A Midsummer Night's Dream – Act 2 Scene 2

TITANIA

Come, now a roundel and a fairy song;

Let’s dance around and sing a fairy song;

Then, for the third part of a minute, hence;

And after twenty seconds, do your jobs:

Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds,

Some kill the maggots eating up the rose buds,

Some war with rere-mice for their leathern wings,

Some fight the bats and steal their leather wings

To make my small elves coats, and some keep back

To make small elf coats from, and some prevent

The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders

The noisy owl that hoots each night and watches

At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep;

What we quaint spirits do. Sing me to sleep now;

Then to your offices and let me rest.

Then do your jobs and let me get some rest.

FIRST FAIRY

You spotted snakes with double tongue,

You spotted snakes with forking tongues,

Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;

Thorny hedgehogs, don’t be seen;

Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong,

Newts and blind-worms, do no wrongs,

Come not near our fairy queen.

And don’t come near our fairy queen.

ALL FAIRIES

Philomel, with melody

Nightingale, with melody,

Sing in our sweet lullaby;

Sing in our sweet lullaby;

Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby:

Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby:

Never harm,

Never harm,

Nor spell nor charm,

No spell nor charm,

Come our lovely lady nigh;

Shall come our lovely lady nigh;

So, good night, with lullaby.

So, good night with this lullaby.

FIRST FAIRY

Weaving spiders, come not here;

Weaving spiders, don’t come here;

Hence, you long-legged spinners, hence!

Daddy-longlegs, you can’t stay!

Beetles black, approach not near;

You black beetles, don’t come near;

Worm nor snail, do no offence.

Worms and snails, go away.

ALL FAIRIES

[Repeat the chorus]

Philomel, with melody, etc.

Nightingale, with melody…

SECOND FAIRY

Hence, away! Now all is well:

Let us go now! All is well:

One aloof stand sentinel.

One stay on guard as sentinel.

OBERON

What thou seest when thou dost wake,

What you see when you awake,

Do it for thy true-love take,

As your true love you will take,

Love and languish for his sake:

Have yearning love for his sake

Be it ounce, or cat, or bear,

Be it a lynx, a cat, or bear,

Pard, or boar with bristled hair,

Leopard, boar with bristling hair,

In thy eye that shall appear

In your eyes it will appear

When thou wakest, it is thy dear:

When you wake, you’ll hold it dear,

Wake when some vile thing is near.

So wake when something horrid’s here.

LYSANDER

Fair love, you faint with wandering in the wood;

My love, you’re weak from walking in the wood;

And to speak troth, I have forgot our way:

And, truthfully, I don’t recall the way.

We'll rest us, Hermia, if you think it good,

And so let’s rest here, if you think we should,

And tarry for the comfort of the day.

And wait until it’s easier by day.

HERMIA

Be it so, Lysander: find you out a bed;

Let’s do that then, Lysander: find a bed,

For I upon this bank will rest my head.

For on this bank, I’m going to rest my head.

LYSANDER

One turf shall serve as pillow for us both;

Let’s share this pillow on this grassy ledge;

One heart, one bed, two bosoms and one troth.

One heart, one bed, two bodies and one pledge.

HERMIA

Nay, good Lysander; for my sake, my dear,

No, dear Lysander, for my sake, my dear,

Lie further off yet, do not lie so near.

Lie further off and do not lie so near.

LYSANDER

O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence!

Oh, love, don’t think I want some of the other!

Love takes the meaning in love's conference.

For love means understanding one another.

I mean, that my heart unto yours is knit

I meant to say my heart belongs to you,

So that but one heart we can make of it;

So now we share one heart instead of two;

Two bosoms interchained with an oath;

Two bodies linked together in devotion,

So then two bosoms and a single troth.

So then two bodies share a common notion.

Then by your side no bed-room me deny;

Me sleeping next to you, do not deny;

For lying so, Hermia, I do not lie.

When lying next to you, I’ll never lie.

HERMIA

Lysander riddles very prettily:

Your riddles are ingenious, Lysander:

Now much beshrew my manners and my pride,

One must condemn my manners and my pride,

If Hermia meant to say Lysander lied.

