Now, fair Hippolyta, our wedding hour

Approaches quickly. Four happy days will bring

Another moon, but oh, it seems so slow

To me — this old moon drags! She holds back my desires

Like a stepmother or a widowed mother-in-law,

Wasting away a young man's inheritance.

Hippolyta, our wedding's coming up in four days, and honestly,

it feels like forever. This moon just won't move. It's like watching

a stuck stepmother hold back money that should be mine already.

I'm just impatient, I guess.

four days until we're married

and i'm dying waiting for it.

this moon is taking forever.

can't stop thinking about you.

Four days will quickly sink themselves into night;

Four nights will quickly dream away the time;

And then the moon, like a silver bow

Newly bent in heaven, will witness the night

Of our solemnities.

Four days isn't that long. They'll disappear into nights,

the nights will go by in dreams, and before you know it,

the moon will be new again and our wedding night will be here.

four days goes by fast.

dream through it.

then the moon will be new

and we'll be married.

Go, Philostrate,

Stir up the young people of Athens to celebrations;

Awaken the sharp and lively spirit of joy;

Turn melancholy thoughts toward funerals;

The pale companion has no place in our celebration.

Go on, Philostrate. Get the youth of Athens excited for the wedding.

I want joy, not sadness. No gloomy people at my wedding.

That's not the mood I'm going for.

get athens hyped.

we're celebrating.

no sad people.

this is a party.

I wish happiness to you, Theseus, our renowned Duke!

Your Grace, I hope you're doing well.

hey duke. congrats on the wedding.

Thank you, good Egeus. What brings you here with such news?

Thanks, Egeus. What's going on?

what's up?

I come full of anger, with a complaint

Against my child, my daughter Hermia.

Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord,

This man has my consent to marry her.

Stand forth, Lysander. And, my gracious Duke,

This man has bewitched the heart of my child.

You, you, Lysander — you have given her poems,

And exchanged love tokens with my child.

You have sung to her by moonlight at her window,

With false emotion, verses of false love;

And stolen the impression of her imagination

With bracelets made of your hair, rings, trinkets, clever gifts,

Knickknacks, trifles, flowers, sweets — messengers

Of strong power over inexperienced youth —

With cunning you have stolen my daughter's heart,

Turned her obedience (which belongs to me)

Into stubborn hardness. And, my gracious Duke,

If she will not stand before your grace

And consent to marry Demetrius,

I beg the ancient law of Athens:

Since she is mine, I may dispose of her;

Which shall be either to this gentleman

Or to her death, according to our law

That applies immediately in such a case.

Your Grace, I'm here because I'm furious. My daughter Hermia has been disobedient.

Demetrius here — I've given him permission to marry her.

Lysander — this guy has seduced her. He's given her poems,

exchanged gifts with her, sung at her window at night

with false emotion and fake love songs. He's stolen her affection

with hair bracelets and rings and little tricks.

He's manipulated her, turned her obedience into stubbornness.

Your Grace, unless she agrees right now to marry Demetrius,

I'm invoking Athenian law. Since she's my daughter, I own her.

I can marry her to whoever I choose, or have her executed.

That's the law.

my daughter's out of control.

lysander seduced her with poems and gifts and moonlight.

she won't obey me.

either she marries demetrius or i have her killed.

that's the law.

What do you say, Hermia? Consider carefully, fair maiden.

Your father should be like a god to you —

One who created your beauty, and one

To whom you are only a wax figure

Shaped by him, and within his power

To preserve or disfigure.

Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.

Hermia, listen to me. Your father is like a god.

He made you beautiful. You're like wax in his hands —

he can shape you or destroy you. And Demetrius is a good man.

That should be enough.

your dad created you.

you owe him obedience.

demetrius is worthy.

just accept it.

So is Lysander.

So is Lysander.

so is lysander.

He is worthy in himself.

But in this matter, lacking your father's approval,

The other must be considered the worthier.

Maybe he is. But he doesn't have your father's permission,

so Demetrius wins by default.

but demetrius has your dad's approval.

lysander doesn't.

so demetrius wins.

I wish my father could see with my eyes.

I wish my father could see him the way I do.

i wish my dad saw lysander like i do.

Rather, your eyes must see with his judgment.

No. Your eyes need to see with your father's judgment.

your eyes should see with his judgment not yours.

I beg your Grace's pardon. I know not

By what power I am made bold,

Nor how it affects my modesty

To speak my thoughts in such a presence.

But I ask your Grace to tell me:

What is the worst that could happen to me

If I refuse to marry Demetrius?

Your Grace, I'm sorry — I know I shouldn't speak up like this,

but I need to know. What happens if I say no to Demetrius?

sorry for speaking up.

but what happens if i refuse?

what's the worst that could happen?

Either to die by death, or to renounce

Forever the company of men.

Therefore, fair Hermia, know your desires,

Consider your youth, examine well your feelings,

Whether, if you refuse your father's choice,

You can endure the life of a nun,

Forever shut away in a dark cloister,

To live a childless sister all your life,

Singing sad hymns to the cold barren moon.

Thrice blessed are those who control their passions

To live such a life of solitude,

But the rose that is made into perfume

Is happier than the one that withers on the thorn,

That grows, lives, and dies in lonely virginity.

Either I execute you, or you take vows as a nun. That's it.

Think about what you're choosing, Hermia.

If you refuse to marry Demetrius, you'll spend your whole life

in a convent, singing to the moon, never married, never children.

Some women are blessed enough to be okay with that.

