A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

ACTII SCENEI
 In an enchanted wood, we meet a "puck" (mischievous sprite) named Robin
Goodfellow. (Note: In some editions of the play, he's referred to simply as "Puck."
We use Puck and Robin interchangeably in our discussion.)
 Puck greets a fairy, who says she's been busy wandering "over hill, over dale, /
Thorough bush, thorough brier, / Over park, over pale." Translation: She flies
around the woods running errands for the Fairy Queen (Titania).
 The fairy announces that she needs to collect some more dewdrops and deposit
pearls in some flowers because her boss, the Fairy Queen is on her way and she
wants the place to look nice.
 After this lovely and enchanting speech, the fairy insults Puck by calling him a
"lob" of spirits, which is basically means that Puck is the hillbilly
[an unsophisticated country person] of the spirit world.
 Puck snaps back that the Fairy King (Oberon) is also having a fairy party that
night, so the Fairy Queen better watch her back and stay out of Oberon's way.
 Puck says that Titania and Oberon have been fighting over a "lovely boy stol'n
from an Indian king." Oberon wants the kid to be his personal page (errand boy),
but Titania wants him for herself—she spends all her time crowning him with
flowers and doting on him.
 We learn that Titania and Oberon are supposed to be a couple, but they don't
even spend time together anymore.
 The fairy recognizes Puck and tells us all about his infamous pranks: frightening
village girls, ruining batches of homemade butter, leading people astray as they
travel at night, and so on.
 Puck brags that his boss, Oberon, loves his pranks and tricks. Puck also tells us
about the good times he's had making old ladies spill their drinks and fall on the
ground (by pretending to be a stool and then disappearing when they try to sit).
 Just then, Titania and Oberon enter from opposite sides of the stage and face off
like a couple of cowboys at the O.K. Corral instead of the King and Queen of
Fairy Land.
 Titania orders her fairies to scram and tells us that she's no longer sharing a bed
with Oberon.
 Titania accuses Oberon of sleeping around with other women—she knows for a
fact that Oberon disguised himself as a shepherd so he could hook up with a
country girl.
 Titania then accuses Oberon of being Hippolyta's lover. (Remember, Hippolyta is
the Queen of the Amazons and she's about to marry Theseus.)

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 Oberon fights back. He accuses Titania of having the hots for Theseus and of
stealing Theseus away from a bunch of his other mistresses (Perigouna, Aegles,
Ariadne, and Antiopa, to name a few).
 Titania says he's just jealous—so jealous that he hasn't let her and her fairies do
any of their special nature dances since spring, which has the natural world all
messed up. Because he keeps interrupting their rituals, it's been windy and
foggy, and the rivers are all flooding, which is causing serious damage to the
local crops. We learn that Titania and Oberon's big feud has thrown the natural
world into chaos. Lately, it's been windy, foggy, and the rivers are all flooding,
which is causing serious damage to the local crops.
 Brain Snack: Some literary scholars (like Gail Kern Paster and Skiles Howard)
say that this is a reference to how, in Europe during the 1590s, seriously bad
weather ruined crops, which caused food shortages, which, in turn, caused
inflation, hunger, disease, and so on.
 Oberon says Titania has the power to fix everything, if she would only turn over
the "little changeling boy" to him.
 Brain Snack: A "changeling" is a child that's been secretly switched with another,
usually by mischievous fairies.
 Titania claims that she didn't steal the kid from anyone. She says she's raising
the boy as a favor to his dead mother, a human who was a good friend of
Titania's back in India. Oberon should just get over it because Titania's never
going to give up her foster son.
 Oberon slyly asks Titania how long she plans to be in the woods. She says she'll
stay until Theseus is married.
 Titania invites Oberon to join her in the fairies' dancing and moonlight revels, but
Oberon claims that he'll only participate if he can have the boy.
 Titania says she wouldn't turn over the little boy for Oberon's whole kingdom and
exits before they get into another fight.
 Oberon vows that Titania won't leave the woods until he pays her back.
 Oberon calls Puck to him and tells him a little story. One night, Oberon was
watching a mermaid riding on a dolphin's back when he saw Cupid try to hit a
royal virgin with one of his arrows. Cupid missed his target and instead hit a little
white flower (a pansy), which then turned purple.
 Brain Snack: Most literary critics agree that the royal virgin Cupid was aiming his
arrow at is a shout-out to Shakespeare's monarch, Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth
never married and made a very big deal about being a virgin queen.
 Anyway, back to pansies. Oberon asks Puck to bring him the flower because it
has magical properties. When the juice of the flower is squeezed on a sleeping
person's eyelids, it enchants the sleeper to fall madly in love with the first thing he
or she sees upon waking.

