"Tales from Shakespeare"
Charles and Mary Lamb
THERE was a law in the city of Athens which gave
to its citizens the power of compelling their daughters to marry
whomsoever they pleased; for upon a daughter’s refusing to marry the man
her father had chosen to be her husband, the father was empowered by this
law to cause her to be put to death; but as fathers do not often desire
the death of their own daughters, even though they do happen to prove a
little refractory, this law was seldom or never put in execution, though
perhaps the young ladies of that city were not unfrequently threatened by
their parents with the terrors of it. |
There was one instance, however, of an old man, whose name
was Egeus, who actually did come before Theseus (at that time the reigning
duke of Athens), to complain that his daughter Hermia, whom he had
commanded to marry Demetrius, a young man of a noble Athenian family,
refused to obey him, because she loved another young Athenian, named
Lysander. Egeus demanded justice of Theseus, and desired that this cruel
law might be put in force against his daughter. |
Hermia pleaded in excuse for her disobedience, that
Demetrius had formerly professed love for her dear friend Helena, and that
Helena loved Demetrius to distraction; but this honourable reason, which
Hermia gave for not obeying her father’s command, moved not the stern
Egeus. |
Theseus, though a great and merciful prince, had no power to
alter the laws of his country; therefore he could only give Hermia four
days to consider of it: and at the end of that time, if she still refused
to marry Demetrius, she was to be put to death. |
When Hermia was dismissed from the presence of the duke, she
went to her lover Lysander, and told him the peril she was in, and that
she must either give him up and marry Demetrius, or lose her life in four
days. |
Lysander was in great affliction at hearing these evil
tidings; but recollecting that he had an aunt who lived at some distance
from Athens, and that at the place where she lived the cruel law could not
be put in force against Hermia (this law not extending beyond the
boundaries of the city), he proposed to Hermia that she should steal out
of her father’s house that night, and go with him to his aunt’s house,
where he would marry her. “I will meet you,” said Lysander, “in the
wood a few miles without the city; in that delightful wood where we have
so often walked with Helena in the pleasant month of May.” |
To this proposal Hermia joyfully agreed; and she told no one
of her intended flight but her friend Helena. Helena (as maidens will do
foolish things for love) very ungenerously resolved to go and tell this to
Demetrius, though she could hope no benefit from betraying her friend’s
secret, but the poor pleasure of following her faithless lover to the
wood; for she well knew that Demetrius would go thither in pursuit of
Hermia. |
The wood in which Lysander and Hermia proposed to meet was
the favourite haunt of those little beings known by the name of Fairies. |
Oberon the king, and Titania the queen of the fairies, with
all their tiny train of followers, in this wood held their midnight
revels. |
Between this little king and queen of sprites there
happened, at this time, a sad disagreement; they never met by moonlight in
the shady walks of this pleasant wood, but they were quarrelling, till all
their fairy elves would creep into acorn-cups and hide themselves for
fear. |
The cause of this unhappy disagreement was Titania’s
refusing to give Oberon a little changeling boy, whose mother had been
Titania’s friend; and upon her death the fairy queen stole the child
from its nurse, and brought him up in the woods. |
The night on which the lovers were to meet in this wood, as
Titania was walking with some of her maids of honour, she met Oberon
attended by his train of fairy courtiers. |
“Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania,” said the fairy
king. The queen replied, “What, jealous Oberon, is it you? Fairies, skip
hence; I have foresworn his company.”—“Tarry, rash fairy,” said
Oberon; “am not I thy lord? Why does Titania cross her Oberon? Give me
your little changeling boy to be my page.” |
Set your heart at rest,” answered the queen; “your whole
fairy kingdom buys not the boy of me.” She then left her lord in great
anger. “Well, go your way,” said Oberon “before the morning dawns I
will torment you for this injury.” |
Oberon then sent for Puck, his chief favourite and privy
counsellor. |
Puck (or as he was sometimes called, Robin Goodfellow) was a
shrewd and knavish sprite, that used to play comical pranks in the
neighbouring villages; sometimes getting into the dairies and skimming the
milk, sometimes plunging his light and airy form into the butter-churn,
and while he was dancing his fantastic shape in the churn, in vain the
dairymaid would labour to change her cream into butter: nor had the
