A Midsummer Night's DreamBy William Shakespeare
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A Midsummer Night’s Dreamby William Shakespeare ACT I, SCENE I. SETTING: Athens. The palace of THESEUS. Characters: • Demetrius (small role) • Egeus (medium role) • Helena (large role) • Hermia (large role) • Hippolyta (small role) • Lysander (large role) • Theseus (large role) Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants Attendantsenter. THESEUS THESEUS Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Our wedding day is almost here, my beautiful Draws on apace; four happy days bring in Hippolyta. We’ll be getting married in four days, Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow on the day of the new moon. But it seems to me This old moon wanes! that the days are passing too slowly. HIPPOLYTA HIPPOLYTA Four days will quickly steep themselves in No, you’ll see, four days will quickly turn into night; four nights. And since we dream at night, time Four nights will quickly dream away the time. passes quickly then. THESEUS THESEUS Hippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword, Hippolyta, I wooed you with violence, using my And won thy love, doing thee injuries; sword, and got you to fall in love with me by But I will wed thee in another key, injuring you. But I’ll marry you under different With pomp, with triumph and with revelling. circumstances—with extravagant festivals, public festivities, and celebration. Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and EGEUS enters with his daughter HERMIA, DEMETRIUS. and LYSANDER and DEMETRIUS. EGEUS EGEUS Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke! Long live Theseus, our famous an respected duke! THESEUS THESEUS Thanks, good Egeus: what's the news with Thanks, good Egeus. What’s new with you? thee? EGEUS EGEUS Full of vexation come I, with complaint I’m here, full of anger, to complain about my Against my child, my daughter Hermia. daughter Hermia.—Step forward, Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord, Demetrius.—My lord, this man, Demetrius, has This man hath my consent to marry her. my permission to marry her.—Step forward, Stand forth, Lysander: and my gracious duke, Lysander.—But this other man, Lysander, has This man hath bewitched my child; cast a magic spell over my child’s heart.—You, Thou, thou, Lysander, you, Lysander, you’ve connived to steal my With cunning hast thou filched my daughter's daughter’s heart, making her stubborn and heart, harsh instead of obedient (like she should Turned her obedience, which is due to me, be).—And, my gracious duke, if she won’t agree To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke, to marry Demetrius right now, I ask you to let Be it so she; will not here before your grace me exercise the right that all fathers have in Consent to marry with Demetrius, Athens. Since she belongs to me, I can do what I beg the ancient privilege of Athens, I want with her—I can either make her marry As she is mine, I may dispose of her: Demetrius—or have her killed. Which shall be either to this gentleman Or to her death. THESEUS THESEUS What say you, Hermia? be advised fair maid: What do you have to say for yourself, Hermia? To you your father should be as a god. Think carefully, pretty girl. You should think of Demetrius is a worthy gentleman. your father as a god. Demetrius is an admirable man. HERMIA HERMIA So is Lysander. So is Lysander. THESEUS THESEUS In himself he is; You’re right, Lysander’s admirable too. But since But in this kind, wanting your father's voice, your father doesn’t want him to marry you, you The other must be held the worthier. have to consider Demetrius to be the better man. HERMIA HERMIA I would my father looked but with my eyes. I wish my father could see them with my eyes. THESEUS THESEUS Rather your eyes must with his judgment look. No, you must see them as your father sees them. HERMIA HERMIA I do entreat your grace to pardon me. Your grace, please forgive me. I don’t know I know not by what power I am made bold, what makes me think I can say this, and I don’t Nor how it may concern my modesty, know if speaking my mind to such a powerful In such a presence here to plead my thoughts; and noble person as yourself will damage my But I beseech your grace that I may know reputation for modesty. But please, tell me the The worst that may befall me in this case, worst thing that could happen to me if I refuse If I refuse to wed Demetrius. to marry Demetrius. THESEUS THESEUS Either to die the death or to abjure You’ll either be executed or you’ll never see Forever the society of men. another man again. So think carefully about Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires; what you want, beautiful Hermia. Consider how Know of your youth, examine well your blood, young you are, and question your feelings. Then Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice, decide whether you could stand to be a nun, You can endure the livery of a nun, wearing a priestess’s habit and caged up in a For aye to be in shady cloister, cloister forever, living your entire life without a To live a barren sister all your life. husband or children. HERMIA HERMIA So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord, I’d rather wither away than give up my virginity Ere I will my virgin patent up to someone I don’t love. Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke My soul consents not to give sovereignty. THESEUS THESEUS Take time to pause; and, by the next new Take some time to think about this. By the time moon-- of the next new moon—the day when Hippolyta The sealing-day betwixt my love and me, and I will be married—be ready either to be For everlasting bond of fellowship-- executed for disobeying your father, to marry Upon that day either prepare to die Demetrius as your father wishes, or to take a For disobedience to your father's will, vow to spend the rest of your life as a virgin. Or else to wed Demetrius, as he would; Or to protest For aye austerity and single life. DEMETRIUS DEMETRIUS Relent, sweet Hermia: and, Lysander, yield Please give in, sweet Hermia.—And Lysander, Thy crazed title to my certain right. stop acting like she’s yours. I’ve got more of a right to her than you do. LYSANDER LYSANDER You have her father's love, Demetrius; Her father loves you, Demetrius. So why don’t Let me have Hermia's: do you marry him. you marry him and let me have Hermia? EGEUS EGEUS Scornful Lysander! true, he hath my love, It’s true, rude Lysander, I do love him. That’s And what is mine my love shall render him. why I’m giving him my daughter. She’s mine, And she is mine, and all my right of her and I’m giving her to Demetrius. I do estate unto Demetrius. LYSANDER LYSANDER I am, my lord, as well derived as he, (to THESEUS) My lord, I’m just as noble and rich as As well possessed; my love is more than his; he is. I love Hermia more than he does. My My fortunes every way as fairly ranked, prospects are as good as his, if not better. And If not with vantage, as Demetrius'; beautiful Hermia loves me—which is more And, which is more than all these boasts can important than all those other things I’m bragging be, about. Why shouldn’t I be able to marry her? I am beloved of beauteous Hermia: Demetrius—and I’ll say this to his face—courted Why should not I then prosecute my right? Helena, and made her fall in love with him. That Demetrius, I'll avouch it to his head, sweet lady, Helena, loves devoutly. She adores this Made love to Helena, horrible and unfaithful man. And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes, Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry, Upon this spotted and inconstant man. THESEUS THESEUS I must confess that I have heard so much, I have to admit I’ve heard something about that, And with Demetrius thought to have spoke and meant to ask Demetrius about it, but I was too thereof; busy with personal matters and it slipped my But, being over-full of self-affairs, mind.—Anyway, Demetrius and Egeus, both of you, My mind did lose it. But, Demetrius, come; come with me. I want to say a few things to you in And come, Egeus; you shall go with me, private.—As for you, beautiful Hermia, get ready to I have some private schooling for you both. do what your father wants, because otherwise the For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself law says that you must die or become a nun, and To fit your fancies to your father's will; there’s nothing I can do about that.— Or else the law of Athens yields you up-- To death, or to a vow of single life. Exeunt all but LYSANDER and HERMIA. They all exit except LYSANDER and HERMIA. LYSANDER LYSANDER How now, my love! why is your cheek so What’s going on, my love? Why are you so pale? pale? Why have your rosy cheeks faded so quickly? How chance the roses there do fade so fast? HERMIA HERMIA Belike for want of rain, which I could well Probably because my cheeks' roses needed rain, Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.