Moon. All that I have to say, is, to tell you, that the lantern is the moon; I, the man in the moon; this thorn bush, my thorn bush; and this dog, my dog. Dem. Why, all these should be in the lantern; for they are in the moon. But silence; here comes Thisbe. Enter THISBE. This." This is old Ninny's tomb where is my love?" Lion. "Oh-." The Lion roars.-Thisbe runs off. Dem. Well roar'd, lion. The. Well run, Thisbe. Hip. Well shone, moon.-Truly, the moon shines with a good grace. The. Well moused, lion. [The Lion tears Thisbe's mantle, and exit. Dem. And so comes Pyramus. Lys. And then the moon vanishes. Enter PYRAMUS. Pyr. "Sweet moon, I thank thee for thy sunny "beams; "I thank thee moon, for shining now so bright: "For by thy gracious, golden, glittering streams, "I trust to taste of truest Thisby's sight. "But stay ;-0 spite! "But mark,-poor knight, "What dreadful dole is here? "How can it be? "O dainty duck! O dear! O fates! Come, come: Quail, crush, conclude, and quell+?" The. This passion, and the death of a dear friend would go near to make a man look sad. Hip. Beshrew my heart, but I pity the man. frame? "Since lion vile hath here deflour'd my dear: "Which is-no, no-which was the fairest dame, "That lived, that loved, that liked, that look'd with cheer. * Coarse yarn. + Destroy. Countenance. "Come, tears, confound; "The pap of Pyramus: 66 Ay, that left pap, "Where heart doth hop: "Thus die I, thus, thus, thus. "Now am I fled; "My soul is in the sky: "Tongue, lose thy light! "Now die, die, die, die, die. [Dies.-Exit Moonshine. Dem. No die, but an ace, for him; for he is but one. Lys. Less than an ace man; for he is dead; he is nothing. The. With the help of a surgeon, he might yet recover, and prove an ass. Hip. How chance moonshine is gone, before Thisbe comes back and finds her lover? The. She will find him by star-light.-Here she comes; and her passion ends the play. Enter THISBE. Hip. Methinks, she should not use a long one, for such a Pyramus: I hope, she will be brief. Dem. A mote will turn the balance, which Pyramus, which Thisbe, is the better. [eyes. Lys. She hath spied him already, with those sweet Dem. And thus she moans, videlicet. This. "Asleep, my love? "What, dead, my dove? "O Pyramus, arise, "Speak, speak. Quite dumb? "Must cover thy sweet eyes. "These lily brows, "This cherry nose, "These yellow cowslip cheeks, Are gone, are gone: "His eyes were green as leeks. "Come, come to me, "With hands as pale as milk; "Since you have shore "With shears his thread of silk. VOL. I. M m m "Tongue, not a word:- "Come, blade, my breast imbrue : "And farewell, friends;- "Adieu, adieu, adieu." [Dies. The. Moonshine and lion are left to bury the dead. Dem. Ay, and wall too. Bot. No, I assure you; the wall is down that parted their fathers. Will it please you to see the epilogue, or to hear a Bergomask dance, between two of our company? The. No epilogue, I pray you; for your play needs no excuse. Never excuse; for when the players are all dead, there need none to be blamed. Marry, if he that writ it, had play'd Pyramus, and hang'd himself in Thisbe's garter, it would have been a fine tragedy and so it is, truly; and very notably discharged. But come, your Bergomask: let your epilogue alone. [Here a dance of Clowns. The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve :Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time. I fear we shall out-sleep the coming morn, As much as we this night have overwatch'd. The heavy gait of night.-Sweet friends, to bed.- In nightly revels, and new jollity. SCENE II. Enter PUCK. Puck. Now the hungry lion roars, [Exeunt. Whilst the scritch-owl, scritching loud, That the graves, all gaping wide, In the church-way paths to glide: By the triple Hecat's team, • Progress. + Overcome. Now are frolic; not a mouse Shall disturb this hallow'd house: To sweep the dust behind the door. Enter OBERON and TITANIA, with their Train. Obe. Through this house give glimmering light, By the dead and drowsy fire: Every elf, and fairy sprite, Hop as light as bird from brier; Sing and dance it trippingly. Tita. First, rehearse this song by rote: To each word a warbling note, Hand in hand, with fairy grace, Will we sing, and bless this place. SONG and DANCE. Obe. Now, until the break of day, And the blots of nature's hand Shall upon their children be.- Every fairy take his gait +; And each several chamber bless, Through this palace, with sweet peace: And the owner of it blest. Trip away; Make no stay; Meet me all by break of day. [Exeunt Oberon, Titania, and Train. Puck. If we shadows have offended, And this weak and idle theme, So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, [Exit. MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.J-Wild and fantastical as this play is, all the parts in their various modes are well written, and give the kind of plea sure which the author designed. Fairies in his time were much in fashion; common tradition had made them familiar, and Spenser's poem had made them great. JOHNSON, Johnson's concluding observation on this play, is not conceived with his usual judgment. There is no analogy or resemblance whatever between the Fairies of Spenser and those of Shakspeare. The Fairies of Spenser, as appears from his description of them in the second book of the Fairy Queen, Canto 10, were a race of mortals revealed by Prometheus, of the human size, shape, and affections, and subject to death. But those of Shakspeare, and of common tradition, as Johnson calls them, were a diminutive race of sportful beings, endowed with immortality and supernatural power, totally different from those of Spenser. M. MASON. END OF VOL. I. |