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No Fear Translations
No Fear Audio
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Modern Text |
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Enter a FAIRY at one side and ROBIN (ROBIN GOODFELLOW) at another
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Enter a FAIRY at one side and ROBIN (ROBIN GOODFELLOW) at another
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ROBIN How now, spirit? Whither wander you?
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ROBIN How now, spirit? Whither wander you?
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FAIRY Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire.
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moon’s sphere.
And I serve the fairy queen
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be.
In their gold coats spots you see.
Those be rubies, fairy favors.
In those freckles live their savors.
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits. I’ll be gone.
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.
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FAIRY Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire.
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moon’s sphere.
And I serve the fairy queen
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be.
In their gold coats spots you see.
Those be rubies, fairy favors.
In those freckles live their savors.
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits. I’ll be gone.
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.
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ROBIN The king doth keep his revels here tonight.
5 Take heed the queen come not within his sight.
For Oberon is passing fell and wrath
Because that she, as her attendant hath
A lovely boy stolen from an Indian king.
She never had so sweet a changeling.
10 And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild.
But she perforce withholds the lovèd boy,
Crowns him with flowers, and makes him all her joy.
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ROBIN The king doth keep his revels here tonight.
Take heed the queen come not within his sight.
For Oberon is passing fell and wrath
Because that she, as her attendant hath
A lovely boy stolen from an Indian king.
She never had so sweet a changeling.
And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild.
But she perforce withholds the lovèd boy,
Crowns him with flowers, and makes him all her joy.
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And now they never meet in grove or green,
15 By fountain clear or spangled starlight sheen.
But they do square, that all their elves for fear
Creep into acorn cups and hide them there.
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And now they never meet in grove or green,
By fountain clear or spangled starlight sheen.
But they do square, that all their elves for fear
Creep into acorn cups and hide them there.
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FAIRY Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
20 Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery,
Skim milk, and sometimes labor in the quern
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn,
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm,
25 Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?
Those that “Hobgoblin” call you, and “sweet Puck,”
You do their work, and they shall have good luck.
Are not you he?
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FAIRY Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery,
Skim milk, and sometimes labor in the quern
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn,
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm,
Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?
Those that “Hobgoblin” call you, and “sweet Puck,”
You do their work, and they shall have good luck.
Are not you he?
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ROBIN Thou speak’st aright.
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
30 I jest to Oberon and make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal.
And sometime lurk I in a gossip’s bowl
In very likeness of a roasted crab,
35 And when she drinks, against her lips I bob
And on her withered dewlap pour the ale.
The wisest aunt telling the saddest tale
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me.
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,
40 And “Tailor!” cries, and falls into a cough,
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there.
But, room, fairy! Here comes Oberon.
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ROBIN Thou speak’st aright.
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
I jest to Oberon and make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal.
And sometime lurk I in a gossip’s bowl
In very likeness of a roasted crab,
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob
And on her withered dewlap pour the ale.
The wisest aunt telling the saddest tale
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me.
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,
And “Tailor!” cries, and falls into a cough,
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there.
But, room, fairy! Here comes Oberon.
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FAIRY 45 And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!
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FAIRY And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!
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Enter OBERON , the King of Fairies, at one side with his train, and TITANIA , the Queen, at the other, with hers
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Enter OBERON , the King of Fairies, at one side with his train, and TITANIA , the Queen, at the other, with hers
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OBERON Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.
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OBERON Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.
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TITANIA What, jealous Oberon?—Fairies, skip hence.
I have forsworn his bed and company.
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TITANIA What, jealous Oberon?—Fairies, skip hence.
I have forsworn his bed and company.
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OBERON Tarry, rash wanton. Am not I thy lord?
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OBERON Tarry, rash wanton. Am not I thy lord?
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TITANIA 50 Then I must be thy lady. But I know
When thou hast stolen away from Fairyland,
And in the shape of Corin sat all day,
Playing on pipes of corn and versing love
To amorous Phillida. Why art thou here,
55 Come from the farthest step of India?
But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon,
Your buskined mistress and your warrior love,
To Theseus must be wedded, and you come
To give their bed joy and prosperity.
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TITANIA Then I must be thy lady. But I know
When thou hast stolen away from Fairyland,
And in the shape of Corin sat all day,
Playing on pipes of corn and versing love
To amorous Phillida. Why art thou here,
Come from the farthest step of India?
