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  • Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Quarto 1, 1600)
  • Editor: Suzanne Westfall
  • ISBN: 978-1-55058-465-3

    Copyright Suzanne Westfall. This text may be freely used for educational, non-profit purposes; for all other uses contact the Editor.
    Author: William Shakespeare
    Editor: Suzanne Westfall
    Not Peer Reviewed

    A Midsummer Night's Dream (Quarto 1, 1600)

    A Midsommer nightes dreame.
    hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceiue, nor his
    1740hearte to report, what my dreame was. I will get Pet-
    ter Quince to write a Ballet of this dreame: it shall be
    call'd Bottoms Dreame; because it hath no bottome: and
    I will sing it in the latter end of a Play, before the Duke.
    Peraduenture, to make it the more gratious, I shall sing
    1745it at her death.

    Enter Quince, Flute, Thisby and the rabble.
    Quin. Haue you sent to Bottoms house? Is he come
    home, yet?
    Flut. Hee cannot be heard of. Out of doubt he is trans-
    1750ported.
    Thys. If hee come not, then the Play is mard. It goes
    not forward. Doth it?
    Quin. It is not possible. You haue not a man, in all A-
    thens, able to discharge Pyramus, but he.
    1755Thys. No, hee hath simply the best wit of any handy-
    craftman, in Athens.
    Quin. Yea, and the best person to, and hee is a very
    Paramour, for a sweete voice.
    This. You must say, Paragon. A Paramour is (God
    1760blesse vs) a thing of nought.

    Enter Snug, the Joyner.
    Snug. Masters, the Duke is comming from the Tem-
    ple,and there is two or three Lords and Ladies more
    married. If our sport had gon forward, wee had all
    1765beene made men.
    Thys. O sweete bully Bottome. Thus hath hee lost six
    pence a day, during his life: hee coulde not haue scaped
    sixe pence a day. And the Duke had not giuen him six
    pence a day, for playing Pyramus, Ile be hanged.
    He would haue deserued it. Six pence a day, in Pyramus,
    or