village swains any better success; whenever Puck chose to play his freaks
in the brewing copper, the ale was sure to be spoiled. When a few good
neighbours were met to drink some comfortable ale together, Puck would
jump into the bowl of ale in the likeness of a roasted crab, and when some
old goody was going to drink he would bob against her lips, and spill the
ale over her withered chin; and presently after, when the same old dame
was gravely seating herself to tell her neighbours a sad and melancholy
story, Puck would slip her three-legged stool from under her, and down
toppled the poor old woman, and then the old gossips would hold their
sides and laugh at her, and swear they never wasted a merrier hour. |
“Come hither, Puck,” said Oberon to this little merry
wanderer of the night; “fetch me the flower which maids call Love in
Idleness; the juice of that little purple flower laid on the eyelids
of those who sleep, will make them, when they awake, dote on the first
thing they see. Some of the juice of that flower I will drop on the
eyelids of my Titania when she is asleep; and the first thing she looks
upon when she opens her eyes she will fall in love with, even though it be
a lion or a bear, a meddling monkey, or a busy ape; and before I will take
this charm from off her sight, which I can do with another charm I know
of, I will make her give me that boy to be my page.” |
Puck, who loved mischief to his heart, was highly diverted
with this intended frolic of his master, and ran to seek the flower; and
while Oberon was waiting the return of Puck, he observed Demetrius and
Helena enter the wood; he overheard Demetrius reproaching Helena for
following him, and after many unkind words on his part, and gentle
expostulations from Helena, reminding him of his former love and
professions of true faith to her, he left her, as he said, to the mercy of
the wild beasts, and she ran after him as swiftly as she could. |
The fairy king, who was always friendly to true lovers, felt
great compassion for Helena; and perhaps, as Lysander said they used to
walk by moonlight in this pleasant wood, Oberon might have seen Helena in
those happy times when she was beloved by Demetrius. However that might
be, when Puck returned with the little purple flower, Oberon said to his
favourite, “Take a part of this flower; there has been a sweet Athenian
lady here, who is in love with a disdainful youth; if you find him
sleeping, drop some of the love-juice in his eyes, but contrive to do it
when she is near him, that the first thing he sees when he awakes may be
this despised lady. You will know the man by the Athenian garments which
he wears.” Puck promised to manage this matter very dexterously: and
then Oberon went, unperceived by Titania, to her bower, where she was
preparing to go to rest. Her fairy bower was a bank, where grew wild
thyme, cowslips, and sweet violets, under a canopy of woodbine,
musk-roses, and eglantine. There Titania always slept some part of the
night; her coverlet the enamelled skin of a snake, which, though a small
mantle, was wide enough to wrap a fairy in. |
He found Titania giving orders to her fairies, how they were
to employ themselves while she slept. “Some of you,” said her majesty,
“must kill cankers in the musk-rose buds, and some wage war with the
bats for their leathern wings, to make my small elves coats; and some of
you keep watch that the clamorous owl, that nightly hoots, come not near
me: but first sing me to sleep.” Then they began to sing this song:
|
“You spotted snakes with double tongue, |
|
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen |
|
Newts and blind-worms do no wrong |
|
Come not near our Fairy Queen. |
|
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.” |
|
When the fairies had sung their queen asleep with this
pretty lullaby, they left her to perform the important services she had
enjoined them. Oberon then softly drew near his Titania, and dropped some
of the love-juice on her eyelids, saying:
|
“What thou seest when thou wake |
|
Do it for thy true-love take.” |
|
But to return to Hermia, who made her escape out of her
father’s house that night, to avoid the death she was doomed to for
refusing to marry Demetrius. When she entered the wood, she found her dear
Lysander waiting for her, to conduct her to his aunt’s house; but before
they had passed half through the wood, Hermia was so much fatigued, that
Lysander, who was very careful of this dear lady, who had proved her
affection for him even by hazarding her life for his sake, persuaded her
to rest till morning on a bank of soft moss, and lying down himself on the
ground at some little distance, they soon fell fast asleep. Here they were
found by Puck, who, seeing a handsome young man asleep, and perceiving
that his clothes were made in the Athenian fashion, and that a pretty lady
was sleeping near him, concluded that this must be the Athenian maid and
