Enter OBERON, the King

OBERON, the Fairy King, and his followers enter. On the

of Fairies, at one side with

opposite side of the stage, TITANIA, the Fairy Queen, and

his train, and TITANIA, the

her followers enter.

Queen, at the other, with

hers
OBERON

OBERON

Ill met by moonlight, proud

How not nice to see you,

Titania.

Titania.

TITANIA

TITANIA

What, jealous Oberon?

What, are you jealous,

Fairies, skip hence.

Oberon?Fairies, lets

I have forsworn his bed and

get out of here. Ive sworn

company.

Ill never sleep with him or

talk to him again.

OBERON

OBERON

Tarry, rash wanton. Am not I

Wait just a minute, you

thy lord?

brazen hussy. Arent you

supposed to obey me,
your lord and husband?

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55

TITANIA

TITANIA

Then I must be thy lady. But

If youre my lord and

I know

husband, I must be your

When thou hast stolen away

lady and wife, so youre

from Fairyland,

supposed to be faithful to

And in the shape of Corin

me. But I know for a fact

sat all day,

that you snuck away from

Playing on pipes of corn and

Fairyland disguised as a

versing love

shepherd, and spent all

To amorous Phillida. Why art

day playing straw pipes

thou here,

and singing love poems to

Come from the farthest step

your new girlfriend. The

of India?

only reason you left India

But that, forsooth, the

was to come here and see

bouncing Amazon,

that butch Amazon

Your buskined mistress and

Hippolyta. She was your

your warrior love,

boot-wearing mistress and

To Theseus must be

your warrior lover, and

wedded, and you come

now that shes getting

To give their bed joy and

married to Theseus,

prosperity.

youve come to celebrate

their marriage.

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65

OBERON

OBERON

How canst thou thus for

How can you stand there

shame, Titania,

shamelessly talking about

Knowing I know thy love to

me and Hippolyta, when

Theseus? Glance at my

you know that I know

credit with Hippolyta,

about your love for

Didst thou not lead him

Theseus? Werent you the

through the glimmering night

one who made him desert

From Perigouna, whom he

Perigouna in the middle of

ravishd?

the night, right after hed

And make him with fair

raped her? And werent

gles break his faith,

you the one who made

With Ariadne and Antiopa?

him cheat on all of his

other girlfriends, like
Aegles, Ariadne, and
Antiopa?

TITANIA

TITANIA

These are the forgeries of jealousy.

These are nothing but jealous lies. Since

And never, since the middle summers

the beginning of midsummer, my fairies and

spring,

I havent been able to meet anywhere to do

Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead,

our dances in the wind without being

By pavd fountain, or by rushy brook,

disturbed by you and your arguments. We

Or in the beachd margent of the sea,

havent been able to meet on a hill or in a

To dance our ringlets to the whistling

valley, in the forest or a meadow, by a

wind,

pebbly fountain or a rushing stream, or on

But with thy brawls thou hast disturbed

the beach by the ocean without you

our sport.

disturbing us. And because you interrupt us

Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,

so that we cant dance for them, the winds

As in revenge, have sucked up from the

have made fogs rise up out of the sea and

sea

fall down on the rivers so that the rivers

Contagious fogs, which falling in the land

flood, just to get revenge on you. So all the

Have every pelting river made so proud

work that oxen and farmers have done in

That they have overborne their

plowing the fields has been for nothing,

continents.

because the unripe grain has rotted before

The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke

it was ripe. Sheep pens are empty in the

in vain,

middle of the flooded fields, and the crows

The ploughman lost his sweat, and the

get fat from eating the dead bodies of

green corn

infected sheep. All the fields where people

Hath rotted ere his youth attained a

usually play games are filled with mud, and

beard.

you cant even see the elaborate mazes

The fold stands empty in the drownd

that people create in the grass, because no

field,

one walks in them anymore and theyve all

And crows are fatted with the murrain

grown over. Its not winter here for the

flock.

human mortals, so theyre not protected by

The nine-mens-morris is filled up with

the holy hymns and carols that they sing in

mud,

winter. So the pale, angry moon, who

And the quaint mazes in the wanton

controls the tides, fills the air with diseases.

green

As a consequence of this bad weather and

For lack of tread are undistinguishable.

these bad moods the seasons have started

The human mortals want their winter

to change. Cold frosts spread over the red

here.

roses, and the icy winter wears a crown of

No night is now with hymn or carol

sweet summer flowers as some sick joke.

blessed.

Spring, summer, fertile autumn and angry

Therefore the moon, the governess of

winter have all changed places, and now

floods,

the confused world doesnt know which is

Pale in her anger, washes all the air,

which. And this is all because of our

That rheumatic diseases do abound.

argument. We are responsible for this.

And thorough this distemperature we see

The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer
buds
Is, as in mockery, set. The spring, the
summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazd
world,
By their increase, now knows not which is
which.

And this same progeny of evils comes

From our debate, from our dissension.
We are their parents and original.

OBERON
Do you amend it then. It lies in you.
Why should Titania cross her Oberon?
I do but beg a little changeling boy,
To be my henchman.
OBERON
Do something about it, then. You have the power to fix it. Why would
Titania want to argue with her Oberon? All Im asking for is to have that
little human boy as part of my crew.
TITANIA
Set your heart at rest.
The Fairyland buys not the child of me.
His mother was a votaress of my order,
And in the spicd Indian air by night
Full often hath she gossiped by my side,
And sat with me on Neptunes yellow sands,
Marking th' embarkd traders on the flood,
When we have laughed to see the sails conceive
And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;
Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait
Followingher womb then rich with my young squire
Would imitate, and sail upon the land
To fetch me trifles and return again
As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.
But she, being mortal, of that boy did die.
And for her sake do I rear up her boy,

And for her sake I will not part with him.

TITANIA
Get over it. I wont give up this child for all of Fairyland. His mother was
one of my worshippers, and we always used to gossip together at night in
India, sitting together by the ocean and watching the merchant ships
sailing on the ocean. We used to laugh to see the sails fill up with wind so
that they looked like they had big, pregnant bellies, as if the wind had
gotten them pregnant. She would imitate themsince she was already
pregnant with the little boyand she would go sailing over the land
herself to go get me little presents, and come back carrying gifts like she
was a ship coming back from a voyage. But since she was a mortal, she
died giving birth to that boy, and for her sake Im raising him and will not
give him up.
OBERON
How long within this wood intend you stay?
OBERON
How long do you plan to stay here in this forest?

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TITANIA
Perchance till after Theseus' wedding day.
If you will patiently dance in our round
And see our moonlight revels, go with us.
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.
TITANIA
Maybe until after Theseuss wedding day. If you behave yourself and join
us in our circle dance and moonlight celebrations, then you can come with
us. If not, leave me alone, and Ill stay away from your turf.
OBERON
Give me that boy and I will go with thee.
OBERON
Give me that boy and Ill come with you.

TITANIA
Not for thy fairy kingdom.Fairies, away!
We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.
TITANIA
Not for your entire fairy kingdom.Come, fairies, lets go. Were going to
have an out-and-out brawl if I stay any longer.
Exeunt TITANIA and her train
TITANIA and her FAIRIES exit.