But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon,
Your buskined mistress and your warrior love,
To Theseus must be wedded, and you come
To give their bed joy and prosperity.
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OBERON 60 How canst thou thus for shame, Titania,
Knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Glance at my credit with Hippolyta,
Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night
From Perigouna, whom he ravishèd?
And make him with fair Ægles break his faith,
65 With Ariadne and Antiopa?
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OBERON How canst thou thus for shame, Titania,
Knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Glance at my credit with Hippolyta,
Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night
From Perigouna, whom he ravishèd?
And make him with fair Ægles break his faith,
With Ariadne and Antiopa?
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TITANIA These are the forgeries of jealousy.
And never, since the middle summer’s spring,
Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead,
By pavèd fountain, or by rushy brook,
70 Or in the beachèd margent of the sea,
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,
But with thy brawls thou hast disturbed our sport.
Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,
As in revenge, have sucked up from the sea
75 Contagious fogs, which falling in the land
Have every pelting river made so proud
That they have overborne their continents.
The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain,
The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn
80 Hath rotted ere his youth attained a beard.
The fold stands empty in the drownèd field,
And crows are fatted with the murrain flock.
The nine-men’s-morris is filled up with mud,
And the quaint mazes in the wanton green
85 For lack of tread are undistinguishable.
The human mortals want their winter here.
No night is now with hymn or carol blessed.
Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,
Pale in her anger, washes all the air,
90 That rheumatic diseases do abound.
And thorough this distemperature we see
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
95 An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, set. The spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazèd world,
By their increase, now knows not which is which.
100 And this same progeny of evils comes
From our debate, from our dissension.
We are their parents and original.
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TITANIA These are the forgeries of jealousy.
And never, since the middle summer’s spring,
Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead,
By pavèd fountain, or by rushy brook,
Or in the beachèd margent of the sea,
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,
But with thy brawls thou hast disturbed our sport.
Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,
As in revenge, have sucked up from the sea
Contagious fogs, which falling in the land
Have every pelting river made so proud
That they have overborne their continents.
The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain,
The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn
Hath rotted ere his youth attained a beard.
The fold stands empty in the drownèd field,
And crows are fatted with the murrain flock.
The nine-men’s-morris is filled up with mud,
And the quaint mazes in the wanton green
For lack of tread are undistinguishable.
The human mortals want their winter here.
No night is now with hymn or carol blessed.
Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,
Pale in her anger, washes all the air,
That rheumatic diseases do abound.
And thorough this distemperature we see
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, set. The spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazèd world,
By their increase, now knows not which is which.
And this same progeny of evils comes
From our debate, from our dissension.
We are their parents and original.
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OBERON Do you amend it then. It lies in you.
Why should Titania cross her Oberon?
105 I do but beg a little changeling boy,
To be my henchman.
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OBERON Do you amend it then. It lies in you.
Why should Titania cross her Oberon?
I do but beg a little changeling boy,
To be my henchman.
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TITANIA Set your heart at rest.
The Fairyland buys not the child of me.
His mother was a votaress of my order,
And in the spicèd Indian air by night
110 Full often hath she gossiped by my side,
And sat with me on Neptune’s yellow sands,
Marking th' embarkèd traders on the flood,
When we have laughed to see the sails conceive
And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;
115 Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait
Following—her womb then rich with my young squire—
Would imitate, and sail upon the land
To fetch me trifles and return again
As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.
120 But she, being mortal, of that boy did die.
And for her sake do I rear up her boy,
And for her sake I will not part with him.
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TITANIA Set your heart at rest.
The Fairyland buys not the child of me.
His mother was a votaress of my order,
And in the spicèd Indian air by night
Full often hath she gossiped by my side,
And sat with me on Neptune’s yellow sands,
Marking th' embarkèd traders on the flood,
When we have laughed to see the sails conceive
And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;
Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait
Following—her womb then rich with my young squire—
Would imitate, and sail upon the land
To fetch me trifles and return again
As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.
But she, being mortal, of that boy did die.
And for her sake do I rear up her boy,
And for her sake I will not part with him.
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OBERON How long within this wood intend you stay?
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OBERON How long within this wood intend you stay?
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TITANIA Perchance till after Theseus' wedding day.
125 If you will patiently dance in our round
And see our moonlight revels, go with us.
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.
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TITANIA Perchance till after Theseus' wedding day.
If you will patiently dance in our round
And see our moonlight revels, go with us.
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.
