and die, my lord. Than give up my freedom to a man I don’t
love. My heart won’t submit to a yoke I don’t want. [Kneeling]
THESEUS: Take some time to think about this, Hermia. By the next new moon, the day my
beloved and I are to be wed, you must decide your fate.
DEMETRIUS: Hermia, please reconsider. And Lysander, give up your claim—it’s clear that I am
the rightful one to marry her!
LYSANDER: You have her father’s approval, Demetrius. So, you can have him. Let me have
Hermia’s heart. Do you marry him?! [Lysander and Demetrius about to fight but Thesues
stop them.]
EGEUS: You’re a scornful young man, Lysander! But he has my love, and what’s mine will give
him. Hermia is mine, and I give all my rights to her to Demetrius.
LYSANDER:[Facing Theseus] My lord, I’m just as good as Demetrius. I have just as much
wealth and status, and most importantly, I am loved by Hermia. Why shouldn’t I fight for my
rights?
THESEUS: I must admit, I’ve heard rumors of this, and I meant to talk to Demetrius about it. But
I’ve been so busy with my affairs. You two come with me. I have some private matters to
discuss with you both. [Facing Hermia] As for you, Hermia, you must either adjust your desires
to your father’s wishes or face the consequences.
THESEUS: Come, Hippolyta, what are your thoughts? Demetrius and Egeus, follow me. I need
your help with some preparations for our wedding, and I have some important matters to
discuss with you that concern your own life.
EGEUS: With duty and desire we follow you.
(THEY ALL EXIT EXCEPT FOR LYSANDER AND HERMIA.)

LYSANDER: Hermia, my love, what’s wrong? Your cheeks are so pale, that the roses in them
are fading quickly. What’s troubling you? [Kneeling]
HERMIA: Perhaps it’s because they’re thirsty, and I could easily water them with the tears that
are threatening to spill from my eyes. [Crying]
LYSANDER: Oh, my love, everything I’ve ever read or heard about love tells me that it’s never a
smooth path. Either it’s a love that’s forbidden because of different social classes. [He walked
and stands besides Hermia]
HERMIA: Oh, fate! You’re too cruel to bind us together when we’re so different in status.
LYSANDER: or when there’s a significant age gap between us.
HERMIA: It’s unbearable to be betrothed to someone much older.
LYSANDER: or when our love is influenced by the opinions of others.
HERMIA: It’s torture to have our love determined by someone else’s perspective.
LYSANDER: Even if our hearts truly aligned. War, death, or illness could come and shatter it—
making it fleeting like a sound, swift like a shadow, short as a dream. Beautiful things vanish so
quickly.
HERMIA: If true love has always faced obstacles, then it’s a decree of fate. We must learn to be
patient in the face of our trials because hardship is as much a part of love as thoughts, dreams,
sighs, wishes, tears, and the longing of the heart.
LYSANDER: Listen, Hermia. I have an aunt, a wealthy widow and has no children. She
considers me her only son. We can go there, and get married. The Athenian law can’t reach us
there. If you truly love me, sneak out of your father’s house tomorrow night. [Pointing the
moon]
HERMIA: My dearest Lysander! I swear to you, by Cupid’s strongest bow, by his sharpest arrow
tipped with gold, by the purity of Venus’ doves,—I promise to meet you tomorrow at that very
spot you mentioned! [Hermia happily stoop up]
LYSANDER: Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena. [Touches Hermia’s face]

