OBERON

Ill met by moonlight, proud Tytania. Tarry, rash wanton. Am not I thy Lord? How canst thou thus, for shame, Tytania, Glance at my credit, with Hippolita? Knowing, I know thy love to Theseus. Didst not thou led him through the glimmering night. From Perigenia, whom he ravished? And make him, with fair Eagles, break his faith With Ariadne, and Antiopa? How long, within this wood, intend you stay? Give me that boy, and I will go with thee. Well: go thy way. Thou shalt not from this grove, Till I torment thee, for this injury. My gentle Puck come hither: thou remembrest, Since once I sat upon a promontory, And herd a Mere maid, on a Dolphins back, Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath, That the rude sea grew civil at her song, And cettaine stars shot madly from their Spheres, To hear the Sea-maids music. That very time, I saw (but thou couldst not) Flying between the cold Moon and the earth, Cupid, all armed: a certain aim he took At a fair Vestal, throned by west, And loosed his love-shaft smartly, from his bow, As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts: But, I might see young Cupid's fiery shaft Quenched in the chased beams of the watery Moon: And the imperial Votress passed on, In maiden meditation, fancy free. Yet marked I, where the bolt of Cupid fell. It fell upon a little western flower; Before, milk white; now purple, with loves wound, And maidens call it, Love in idleness. Fetch me that flower: the herb I showed thee once. The iewce of it, on sleeping eyelids laid, Will make or man or woman madly dote, Upon the next live creature that it sees. Fetch me this herb, and be thou here again Ere the Leviathan can swim a league. Fare thee well Nymph. Ere he do leave this grove, Thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love. Hast thou the flower there? Welcome wanderer. I pray thee give it me. I know a bank where the wild time blows, Where Oxlips, and the nodding Violet grows, Quite ouercanopi'd with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk roses, and with Eglantine: There sleeps Tytania, sometime of the night, Lulled in these flowers, with dances and delight: And there the snake throws her enammeld skin, Weed wide enough to wrap a Fairy in. And, with the juice of this, I'll streak her eyes, And make her full of hateful fantasies. Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove: A sweet Athenian Lady is in love, With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes. But do it, when the next thing he espies, May be the Lady. Thou shalt know the man, By the Athenian garments he hath on. Effect it with some care; that he may prove More found on her, then she upon her love: And look thou meet me ere the first Cock crow. What thou seest, when thou dost wake, Do it for thy true love take: Love and languish for his sake. Be it Ounce, or Cat, or Bear, Pard, or Boar with bristled hair, In thy eye that shall appear, When thou wakest, it is thy deer: Wake, when some vile thing is near. I wonder if Titania be awaked; Then what it was, that next came in her eye, Which she must dote on, in extremity. Here comes my messenger. How now, mad spirit? What night rule now about this haunted grove? This falls out better, then I could devise. But hast thou yet latched the Athenians eyes, With the love juice, as I did bid thee do? Stand close: this is the same Athenian. What hast thou done? Thou hast mistaken quite, And laid the love juice on some true loves sighed. Of thy misprision, must perforce ensue Some true love turned, and not a false turned true. About the wood, go swifter then the wind, And Helena of Athens look thou find. All fancy sick she is and pale of cheer, With sighs of love, that costs the fresh blood deer. By some illusion see thou bring her here: I'll charm his eyes, against she do appear. Flower of this purple die, Hit with Cupid's archery, Sink in apple of his eye, When his love he does espy, Let her shine as gloriously As the Venus of the sky. When thou wakest, if she be by, Beg of her, for remedy. Stand aside. The noise, they make, Will cause Demetrius to awake This is thy negligence: still thou mistakest, Or else committest thy knaveries wilfully. Thou seest, these lovers seek a place to fight: High therefore Robin, overcast the night, The starry welkin cover thou anon, With drooping fog as black as Acheron, And led these tasty Rivals so astray, As one come not within another's way. Like to Lysander, sometime