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OBERON Give me that boy and I will go with thee.
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OBERON Give me that boy and I will go with thee.
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TITANIA Not for thy fairy kingdom.—Fairies, away!
130 We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.
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TITANIA Not for thy fairy kingdom.—Fairies, away!
We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.
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Exeunt TITANIA and her train
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Exeunt TITANIA and her train
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OBERON Well, go thy way. Thou shalt not from this grove
Till I torment thee for this injury.—(to ROBIN GOODFELLOW)
My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememberest
Since once I sat upon a promontory
135 And heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the seamaid’s music?
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OBERON Well, go thy way. Thou shalt not from this grove
Till I torment thee for this injury.—(to ROBIN GOODFELLOW)
My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememberest
Since once I sat upon a promontory
And heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the seamaid’s music?
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ROBIN I remember.
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ROBIN I remember.
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OBERON 140 That very time I saw (but thou couldst not)
Flying between the cold moon and the Earth,
Cupid all armed. A certain aim he took
At a fair vestal thronèd by the west,
And loosed his love shaft smartly from his bow
145 As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts.
But I might see young Cupid’s fiery shaft
Quenched in the chaste beams of the watery moon,
And the imperial votaress passèd on,
In maiden meditation, fancy-free.
150 Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell.
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound.
And maidens call it “love-in-idleness.”
Fetch me that flower. The herb I showed thee once.
155 The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.
Fetch me this herb, and be thou here again
Ere the leviathan can swim a league.
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OBERON That very time I saw (but thou couldst not)
Flying between the cold moon and the Earth,
Cupid all armed. A certain aim he took
At a fair vestal thronèd by the west,
And loosed his love shaft smartly from his bow
As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts.
But I might see young Cupid’s fiery shaft
Quenched in the chaste beams of the watery moon,
And the imperial votaress passèd on,
In maiden meditation, fancy-free.
Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell.
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound.
And maidens call it “love-in-idleness.”
Fetch me that flower. The herb I showed thee once.
The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.
Fetch me this herb, and be thou here again
Ere the leviathan can swim a league.
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ROBIN 160 I’ll put a girdle round about the Earth
In forty minutes.
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ROBIN I’ll put a girdle round about the Earth
In forty minutes.
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Exit ROBIN
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Exit ROBIN
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OBERON Having once this juice,
I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep
And drop the liquor of it in her eyes.
The next thing then she waking looks upon—
165 Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull,
On meddling monkey or on busy ape—
She shall pursue it with the soul of love.
And ere I take this charm from of her sight—
As I can take it with another herb—
170 I’ll make her render up her page to me.
But who comes here? I am invisible.
And I will overhear their conference.
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OBERON Having once this juice,
I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep
And drop the liquor of it in her eyes.
The next thing then she waking looks upon—
Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull,
On meddling monkey or on busy ape—
She shall pursue it with the soul of love.
And ere I take this charm from of her sight—
As I can take it with another herb—
I’ll make her render up her page to me.
But who comes here? I am invisible.
And I will overhear their conference.
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Enter DEMETRIUS , HELENA following him
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Enter DEMETRIUS , HELENA following him
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DEMETRIUS I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?
175 The one I’ll stay, the other stayeth me.
Thou told’st me they were stol'n unto this wood.
And here am I, and wood within this wood,
Because I cannot meet my Hermia.
Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.
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DEMETRIUS I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?
The one I’ll stay, the other stayeth me.
Thou told’st me they were stol'n unto this wood.
And here am I, and wood within this wood,
Because I cannot meet my Hermia.
Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.
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HELENA 180 You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant.
But yet you draw not iron, for my heart
Is true as steel. Leave you your power to draw,
And I shall have no power to follow you.
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HELENA You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant.
But yet you draw not iron, for my heart
Is true as steel. Leave you your power to draw,
And I shall have no power to follow you.
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DEMETRIUS Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair?
185 Or rather, do I not in plainest truth
Tell you I do not, nor I cannot, love you?
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DEMETRIUS Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair?
Or rather, do I not in plainest truth
Tell you I do not, nor I cannot, love you?
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HELENA And even for that do I love you the more.
I am your spaniel. And, Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.
190 Use me but as your spaniel—spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am, to follow you.
What worser place can I beg in your love—
And yet a place of high respect with me—
195 Than to be usèd as you use your dog?
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HELENA And even for that do I love you the more.
I am your spaniel. And, Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.