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 Puck fetches the flower and Oberon announces he'll put the juice on Titania's
eyes. He hopes she'll fall madly in love with some awful, ugly beast. In her
lovesickness, he can convince her to give him the little boy. Once his master plan
is accomplished, Oberon will remove the spell.
 Oberon hears some people approaching and announces that, since he's
invisible, he can stay and listen to the conversation.
 Demetrius enters the scene with Helena tagging along behind him.
 He's searching for Lysander and Hermia, presumably to kill Lysander and win
Hermia's heart.
 Demetrius can't find Hermia, and he really wishes Helena would quit stalking him.
 Helena says it's Demetrius's fault that she's chasing him. If he wasn't so
scrumptious-looking, she wouldn't bother him.
 Demetrius tells her flat-out that he does not and cannot love her.
 Helena announces that she's going to follow him around like a "dog" forever.
 Demetrius says that virgins shouldn't run around the woods at night throwing
themselves at men who don't love them.
 Helena declares that it's not dark out because Demetrius's face shines like a
light. Also, she's never alone when she's with him because he's her whole world.
 Demetrius isn't about to take on the role of her protector in the woods. He says
he'll run away from her, hide in the bushes, and leave her to be eaten by a wild
beast.
 Helena tells us she's bucking traditional gender roles by chasing after Demetrius.
She doesn't think it's fair that guys can be aggressive when it comes to love but
girls can't. (Hmm. Is she talking about the fact that Theseus won Hippolyta by
conquering the Amazons?)
 Demetrius runs off and Helena chases after him.
 Meanwhile Oberon has been watching the scene in disgust.
 He thinks Demetrius is a jerk and decides Demetrius needs some love juice
squeezed in his eyes so he'll fall for Helena.
 Puck returns with the magic pansy.
 Oberon describes the bank of flowers where Titania sleeps and says he's off to
sprinkle the potion on her eyelids.
 Oberon gives some of the love juice to Puck and tells him to put some drops on
Demetrius's eyes—Puck will know who Demetrius is because he's human and
he's wearing Athenian clothes.
 Oberon and Puck agree to meet again soon.

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 Oberon and Titania have quarreled, and Oberon, planning his revenge, sends Puck to get the
magic flower – which can also be used to help Helena.

Original Translation
A FAIRY and ROBIN GOODFELLOW enter A FAIRY and ROBIN GOODFELLOW enter
from opposite sides of the stage. from opposite sides of the stage.
ROBIN ROBIN
How now, spirit? Whither wander you? How are you, spirit? Where are you going?
FAIRY FAIRY
Over hill, over dale [valley], Over hill, over valley, through bush, through
Thorough [an old form of ‗through‘] bush, thorn, over park, over fenced-in pastures,
thorough brier [thorn], through water, through fire. I wander
Over park, over pale [piece of land enclosed everywhere faster than the moon revolves
by fencing], around the Earth. I serve the fairy queen,
Thorough flood, thorough fire. decorating the grass with dew. The tall
I do wander everywhere cowslip flowers are her bodyguards: the spots
Swifter than the moon’s sphere [the orbit of you see on their gold coats are rubies, fairy
the moon]. gifts. Their sweet smells come from those
And I serve the fairy queen spots. Now I must go find some dewdrops,
To dew [sprinkle with dew] her orbs [circles and hang a pearl of dew in every cowslip
of rich grass, thought to be formed by the flower. Farewell, you silly unsophisticated
dancing of fairies] upon the green. spirit. I must go. The queen and her elves will
The cowslips tall [Cowslips are wild be here soon.
flowers(with red spots in yellow, bell-shaped
heads) about 15 cm high – which is ‗tall‘ from
the fairy‘s point of view; tall also meant
‗brave‘, ‗handsome‘.] her pensioners [The
gentlemen of the Royal Bodyguard in Queen
Elizabeth‘s court (who wore red and gold
uniforms) were known as pensioners] be:
In their gold coats spots you see.
Those be rubies, fairy favors [gifts].
In those freckles [spots] live their savors
[scents, fragrance].
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip‘s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits [peasant fairy].
I‘ll be gone.
Our queen and all our elves come here anon
[very soon].

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ROBIN
The king doth keep his revels here tonight.
Take heed [care] the queen come not within
his sight.
For Oberon is passing [extremely] fell [fierce]
and wrath
Because that she, as her attendant hath
A lovely boy stolen from an Indian king.
She never had so sweet a changeling [child
usually ugly or stupid) left by the fairies in
exchange for a beautiful human baby].