her disdainful lover whom Oberon had sent him to seek; and he naturally
enough conjectured that, as they were alone together, she must be the
first thing he would see when he awoke; so, without more ado, he proceeded
to pour some of the juice of the little purple flower into his eyes. But
it so fell out, that Helena came that way, and, instead of Hermia, was the
first object Lysander beheld when he opened his eyes; and strange to
relate, so powerful was the love-charm, all his love for Hermia vanished
away, and Lysander fell in love with Helena. |
Had he first seen Hermia when he awoke, the blunder Puck
committed would have been of no consequence, for he could not love that
faithful lady too well; but for poor Lysander to be forced by a fairy
love-charm to forget his own true Hermia, and to run after another lady,
and leave Hermia asleep quite alone in a wood at midnight, was a sad
chance indeed. |
Thus this misfortune happened. Helena, as has been before
related, endeavoured to keep pace with Demetrius when he ran away so
rudely from her; but she could not continue this unequal race long, men
being always better runners in a long race than ladies. Helena soon lost
sight of Demetrius; and as she was wandering about, dejected and forlorn,
she arrived at the place where Lysander was sleeping. “Ah!” said she,
“this is Lysander lying on the ground: is he dead or asleep?” Then,
gently touching him, she said: “Good sir, if you are alive, awake.”
Upon this Lysander opened his eyes, and (the love-charm beginning to work)
immediately addressed her in terms of extravagant love and admiration;
telling her she as much excelled Hermia in beauty as a dove does a raven,
and that he would run through fire for her sweet sake; and many more such
lover-like speeches. Helena, knowing Lysander was her friend Hermia’s
lover, and that he was solemnly engaged to marry her, was in the utmost
rage when she heard herself addressed in this manner, for she thought (as
well she might) that Lysander was making a jest of her. “Oh!” said
she, “why was I born to be mocked and scorned by every one? Is it not
enough, is it not enough, young man, that I can never get a sweet look or
a kind word from Demetrius; but you, sir, must pretend in this disdainful
manner to court me? I thought, Lysander, you were a lord of more true
gentleness.” Saying these words in great anger, she ran away; and
Lysander followed her, quite forgetful of his own Hermia, who was still
asleep. |
When Hermia awoke, she was in a sad fright at finding
herself alone. She wandered about the wood, not knowing what was become of
Lysander, or which way to go to seek for him. In the meantime Demetrius,
not being able to find Hermia and his rival Lysander, and fatigued with
his fruitless search, was observed by Oberon fast asleep. Oberon had
learnt by some questions he had asked of Puck, that he had applied the
love-charm to the wrong person’s eyes; and now having found the person
first intended, he touched the eyelids of the sleeping Demetrius with the
love-juice, and he instantly awoke; and the first thing he saw being
Helena, he, as Lysander had done before, began to address love-speeches to
her; and just at that moment Lysander, followed by Hermia (for through
Puck’s unlucky mistake it was now become Hermia’s turn to run after
her lover) made his appearance; and then Lysander and Demetrius, both
speaking together, made love to Helena, they being each one under the
influence of the same potent charm. |
The astonished Helena thought that Demetrius, Lysander, and
her once dear friend Hermia, were all in a plot together to make a jest of
her. |
Hermia was as much surprised as Helena; she knew not why
Lysander and Demetrius, who both before loved her, were now become the
lovers of Helena; and to Hermia the matter seemed to be no jest. |
The ladies, who before had always been the dearest of
friends, now fell to high words together. |
“Unkind Hermia,” said Helena, “it is you have set
Lysander on to vex me with mock praises; and your other lover Demetrius,
who used almost to spurn me with his foot, have you not bid him call me
Goddess, Nymph, rare, precious, and celestial? He would not speak thus to
me, whom he hates, if you did not set him on to make a jest of me. Unkind
Hermia, to join with men in scorning your poor friend. Have you forgot our
school-day friendship? How often, Hermia, have we two, sitting on one
cushion, both singing one song, with our needles working the same flower,
both on the same sampler wrought; growing up together in fashion of a
double cherry, scarcely seeming parted! Hermia, it is not friendly in you,
it is not maidenly to join with men in scorning your poor friend.” |
“I am amazed at your passionate words,” said Hermia;
“I scorn you not; it seems you scorn me.”—“Ay, do,” returned
Hermia, “persevere, counterfeit serious looks, and make mouths at me
when I turn my back; then wink at each other, and hold the sweet jest up.