Use me but as your spaniel—spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am, to follow you.
What worser place can I beg in your love—
And yet a place of high respect with me—
Than to be usèd as you use your dog?
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DEMETRIUS Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit.
For I am sick when I do look on thee.
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DEMETRIUS Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit.
For I am sick when I do look on thee.
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HELENA And I am sick when I look not on you.
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HELENA And I am sick when I look not on you.
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DEMETRIUS You do impeach your modesty too much,
200 To leave the city and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not,
To trust the opportunity of night
And the ill counsel of a desert place
With the rich worth of your virginity.
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DEMETRIUS You do impeach your modesty too much,
To leave the city and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not,
To trust the opportunity of night
And the ill counsel of a desert place
With the rich worth of your virginity.
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HELENA 205 Your virtue is my privilege. For that
It is not night when I do see your face.
Therefore I think I am not in the night.
Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect are all the world.
210 Then how can it be said I am alone
When all the world is here to look on me?
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HELENA Your virtue is my privilege. For that
It is not night when I do see your face.
Therefore I think I am not in the night.
Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect are all the world.
Then how can it be said I am alone
When all the world is here to look on me?
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DEMETRIUS I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes,
And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.
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DEMETRIUS I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes,
And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.
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HELENA The wildest hath not such a heart as you.
215 Run when you will, the story shall be changed.
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HELENA The wildest hath not such a heart as you.
Run when you will, the story shall be changed.
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Apollo flies and Daphne holds the chase.
The dove pursues the griffin. The mild hind
Makes speed to catch the tiger—bootless speed,
When cowardice pursues and valor flies.
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Apollo flies and Daphne holds the chase.
The dove pursues the griffin. The mild hind
Makes speed to catch the tiger—bootless speed,
When cowardice pursues and valor flies.
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DEMETRIUS 220 I will not stay thy questions. Let me go.
Or if thou follow me, do not believe
But I shall do thee mischief in the wood.
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DEMETRIUS I will not stay thy questions. Let me go.
Or if thou follow me, do not believe
But I shall do thee mischief in the wood.
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HELENA Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field
You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius!
225 Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex.
We cannot fight for love as men may do.
We should be wooed and were not made to woo.
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HELENA Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field
You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius!
Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex.
We cannot fight for love as men may do.
We should be wooed and were not made to woo.
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Exit DEMETRIUS
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Exit DEMETRIUS
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I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,
To die upon the hand I love so well.
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I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,
To die upon the hand I love so well.
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Exit HELENA
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Exit HELENA
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OBERON 230 Fare thee well, nymph. Ere he do leave this grove,
Thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love.
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OBERON Fare thee well, nymph. Ere he do leave this grove,
Thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love.
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Enter ROBIN
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Enter ROBIN
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Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.
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Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.
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ROBIN Ay, there it is.
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ROBIN Ay, there it is.
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OBERON I pray thee, give it me.
(takes flower from ROBIN)
235 I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk roses and with eglantine.
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OBERON I pray thee, give it me.
(takes flower from ROBIN)
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk roses and with eglantine.
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There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
240 Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
And there the snake throws her enameled skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.
And with the juice of this I’ll streak her eyes
And make her full of hateful fantasies.
245(gives ROBIN some of the flower)
Take thou some of it and seek through this grove:
A sweet Athenian lady is in love
With a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes.
But do it when the next thing he espies
250 May be the lady. Thou shalt know the man
By the Athenian garments he hath on.
Effect it with some care, that he may prove
More fond on her than she upon her love.
And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.
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There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
And there the snake throws her enameled skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.
And with the juice of this I’ll streak her eyes
And make her full of hateful fantasies.
(gives ROBIN some of the flower)
Take thou some of it and seek through this grove:
A sweet Athenian lady is in love
With a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes.
But do it when the next thing he espies
May be the lady. Thou shalt know the man
By the Athenian garments he hath on.
Effect it with some care, that he may prove
More fond on her than she upon her love.
And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.
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ROBIN 255 Fear not, my lord. Your servant shall do so.
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ROBIN Fear not, my lord. Your servant shall do so.
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Exeunt severally
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Exeunt severally
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Original Text |
Modern Text |
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Enter a FAIRY at one side and ROBIN (ROBIN GOODFELLOW) at another
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Enter a FAIRY at one side and ROBIN (ROBIN GOODFELLOW) at another
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ROBIN How now, spirit? Whither wander you?