And jealous [envious] Oberon would have the
child
Knight of his train [to be a knight in his
service], to trace [roam through] the forests
wild.
But she perforce [forcibly] withholds the
lovèd boy,
Crowns him with flowers, and makes him all
her joy.
And now they never meet in grove or green,
By fountain clear or spangled starlight sheen
[shining].
But they do square [quarrel], that [so that] all
their elves for fear
Creep into acorn cups [The cup-shaped holder
of the acorn is less than 2 cm in diameter.]
and hide them there.
FAIRY
Either I mistake your shape and making
[appearance] quite [completely],
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Goodfellow.
Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery,
[village people],
Skim milk, [take the cream from the milk] [In
these lines Puck is both ‗he‘ and ‗you‘.] and
sometimes labor in the quern [churn(in which
milk is violently stirred to make butter)]
ROBIN
The king is having a party here tonight. Be
careful that the queen doesn‘t come within his
sight, because King Oberon is beyond
angry. She stole a charming boy from an
Indian king to be her servant. She‘s
never kidnapped such an adorable human
child, and Oberon is jealous. He wants the
child to be a knight within his own retinue
[attendants/followers], to wander with him
through the wild forests. But the queen
refuses to give up the beloved boy. Instead
she crowns the boy‘s head with flowers and
treasures him. Now Oberon and Titania refuse
to meet each other, whether in the forest or
the fields, by the clear water of a stream, or
beneath the stars. They just argue, so that all
their elves get frightened and sneak off to
hide in acorns [the small nut of the oak tree,
that grows in a base shaped like a cup].
FAIRY
Either I‘m completely mistaken, or else
you‘re that mischievous and naughty spirit
named Robin Goodfellow. Aren‘t you the one
who plays pranks on the maidens in the
village, skimming the cream off the milk;
clogging up the flour mill so they can't grind
grain into flour; and making housewives
breathless by keeping their milk from turning
into butter no matter how much they
churn? Don't you stop beer from foaming, and
lead people out at night the wrong way while
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And bootless [without result] make the
breathless housewife churn,
And sometime make the drink to bear no
barm [froth],
Mislead [Puck demonstrates this skill in Act 3
Scenes 1 and 2] night-wanderers, laughing at
their harm?
Those that ―Hobgoblin‖ call you, and ―sweet
Puck,‖
You do their work, and they shall have good
luck.
Are not you he?
ROBIN
Thou speak‘st aright.
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
I jest to Oberon [am Oberon‘s jester] and
make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,
[charm or enchant (someone), often in
a deceptive way]
Neighing in likeness of a filly [female] foal.
And sometime lurk I in a gossip’s [old
woman] bowl
In very [true] likeness of a roasted crab [crab
apple(used as a spice in warm ale)],
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob
And on her withered dewlap [the folds of skin
hanging round an old person‘s throat] pour
the ale.
The wisest aunt [old woman] telling the
saddest tale
Sometime for three-foot [three-legged] stool
mistaketh me.
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,
And ―Tailor!‖[cheat] cries, and falls into a
cough,[starts coughing]
And then the whole choir [company] hold
their hips and loffe, [laugh; Puck imitates the
language of peasants]
And waxen [increase] in their mirth, and
you laugh at them? But those who call you
―Hobgoblin,‖ or ―sweet Puck"— you do their
work for them and make sure they have good
luck. Aren't you him?
ROBIN
You are correct. I am the mischievous
wanderer of the night. I joke to Oberon and
make him smile. Sometimes I‘ll trick a fat,
well-fed horse by neighing as if I'm a young
filly [a young female horse]. Sometimes I
hide at the bottom of an old gossipy woman‘s
cup in the form of a crab apple. When she
drinks, I bob against her lips so that she spills
the beer on her old wrinkly neck. Sometimes
an old woman telling a sad story will mistake
me for a three-legged stool and try to sit on
me. Then I slip out from underneath her butt
and she falls down, crying, ―I'm sitting cross-
legged like a tailor!‖ Then she starts to cough,
and everyone around holds their bellies and
laughs. Their laughter grows, and they sneeze,
and I swear none of them has ever wasted an
hour in greater fun. But make room, fairy!
Here comes Oberon.
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neeze [sneeze], and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted [spent]
there.
But, room [make room], fairy! Here comes
Oberon.
FAIRY
And here my mistress. Would [I wish] that he
were gone!
OBERON
Ill met [an unlucky meeting; rhyming couplets
give way to blank verse when Oberon meets
Titania.] by moonlight, proud Titania.
OBERON, the Fairy King, and his followers
enter.