(ENTER HELENA)
HERMIA: Godspeed to you, fair Helena! Where are you headed?
HELENA: Do you call me fair? Please take that back. Demetrius loves your beauty, oh, how
lucky you are! Your eyes are like guiding stars, and your voice is sweeter than a lark’s song to a
shepherd’s ear when the wheat is green and the hawthorn buds are blooming. If beauty were
contagious, I’d catch it from you, Hermia, please teach me how you look and what magic you
use to capture Demetrius’ heart.
HERMIA: I scowl at him, but he still loves me. It’s baffling. [Rolling her eyes]
HELENA: Oh, I wish my frowns could teach my smiles to have the same power over him!
HERMIA: I curse him, yet he still gives me love. It’s so strange.
HELENA: I wish my prayers could inspire such devotion!
HERMIA: The more I hate him, the more he chases after me.
HELENA: The more I love him, the more he hates me.
HERMIA: It’s because of his foolishness, Helena. Isn’t my fault.
HELENA: It’s not your fault, it’s your beauty. I wish that flaw were mine!
HERMIA: Don’t worry, Helena. He won’t see my face again. Lysander and I are leaving this
place. Before I met Lysander, Athens seemed like paradise. But now, because of him, it feels
like hell. My love has turned heaven into hell. [facing Lysander]
LYSANDER: Helena, we’re going to share our plan with you. Tomorrow night, when the moon
reflects its silver face in the watery dew, and the blades of grass glisten with liquid pearls, a time
when lovers’ escapes are hidden, we’ll slip out of Athens’ gates. [Hermia nodding, agree with
what Lysander says]
HERMIA: And in the woods, where you and I used to lie on beds of delicate primroses, pouring
out our hearts and sharing our secrets, there Lysander and I will meet. Then we’ll turn our backs
on Athens, seeking new friends and unfamiliar [look at Helena]. Farewell, dear playmate.
Please pray for us, and may good fortune grant you your Demetrius.[facing Lysander] Keep
your promise, Lysander. We must deny ourselves the sight of our beloveds until deep midnight
tomorrow. (Exits Hermia)
LYSANDER: I will, my Hermia. Farewell, Helena. May Demetrius love you as much as you love
him! (Exits Lysander)
HELENA: Some people are just so lucky! Everyone in Athens thinks I’m as beautiful as Hermia.
But what does it matter? Demetrius doesn’t see it that way. He doesn’t realize what everyone
else knows. And just as he’s wrong about Hermia’s beauty, I’m wrong about his qualities. Love
can transform even the most ordinary things into beauty and worth. Love doesn’t see with the
eyes but with the heart. Before Demetrius ever looked at Hermia, he swore he only loved me.
But when his heart warmed towards Hermia, his vows melted away like snowflakes in the sun.
I’ll go and tell him about Hermia’s escape. Then he’ll chase after her in the woods tomorrow
night. If I get a thank you for this information, it’s a small price to pay. But my real reward is the
chance to see him there and back again.
(EXIT)

SCENE II. ATHENS. QUINCE’S HOUSE.

(ENTER QUINCE, BOTTOM, AND FLUTE.)

QUINCE: Is all our company here?

NICK BOTTOM: It would be best to call them individually, one by one, according to the list.
QUINCE: Here’s the list of everyone in Athens who’s thought to be suitable to act in our play for
the Duke and Duchess on their wedding night.
NICK BOTTOM: First, Peter Quince, please explain what the play is about. Then, read out the
names of the actors, and we’ll move forward from there.
QUINCE: Our play is The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and
Thisby.
BOTTOM: A good piece of work! Now, call the actors.
QUINCE: Nick Bottom, the weaver.
BOTTOM: Ready. What part?
QUINCE: You’re Pyramus.
BOTTOM: A lover? A tyrant?
QUINCE: A lover who kills himself for love.
BOTTOM: I’ll move storms, condole… but I’d rather play a tyrant!
QUINCE: Francis Flute, the bellows-mender.
FLUTE: Here, Peter Quince.
QUINCE: You’re Thisby.
FLUTE: A woman? I have a beard!
QUINCE: You’ll wear a mask.
BOTTOM: Let me play Thisby! I’ll speak in a little voice!
QUINCE: No, you’re Pyramus. Flute, you’re Thisby.

ACT II
SCENE I. A wood near Athens.
ENTER, FROM OPPOSITE SIDES, A FAIRY, AND PUCK.

PUCK: Hey, spirit! Where are you going?

