PERSONS REPRESENTED.

THESEUS, Duke of Athens.
Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 1.

EGEUS, father to Hermia.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 1.

LYSANDER, in love with Hermia.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 3. Act III. sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 1.

DEMETRIUS, in love with Hermia.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 2; sc. 3. Act III. sc. 2.
Act IV. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 1.

PHILOSTRATE, master of the revels to Theseus.
Appears, Act I. sc. I. Act V. sc. 1.

QUINCE, the carpenter.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 2.
SNUG, the joiner.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 2.
BOTTOM, the weaver.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 2.
FLUTE, the bellows-mender.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 2.
SNOUT, the tinker.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 2.

STARVELING, the tailor.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 2.

HIPPOLYTA, Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to

Theseus.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 1.

Act V. sc. 1.

HERMIA, daughter to Egeus, in love with Lysander. Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 3. Act III. sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 1.

HELENA, in love with Demetrius.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 2; sc. 3.

OBERON, king of the fairies.

Act III. sc. 2.

Appears, Act II. sc. 2; sc. 3. Act III. sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 1.

Act V. sc. 2.

TITANIA, queen of the fairies.

Appears, Act II. sc. 2; sc. 3. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 2.

PUCK, or Robin Goodfellow, a fairy.

Appears, Act II. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2. Act IV. sc. 1. Act V. sc. 2.

PEAS-BLOSSOM, COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD-SEED,

fairies.

Appear, Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 1.

Pyramus, Thisbe, Wall, Moonshine, Lion, characters
in the Interlude performed by the Clowns.
Appear, Act V. sc. 1.

Other Fairies attending their King and Queen.
Attendants on Theseus and Hippolyta.

SCENE, ATHENS, AND A WOOD NEAR.

A

MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM.

ACT I.

SCENE I.-Athens. A Room in the Palace of Theseus.

Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants.

The. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Draws on apace; four happy days bring in Another moon: but, oh, methinks, how slow This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires, Like to a step-dame, or a dowager,

Long withering out a young man's revenue.

Hip. Four days will quickly steep themselves in nights;

Four nights will quickly dream away the time;

And then the moon, like to a silver bow

New bent in heaven, shall behold the night

Of our solemnities.

The.

Go, Philostrate,

Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments;

Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth;

Turn melancholy forth to funerals,

The pale companion is not for our pomp. [Exit PHIL. Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword,

And won thy love, doing thee injuries;

But I will wed thee in another key,

With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling.

Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and DEMETRIUS.
Ege. Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke !a
The. Thanks, good Egeus: What's the news with
thee?

Ege. Full of vexation come I, with complaint
Against my child, my daughter Hermia.
Stand forth, Demetrius: My noble lord,
This man hath my consent to marry her.—
Stand forth, Lysander :—and, my gracious duke,
This man hath bewitch'd the bosom of my child:
Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes,
And interchang'd love-tokens with my child:
Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung,
With feigning voice, verses of feigning love;
And stol'n the impression of her fantasy
With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats; messengers
Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth:
With cunning hast thou filch'd my daughter's heart;
Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me,
To stubborn harshness :-And, my gracious duke,
Be it so she will not here before your grace
Consent to marry with Demetrius,

I beg the ancient privilege of Athens;
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.

Το

The. What say you, Hermia? Be advis'd, fair maid: you your father should be as a god;

One that compos'd your beauties; yea, and one
To whom you are but as a form in wax,

By him imprinted, and within his

power

a The word duke was a corruption of the Latin dur, which was indiscriminately applied to any military chief. Chaucer has duke Theseus,-Gower, duke Spartacus,-Stanyhurst, duke Eneas. The word is also so used in our translation of the Bible.

To leave the figure, or disfigure it.
Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.
Her. So is Lysander.

The.

In himself he is:

But, in this kind, wanting your father's voice,
The other must be held the worthier.

Her. I would my father look'd but with my eyes.
The. Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.
Her. I do entreat your grace to pardon me.

I know not by what power I am made bold,
Nor how it may concern my modesty,

In such a presence here, to plead my thoughts:
But I beseech your grace that I may know
The worst that may befall me in this case,
If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

The. Either to die the death, or to abjure
For ever the society of men.

Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires,
Know of your youth, examine well your blood,
Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice,
You can endure the livery of a nun;

For aye to be in shady cloister mew'd,
To live a barren sister all your life,

Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon.
Thrice blessed they that master so their blood,
To undergo such maiden pilgrimage:
But earthly happiera is the rose distill'd,
Than that, which, withering on the virgin thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies, in single blessedness.
Her. So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord,
Ere I will yield my virgin patent up
Unto his lordship,b whose unwished yoke
My soul consents not to give sovereignty.c

a Earthly happier-more happy in an earthly sense.
b Lordship-authority.

• This is one of those elliptical expressions which frequently occur in our poet: to must be understood after sovereignty.