On the other side of the stage,
TITANIA, the Fairy Queen, and her followers
enter.
TITANIA
What, jealous [envious] Oberon? Fairies, skip
hence. I have forsworn [refused] his bed and
company.
OBERON
Tarry [wait], rash wanton [headstrong, willful
creature]. Am not I thy lord [husband (and
therefore entitled to respect from his wife)?
TITANIA
Then I must be thy lady [wife (and therefore
entitled to expect faithfulness from her
husband)]. But I know
When thou hast stolen away from Fairyland,
And in the shape of Corin [Corin is an old
shepherd and a native of Arden] sat all day,
Playing on pipes of corn [corn-stalks used as
musical pipes]and versing love
To amorous Phillida. [behaved like one of
those shepherds in pastoral poetry singing to
his lady-love; Oberon being a spirit, would
need to assume human form inorder to have
any conversation with a mortal.]
Why art thou here,
FAIRY
And here‘s my queen. I wish he‘d go away!
OBERON
I'm not glad to see you this night, proud
Titania.
The Fairy King OBERON and his followers
enter. On the other side of the stage, the Fairy
Queen TITANIA and her followers enter.
TITANIA
What, are you jealous, Oberon? Fairies, let‘s
leave this place. I‘ve sworn I‘ll never sleep
with him or be near him again.
OBERON
Wait, you impulsive and willful creature. Am
I not your lord and husband?
TITANIA
If you were, then I would have to be your lady
and wife, to whom you are faithful. But I
know that you snuck away from Fairyland
disguised as a shepherd, and spent all day
playing music and reciting love poems to an
infatuated shepherdess. Why have you come
here, all the way from the furthest mountains
of India? Because, of course, that bouncing
Amazon Hippolyta—your half-boot-wearing
mistress and warrior lover—is getting married
to Theseus, and you‘ve come to bless their
wedding bed with joy and prosperity.
Corin and Phillida are typical names for a
shepherd and shepherdess. Titania is
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Come from the farthest step [hill (perhaps the
Himalayas)] of India?
But that, forsooth [only, indeed, because], the
bouncing Amazon [i.e Hippolyta],
Your buskined [wearing high boots] mistress
and your warrior love,
To Theseus must be wedded, and you come
To give their bed [bless their union with] joy
and prosperity.
OBERON
How canst thou thus for shame, Titania,
Knowing I know thy love to Theseus?
Glance at [made rude remarks about] my
credit with Hippolyta,
Didst thou not lead him through the
glimmering night
From Perigouna, whom he ravishèd?
And make him with fair Ægles break his
faith,With Ariadne and Antiopa? [Little is
known about three of these women except
that Theseus deserted all of them! Ariadne
helped him to find his way through the
labyrinth on his expedition to kill the
Minotaur.]
TITANIA
These are the forgeries [falsehoods] of
jealousy.
And never, since the middle summer’s spring
[beginning of midsummer period],
Met we on hill, in dale [valley], forest, or
mead [meadow],
By pavèd fountain [paved;fountain with small
pebbles at the bottom], or by rushy brook
[small stream, with tall rushes growing at the
side]
Or in the beachèd margent [margin, edge] of
the sea,
To dance our ringlets [dances round the fairy
rings] to the whistling wind [the wind
whistled as music for their dancing],
accusing Oberon of stealing away from
fairyland, taking on the appearance of a
country lad, and flirting with a seductive
country girl by reciting poetry and playing a
corncob flute.
OBERON
How can you shamelessly make insinuations
about my relationship with Hippolyta, when
you know that I know about your love for
Theseus? Didn't you entice him through the
glimmering night away from Perigouna,
whom he had just abducted and raped? And
didn't you make him be unfaithful to Aegles,
Ariadne, and Antiopa?
[Theseus is also known in both sources as a
prolific womanizer. Oberon says
that Titania seduced Theseus and made him
unfaithful to Aegles (a nymph), Ariadne (a
goddess), and Antiopa (another Amazonian
queen).]
TITANIA
These are lies that emerge from your
jealousy. Not once, since the beginning of
midsummer—whether on a hill, in a valley, a
forest, or a meadow, by a pebbly spring or
rushing brook, or on a beach next to the
ocean—have my fairies and I been able to
meet and perform our ring dances to honor
the whistling wind without you showing up
with your shouting to interrupt our
fun. Because of that, the winds have gotten
angry at our lack of response to their calls. In
revenge the winds have made nasty fogs rise
up from the sea, and make rain fall upon the
land so that rivers have grown so large they
flood the land around them. All the work done
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But with thy brawls [quarrels] thou hast
disturbed our sport [entertainment].
Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain
[uselessly],
As in revenge, have sucked up from the sea
Contagious [carrying diseases] fogs, which
falling in the land
Have every pelting [paltry] river made so
proud
That they have overborne their continents
[flooded over their banks].
The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in
vain, [the ploughing has been useless]
The ploughman lost his sweat [wasted his
efforts] , and the green [unripe; ripe corn has
hanging tendrils like a man‘s beard] corn
Hath rotted ere [before] his youth attained a
beard.
The fold stands empty in the drownèd field,
And crows are fatted [grown fat] with the
murrion flock [sheep and cattle].
The nine-men’s-morris [a game played with
nine pins or stones on specially marked
ground] is filled up with mud,
And the quaint [intricate, attractive or
unusual; the maze was a popular feature of
Elizabethan gardens] mazes in the wanton
green[overgrown grass]
For lack of tread are undistinguishable.
The human mortals want [are deprived of]
their winter cheer [festivities].
No night is now with hymn or carol blessed.
Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,
[the moon is partly responsible for the tides]
Pale in her anger, washes [it was thought that
the mon shed moisture on the earth] all the
air,
That rheumatic diseases do abound. [there are
a lot of colds and sniffles about;(‗rheum‘=a
watery discharge from eyes and nose)]
by farmers' and their oxen has been ruined,
and the corn has rotted before it could grow
ripe. Animal pens stand empty in flooded
fields, and the crows are fat from eating the
bodies of sheep and cattle killed by
disease. The village greens where men play
games together are filled with mud, and the
maze-like paths people have made through
the high-grown grass have faded away
because no one walks on them. The humans
have not gotten the winter they should have,
and the nights to not receive the blessings of
the hymns or carols of that season. As a result
the moon, who controls the tides, is pale with
anger, and moistens the air so that colds and
flu spread everywhere. Because of this
disturbance in the normal natural order, the
seasons have changed: bitter frosts descend
upon red roses. And Old Man Winter wears
an icy crown decorated with sweet summer
flower buds, like some kind of cruel
prank. The spring, summer, fruitful autumn,
and angry winter have all changed out of their
normal clothes, and now the confused world
can't tell one from the other. And all of these
bad outcomes are the result of our argument.
We are the cause of this.
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And thorough [through] this distemperature
[disturbance in temperature of the weather]
we see
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts [frosts
covering everything with white]
Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' [winter(personified as an
old man)] thin and icy crown
An odorous [scented] chaplet [wreath worn
on head] of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, [as though making fun of
the old man] set. The spring, the summer,
The childing [fruitful (bearing children)]
autumn, angry winter change
Their wonted liveries [usual uniforms], and
the mazèd [bewildered] world,
By their increase, now knows not which is
which. [cannot distinguish seasons by their
produce]
And this same progeny [offspring] of evils
comes
From our debate [arguing], from our
dissension.
We are their parents and original [origin].
OBERON OBERON
Do you amend it then. So fix it, then. You have the power to do
It lies in you. that. Why would Titania want to argue with
Why should Titania cross [disobey] her her Oberon? All I‘m asking for is to have that
Oberon? little human boy to be my attendant.
I do but [only] beg a little changeling boy,
To be my henchman [page].
TITANIA TITANIA
Set your heart at rest [be assured]. Calm your little heart. I wouldn't trade the
The Fairyland buys not the child of [from] child for all of Fairyland. His mother was one
me. of my priestesses, and we often used to gossip
His mother was a votaress of my order, [a nun together in the spiced night air in India, or sit
vowed to serve me] on the beach by the ocean watching merchant
And in the spicèd [fragrant] Indian air by ships sail by on the water. We'd laugh when
night we saw the wind fill up the sails, as if that
Full often hath she gossiped by my side, amorous wind had made them pregnant and

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And sat with me on Neptune’s [god of the
sea] yellow sands,
Marking [observing] th' embarkèd traders on
the flood, [merchant ships on the tide bringing
them to shore]
When we have laughed to see the sails
conceive [swell(as though pregnant)]
And grow big-bellied with the wanton
[playful, amorous] wind;
Which she, with pretty and with swimming
[gliding] gait [movement]
Following [copying] —her womb then rich
[pregnant] with my young squire
[gentleman(especially one who attends a
lady)]—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 [giving
birth to the boy] did die.
And for her sake do I rear up her boy,
And for her sake I will not part with him.
OBERON
How long within this wood intend you stay
[do you intend to stay]?
TITANIA
Perchance [perhaps] till after Theseus'
wedding day.
If you will patiently dance in our round
[circular dance]
And see our moonlight revels, go with us.