FAIRY: Over hills and through valleys,
Through bushes and thorns,
Over parks and fences,
Through rivers and fire,
I go everywhere,
Faster than the moon;
I work for the fairy queen,
Sprinkle dew on the grass.
The tall cowslips are her guards:
You see spots on their yellow flowers;

PUCK: The king is having a party here tonight:

Make sure the queen doesn’t see him;
Oberon is really angry,
Because she has a boy with her
Who was taken from an Indian king;
She’s never had such a sweet little boy;
And jealous Oberon wants the child
To be his knight, to explore the woods;
But she keeps the boy,
Decorates him with flowers and makes him her joy:
FAIRY: And here’s my mistress. I wish he were gone!

(ENTER, FROM ONE SIDE, OBERON, WITH HIS TRAIN; FROM THE OTHER, TITANIA,
WITH HERS.)
OBERON: Hey there, proud Titania.
TITANIA: What jealous Oberon! Fairies, go away: I’ve left his bed and company.
OBERON: Wait, wild one: am I not your lord?
TITANIA: Then I must be your lady: but I know when you’ve left fairyland and spent the day as
Corin, playing on corn pipes and singing to Phillida. Why are you here, all the way from India?
OBERON: How dare you, doubt my reputation with Hippolyta! Knowing I’m aware of your love
for Theseus? Didn’t you lead him through the night from Perigenia, whom he abducted? And
make him break his promise with fair Aegle, and with Ariadne and Antiopa?
TITANIA: Those are just jealous lies. Since the middle of summer, we haven’t met on hills, in
valleys, forests, by fountains, or the seashore, to dance in the wind, because your fights have
disturbed our fun.
OBERON: Then fix it; the power is in your hands. Why should Titania defy Oberon? I just want a
little changeling boy as my servant.
TITANIA: Don’t worry; I won’t give up the boy. The fairy realm won’t buy him from me. His
mother was one of my followers, and she often sat with me by the sea in India at night. She died
giving birth to the boy, and I raised him in her memory.
OBERON: How long will you stay in this forest?
TITANIA: Maybe until after Theseus’ wedding. If you want to join our moonlit festivities, come
with us; if not, avoid me and I’ll leave you alone.
OBERON: Give me the boy, and I’ll go with you.
TITANIA: Not for your fairy kingdom. Fairies, let’s go! (Exits)
OBERON: Fine, go; you won’t leave this grove until I’ve punished you for this. Puck, come here.
Do you remember when I saw Cupid’s failed love attempt?
PUCK: I remember.
OBERON: Now, I need you to fetch a flower that will make someone fall in love with the first
creature they see after its juice is applied to their eyelids. Bring me that flower before long.
PUCK: I’ll circle the earth in forty minutes. (Exits)
OBERON: Once I have this juice, I’ll watch Titania while she’s sleeping and put it in her eyes.
The first thing she sees when she wakes up, whether it’s a lion, bear, wolf, bull, monkey, or ape,
she’ll fall in love with it. And until I remove the spell, I’ll make her give me the boy.
But who’s coming? I’m invisible, so I’ll listen to their conversation.

(DEMETRIUS AND HELENA ENTER)

HELENA: You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant; But you don’t draw iron, for my heart is true
as steel: if you stop trying to attract me, I won’t follow you.
DEMETRIUS: Do I entice you? Do I speak to you fairly? In plain truth, I do not and cannot love
you.
HELENA: And even though you don’t love me, I love you more. I am devoted to you; the more
you mistreat me, the more I’ll adore you.
DEMETRIUS: You’re risking too much leaving the safety of the city to be with someone who
doesn’t love you.
HELENA: Your virtue is my privilege; when I see you, it’s not dark. You are my world, so how
can I be alone when you’re here?
DEMETRIUS: I’ll run away and leave you to the mercy of wild beasts.
HELENA: You’re more heartless than any wild beast. The story will change: Apollo will run,
Daphne will chase, and the dove will pursue the griffin.
DEMETRIUS: I won’t answer your questions; let me go. If you follow me, expect trouble in the
woods. (Exits)
HELENA: You harm me everywhere, not just here. Your actions reflect badly on all women. We
can’t fight for love like men can; we shouldn’t chase after those who don’t want us. I’ll follow you
and turn hell into heaven, to be with the one I love. (Exits)
OBERON: There is the flowers, welcome wander.
PUCK: Hi, there it is!
OBERON: Give it to me.
[PUCK MOCKING OBERON]
OBERON: I wonder if Titania has awoken, and what she will see next that she will love so
intensely. Here comes my messenger. What mischief have you been up to in this enchanted
forest, Puck?
PUCK: My queen has fallen in love with a monstrous creature. Near her secluded bower, while
she was asleep, a group of amateur actors, who work for a living in Athens, gathered to
rehearse a play for Theseus’ wedding day.
OBERON: Now, there is an Athenian who acted very cruelly towards a girl. They have gone that
way [pointing the direction where they go ] Go there at night and spread some of the juice on
the eyelids of the young Athenian. When he wakes up and sees the girl, he will fall in love with
her.
SCENE II. ANOTHER PART OF THE WOOD.
(LYSANDER AND HERMIA ENTER)