If you had any pity, grace, or manners, you would not use me thus.” |
While Helena and Hermia were speaking these angry words to
each other, Demetrius and Lysander left them, to fight together in the
wood for the love of Helena. |
When they found the gentlemen had left them, they departed,
and once more wandered weary in the wood in search of their lovers. |
As soon as they were gone, the fairy king, who with little
Puck had been listening to their quarrels, said to him, “This is your
negligence, Puck; or did you do this wilfully?”—“Believe me, king of
shadows,” answered Puck, “it was a mistake; did not you tell me I
should know the man by his Athenian garments? However, I am not sorry this
has happened, for I think their jangling makes excellent
sport.”—“You heard,” said Oberon, “that Demetrius and Lysander
are gone to seek a convenient place to fight in. I command you to overhang
the night with a thick fog, and lead these quarrelsome lovers so astray in
the dark, that they shall not be able to kind each other. Counterfeit each
of their voices to the other, and with bitter taunts provoke them to
follow you, while they think it is their rival’s tongue they hear. See
you do this, till they are so weary they can go no farther; and when you
find they are asleep, drop the juice of this other flower into
Lysander’s eyes, and when he awakes he will forget his new love for
Helena, and return to his old passion for Hermia; and then the two fair
ladies may each one be happy with the man she loves, and they will think
all that has passed a vexatious dream. About this quickly, Puck, and I
will go and see what sweet love my Titania has found.” |
Titania was still sleeping, and Oberon seeing a clown near
her, who had lost his way in the wood, and was likewise asleep: “This
fellow,” said he, “shall be my Titania’s true love;” and clapping
an ass’s head over the clown’s, it seemed to fit him as well as if it
had grown upon his own shoulders. Though Oberon fixed the ass’s head on
very gently, it awakened him, and rising up, unconscious of what Oberon
had done to him, he went towards the bower where the fairy queen slept. |
“Ah! what angel is that I see?” said Titania, opening
her eyes, and the juice of the little purple flower beginning to take
effect; “are you as wise as you are beautiful?” |
“Why, mistress,” said the foolish clown, “if I have
wit enough to find the way out of this wood, I have enough to serve my
turn.” |
“Out of the wood do not desire to go,” said the
enamoured queen. “I am a spirit of no common rate. I love you. Go with
me, and I will give you fairies to attend upon you.” |
She then called four of her fairies: their names were,
Pease-blossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustard-seed. |
“Attend,” said the queen, “upon this sweet gentleman;
hop in his walks, and gambol in his sight; feed him with grapes and
apricots, and steal for him the honey-bags from the bees. Come, sit with
me,” said she to the clown, “and let me play with your amiable hairy
cheeks, my beautiful ass! and kiss your fair large ears, my gentle joy!” |
“Where is Pease-blossom?” said the ass-headed clown, not
much regarding the fairy queen’s courtship, but very proud of his new
attendants. |
“Here, sir,” said little Pease-blossom. |
“Scratch my head,” said the clown. “Where is
Cobweb?” |
“Here, sir,” said Cobweb. |
“Good Mr. Cobweb,” said the foolish clown, “kill me
the red humble bee on the top of that thistle yonder; and, good Mr.
Cobweb, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the
action, Mr. Cobweb, and take care the honey-bag break not; I should be
sorry to have you overflown with a honey-bag. Where is Mustard-seed?” |
“Here, sir,” said Mustard-seed: “what is your will?” |
“Nothing,” said the clown, “good Mr. Mustard-seed, but
to help Mr. Pease-blossom to scratch; I must go to a barber’s, Mr.