If I had meant to say Lysander lied.

But, gentle friend, for love and courtesy

But, gentle friend, for love and for respect

Lie further off; in human modesty,

Lie further off, for it is more correct

Such separation as may well be said

To sleep further apart so we can say

Becomes a virtuous bachelor and a maid,

We’re pure when bachelor and fiancée.

So far be distant; and, good night, sweet friend:

So, go sleep over there; goodnight, dear friend;

Thy love ne'er alter till thy sweet life end!

And may your love endure till your life’s end!

LYSANDER

Amen, amen, to that fair prayer, say I;

Amen, amen, to that good prayer, say I;

And then end life when I end loyalty!

If I’m no longer loyal, let me die!

Here is my bed: sleep give thee all his rest!

I’ll lie here; may all rest be yours to keep!

HERMIA

With half that wish the wisher's eyes be pressed!

I’ll share that wish with you, so you can sleep!

PUCK

Through the forest have I gone.

Through these woods I’ve gone around,

But Athenian found I none,

No Athenian have I found,

On whose eyes I might approve

On whose eyes I’ll wipe a coating

This flower's force in stirring love.

With these drops to make him doting.

Night and silence. – Who is here?

Wait a moment… who’s this here?

Weeds of Athens he doth wear:

Clothes from Athens he does wear.

This is he, my master said,

Here’s the man my master said

Despised the Athenian maid;

Who hated the Athenian maid;

And here the maiden, sleeping sound,

And here’s the damsel, sleeping sound

On the dank and dirty ground.

On the damp and dirty ground.

Pretty soul! She durst not lie

Pretty soul! She dares not lie

Near this lack-love, this kill-courtesy.

Near this heartless, loveless guy.

Churl, upon thy eyes I throw

Upon your eyes, and with this motion,

All the power this charm doth owe.

Goes the power of this potion.

When thou wakest, let love forbid

When you wake, love won’t permit

Sleep his seat on thy eyelid:

To let you sleep again one bit.

So awake when I am gone;

And so, wake up when I am gone;

For I must now to Oberon.

For I must go to Oberon.

HELENA

Stay, though thou kill me, sweet Demetrius.

Though you will kill me, wait, Demetrius.

DEMETRIUS

I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus.

I tell you, leave, and don’t torment me thus.

HELENA

O, wilt thou darkling leave me? Do not so.

Oh, will you leave me in the dark? Oh no.

DEMETRIUS

Stay, on thy peril: I alone will go.

Stay, if you dare: alone, I’m going to go.

HELENA

O, I am out of breath in this fond chase!

I’m out of breath from daftly chasing him!

The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace.

The more I pray, my chances seem more slim.

Happy is Hermia, wheresoe'er she lies;

Now Hermia is happy anywhere;

For she hath blessed and attractive eyes.

Her eyes are blessed to give a gorgeous stare.

How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears:

How come her eyes shine brightly? Not from crying:

If so, my eyes are oftener washed than hers.

Because my eyes more often I am drying.

No, no, I am as ugly as a bear;

No, no, I am as ugly as a bear;

For beasts that meet me run away for fear:

For beasts that meet me run away in fear:

Therefore no marvel though Demetrius

So it is no surprise Demetrius

Do, as a monster fly my presence thus.

Runs off from me, for monsters would do thus.

What wicked and dissembling glass of mine

What wicked, lying mirror made me dare

Made me compare with Hermia's sphery eyne?

To think my eyes with Hermia’s could compare?

But who is here? Lysander! On the ground!

But who is this? Lysander! On the ground!

Dead? Or asleep? I see no blood, no wound.

Dead? Or asleep? There’s no blood to be found.

Lysander if you live, good sir, awake.

Lysander, if you’re living, sir, awake.

LYSANDER

[Awaking]

And run through fire I will for thy sweet sake.

And I will run through fire for your sake.

Transparent Helena! Nature shows art,

By nature, Helena, you are transparent!

That through thy bosom makes me see thy heart.

For, through your chest, your heart is now apparent.

