THISBE.
Asleep, my love?
What, dead, my dove?
O Pyramus, arise,
Speak, speak. Quite dumb?
Dead, dead? A tomb
Must cover thy sweet eyes.
These lily lips,
This cherry nose,
These yellow cowslip cheeks,
Are gone, are gone!
Lovers, make moan;
His eyes were green as leeks.
O Sisters Three,
Come, come to me,
With hands as pale as milk;
Lay them in gore,
Since you have shore
With shears his thread of silk.
Tongue, not a word:
Come, trusty sword,
Come, blade, my breast imbrue;
And farewell, friends.
Thus Thisbe ends.
Adieu, adieu, adieu.
[_Dies._]
THESEUS.
Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead.
DEMETRIUS.
Ay, and Wall too.
BOTTOM.
No, I assure you; the wall is down that parted their fathers. Will it
please you to see the epilogue, or to hear a Bergomask dance between
two of our company?
THESEUS.
No epilogue, I pray you; for your play needs no excuse. Never excuse;
for when the players are all dead there need none to be blamed. Marry,
if he that writ it had played Pyramus, and hanged himself in Thisbe’s
garter, it would have been a fine tragedy; and so it is, truly; and
very notably discharged. But come, your Bergomask; let your epilogue
alone.
[_Here a dance of Clowns._]
The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve.
Lovers, to bed; ’tis almost fairy time.
I fear we shall outsleep the coming morn
As much as we this night have overwatch’d.
This palpable-gross play hath well beguil’d
The heavy gait of night. Sweet friends, to bed.
A fortnight hold we this solemnity
In nightly revels and new jollity.
[_Exeunt._]
Enter Puck.
PUCK.
Now the hungry lion roars,
And the wolf behowls the moon;
Whilst the heavy ploughman snores,
All with weary task fordone.
Now the wasted brands do glow,
Whilst the screech-owl, screeching loud,
Puts the wretch that lies in woe
In remembrance of a shroud.
Now it is the time of night
That the graves, all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the church-way paths to glide.
And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate’s team
From the presence of the sun,
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic; not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallow’d house.
I am sent with broom before,
To sweep the dust behind the door.
Enter Oberon and Titania with their Train.
OBERON.
Through the house give glimmering light,
By the dead and drowsy fire.
Every elf and fairy sprite
Hop as light as bird from brier,
And this ditty after me,
Sing and dance it trippingly.
TITANIA.
First rehearse your song by rote,
To each word a warbling note;
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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