No Fear Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

William Shakespeare

Get this No Fear to go!

Act 2, Scene 2, Page 2

Original Text

Modern Text


Beetles black, approach not near.
Worm nor snail, do no offense.
Black beetles, don’t come near.
Worms and snails, don’t be bad.








FAIRIES
(sing)
Philomel, with melody
Sing in our sweet lullaby.
Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby.
Never harm
Nor spell nor charm
Come our lovely lady nigh.
So good night, with lullaby.
FAIRIES
(singing)
Nightingale, melodiously
Sing our sweet lullaby.
Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby.
Let no harm
Or spell or charm
Come near our lovely lady.
Say good night with a lullaby.
TITANIA sleeps
TITANIA falls asleep.


SECOND FAIRY
Hence, away! Now all is well.
One aloof stand sentinel.
SECOND FAIRY
Okay, let’s go! Everything’s fine now. One of us will stay and stand guard.
Exeunt FAIRIES
The FAIRIES exit.
Enter OBERON
OBERON enters.

15




20


OBERON
(squeezing flower juice on TITANIA ’s eyelids)
What thou seest when thou dost wake,
Do it for thy true love take.
Love and languish for his sake.
Be it ounce or cat or bear,
Pard or boar with bristled hair,
In thy eye that shall appear,
When thou wakest, it is thy dear.
Wake when some vile thing is near.
OBERON
(he squeezes flower juice on TITANIA ’s eyelids)
Whatever you see first when you wake up, think of it as your true love. Love him and yearn for him, even if he’s a lynx, a cat, a bear, a leopard, or a wild boar. Whatever’s there when you wake up will be dear to you. Wake up when something nasty is nearby.
Exit OBERON
OBERON exits.
Enter LYSANDER and HERMIA
LYSANDER and HERMIA enter.


25
LYSANDER
Fair love, you faint with wandering in the wood.
And to speak troth, I have forgot our way.
LYSANDER
My love, you look like you’re about to faint from wandering in the woods for so long, and to tell you the truth, I’ve gotten us lost.

More Help

Watch the Video SparkNote

A quick and easy plot summary of A Midsummer Night's Dream

Read the A Midsummer Night’s Dream SparkNote

Summary, analysis, themes, essay topics, and more

Download the iPhone app

Download the No Fear Shakespeare app for iPhone®/iPod touch™ from iTunes

Buy No Fear A Midsummer Night's Dream at BN.com

Get the No Fear Shakespeare you can hold in your hand at BN.com

EVEN MORE HELP! ↓

Take a Study Break

Green YOUR SCHOOL!

Click here to get involved with dosomething.org!

John Krasinski's BIG MIRACLE

Click to watch the trailer and read exclusive star interviews!

Do you like Anna?

Read Dear Albert... from ANNA's perspective!

BATTLESHIP, the movie

Here's why we're super jazzed about it.