Read Brick Shakespeare: The Comedies—A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Taming of the Shrew for Free Online Page B

is—no, no—which was the fairest dame
    That lived, that loved, that liked, that look’d with cheer.
    Come, tears, confound;
    Out, sword, and wound
    The pap of Pyramus;
    Ay, that left pap,
    Where heart doth hop:

    BOTTOM [as Pyramus] (cont.)
    Thus die I, thus, thus, thus.
    Now am I dead,
    Now am I fled;
    My soul is in the sky:
    Tongue, lose thy light;

    BOTTOM [as Pyramus] (cont.)
    Moon take thy flight:

    BOTTOM [as Pyramus] (cont.)
    Now die, die, die, die, die.

    DEMETRIUS
    No die, but an ace, for him; for he is but one.

    LYSANDER
    Less than an ace, man; for he is dead; he is nothing.

    THESEUS
    With the help of a surgeon he might yet recover, and prove an ass.

    HIPPOLYTA
    How chance Moonshine is gone before thisby comes back and finds her lover?

    THESEUS
    She will find him by starlight. Here she comes; and her passion ends the play.

    HIPPOLYTA
    Methinks she should not use a long one for such a
    Pyramus: I hope she will be brief.

    DEMETRIUS
    A mote will turn the balance, which Pyramus, which
    thisby, is the better; he for a man, God warrant us; she for a woman, God bless us.

    LYSANDER
    She hath spied him already with those sweet eyes.
    DEMETRIUS
    And thus she means, videlicet:—

    FLUTE [as thisby]
    Asleep, my love?
    What, dead, my dove?
    O Pyramus, arise!
    Speak, speak. Quite dumb?
    Dead, dead? A tomb
    Must cover thy sweet eyes.
    These my lips,
    This cherry nose,
    These yellow cowslip cheeks,
    Are gone, are gone:
    Lovers, make moan:
    His eyes were green as leeks.

    FLUTE [as thisby] (cont.)
    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.

    FLUTE [as thisby] (cont.)
    Tongue, not a word:
    Come, trusty sword;
    Come, blade, my breast imbrue:

    FLUTE [as thisby] (cont.)
    And, farewell, friends;
    Thus Thisby ends:
    Adieu, adieu, adieu.

    THESEUS
    Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead.
    DEMETRIUS
    Ay, and Wall too.

ACT V. Scene I (406–421).

PUCK
    If we shadows have offended,
    Think but this, and all is mended,
    That you have but slumber’d here
    While these visions did appear.
    And this weak and idle theme,
    No more yielding but a dream,
    Gentles, do not reprehend: if you pardon, we will mend:
    And, as I am an honest Puck,
    If we have unearned luck
    Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue,
    We will make amends ere long;
    Else the Puck a liar call;
    So, good night unto you all.
    Give me your hands, if we be friends,
    And Robin shall restore amends.

The Tempest

I NTRODUCTION
    T he Tempest was written around 1610 and is thought to be one of the last of Shakespeare’s plays. The play centers on Prospero, the Duke of Milan, and his daughter Miranda, who have been stranded on a deserted island for many years, since Prospero’s ambitious brother stole his position as Duke and set Prospero and Miranda adrift.
    While many of Shakespeare’s other plays explore the theme of magic to some extent, The Tempest deals with this topic directly. Magic is both the cause and the solution to the problems that arise in the play: Prospero ignored his duties as Duke of Milan, spending his days studying as his brother plotted to overthrow him. But when Prospero and baby Miranda are sent out to sea, they are able to survive because Gonzalo slips them Prospero’s magic books.
    As with other plays that explore magical themes, Prospero’s craft is sometimes used to draw parallels to the art of theater. In fact, some scholars think the character Prospero represented Shakespeare himself, as the artist-magician who set the fantastical scenes of the play in motion. Prospero spends much of the play running around behind the scenes, moving his plan along with the help of his magical right-hand man. The way he uses his magic is particularly theatrical as well: he plays on his audience’s perception, using strange noises to lead them where he wants them to go and intimidating them with visual displays and neat parlor tricks, like having a banquet