LYSANDER: My dear, you’re tired from wandering in the woods, and truth be told, I’ve forgotten
our way. Let’s rest here Hermia and wait for the comfort of daylight.
HERMIA: Agreed, Lysander. Find a place for us to sleep; I’ll rest my head on this bank.
LYSANDER: We can share one turf as a pillow for both of us, one heart, one bed, two bosoms,
and one commitment.
HERMIA: No, dear Lysander, for my sake, please lie further away. Don’t lie so close.
LYSANDER: Oh, understand, my dear, the purity of my intentions! Love interprets words with
love’s understanding. What I mean is that my heart is so connected to yours that we can make
one heart out of it. Hermia, for lying next to you is not a lie.
HERMIA: Lysander speaks in charming riddles. If I meant to say Lysander was lying, may my
manners and pride be cursed. But, dear friend, out of love and respect, please lie further away.
In the modesty of human custom. So let’s keep our distance. Goodnight, sweet friend. May your
love never change until the end of your sweet life.
LYSANDER: I say amen to that beautiful prayer. I wish to end my loyalty only when my life
ends. Here is my bed. May sleep bring you complete rest.
HERMIA: I wish the same for you. (They fall asleep)

ACT III
SCENE I
(PUCK ENTERS)
PUCK: I’ve searched through the forest, but I couldn’t find any Athenian on whose eyes I could
use this flower to provoke love. But who’s here? He’s wearing the attire of someone from
Athens. This must be the man my master spoke of, who rejected the Athenian maiden. And
there is the maiden, sleeping peacefully on the damp ground. I’ll cast the power of this flower on
his eyes. When you wake up, may love to prevent you from sleeping again. So wake up after I
leave, for I must go to Oberon. (Puck exits)
(ENTER DEMETRIUS AND HELENA, RUNNING)
HELENA: Please, even if it hurts me, sweet Demetrius.
DEMETRIUS: I command you, leave me alone, and stop following me.
HELENA: Will you leave me in the dark like this? Please don’t go.
DEMETRIUS: Stay, at your own risk. I will go alone. (Demetrius exits)
(HELENA DIDN’T FOLLOW DEMETRIUS INSTEAD SHE KEEP WALKING IN THE FOREST
UNTILSL SHE NOTICE SOMEONE)
HELENA: I’m exhausted from this foolish pursuit! The more I pray, the less grace I receive.
Hermia is lucky wherever she is, for she has beautiful and captivating eyes. How did her eyes
become so bright? But who’s there? Lysander on the ground! Is he dead or asleep? I see no
blood or injury. Lysander, please wake up!
LYSANDER: (Awakening) I would endure anything for your sake, even run through fire. Clear
Helena! Your true feelings show through, revealing your heart. Where is Demetrius? How fitting
it would be for that hateful name to perish by my sword!
HELENA: Don’t say that, Lysander. What if he loves Hermia? Despite his love for Hermia, she
still loves you. Be content. (Exits)
LYSANDER:
HERMIA: (Awakening) Help me, Lysander, help me! Do your best to remove this crawling
serpent from my chest! Oh, pity me! What a terrible dream I had! Lysander? Where have you
gone? Why can’t I hear you? Have you left me without a sound or a word? Exit

SCENE II. ANOTHER PART OF THE WOOD.