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ROBIN How now, spirit? Whither wander you?
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FAIRY Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire.
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moon’s sphere.
And I serve the fairy queen
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be.
In their gold coats spots you see.
Those be rubies, fairy favors.
In those freckles live their savors.
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits. I’ll be gone.
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.
|
FAIRY Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire.
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moon’s sphere.
And I serve the fairy queen
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be.
In their gold coats spots you see.
Those be rubies, fairy favors.
In those freckles live their savors.
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits. I’ll be gone.
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.
|
|
ROBIN The king doth keep his revels here tonight.
5 Take heed the queen come not within his sight.
For Oberon is passing fell and wrath
Because that she, as her attendant hath
A lovely boy stolen from an Indian king.
She never had so sweet a changeling.
10 And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild.
But she perforce withholds the lovèd boy,
Crowns him with flowers, and makes him all her joy.
|
ROBIN The king doth keep his revels here tonight.
Take heed the queen come not within his sight.
For Oberon is passing fell and wrath
Because that she, as her attendant hath
A lovely boy stolen from an Indian king.
She never had so sweet a changeling.
And jealous Oberon would have the child
Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild.
But she perforce withholds the lovèd boy,
Crowns him with flowers, and makes him all her joy.
|
|
And now they never meet in grove or green,
15 By fountain clear or spangled starlight sheen.
But they do square, that all their elves for fear
Creep into acorn cups and hide them there.
|
And now they never meet in grove or green,
By fountain clear or spangled starlight sheen.
But they do square, that all their elves for fear
Creep into acorn cups and hide them there.
|
|
FAIRY Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
20 Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery,
Skim milk, and sometimes labor in the quern
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn,
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm,
25 Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?
Those that “Hobgoblin” call you, and “sweet Puck,”
You do their work, and they shall have good luck.
Are not you he?
|
FAIRY Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery,
Skim milk, and sometimes labor in the quern
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn,
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm,
Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?
Those that “Hobgoblin” call you, and “sweet Puck,”
You do their work, and they shall have good luck.
Are not you he?
|
|
ROBIN Thou speak’st aright.
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
30 I jest to Oberon and make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal.
And sometime lurk I in a gossip’s bowl
In very likeness of a roasted crab,
35 And when she drinks, against her lips I bob
And on her withered dewlap pour the ale.
The wisest aunt telling the saddest tale
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me.
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,
40 And “Tailor!” cries, and falls into a cough,
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there.
But, room, fairy! Here comes Oberon.
|
ROBIN Thou speak’st aright.
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
I jest to Oberon and make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal.
And sometime lurk I in a gossip’s bowl
In very likeness of a roasted crab,
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob
And on her withered dewlap pour the ale.
The wisest aunt telling the saddest tale
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me.
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,
And “Tailor!” cries, and falls into a cough,
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there.
But, room, fairy! Here comes Oberon.
|
|
FAIRY 45 And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!
|
FAIRY And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!
|
|
Enter OBERON , the King of Fairies, at one side with his train, and TITANIA , the Queen, at the other, with hers
|
Enter OBERON , the King of Fairies, at one side with his train, and TITANIA , the Queen, at the other, with hers
|
|
OBERON Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.
|
OBERON Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.
|
|
TITANIA What, jealous Oberon?—Fairies, skip hence.
I have forsworn his bed and company.
|
TITANIA What, jealous Oberon?—Fairies, skip hence.
I have forsworn his bed and company.
|
|
OBERON Tarry, rash wanton. Am not I thy lord?
|
OBERON Tarry, rash wanton. Am not I thy lord?
|
|
TITANIA 50 Then I must be thy lady. But I know
When thou hast stolen away from Fairyland,
And in the shape of Corin sat all day,
Playing on pipes of corn and versing love
To amorous Phillida. Why art thou here,
55 Come from the farthest step of India?
But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon,
Your buskined mistress and your warrior love,
To Theseus must be wedded, and you come
To give their bed joy and prosperity.
|
TITANIA Then I must be thy lady. But I know
When thou hast stolen away from Fairyland,
And in the shape of Corin sat all day,
Playing on pipes of corn and versing love
To amorous Phillida. Why art thou here,
Come from the farthest step of India?
But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon,
Your buskined mistress and your warrior love,
To Theseus must be wedded, and you come
To give their bed joy and prosperity.
|
|
OBERON 60 How canst thou thus for shame, Titania,
Knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Glance at my credit with Hippolyta,
Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night
From Perigouna, whom he ravishèd?