frame thy tongue: Then stir Demetrius up, with bitter wrong: And sometime rail thou Like Demetrius : And from each other, look thou led them thus; Till over their brows, death-counterfeiting, sleep, With leaden legs, and Batty wings does creep Then crush this herb into Lysander's eye; Whose liquour hath this virtuous property, To take from thence all error, with his might, And make his eyeballs roll with wonted sighed. When they next wake, all this derision Shall seem a dream, and fruitless vision. And back to Athens shall the lovers weened, With league, whose date, till death shall never end. While I, in this affair, do thee employ, I'll to my Queen and beg her Indian boy: And then I will her charmed eye release From monsters view, and all things shall be peace. Welcome good Robin. Seest thou this sweet sighed? Her dotage now I do begin to pity. For meeting her of late, behind the wood, Seeking sweet favours for this hateful fool, I did upbraid her, and fallen out with her. For she his hairy temples then had rounded, With coronet offresh and fragrant flowers. And that same dew which sometime on the buds, Was wont to swell, Like round and orient pearls; Stood now within the pretty flouriets eyes, Like tears, that did their own disgrace be wail. When I had, at my pleasure, taunted her, And she, in mild terms, begged my patience, I then did ask of her, her changeling child: Which straight she gave me, and her Fairy sent To bear him, to my bower, in Fairy land. And now I have the boy, I will undo This hateful imperfection of her eyes. And, gentle Puck, take this transformed scalp, From of the head of this Athenian swain; That he, awaking when the other do, May all to Athens back again repair, And think no more of this nights accidents, But as the fierce vexation of a dream. But first I will release the Fairy Queen. Be, as thou wast wont to be: See, as thou wast wont to see. Dians bud, or Cupid's flower, Hath such force, and blessed power. Now, my Titania, wake you, my sweet Queen. There lies your love. Silence a while. Robin, take off this head: Titania, music call, and strike more dead Then common sleep: of all these, fine the sense. Found Music: come, my queen, take hands with me, And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be. Now, thou and I are new in amity, And will to morrow midnight, solemnly Dance, in Duke Theseus house triumphantly, And bless it to all fair prosperity. There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be Wedded, with Theseus, all in jollity. Then my Queen, in silence sad, Trip we after nights shade: We, the Globe, can compass soon, Swifter then the wandering Moon. Through the house give glimmering light, By the dead and drowsy fire, Every Elf and Fairy spright, Hop as light as bird from brier, And this ditty after me, Sing, and dance it trippingly. Now, until the break of day, Through this house, each Fairy stray. To the best bride bed will we: Which by us shall blessed be: And the issue, there create, Ever shall be fortunate: So shall all the couples three Ever true in loving be: And the blots of nature's hand Shall not in their issue stand. Never mole, harelip, nor scar, Nor mark prodigious, such as are Despised in nativity, Shall upon their children be. With this field dew consecrate, Every Fairy take his gate, And each several chamber bless, Through this palace, with sweet peace, Ever shall in safety rest, And the owner of it blessed. Trip away: make no stay: Meet me all, by break of day. Exeunt. Do you amend it then: it lies in you. Why should Titania cross her Oberon? I do but beg a little Changeling boy, To be my Henchman. Having once this juice, Ill watch Titania, when she is a sleep, And drop the liquour of it, in her eyes: The next thing then she, waking, looks upon (Be it on Lion, Bear, or Wolf, or Bull, On meddling Monkey, or on busy Ape) She shall pursue it, with the soul of Love. And ere I take this charm, from of her sighed (As I can take it with another herb) I'll make her render up her Page, to me. But, who comes here? I am invisible, And I will overhear their conference. But we are spirits of another sort. I, with the morning's love, have oft made sport, And Like a forester, the groves may tread Even till the Eastern gate all fiery read, Opening on Neptune, with fair blessed beams, Turns, into yellow gold, his salt green streams. But notwithstanding, haste, make no delay: We may effect this business, yet ere day.