If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.
OBERON
Give me that boy and I will go with thee.
TITANIA
Not for thy fairy kingdom. Fairies, away!
We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.
OBERON
Well, go thy way. Thou shalt not from [not go Well, then go on your way. You won‘t leave
from] this grove
big-bellied. She would imitate the ships—she
was pregnant at the time with the little boy—
and she would pretend to sail over the land to
get me little presents, and then come back
carrying gifts like she was a trading ship
returning from a voyage, rich with cargo. But
she was a mortal, and she died giving birth to
the boy. For her sake I will not give him up.
OBERON
How long do you plan to stay in this forest?
TITANIA
Perhaps until after Theseus‘ wedding day. If
you will join us in our circle dance and
moonlight celebrations without causing
trouble, then come with us. If not, stay away
from me, and I‘ll avoid your lands.
OBERON
Give me that boy and I‘ll come with you.
TITANIA
Not for your entire fairy kingdom. Fairies,
let‘s go! We‘re going to have a real fight if I
stay any longer.
OBERON
this grove until I‘ve made you suffer for this
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Till I torment thee for this injury [insult].
[To ROBINGOODFELLOW]
My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou
rememberest
Since once [the time when] I sat upon a
promontory [piece of land jutting out into the
sea]
And heard a mermaid on a dolphin‘s back
Uttering such dulcet [sweet sounding] and
harmonious breath [song]
That the rude [rough(badly behaved)] sea
grew civil [calm (well behaved)] at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their
spheres [orbits]
To hear the seamaid‘s music?
TITANIA and her followers exit.
ROBIN
I remember.
OBERON
That very [same] time I saw (but thou couldst
not)
Flying between the cold moon and the Earth,
Cupid all armed. A certain aim he took
At a fair vestal [virgin; the Roman Vestal
Virgins vowed eternal virginity, in service to
Vesta, goddess of home] thronèd by the west,
And loosed his love shaft [arrow of love]
smartly from his bow
As it [as though it] should pierce a hundred
thousand hearts.
But I might [was able to] see young Cupid‘s
fiery [i.e. because it produced the fires of
love] shaft
Quenched in the chaste [Diana, goddess of
moon, was also goddess of chastity and
protector of virginity] beams of the watery
moon,
And the imperial votress [royal lady who has
taken vows] passèd on,
In maiden meditation, fancy-free.
insult.
[To ROBIN GOODFELLOW]
My noble Puck, come here. Do you remember
that time when I was sitting on a cliff and
heard a mermaid riding on a dolphin‘s
back sing with such a sweet and harmonious
voice that the rough waters of the ocean grew
calm, and some stars shot out of the sky in
order to hear her sing?
TITANIA and her followers exit.
ROBIN
I remember.
OBERON
On that night, I saw Cupid (even though you
couldn't); Cupid with all his arrows, flying
from the cold moon to the earth. He aimed at
a beautiful virgin who sat upon a throne in the
western end of the world, and he shot his love
arrow hard enough to pierce a hundred
thousand hearts. But I saw young Cupid‘s
fiery arrow weakened by the virginal beams
of the watery moon, and so the royal virgin
was unaffected by the arrow, and so
continued on with her virginal thoughts,
without a care. But I noticed where Cupid‘s
arrow fell. It fell on a little western flower,
which used to be as white as milk but turned
purple when it was wounded by the arrow of
love. Young women call that flower ―love-in-
idleness." Bring me that flower. I showed the
plant to you once. If the juice of that flower is
dropped on the eyelids of a sleeping person,
that man or woman will then fall madly in
love with the next living creature he or she
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Yet marked [observed] I where the bolt sees. Bring me this plant, and return here
[arrow] of Cupid fell. before Leviathan can swim three miles.
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love‘s
wound.
And maidens call it ―love-in-idleness.‖ [The
flower is the pansy-but the myth is
Shakespeare‘s own creation.] Fetch me that
flower. The herb I showed thee once.
The juice of it on sleeping eyelids laid
Will make or man or woman [either…or]
madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees.
Fetch me this herb, and be thou here again
Ere [before] the leviathan [whale] can swim a
league [measurement of distance (about three
miles)].
ROBIN ROBIN
I‘ll put a girdle [encircle] round about the I'll circle the world in forty minutes.
earth
In forty minutes.