And make him with fair Ægles break his faith,
65 With Ariadne and Antiopa?
|
OBERON How canst thou thus for shame, Titania,
Knowing I know thy love to Theseus? Glance at my credit with Hippolyta,
Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night
From Perigouna, whom he ravishèd?
And make him with fair Ægles break his faith,
With Ariadne and Antiopa?
|
|
TITANIA These are the forgeries of jealousy.
And never, since the middle summer’s spring,
Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead,
By pavèd fountain, or by rushy brook,
70 Or in the beachèd margent of the sea,
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,
But with thy brawls thou hast disturbed our sport.
Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,
As in revenge, have sucked up from the sea
75 Contagious fogs, which falling in the land
Have every pelting river made so proud
That they have overborne their continents.
The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain,
The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn
80 Hath rotted ere his youth attained a beard.
The fold stands empty in the drownèd field,
And crows are fatted with the murrain flock.
The nine-men’s-morris is filled up with mud,
And the quaint mazes in the wanton green
85 For lack of tread are undistinguishable.
The human mortals want their winter here.
No night is now with hymn or carol blessed.
Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,
Pale in her anger, washes all the air,
90 That rheumatic diseases do abound.
And thorough this distemperature we see
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
95 An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, set. The spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazèd world,
By their increase, now knows not which is which.
100 And this same progeny of evils comes
From our debate, from our dissension.
We are their parents and original.
|
TITANIA These are the forgeries of jealousy.
And never, since the middle summer’s spring,
Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead,
By pavèd fountain, or by rushy brook,
Or in the beachèd margent of the sea,
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,
But with thy brawls thou hast disturbed our sport.
Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,
As in revenge, have sucked up from the sea
Contagious fogs, which falling in the land
Have every pelting river made so proud
That they have overborne their continents.
The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain,
The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn
Hath rotted ere his youth attained a beard.
The fold stands empty in the drownèd field,
And crows are fatted with the murrain flock.
The nine-men’s-morris is filled up with mud,
And the quaint mazes in the wanton green
For lack of tread are undistinguishable.
The human mortals want their winter here.
No night is now with hymn or carol blessed.
Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,
Pale in her anger, washes all the air,
That rheumatic diseases do abound.
And thorough this distemperature we see
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, set. The spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazèd world,
By their increase, now knows not which is which.
And this same progeny of evils comes
From our debate, from our dissension.
We are their parents and original.
|
|
OBERON Do you amend it then. It lies in you.
Why should Titania cross her Oberon?
105 I do but beg a little changeling boy,
To be my henchman.
|
OBERON Do you amend it then. It lies in you.
Why should Titania cross her Oberon?
I do but beg a little changeling boy,
To be my henchman.
|
|
TITANIA Set your heart at rest.
The Fairyland buys not the child of me.
His mother was a votaress of my order,
And in the spicèd Indian air by night
110 Full often hath she gossiped by my side,
And sat with me on Neptune’s yellow sands,
Marking th' embarkèd traders on the flood,
When we have laughed to see the sails conceive
And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;
115 Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait
Following—her womb then rich with my young squire—
Would imitate, and sail upon the land
To fetch me trifles and return again
As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.
120 But she, being mortal, of that boy did die.
And for her sake do I rear up her boy,
And for her sake I will not part with him.
|
TITANIA Set your heart at rest.
The Fairyland buys not the child of me.
His mother was a votaress of my order,
And in the spicèd Indian air by night
Full often hath she gossiped by my side,
And sat with me on Neptune’s yellow sands,
Marking th' embarkèd traders on the flood,
When we have laughed to see the sails conceive
And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;
Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait
Following—her womb then rich with my young squire—
Would imitate, and sail upon the land
To fetch me trifles and return again
As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.
But she, being mortal, of that boy did die.
And for her sake do I rear up her boy,
And for her sake I will not part with him.
|
|
OBERON How long within this wood intend you stay?
|
OBERON How long within this wood intend you stay?
|
|
TITANIA Perchance till after Theseus' wedding day.
125 If you will patiently dance in our round
And see our moonlight revels, go with us.
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.
|
TITANIA Perchance till after Theseus' wedding day.
If you will patiently dance in our round
And see our moonlight revels, go with us.
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.
|
|
OBERON Give me that boy and I will go with thee.
|
OBERON Give me that boy and I will go with thee.
|
|
TITANIA Not for thy fairy kingdom.—Fairies, away!
