Not Peer Reviewed
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Modern)
4.1.1[4.1]
4.1.1.11509Enter queen of fairies [Titania], and clown [Bottom], and fairies and the king [Oberon] behind them.
Come, sit thee down upon this flowery bed,
Where's Peaseblossom?
Ready.
Scratch my head, Peaseblossom. Where's 1518Mounsieur Cobweb?
Ready.
Mounsieur Cobweb, good mounsier, get your 1521weapons in your hand and kill me a red-hipped humblebee 1522on the top of a thistle; and, good mounsieur, bring me 1523the honey bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the 1524action, mounsieur; and, good mounsieur, have a care the 1525honey bag break not. I would be loath to have you 1526overflowen with a honey bag signor. Where's Mounsieur 1527Mustardseed?
Ready.
Give me your neaf, Mounsieur Mustardseed. 1530Pray you, leave your courtesy good mounsieur.
What's your will?
Nothing, good mounsieur, but to help Cavalery 1533Cobweb to scratch. I must to the barber's, mounsieur, for 1534methinks I am marvelous hairy about the face. And I 1535am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I must 1536scratch.
What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet 1538love?
I have a reasonable good ear in music. Let 1540us have the tongs and the bones.
Or say, sweet Love, what thou desirest to eat.
Truly, a peck of provender. I could munch 1544your good dry oats. Methinks I have a great desire 1545to a bottle of hay. Good hay, sweet hay, hath no 1546fellow.
I had rather have a handful or two of dried
1551peas. But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me. I 1552have an exposition of sleep come upon me.
4.1.24Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms.
Welcome good Robin.
Be thou as thou wast wont to be;
My Oberon, what visions have I seen!
There lies your love.
How came these things to pass?
Silence a while. Robin take off his head.
Music, ho music! Such as charmeth sleep.
When thou wak'st, with thine own fool's eyes 1602peep.
Sound music! Come, my queen, take hands with me.
Fairy king attend and mark,
Then, my queen, in silence sad,
Come, my lord, and in our flight,
4.1.89.1Exeunt.
Go, one of you, find out the forester,
I was with Hercules and Cadmus once
My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind,
My Lord, this is my daughter here asleep,
No doubt they rose up early to observe
It is, my lord.
Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their
Good morrow friends. Saint Valentine is past;
Pardon, my lord.
I pray you all stand up.
My lord, I shall reply amazedly,
Enough, enough, my lord! You have enough.
My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth,
Fair lovers, you are fortunately met;
4.1.176.1Exit duke [Theseus, Hippolita, Egeus] and lords.
These things seem small and undistinguishable,
Methinks I see these things with parted eye,
So methinks.
It seems to me,
Yea, and my father.
And Hippolita.
And he bid us follow to the temple.
Why then, we are awake! Let's follow him,
When my cue comes, call me, and I will answer.
1729My next is, "most fair Pyramus." Hey ho. Peter Quince? 1730Flute the bellows mender? Snout the tinker? 1731Starveling? God's my life! Stolen hence, and left me asleep? I 1732have had a most rare vision. I had a dream, past the wit 1733of man, to say, what dream it was. Man is but an ass, 1734if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I 1735was -- there is no man can tell what. Methought I was, 1736and methought I had -- but man is but a patched fool, 1737if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of 1738man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's 1739hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his 1740heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter 1741Quince to write a ballet of this dream. It shall be called 1742 "Bottom's Dream," because it hath no bottom. And I will 1743sing it in the latter end of a play, before the duke. 1744Peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it 1745at her death.
4.1.192.1Exit [Bottom].