OBERON OBERON
Having once this juice, Once I get this juice, I‘ll spy on Titania until
I‘ll watch Titania when she is asleep she falls asleep and then drop some of it on
And drop the liquor of it in her eyes. her eyes. The first thing she sees when she
The next thing then she waking looks upon— wakes up—whether it's a lion, bear, wolf,
Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, bull, monkey, or an ape—she'll fall deeply
On meddling monkey or on busy and madly in love with. And before I remove
[mischievous] ape—She shall pursue it with the spell from her eyes—which I can do by
the soul of love. using another plant—I‘ll make her give that
And ere I take this charm from of her sight— little boy to me. But who‘s that coming this
As I can take it with another herb—I‘ll make way? I've made myself invisible and listen in
her render up her page to me. on their conversation.
But who comes here? I am invisible. [Oberon
probably throws a black cloak around
himself.]
And I will overhear their conference
[conversation].
ROBIN exits. ROBIN exits.
DEMETRIUS enters, followed by HELENA. DEMETRIUS enters, followed by HELENA.

13
DEMETRIUS
I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?
The one I‘ll slay, the other slayeth me
[because she refuses to love him].
Thou told‘st me they were stol'n [escaped]
unto this wood.
And here am I, and wood [and mad] within
this wood,
Because I cannot meet my Hermia.
Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.
HELENA
You draw [attract] me, you hard-hearted
adamant [magnet].
But yet you draw not iron, for my heart
Is true as steel. Leave you [if you will give up]
your power to draw,
And I shall have no power to follow you.
DEMETRIUS
Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair [say kind
words to you]?
Or rather, do I not in plainest truth
Tell you I do not, nor I cannot, love you?
HELENA
And even for that do I love you the more.
I am your spaniel. And, Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn [cringe,
beg for favour] on you.
Use me but as your spaniel—spurn [kick] me,
strike me,
Neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am, to follow you.
What worser place can I beg in your love—
And yet a place of high respect with me—
Than to be usèd as you use your dog?
DEMETRIUS
Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit.
For I am sick when I do look on thee.
DEMETRIUS
I don‘t love you, so stop following me. Where
are Lysander and beautiful Hermia? I want to
kill Lysander, but Hermia kills me with her
beauty. You told me they snuck into this
forest. And here I am, going crazy in the
middle of the woods because I cannot find my
Hermia. Go away, get out of here, and stop
following me.
HELENA
You attract me to you, you heartless
magnet! But you must not attract iron,
because my heart is as true as steel. If you
give up your power to attract me, then I won‘t
have any power to follow you.
DEMETRIUS
Do I invite you to follow me? Do I speak to
you kindly? Instead, don‘t I tell you as clearly
and plainly as possible that I do not and
cannot love you?
HELENA
And for that I love you even more. I‘m your
little dog. And, Demetrius, the more you beat
me, the more I‘ll love you. Treat me like a
dog—kick me, hit me, ignore me, try to lose
me. Just allow me to follow you, even though
I'm not good enough for you. Is there a worse
position I could ask to be held in your heart
than to be treated as you would treat a dog?
And yet I would consider it a place of honor.
DEMETRIUS
Don‘t tempt me to hate you any more than I
already do. It makes me sick just to look at
you.
14
HELENA
And I am sick when I look not on you.
DEMETRIUS
You do impeach your modesty [cause your
modesty to be suspected] too much,
To leave the city and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not,
To trust the opportunity of night
And the ill counsel of a desert place
With the rich worth of your virginity. [to trust
that your precious virginity will be safe when
the night gives opportunity and the lonely
place offers temptation]
HELENA
Your virtue [particular nature] is my privilege
[protection]. For that [because]
It is not night when I do see your face.
Therefore I think I am not in the night.
Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,
For you in my respect [opinion] are all the
world.
Then how can it be said I am alone
When all the world is here to look on me?
DEMETRIUS
I‘ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes
[bushes],
And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.
HELENA
The wildest hath not such a heart as you.
Run when you will, the story shall be
changed.
Apollo flies and Daphne holds the chase.
[Apollo chased after Daphne, but she prayed
to Diana for protection-and was changed into
a laurel tree; the story is told in Ovid‘s
Metamorphoses.]
The dove pursues the griffin [a fabulous
monster, with the head and wings of an eagle
and the body of a man.]. The mild hind
[female deer]
HELENA
And I am sick when I'm not looking at you.
DEMETRIUS
You shouldn't risk your reputation or your
virginity by leaving the city and putting
yourself into the hands of someone who
doesn‘t love you in the middle of the night in
a deserted place, what with all the bad ideas
that occur to people in deserted places.
HELENA
Your goodness will protect me. And, anyway,
the beauty of your face shines, so it doesn't
seem like night time to me. Besides, the forest
doesn‘t seem deserted, because for me you
are the entire world. So how can anyone say
I‘m alone, when the whole world is here to
look at me?