(ENTER OBERON)

OBERON: Here comes my messenger. Have you applied the love potion to the Athenian’s eyes
as I instructed?
PUCK: I did it while he was asleep and I also placed the woman from Athens next to him.
OBERON: Stand nearby; this is the Athenian man.
PUCK: This is the woman, but not the man you meant…

DEMETRIUS: Oh, why do you criticize him who loves you so? Why be so harsh to your bitter
foe?
HERMIA: Now I am just scolding you, but I should treat you worse, for you have given me
reason to curse. If you have killed Lysander in his sleep, covered in blood up to your shoes,
then go ahead and kill me too. He was as faithful to me as the sun is to the day. Would he have
left me while I was asleep?
DEMETRIUS: The murdered would look that way, as would I, pierced through the heart by your
harshness. Yet you, the murderer, look as bright and clear as the planet Venus in the sky.
HERMIA: What does this matter to my Lysander? Where is he? Oh, good Demetrius, will you
give him back to me?
DEMETRIUS: You are wasting your emotions on a mistaken assumption. I am not guilty of
Lysander’s blood, and as far as I know, he is not dead.
HERMIA: Please tell me that he is well.
DEMETRIUS: And even if I could, what would I gain from it?
HERMIA: The privilege of never seeing me again. I now part from your hated presence. Do not
see me anymore, whether he is dead or alive. (Hermia exits)
DEMETRIUS: I cannot chase after her in this intense anger; I will stay here for a while. The
weight of sorrow grows heavier, like a debt that sleeps, bankrupt in solace, owes to sorrow. I will
rest here for a brief moment to alleviate this burden. (He lies down and falls asleep)
OBERON: What have you done? You have made a mistake and applied the love potion to
someone who truly loves, not to someone who falsely appears to love. Your error will lead to a
true love being altered, not a false love becoming true.
PUCK: Then fate intervenes, where one man remains faithful, while countless others fail,
confusing promises and commitments.
OBERON: Go swiftly through the forest like the wind, and find Helena of Athens. She is lovesick
and pale, burdened by love that costs her dearly. Use some illusion to bring her here. I will
enchant his eyes against her arrival.
PUCK: I’m off, I’m off; watch how swiftly I go, faster than an arrow shot from a Tartar’s bow.
(Puck exits)