Mustard-seed, for methinks I am marvellous hairy about the face.” |
“My sweet love,” said the queen, “what will you have
to eat? I have a venturous fairy shall seek the squirrel’s hoard, and
fetch you some new nuts.” |
“I had rather have a handful of dried pease,” said the
clown, who with his ass’s head had got an ass’s appetite. “But, I
pray, let none of your people disturb me, for I have a mind to sleep.” |
“Sleep, then,” said the queen, “and I will wind you in
my arms. O how I love you! how I dote upon you!” |
When the fairy king saw the clown sleeping in the arms of
his queen, he advanced within her sight, and reproached her with having
lavished her favours upon an ass. |
This she could not deny, as the clown was then sleeping
within her arms, with his ass’s head crowned by her with flowers. |
When Oberon had teased her for some time, he again demanded
the changeling boy; which she, ashamed of being discovered by her lord
with her new favourite, did not dare to refuse him. |
Oberon, having thus obtained the little boy he had so long
wished for to be his page, took pity on the disgraceful situation into
which, by his merry contrivance, he had brought his Titania and threw some
of the juice of the other flower into her eyes; and the fairy queen
immediately recovered her senses, and wondered at her late dotage, saying
how she now loathed the sight of the strange monster. |
Oberon likewise took the ass’s head from off the clown,
and left him to finish his nap with his own fool’s head upon his
shoulders. |
Oberon and his Titania being now perfectly reconciled, he
related to her the history of the lovers, and their midnight quarrels; and
she agreed to go with him and see the end of their adventures. |
The fairy king and queen found the lovers and their fair
ladies, at no great distance from each other, sleeping on a grass-plot;
for Puck, to make amends for his former mistake, had contrived with the
utmost diligence to bring them all to the same spot, unknown to each
other: and he had carefully removed the charm from off the eyes of
Lysander with the antidote the fairy king gave to him. |
Hermia first awoke, and finding her lost Lysander asleep so
near her, was looking at him and wondering at his strange inconstancy.
Lysander presently opening his eyes, and seeing his dear Hermia, recovered
his reason which the fairy charm had before clouded, and with his reason,
his love for Hermia; and they began to talk over the adventures of the
night, doubting if these things had really happened, or if they had both
been dreaming the same bewildering dream. |
Helena and Demetrius were by this time awake; and a sweet
sleep having quieted Helena’s disturbed and angry spirits, she listened
with delight to the professions of love which Demetrius still made to her,
and which, to her surprise as well as pleasure, she began to perceive were
sincere. |
These fair night-wandering ladies, now no longer rivals,
became once more true friends; all the unkind words which had passed were
forgiven, and they calmly consulted together what was best to be done in
their present situation. It was soon agreed that, as Demetrius had given
up his pretensions to Hermia, he should endeavour to prevail upon her
father to revoke the cruel sentence of death which had been passed against
her. Demetrius was preparing to return to Athens for this friendly
purpose, when they were surprised with the sight of Egeus, Hermia’s
father, who came to the wood in pursuit of his runaway daughter. |
When Egeus understood that Demetrius would not now marry his
daughter, he no longer opposed her marriage with Lysander, but gave his
consent that they should be wedded on the fourth day from that time, being
the same day on which Hermia had been condemned to lose her life; and on
that same day Helena joyfully agreed to marry her beloved and now faithful
Demetrius. |
The fairy king and queen, who were invisible spectators of
this reconciliation, and now saw the happy ending of the lovers’
history, brought about through the good offices of Oberon, received so
much pleasure, that these kind spirits resolved to celebrate the
approaching nuptials with sports and revels throughout their fairy
kingdom. |
And now, if any are offended with this story of fairies and
their pranks, as judging it incredible and strange, they have only to
think that they have been asleep and dreaming, and that all these
adventures were visions which they saw in their sleep: and I hope none of
my readers will be so unreasonable as to be offended with a pretty
harmless Midsummer Night’s Dream. |