ACT 1
Scene 1

...and with reveling.
Enter Egeus and his daughter Hermia, and Lysander and Demetrius.

...my certain right.
You have her father’s love, Demetrius.
Let me have Hermia’s. Do you marry him.

...estate unto Demetrius.
to Theseus
I am, my lord, as well derived as he,
As well possessed. My love is more than his;
My fortunes every way as fairly ranked
(If not with vantage) as Demetrius’;
And (which is more than all these boasts can be)
I am beloved of beauteous Hermia.
Why should not I then prosecute my right?
Demetrius, I’ll avouch it to his head,
Made love to Nedar’s daughter, Helena,
And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes,
Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,
Upon this spotted and inconstant man.

...we follow you.
How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale?
How chance the roses there do fade so fast?

...of my eyes.
Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth.
But either it was different in blood—

...enthralled to low.
Or else misgraffèd in respect of years—

...engaged to young.
Or else it stood upon the choice of friends—

...by another’s eyes!
Or, if there were a sympathy in choice,
War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it,
Making it momentany as a sound,
Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night,
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and Earth,
And, ere a man hath power to say “Behold!”
The jaws of darkness do devour it up.
So quick bright things come to confusion.

...poor fancy’s followers.
A good persuasion. Therefore, hear me, Hermia:
I have a widow aunt, a dowager
Of great revenue, and she hath no child.
From Athens is her house remote seven leagues,
And she respects me as her only son.
There, gentle Hermia, may I marry thee;
And to that place the sharp Athenian law
Cannot pursue us. If thou lovest me, then
Steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night,
And in the wood a league without the town
(Where I did meet thee once with Helena
To do observance to a morn of May),
There will I stay for thee.

...meet with thee.
Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena.

...unto a hell!
Helen, to you our minds we will unfold.
Tomorrow night when Phoebe doth behold
Her silver visage in the wat’ry glass,
Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass
(A time that lovers’ flights doth still conceal),
Through Athens’ gates have we devised to steal.

...morrow deep midnight.
I will, my Hermia. Helena, adieu.
As you on him, Demetrius dote on you!
Lysander exits.

ACT 2
Scene 2

...thing is near.
Enter Lysander and Hermia.

Fair love, you faint with wand’ring in the wood.

And, to speak troth, I have forgot our way.

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

And tarry for the comfort of the day.

...rest my head.
One turf shall serve as pillow for us both;
One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and one troth.

...lie so near.
O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence!
Love takes the meaning in love’s conference.
I mean that my heart unto yours is knit,
So that but one heart we can make of it;
Two bosoms interchainèd with an oath—
So then two bosoms and a single troth.
Then by your side no bed-room me deny,
For lying so, Hermia, I do not lie.

...sweet life end!
“Amen, amen” to that fair prayer, say I,
And then end life when I end loyalty!
Here is my bed. Sleep give thee all his rest!

...eyes be pressed!
They sleep.

...charm doth owe.
He anoints Lysander’s eyelids with the nectar.

...good sir, awake.
waking up
And run through fire I will for thy sweet sake.
Transparent Helena! Nature shows art,
That through thy bosom makes me see thy heart.
Where is Demetrius? O, how fit a word
Is that vile name to perish on my sword!

...Then be content.
Content with Hermia? No, I do repent
The tedious minutes I with her have spent.
Not Hermia, but Helena I love.
Who will not change a raven for a dove?
The will of man is by his reason swayed,
And reason says you are the worthier maid.
Things growing are not ripe until their season;
So I, being young, till now ripe not to reason.
And touching now the point of human skill,
Reason becomes the marshal to my will
And leads me to your eyes, where I o’erlook
Love’s stories written in love’s richest book.

...therefore be abused!
She sees not Hermia.—Hermia, sleep thou there,
And never mayst thou come Lysander near.
For, as a surfeit of the sweetest things
The deepest loathing to the stomach brings,
Or as the heresies that men do leave
Are hated most of those they did deceive,
So thou, my surfeit and my heresy,
Of all be hated, but the most of me!
And, all my powers, address your love and might
To honor Helen and to be her knight.
He exits.

ACT 3
Scene 2

...They step aside.
Enter Lysander and Helena.

Why should you think that I should woo in scorn?

Scorn and derision never come in tears.