ACT IV
SCENE I
HELENA: Have you influenced your other love, Demetrius, who just recently rejected me, to call
me goddess, nymph, divine, rare, precious, and celestial? Why does he speak this way to
someone he supposedly hates? And why does Lysander deny his love for you, overflowing
within his soul, and instead show me affection, all by your encouragement, and by your
consent? Even if I am not as favored as you, not as loved, not as fortunate. Am I not the most
wretched to love someone who doesn’t love me back? You should pity me instead of despising
me.
HERMIA: I don’t understand what you mean by this.
HELENA: Do understand persist in your feigned sorrowful looks, make faces behind my back,
wink at each other, and continue this sweet joke. This game, well played, will be remembered. If
you have any pity, grace, or manners, you wouldn’t treat me this way. But farewell; part of this is
my fault, which death or absence will soon remedy.
LYSANDER: Stay, gentle Helena; listen to my explanation. Helena, my love, my life, my soul,
fair Helena!
HELENA: Oh, excellent!
HERMIA: Sweet, please don’t mock her like this.
DEMETRIUS: If she can’t ask, I can force her.
LYSANDER: You can’t compel her any more than she can ask; your threats are no stronger
than her weak pleas. Helena, I love you; I swear by my life that I do. I swear to prove anyone
wrong who says I don’t love you.
DEMETRIUS: I say I love you more than he does.
LYSANDER: If you say so, prove it as well.
DEMETRIUS: Quick, come!
[Fencing sword]
HERMIA: Lysander, what is the meaning of all this?
LYSANDER: Go away, you dark-skinned woman! [Point sword at Hermia]
DEMETRIUS: Get off, you cat! Let go, or I’ll shake your head off like a serpent!
HERMIA: Why have you become so rude? What has caused this change? Sweet love—
LYSANDER: Your love! Get away, tawny Tartar! Be gone!
LYSANDER: Demetrius, I will keep my promise to you.
DEMETRIUS: I wish I had your promise, for I see a weak bond holds you. I won’t trust your
word.
LYSANDER: What? Should I hurt her, strike her or kill her? Even though I hate her, I won’t harm
her that way.
HERMIA: What? Hate me? Why? Oh, what’s wrong, my love? Am I not Hermia? Aren’t you
Lysander? I am as fair now as I was before. Since nightfall, you loved me; yet since nightfall,
you left me. Why did you leave me then? I hope not for the reason I fear.
HERMIA: Oh, you trickster! You deceitful flower! You thief of love! Did you come at night and
steal my love’s heart from him?
HELENA: Do you have no modesty, no shame, no sense of decency? Will you force quick
answers from my gentle tongue? Shame on you, you fake, you puppet!
HELENA: Oh! She might harm me!
LYSANDER: Don’t worry, Helena, she won’t harm you.
DEMETRIUS: No, she won’t, even if you defend her.
HELENA: Oh, when she’s angry, she is sharp and clever! She was fierce when she was in
school, and despite being small, she is mighty.
HERMIA: “Little” again! Only “low” and “little”! Why do you let her insult me like this? Let me
speak to her.
LYSANDER: Go away, you small person, you hindering knot-grass, your bead, you acorn.
DEMETRIUS: You are too eager to defend her, even though she rejects your help. Leave her
be; don’t speak in support of Helena. If you show even the slightest love to her, you’ll regret it.
LYSANDER: Now that she doesn’t hold me, let’s see if you dare to follow, to see whose claim,
yours or mine, is stronger for Helena.
DEMETRIUS: Follow! No, I’ll go with you, side by side. (Exits)
(Exit Lysander and Demetrius)

HERMIA: You, madam! All this commotion is because of you! Don’t go back!
HELENA: I won’t trust you, nor will I stay any longer in your cursed company. Your hands may
be quicker for a fight, but my legs are faster to run away. (Helena exits)
HERMIA: I am astonished and don’t know what to say. (Hermia exits)
Oberon: This is your mistake, Puck. You’re always messing up, or maybe you’re just being
tricky on purpose.
Puck: Believe me, king of shadows, I made a mistake. Didn’t you tell me I would recognize the
man by the Athenian clothes he was wearing? I did just that. I put the magic on an Athenian’s
eyes, so I’m not entirely to blame. And honestly, I think their arguing is pretty funny.
Oberon: Look at these lovers—they’re about to fight! Hurry, Robin, and cover the night sky with
a thick, dark fog. Make it so they can’t find each other. Pretend to be Lysander sometimes and
argue with Demetrius, and then switch to acting like Demetrius. Keep leading them in circles so
they never meet.
Let them tire out until they fall asleep like they’re under the spell of death. Then, put this herb on
Lysander’s eyes. Its magic will remove the confusion and return to his normal sight. When they
wake up, they’ll think this whole mess was just a dream.

SCENE II
(Puck and Demetrius re-enter)
Lysander: He keeps running ahead, daring me to follow, but when I get close, he’s gone again.
That villain is faster than me! I chased him hard, but he ran even faster. Now I’ve stumbled into
this rough, dark path. I’ll rest here.(Lies down)

Come, gentle daylight! Once I see the first light of dawn, I’ll find Demetrius and get my revenge
for this trickery.(Falls asleep)