130 We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.
|
TITANIA Not for thy fairy kingdom.—Fairies, away!
We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.
|
|
Exeunt TITANIA and her train
|
Exeunt TITANIA and her train
|
|
OBERON Well, go thy way. Thou shalt not from this grove
Till I torment thee for this injury.—(to ROBIN GOODFELLOW)
My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememberest
Since once I sat upon a promontory
135 And heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the seamaid’s music?
|
OBERON Well, go thy way. Thou shalt not from this grove
Till I torment thee for this injury.—(to ROBIN GOODFELLOW)
My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememberest
Since once I sat upon a promontory
And heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the seamaid’s music?
|
|
ROBIN I remember.
|
ROBIN I remember.
|
|
OBERON 140 That very time I saw (but thou couldst not)
Flying between the cold moon and the Earth,
Cupid all armed. A certain aim he took
At a fair vestal thronèd by the west,
And loosed his love shaft smartly from his bow
145 As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts.
But I might see young Cupid’s fiery shaft
Quenched in the chaste beams of the watery moon,
And the imperial votaress passèd on,
In maiden meditation, fancy-free.
150 Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell.
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound.
And maidens call it “love-in-idleness.”
Fetch me that flower. The herb I showed thee once.
155 The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.
Fetch me this herb, and be thou here again
Ere the leviathan can swim a league.
|
OBERON That very time I saw (but thou couldst not)
Flying between the cold moon and the Earth,
Cupid all armed. A certain aim he took
At a fair vestal thronèd by the west,
And loosed his love shaft smartly from his bow
As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts.
But I might see young Cupid’s fiery shaft
Quenched in the chaste beams of the watery moon,
And the imperial votaress passèd on,
In maiden meditation, fancy-free.
Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell.
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound.
And maidens call it “love-in-idleness.”
Fetch me that flower. The herb I showed thee once.
The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.
Fetch me this herb, and be thou here again
Ere the leviathan can swim a league.
|
|
ROBIN 160 I’ll put a girdle round about the Earth
In forty minutes.
|
ROBIN I’ll put a girdle round about the Earth
In forty minutes.
|
|
Exit ROBIN
|
Exit ROBIN
|
|
OBERON Having once this juice,
I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep
And drop the liquor of it in her eyes.
The next thing then she waking looks upon—
165 Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull,
On meddling monkey or on busy ape—
She shall pursue it with the soul of love.
And ere I take this charm from of her sight—
As I can take it with another herb—
170 I’ll make her render up her page to me.
But who comes here? I am invisible.
And I will overhear their conference.
|
OBERON Having once this juice,
I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep
And drop the liquor of it in her eyes.
The next thing then she waking looks upon—
Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull,
On meddling monkey or on busy ape—
She shall pursue it with the soul of love.
And ere I take this charm from of her sight—
As I can take it with another herb—
I’ll make her render up her page to me.
But who comes here? I am invisible.
And I will overhear their conference.
|
|
Enter DEMETRIUS , HELENA following him
|
Enter DEMETRIUS , HELENA following him
|
|
DEMETRIUS I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?
175 The one I’ll stay, the other stayeth me.
Thou told’st me they were stol'n unto this wood.
And here am I, and wood within this wood,
Because I cannot meet my Hermia.
Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.
|
DEMETRIUS I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?
The one I’ll stay, the other stayeth me.
Thou told’st me they were stol'n unto this wood.
And here am I, and wood within this wood,
Because I cannot meet my Hermia.
Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.
|
|
HELENA 180 You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant.
But yet you draw not iron, for my heart
Is true as steel. Leave you your power to draw,
And I shall have no power to follow you.
|
HELENA You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant.
But yet you draw not iron, for my heart
Is true as steel. Leave you your power to draw,
And I shall have no power to follow you.
|
|
DEMETRIUS Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair?
185 Or rather, do I not in plainest truth
Tell you I do not, nor I cannot, love you?
|
DEMETRIUS Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair?
Or rather, do I not in plainest truth
Tell you I do not, nor I cannot, love you?
|
|
HELENA And even for that do I love you the more.
I am your spaniel. And, Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.
190 Use me but as your spaniel—spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am, to follow you.
What worser place can I beg in your love—
And yet a place of high respect with me—
195 Than to be usèd as you use your dog?
|
HELENA And even for that do I love you the more.
