No Fear Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Get this No Fear to go!
Act 3, Scene 1, Page 6
Original Text | Modern Text | |
55 |
SNOUT
O Bottom, thou art changed! What do I see on thee?
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SNOUT
Oh, Bottom, you’ve changed! What have you got on your
head?
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BOTTOM
What do you see? You see an ass head of your own, do you?
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BOTTOM
What do you think I’ve got on my head?
You’re acting like an ass, don’t you
think?
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Exit SNOUT
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SNOUT exits. | |
Enter QUINCE
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QUINCE enters. | |
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QUINCE
Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee. Thou art translated.
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QUINCE
God bless you, Bottom, God bless you. You’ve been
changed. Reborn.
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Exit QUINCE
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QUINCE exits. | |
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BOTTOM
I see their knavery: this is to make an ass of me, to fright me if
they could. But I will not stir from this place, do what they can. I
will walk up and down here and I will sing, that they shall hear I
am not afraid.
(sings)
The ouzel cock, so black of
hue
With orange-tawny bill,
The throstle with his note so
true,
The wren with little
quill—
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BOTTOM
I see what they’re up to. They want to make an ass of
me, to scare me if they can. But I won’t leave this spot,
no matter what they do. I’ll walk up and down and sing a
song, so they’ll know I’m not afraid.
(singing)
The blackbird with its black
feathers
And its orange-and-tan
beak,
The thrush with its clear
voice,
The wren with its small, piping
chirp—
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60 |
TITANIA
(waking) What angel wakes me from
my flowery bed?
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TITANIA
(waking up) What angel is this
who’s waking me up from my bed of flowers?
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BOTTOM
(sings)
The finch, the sparrow, and the
lark,
The plainsong cuckoo
gray,
Whose note full many a man doth
mark
And dares not answer
“Nay”—
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BOTTOM
(singing)
The finch, the sparrow, and the
lark,
The gray cuckoo with his simple
song
That many men hear
But they don’t dare
say no to it—
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