Puck: Ho, ho, ho! Coward, why don’t you come to fight?
Demetrius: Stay where you are if you dare! I know you keep running ahead, changing places.
You won’t stand still or look me in the face. Where are you now?
Puck: Over here! Come and get me—I’m waiting.
Demetrius: You’re mocking me. You’ll pay for this if I ever see your face in the daylight! But now
I’m too exhausted to keep up. I’ll stretch out here on this cold ground. When the day comes,
you’d better be ready. (Demetrius lies down and sleeps)
(Helena enters) Helena: Oh, what a long, tiring night! Please, let it end soon. I wish the sun
would rise so I could go back to Athens. These people hate my company. Sleep, which
sometimes brings relief from sorrow, comes and takes me away from my loneliness. (Helena
lies down and sleeps)
Puck: Only three asleep? Let’s make it four! Two men and two women—that’s fair. Here comes
the last one, sad and angry. Cupid’s a mischievous boy to drives women so mad with love.
(Hermia enters) Hermia: I’ve never been this tired, never felt such sorrow. I’m soaked with dew
and scratched by thorns. I can’t crawl or walk any farther; my legs can’t keep up with my heart’s
desire. I’ll rest here until the morning comes. Heaven protect Lysander if there’s a fight! (Lies
down and sleeps)
Puck: Sleep soundly on the ground. I’ll fix everything for you, dear lover.
(Puck applies the juice to Lysander’s eyes)
When you wake up, you’ll find true joy in seeing your real love again. The old saying that every
man should have his own will come true when you wake up. Jack will have Jill, and everything
will be right. The man will have his lady again, and all will be well. (Puck exits)

ACT V
SCENE I
ENTER LOVERS: LYSANDER, DEMETRIUS, HERMIA, AND HELENA.

THESEUS :Here come the lovers full of joy and mirth.— Joy, gentle friends! Joy and fresh days
of love. Accompany your hearts!
LYSANDER More than to us! Wait in your royal walks, your board, your bed!
THESEUS :Come now, what masques, what dances shall we have? What revels are in hand?
Is there no play to ease the anguish of a torturing hour? Call Philostrate.
PHILOSTRATE : coming forward Here, mighty Theseus.
THESEUS :Say what abridgment have you for this evening, what masque, what music?
PHILOSTRATE GIVING THESEUS A PAPER
PHILOSTRATE: There is a brief how many sports are ripe.
Make choice of which your Highness will see first.
THESEUS: “The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung by an Athenian eunuch to the harp.”We’ll
none of that. That have I told my love in glory of my kinsman Hercules.

PHILOSTRATE: A play there is, my lord, some ten words longb(Which is as brief as I have
known a play) But by ten words, my lord, it is too long, what are they that do play it?
PHILOSTRATE: Hard-handed men that work in Athens here. Which never labored in their
minds till now.
THESEUS: And we will hear it.
PHILOSTRATE: No, my noble lord, it is not for you. I have heard it over. Extremely stretched
and conned with cruel pain. To do you service.
THESEUS: U will hear that play. Go, bring them in—and take your places, ladies.
PHILOSTRATE EXITS.
HIPPOLYTA: I love not to see wretchedness o’ercharged, and duty in his service perishing.
THESEUS: Why, gentle sweet, you shall see no such thing.
HIPPOLYTA: He says they can do nothing in this kind.
THESEUS: The kinder we, to give them thanks for nothing.
ENTER PHILOSTRATE.
PHILOSTRATE: So please your Grace, the Prologue is addressed.
THESEUS Let him approach.

ENTER THE PROLOGUE.

PROLOGUE
If we offend, it is with our goodwill.That you should think we come not to offend, but with
goodwill. To show our simple skill. The actors are at hand, and, by their show, you shall know all
that you are like to know.
PROLOGUE EXITS.
THESEUS This fellow doth not stand upon points.
LYSANDER He hath rid his prologue like a rough colt; He knows not the stop. Not enough to
speak, but to speak true.
HIPPOLYTA Indeed he hath played on this prologue like A child on a recorder—a sound, but
not in Government.
THESEUS His speech was like a tangled chain—nothing
Impaired, but all disordered. Who is next?

ENTER PYRAMUS (BOTTOM), AND THISBE (FLUTE), AND WALL (SNOUT), AND
MOONSHINE (STARVELING), AND LION p(SNUG), AND PROLOGUE (QUINCE).