I am your spaniel. And, Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.
Use me but as your spaniel—spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am, to follow you.
What worser place can I beg in your love—
And yet a place of high respect with me—
Than to be usèd as you use your dog?
|
|
DEMETRIUS Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit.
For I am sick when I do look on thee.
|
DEMETRIUS Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit.
For I am sick when I do look on thee.
|
|
HELENA And I am sick when I look not on you.
|
HELENA And I am sick when I look not on you.
|
|
DEMETRIUS You do impeach your modesty too much,
200 To leave the city and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not,
To trust the opportunity of night
And the ill counsel of a desert place
With the rich worth of your virginity.
|
DEMETRIUS You do impeach your modesty too much,
To leave the city and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not,
To trust the opportunity of night
And the ill counsel of a desert place
With the rich worth of your virginity.
|
|
HELENA 205 Your virtue is my privilege. For that
It is not night when I do see your face.
Therefore I think I am not in the night.
Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect are all the world.
210 Then how can it be said I am alone
When all the world is here to look on me?
|
HELENA Your virtue is my privilege. For that
It is not night when I do see your face.
Therefore I think I am not in the night.
Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect are all the world.
Then how can it be said I am alone
When all the world is here to look on me?
|
|
DEMETRIUS I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes,
And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.
|
DEMETRIUS I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes,
And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.
|
|
HELENA The wildest hath not such a heart as you.
215 Run when you will, the story shall be changed.
|
HELENA The wildest hath not such a heart as you.
Run when you will, the story shall be changed.
|
|
Apollo flies and Daphne holds the chase.
The dove pursues the griffin. The mild hind
Makes speed to catch the tiger—bootless speed,
When cowardice pursues and valor flies.
|
Apollo flies and Daphne holds the chase.
The dove pursues the griffin. The mild hind
Makes speed to catch the tiger—bootless speed,
When cowardice pursues and valor flies.
|
|
DEMETRIUS 220 I will not stay thy questions. Let me go.
Or if thou follow me, do not believe
But I shall do thee mischief in the wood.
|
DEMETRIUS I will not stay thy questions. Let me go.
Or if thou follow me, do not believe
But I shall do thee mischief in the wood.
|
|
HELENA Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field
You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius!
225 Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex.
We cannot fight for love as men may do.
We should be wooed and were not made to woo.
|
HELENA Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field
You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius!
Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex.
We cannot fight for love as men may do.
We should be wooed and were not made to woo.
|
|
Exit DEMETRIUS
|
Exit DEMETRIUS
|
|
I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,
To die upon the hand I love so well.
|
I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,
To die upon the hand I love so well.
|
|
Exit HELENA
|
Exit HELENA
|
|
OBERON 230 Fare thee well, nymph. Ere he do leave this grove,
Thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love.
|
OBERON Fare thee well, nymph. Ere he do leave this grove,
Thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love.
|
|
Enter ROBIN
|
Enter ROBIN
|
|
Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.
|
Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.
|
|
ROBIN Ay, there it is.
|
ROBIN Ay, there it is.
|
|
OBERON I pray thee, give it me.
(takes flower from ROBIN)
235 I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk roses and with eglantine.
|
OBERON I pray thee, give it me.
(takes flower from ROBIN)
I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk roses and with eglantine.
|
|
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
240 Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
And there the snake throws her enameled skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.
And with the juice of this I’ll streak her eyes
And make her full of hateful fantasies.
245(gives ROBIN some of the flower)
Take thou some of it and seek through this grove:
A sweet Athenian lady is in love
With a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes.
But do it when the next thing he espies
250 May be the lady. Thou shalt know the man
By the Athenian garments he hath on.
Effect it with some care, that he may prove
More fond on her than she upon her love.
And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.
|
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
And there the snake throws her enameled skin,
Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.
And with the juice of this I’ll streak her eyes
And make her full of hateful fantasies.
(gives ROBIN some of the flower)
Take thou some of it and seek through this grove:
A sweet Athenian lady is in love
With a disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes.
But do it when the next thing he espies
May be the lady. Thou shalt know the man
By the Athenian garments he hath on.
Effect it with some care, that he may prove
More fond on her than she upon her love.
And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.
|
|
ROBIN 255 Fear not, my lord. Your servant shall do so.
|
ROBIN Fear not, my lord. Your servant shall do so.
|
|
Exeunt severally
|
Exeunt severally
|
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