No Fear Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Get this No Fear to go!
Act 3, Scene 2, Page 2
Original Text |
Modern Text |
|
|
30 |
He “Murder!” cries and help from Athens
calls.
Their sense thus weak, lost with their fears thus strong,
Made senseless things begin to do them wrong.
For briers and thorns at their apparel snatch,
Some sleeves, some hats—from yielders all things catch.
I led them on in this distracted fear
And left sweet Pyramus translated there.
When in that moment so it came to pass,
Titania waked and straightway loved an ass.
|
Pyramus there, transformed into someone with a donkey’s
head. At that exact moment, Titania woke up and immediately fell in
love with him, an ass.
|
|
35 |
OBERON
This falls out better than I could devise.
But hast thou yet latched the Athenian’s eyes
With the love juice, as I did bid thee do?
|
OBERON
This is going even better than I planned. But have you put the
love juice from the flower on the eyes of that Athenian, as I asked
you to do?
|
|
40 |
ROBIN
I took him sleeping—that is finished too—
And the Athenian woman by his side,
That, when he waked, of force she must be eyed.
|
ROBIN
Yes, I found him when he was asleep—so
that’s taken care of too—and the Athenian
woman was sleeping near him. When he woke up, he must have seen
her.
|
Enter DEMETRIUS and
HERMIA
|
DEMETRIUS and HERMIA
enter. |
|
|
OBERON
(aside to
ROBIN) Stand close. This is the same
Athenian.
|
OBERON
(speaking so that only ROBIN
can hear) Step aside.
Here’s the Athenian coming now.
|
|
|
ROBIN
(aside to
OBERON) This is the woman, but not
this the man.
|
ROBIN
(speaking so that only OBERON
can hear) That’s
definitely the woman I saw, but it’s not the same
man.
|
|
|
|
DEMETRIUS
Oh, why rebuke you him that loves you so?
Lay breath so bitter on your bitter foe.
|
DEMETRIUS
Why are you so rude to someone who loves you so much? Save that
kind of harsh language for your worst enemy.
|
|
45 |
HERMIA
Now I but chide, but I should use thee worse.
For thou, I fear, hast given me cause to curse.
If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep,
Being o'er shoes in blood, plunge in the deep,
And kill me too.
|
HERMIA
I’m only scolding you now, but I should treat you much
worse, because I’m afraid you’ve given me good
reason to curse you. If you killed Lysander while he was sleeping,
then you’re already up to your ankles in blood. You might
as well jump right into a bloodbath and kill me, too.
|