Look when I vow, I weep; and vows so born,

In their nativity all truth appears.

How can these things in me seem scorn to you,

Bearing the badge of faith to prove them true?

...light as tales.
I had no judgment when to her I swore.

...give her o’er.
Demetrius loves her, and he loves not you.

...make you sport.
You are unkind, Demetrius. Be not so,
For you love Hermia; this you know I know.
And here with all goodwill, with all my heart,
In Hermia’s love I yield you up my part.
And yours of Helena to me bequeath,
Whom I do love and will do till my death.

...There to remain.
Helen, it is not so.

...leave me so?
Why should he stay whom love doth press to go?

...from my side?
Lysander’s love, that would not let him bide,
Fair Helena, who more engilds the night
Than all yon fiery oes and eyes of light.
Why seek’st thou me? Could not this make thee know
The hate I bear thee made me leave thee so?

...soon shall remedy.
Stay, gentle Helena. Hear my excuse,
My love, my life, my soul, fair Helena.

...I can compel.
Thou canst compel no more than she entreat.
Thy threats have no more strength than her weak prayers.—
Helen, I love thee. By my life, I do.
I swear by that which I will lose for thee,
To prove him false that says I love thee not.

...he can do.
If thou say so, withdraw and prove it too.

...tends all this?
She takes hold of Lysander.
Away, you Ethiop!

...tame man, go!
to Hermia
Hang off, thou cat, thou burr! Vile thing, let loose,
Or I will shake thee from me like a serpent.

...this, Sweet love?
Thy love? Out, tawny Tartar, out!
Out, loathèd med’cine! O, hated potion, hence!

...so do you.
Demetrius, I will keep my word with thee.

...trust your word.
What? Should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead?
Although I hate her, I’ll not harm her so.

...shall I say?
Ay, by my life,
And never did desire to see thee more.
Therefore be out of hope, of question, of doubt.
Be certain, nothing truer, ’tis no jest
That I do hate thee and love Helena.
Hermia turns him loose.

... With Demetrius.
Be not afraid. She shall not harm thee, Helena.

...come to her.
Get you gone, you dwarf,
You minimus of hind’ring knotgrass made,
You bead, you acorn—

...shalt aby it.
Now she holds me not.
Now follow, if thou dar’st, to try whose right,
Of thine or mine, is most in Helena.

...cheek by jowl.
Demetrius and Lysander exit.

...Here comes one.
Enter Lysander.
Where art thou, proud Demetrius? Speak thou now.

...Where art thou?
I will be with thee straight.

...to plainer ground.
Lysander exits.

...no manhood here.
Enter Lysander.
He goes before me and still dares me on.
When I come where he calls, then he is gone.
The villain is much lighter-heeled than I.
I followed fast, but faster he did fly,
That fallen am I in dark uneven way,
And here will rest me. Come, thou gentle day,
For if but once thou show me thy gray light,
I’ll find Demetrius and revenge this spite.
He lies down and sleeps.

...Gentle lover, remedy.
Robin applies the nectar to Lysander’s eyes.

ACT 4
Scene 1

...with their horns.
They all start up.

...to couple now?
Demetrius, Helena, Hermia, and Lysander kneel.
Pardon, my lord.

...all, stand up.
They rise.

...fear no enmity?
My lord, I shall reply amazèdly,
Half sleep, half waking. But as yet, I swear,
I cannot truly say how I came here.
But, as I think—for truly would I speak,
And now I do bethink me, so it is:
I came with Hermia hither. Our intent
Was to be gone from Athens, where we might,
Without the peril of the Athenian law—

... And Hippolyta.
And he did bid us follow to the temple.

...recount our dreams.
Lovers exit.

ACT 5
Scene 1

...strange and admirable.
Enter Lovers: Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena.

...Accompany your hearts!
More than to us
Wait in your royal walks, your board, your bed!

...stand upon points.
He hath rid his prologue like a rough colt;
he knows not the stop. A good moral, my lord: it is
not enough to speak, but to speak true.

...e’er I saw.
This lion is a very fox for his valor.

...stay the time.
Proceed, Moon.

...then came Pyramus.
And so the lion vanished.

...is but one.
Less than an ace, man, for he is dead, he is
nothing.

...God bless us.
She hath spied him already with those
sweet eyes.

...and new jollity.
They exit.