PERSONS REPRESENTED. THESEUS, duke of Athens. } in love with Hermia. PHILOSTRATE, master of the revels to Theseus. SNUG, the joiner. BOTTOM, the weaver. SNOUT, the tinker. STARVELING, the tailor. HIPPOLYTA, queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus. HERMIA, daughter to Egeus, in love with Lysander. HELENA, in love with Demetrius. Other Fairies, attending their king and queen. dants on Theseus and Hippolyta. SCENE, Athens and a Wood not far from it. Atten MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM. ACT I. SCENE I.-Athens. A Room in the Palace of THESEUS. Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants. Theseus. Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour 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 The. Go, Philostrate, Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments; The pale companion is not for our pomp. With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling. [Ex. PHIL. Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and DEMETRIUS. The. Thanks, good Egeus: What's the news with thee? Against my child, my daughter Hermia, -Stand forth, Lysander ;-and, my gracious duke, VOL. III. A 2 -Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes, I beg the ancient privilege of Athens ; The. What say you, Hermia? be advis'd, fair maid: To 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 Her. So is Lysander. The. In himself he is : But, in this kind, wanting your father's voice, Her. I would my father look'd but with my eyes. 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: If I refuse to wed Demetrius. The. Either to die the death, or to abjure [1] By a law of Solon, parents had an absolute power of life and death over their children. So it suited the poet's purpose well enough to suppose the Athenians had it before. Or perhaps be neither thought nor knew any thing of the matter. WARBURTON. [2] Shakespeare employs this scriptural expression in King Jobn; and I meet with it again in the 2d part of the Downfall of Robert Earl of Huntingdon. STEEVENS. |