DEMETRIUS
I‘ll run away from you and hide in the bushes,
and leave you to the mercy of wild animals.
HELENA
Not even the wildest animal is as vicious as
you. Run whenever you want to. The old
story of the lustful god Apollo chasing the
virginal nymph Daphne will be
flipped: Apollo will run, and Daphne will
pursue him. The dove will chase the griffin.
The gentle deer will race to catch the tiger.
Speed is useless when the cowardly person is
chasing the brave one.
15
Makes speed to catch the tiger —bootless
[useless] speed,
When cowardice pursues and valor flies.
DEMETRIUS DEMETRIUS
I will not stay thy questions [wait to hear your I‘m not going to wait around listening to your
arguments]. Let me go. arguments. Let me go by myself. Or if you
Or if thou follow me, do not believe follow me, understand that I‘ll do bad things
But [but that] I shall do thee mischief [harm to you in the forest.
you] in the wood.
HELENA HELENA
Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field Well, you've already done bad things to me in
You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius! the church, in the town, and in the
Your wrongs [ill treatment] do set a scandal fields. Curse you, Demetrius! Your bad
on my sex [make me act in a way that is behavior is an insult to all women. We can't
improper for a woman]. fight for love as men can. We should be
We cannot fight for love as men may do. pursued. We weren‘t made to be the pursuer.
We should be wooed and were not made to
woo.
DEMETRIUS exits. DEMETRIUS exits.
ROBIN enters. ROBIN enters.
I‘ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell, I‘ll follow you and turn this hell of mine into
To die upon the hand I love so well. a heaven, by ensuring that I am killed by the
one I love so much.
HELENA exits. HELENA exits.
OBERON OBERON
Fare thee well, nymph [girl]. Ere he do leave Goodbye, nymph. Before he leaves this forest,
this grove, you‘ll be running from him and he'll be
Thou shalt fly him [run away from him] and chasing after your love.
he shall seek thy love.
ROBIN ROBIN
Ay, there it is. Yes, here it is.
Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, Do you have the flower? Welcome, traveler.
wanderer.
OBERON OBERON
I pray thee, give it me. Please, give it to me.
[He takes flower from ROBIN] [He takes the flower from ROBIN.]
I know a bank where the wild thyme [a low- I know a hill where wild thyme blooms, and
growing scented herb with tiny purple oxlips and violets grow. It‘s covered with a
flowers] blows, canopy of luscious honeysuckle, sweet musk-
Where oxlips [flowers slightly bigger than roses, and sweetbrier. Titania sometimes

16
cowslips] and the nodding violet grows, sleeps there at night among the flowers,
Quite over canopied with luscious woodbine soothed to sleep by dances and delights. In
[honeysuckle, a climbing plant that makes a that place snakes shed their skin, producing
shelter (canopy) over the bank], clothes just large enough to wrap a fairy in.
With sweet musk roses [these also climb, and There I‘ll wet her eyes with the juice of this
are heavily scented] and with eglantine flower, and fill her with pathetic fantasies.
[another kind of wild rose]. [He gives ROBIN part of the flower] You take
There sleeps Titania sometime [at some time some of it and search the forest: there's a
or other] of the night, sweet Athenian lady who is in love with a
Lulled [sent to sleep] in these flowers with young man who does not want her. Put some
dances and delight. juice on his eyes, and do it in a way that
And there the snake throws [sheds(when it is ensures that the lady will be the next thing he
outgrown)] her enameled [coloured (and sees. You‘ll recognize the man by the
smooth)] skin, Athenian clothes he's wearing. Be careful
Weed wide enough [a garment that is wide when you do it, so that when it's done he
enough] to wrap a fairy in. loves her more than she loves him. Then meet
And with the juice of this I‘ll streak her eyes me before the rooster‘s first crow at dawn.
And make her full of hateful fantasies.
[He gives ROBIN some of the flower]
Take thou some of it and seek through this
grove:
A sweet Athenian lady is in love
With a disdainful youth; anoint his eyes.
But do it when the next thing he espies
May be the lady. Thou shalt know the man
By the Athenian garments he hath on.
Effect it with some care, that he may prove
More fond on her than she upon her love.
And look thou meet me ere the first cock
crow. [The crowing of the cock is usually the
signal for supernatural beings to leave the
world of mortals-though Oberon will say later
in the play (3, 2,388), that he and the other
fairies are not confined to the hours of
darkness.]
ROBIN ROBIN
Fear not, my lord. Your servant shall do so. Don't worry, my lord. As your servant, I'll
follow your orders.
They all exit, in opposite directions. They exit, in opposite directions.

17