Where is Demetrius? O, how fit a word

Where is Demetrius? That is a word

Is that vile name to perish on my sword!

So horrid, he must die upon my sword!

HELENA

Do not say so, Lysander; say not so

Do not say that, Lysander; don’t say that

What though he love your Hermia? Lord, what though?

What if he loves your Hermia? So what?

Yet Hermia still loves you: then be content.

For Hermia still loves you, so be glad.

LYSANDER

Content with Hermia! No; I do repent

Be glad with Hermia! You must be mad!

The tedious minutes I with her have spent.

With her, so many dull times I have had.

Not Hermia but Helena I love:

Not Hermia but Helena I love:

Who will not change a raven for a dove?

Who wouldn’t change a raven for a dove?

The will of man is by his reason swayed;

Through thinking, man’s opinion can be swayed,

And reason says you are the worthier maid.

And thinking tells me you’re the finer maid.

Things growing are not ripe until their season

Fruits ripen as they grow to harvest season;

So I, being young, till now ripe not to reason;

Till now, I wasn’t ripe, so couldn’t reason.

And touching now the point of human skill,

And now I’ve reached a man’s maturity,

Reason becomes the marshal to my will

My reasoning shows who I need to be,

And leads me to your eyes, where I o'erlook

And leads me to your eyes, where I construe

Love's stories written in love's richest book.

A book of love with tales of me and you.

HELENA

Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born?

Why was I born to be a laughingstock?

When at your hands did I deserve this scorn?

Why do you think that I’m OK to mock?

Is't not enough, is't not enough, young man,

So, it is not sufficient then, young man,

That I did never, no, nor never can,

That I have never, no, nor never can

Deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye,

Expect Demetrius to make advances,

But you must flout my insufficiency?

So you must mock that I have zero chances?

Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do,

Good gracious, you offend me, yes you do,

In such disdainful manner me to woo.

By disrespecting me in how you woo.

But fare you well: perforce I must confess

So, goodbye, though I really must confess,

I thought you lord of more true gentleness.

I thought that you possessed more gentleness.

O, that a lady, of one man refused,

Oh, that a lady, by one man rejected,

Should of another therefore be abused!

Should then, by someone else, be disrespected!

LYSANDER

She sees not Hermia. Hermia, sleep thou there:

She didn’t see her. Hermia, stay sleeping:

And never mayst thou come Lysander near!

And may you never come to me a-creeping!

For as a surfeit of the sweetest things

For over-eating far too many sweets

The deepest loathing to the stomach brings,

Brings loathing, for one’s stomach just repeats,

Or as the heresies that men do leave

Or as men change the things that they believe

Are hated most of those they did deceive,

And then are hated by those they deceive,

So thou, my surfeit and my heresy,

So you, my excess ideology

Of all be hated, but the most of me!

Be hated, but be hated most by me!

And, all my powers, address your love and might

And all my strengths I’ll focus where I can

To honour Helen and to be her knight!

On Helena so I will be her man!

HERMIA

[Awaking]

Help me, Lysander, help me! Do thy best

Help me, Lysander, help me! Do your best

To pluck this crawling serpent from my breast!

To get this crawling serpent off my breast!

Ay me, for pity! What a dream was here!

For pity’s sake! What awful dream was here!

Lysander, look how I do quake with fear:

Lysander, see I’m shaking out of fear:

Methought a serpent eat my heart away,

I thought a serpent ate my heart away,

And you sat smiling at his cruel pray.

Whilst you were laughing as it ate its prey.

Lysander! What, removed? Lysander! Lord!

Lysander! Have you left? Lysander! Lord!

What, out of hearing? Gone? No sound, no word?

What, can’t you hear me? Left without a word?

Alack, where are you? Speak, an if you hear;

Oh no, where are you? Speak up if you hear;

Speak, of all loves! I swoon almost with fear.

Speak up! I’m almost fainting out of fear.

No? Then I well perceive you all not nigh

No word? It seems to me that you’re not nigh:

Either death or you I'll find immediately.

I’ll either find you soon, or else I’ll die.