Midsummer Text
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream by 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 Attendants enter. 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! she lingers my desires, that the days are passing too slowly—the old Like to a step-dame or a dowager moon is taking too long to fade away! That old, Long withering out a young man revenue. slow moon is keeping me from getting what I want, just like an old widow makes her stepson wait to get his inheritance. 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. Finally the new moon, And then the moon, like to a silver bow curved like a silver bow in the sky, will look down New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night on our wedding celebration. Of our solemnities. THESEUS THESEUS Go, Philostrate, Go, Philostrate, get the young people of Athens Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments; ready to celebrate and have a good time. Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth; Sadness is only appropriate for funerals. We Turn melancholy forth to funerals; don’t want it at our festivities. The pale companion is not for our pomp. Exit PHILOSTRATE PHILOSTRATE exits. THESEUS THESEUS Hippolyta, I woo'd 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, and DEMETRIUS. 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 bewitch'd the bosom of my child; cast a magic spell over my child’s heart.—You, Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her you, Lysander, you’ve given her poems, and rhymes, exchanged tokens of love with my daughter. And interchanged love-tokens with my child: You’ve pretended to be in love with her, singing Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung, fake love songs softly at her window by With feigning voice verses of feigning love, moonlight, and you’ve captured her imagination And stolen the impression of her fantasy by giving her locks of your hair, rings, toys, With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, trinkets, knickknacks, little presents, flowers, conceits, and candies—things that can really influence an Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats, impressionable young person. You’ve connived messengers to steal my daughter’s heart, making her Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth: stubborn and harsh instead of obedient (like she With cunning hast thou filch'd my daughter's should be).—And, my gracious duke, if she won’t heart, agree to marry Demetrius right now, I ask you Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me, to let me exercise the right that all fathers have To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke, in Athens. Since she belongs to me, I can do Be it so she; will not here before your grace what I want with her—as the law says: I can Consent to marry with Demetrius, either make her marry Demetrius—or have her I beg the ancient privilege of Athens, killed. 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 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 One that composed your beauties, yea, and one your father as a god, since he’s the one who To whom you are but as a form in wax gave you your beauty. To him, you’re like a By him imprinted and within his power figure that he’s sculpted out of wax, and he has To leave the figure or disfigure it. the power to keep that figure intact or to Demetrius is a worthy gentleman. disfigure it. 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 look'd 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 what I know not by what power I am made bold, makes me think I can say this, and I don’t know Nor how it may concern my modesty, if speaking my mind to such a powerful and In such a presence here to plead my thoughts; 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 For ever 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 decide whether you could stand to be a nun, choice, wearing a priestess’s habit and caged up in a You can endure the livery of a nun, cloister forever, living your entire life without a For aye to be in shady cloister mew'd, husband or children, weakly chanting hymns to To live a barren sister all your life, the cold and virginal goddess of the moon. Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless People who can restrain their passions and stay moon. virgins forever are holy. But although a virgin Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood, priestess might be rewarded in heaven, a To undergo such maiden pilgrimage; married woman is happier on Earth. A married But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd, woman is like a rose who is picked and made Than that which withering on the virgin thorn into a beautiful perfume, while a priestess just Grows, lives and dies in single blessedness. withers away on the stem. 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; priestess of the moon goddess. Or on Diana's altar 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.