QUINCE, as Prologue
Gentles, perchance you wonder at this show. But wonder on, till truth make all things plain. This
man is Pyramus, if you would know. This beauteous lady Thisbe is certain. This man with lime
and roughcast doth present “Wall,” that vile wall which did these lovers Sunder; This man, with
lantern, dog, and bush of thorn, Presenteth “Moonshine,” for, if you will know, His dagger drew,
and died. For all the rest. Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall, and lovers twain At large discourse, while
here they do remain.
THESEUS I wonder if the lion be to speak.
DEMETRIUS No wonder, my lord.
LION, THISBE, MOONSHINE, AND PROLOGUE EXIT.
SNOUT, as Wall
In this same interlude it doth befall. That I, one Snout by name, present a wall; And such a wall
as I would have you think that had in it a crannied hole or chink, thrrough which the lovers,
Pyramus and Thisbe, did whisper often, very secretly.
THESEUS Would you desire lime and hair to speak better?
DEMETRIUS It is the wittiest partition that ever I heard. Discourse, my lord.
THESEUS Pyramus draws near the wall. Silence.
BOTTOM, as Pyramus
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. But what see I? No
Thisbe do I see. O wicked wall, through whom I see no bliss, cursed be thy stones for thus
deceiving me!
THESEUS : The wall, methinks, being sensible, should curse again.
BOTTOM : No, in truth, sir, he should not. “Deceiving me” is Thisbe’s cue. She is to enter now,
and I am to spy her through the wall.

Enter Thisbe (Flute).

FLUTE, as Thisbe
O wall, full often hast thou heard my moans for parting my fair Pyramus and me. My cherry lips
have often kissed thy stones,thy stones with lime and hair knit up in thee.
BOTTOM, as Pyramus
I see a voice! Now will I to the chink to spy an I can hear my Thisbe’s face. Thisbe?
FLUTE, as Thisbe
My love! Thou art my love, I think.
BOTTOM, as Pyramus
Think what thou wilt, I am thy lover’s grace,
FLUTE, as Thisbe
And I like Helen, till the Fates me kill.
BOTTOM, as Pyramus
Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true.
FLUTE, as Thisbe
As Shafalus to Procrus, I to you.
BOTTOM, as Pyramus
O kiss me through the hole of this vile wall.
FLUTE, as Thisbe
I kiss the wall’s hole, not your lips at all.
BOTTOM, as Pyramus
Wilt thou at Ninny’s tomb meet me straightway?
FLUTE, as Thisbe
’Tide life, ’tide death, I come without delay.
BOTTOM AND FLUTE EXIT.
SNOUT, as Wall
Thus have I, Wall, my part discharged so, and, being done, thus Wall away doth go..
THESEUS: Now is the wall down between the two neighbors.
DEMETRIUS No remedy, my lord, when walls are so willful to hear without warning.
HIPPOLYTA This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard.
THESEUS : The worst are no worse, if imagination amend them.
HIPPOLYTA It must be your imagination, then, and not theirs.
THESEUS If we imagine no worse of them than they of themselves, they may pass for
excellent men. Here come two noble beasts in, a man and a lion.

ENTER ROBIN GOODFELLOW.

ROBIN: Now the hungry lion roars, and the wolf beholds the moon, hilts the heavy plowman
snores, All with weary task fordone. Now the wasted brands do glow, whilst the screech-owl,
screeching loud,

Enter Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of Fairies, with all their train.
OBERON: Through the house give glimmering light, by the dead and drowsy fire.
TITANIA: First rehearse your song by rote, to each word a warbling note. Oberon leads the
Fairies in song and dance.
OBERON: Now, until the break of day, through this house each fairy stray. To the best bride-
bed will we, which by us shall blessed be, and the issue there create.
ALL EXITS EXCEPT ROBIN.
ROBIN: If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended: that you have but
slumbered here while these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding
but a dream, gentles, do not reprehend. So good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we
be friends, and Robin shall restore amends. He exits.
THE END