But most women are happier if their beauty and their youth

are used for something — marriage, children — rather than wasted away.

Staying a virgin forever isn't noble. It's a waste.

marry demetrius or die.

or become a nun forever.

dark convent.

no husband, no kids.

just you and the moon.

not blessed. just sad.

So I will grow, so live, so die, my lord,

Before I will surrender my virginal rights

To his lordship, whose unwanted authority

My soul refuses to acknowledge.

I'll die first. I will not give myself to him.

I won't give him power over me. Never.

i'll die before marrying him.

no way.

he will never own me.

Think about it; and by the next new moon,

The day of my wedding to my love,

The bond of eternal devotion,

On that day you must either prepare to die

For disobeying your father's will,

Or else marry Demetrius, as he wishes,

Or on Diana's altar swear yourself

To remain unmarried and solitary forever.

You have until my wedding day — when the moon is new again.

By then, you either marry Demetrius, take vows as a nun,

or I'll execute you. Those are your three choices.

four days.

marry him, become a nun, or die.

pick one.

Be merciful, sweet Hermia, and Lysander, yield

Your shaky claim to my certain right.

Hermia, think about it. Lysander, you should back off.

I have the law on my side.

lysander, give up.

she's mine. the law says so.

You have her father's love, Demetrius.

Let me have Hermia's. Go marry him.

You've got her father on your side. I have her heart.

That's better. Go marry Egeus instead.

you have her dad.

i have her.

go marry him.

You have my love, that's true. He has it.

And what is mine, my love will give to him.

And she is mine, and all my legal right to her

I do give to Demetrius.

Demetrius has my approval and my love. As for Hermia,

she's my property, and I'm transferring her to Demetrius.

she's my property.

i'm giving her to demetrius.

deal with it.

I am, my lord, as well born as he,

As well provided with wealth; my love is more than his;

My prospects in every way are as good,

If not better, than Demetrius's;

And, which is more than all these claims can be,

I am beloved by the beautiful Hermia.

Why should I not then pursue my right?

Demetrius, I will say it to his face:

He made love to Helena, daughter of Nedar,

And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, loves him,

Loves him deeply, loves him with devotion,

On this faithless and inconsistent man.

I'm as noble as Demetrius. I'm as wealthy. I love Hermia more than he does.

My fortune is as good or better than his. And most importantly,

Hermia loves me — not him. So why shouldn't I have her?

And I'll say it to his face: Demetrius seduced Helena, promised her love,

and abandoned her. She's still completely devoted to him,

and he ignores her. He's a liar and a cheat.

i'm as good as demetrius.

i have money, status, everything.

and hermia actually loves me.

demetrius seduced helena then threw her away.

he's garbage.

I must confess that I have heard so much,

And I meant to discuss this with Demetrius;

But I've been preoccupied with my own affairs,

And forgot. But Demetrius, come with me,

And you, Egeus; you must come as well.

I have some private counsel for you both. —

As for you, fair Hermia, prepare yourself

To accept your fate or face your father's choice,

Or the law of Athens will take you

(Which we cannot, by any means, soften or change)

To death, or to a vow of solitary life.

Come, my Hippolyta. What cheer, my love?

Demetrius and Egeus, come with me;

I must employ you both in some business

For my wedding, and speak with you

About matters that concern you directly.

I've heard all about this Helena situation, and I meant to talk to Demetrius about it,

but I've been too busy. Listen, I need to talk to both of you in private.

Hermia, go prepare yourself. You have four days to accept this.

The law doesn't allow me to help you, so if you refuse, you die or become a nun.

That's final. Hippolyta, come with me. Demetrius, Egeus, come too.

I have things to discuss with you both.

i've been too busy to deal with your problem.

the law is the law, hermia.

you have four days.

let's go talk in private.

With duty and desire we follow you.

We'll do whatever you need, Your Grace.

yes sir.

Tell me now, my love. Why is your face so pale?

Why are the roses in your cheeks fading so quickly?

Are you okay? Your face went white. Where did your color go?

you okay? you're pale.

Perhaps from lack of rain, which I could surely

Pour down from the storm of my eyes.

Maybe it's just sadness. I feel like I could cry enough to drown.

i'm sad.

i could cry enough to water a garden.

Oh God! Believe me, from everything I've read,

Everything I've heard in stories or history,

The path of true love never flows smoothly.

But either it was blocked by different social classes —

Look, from everything I know about love — books, stories, history —

true love never works out easily. It's either the lovers

come from different social ranks —

true love never works out.

it's always complicated.

different social classes, different ages,

Oh, what cruelty! Too high status forced to marry beneath her!

Or one's too noble and the other's not.

class difference.

Or else badly matched in terms of age —

Or they're too far apart in age.

age difference.

Oh, how terrible! Too old to be bound to the young.

Or one's ancient and the other's barely grown up.

too old, too young.

Or else it depends on the approval of friends —

Or maybe the families are feuding.

family doesn't approve.

Oh, what torment! To be forced to love by the eyes of another!

Or worst of all, your parents force you to marry the wrong person.

worst is when your parents choose for you.

Or, if the two lovers do agree,

Then war, or death, or sickness strikes them down,

Making their love last only a moment,

Swift as a shadow, brief as any dream,

Quick as the lightning in the darkness at night,

That, in a flash, splits heaven and earth apart,

And before a man can say, 'Look!',

The dark swallows it back up.

So quickly beautiful things are destroyed.

Or if they do match — same age, same class, family approves —

then war or plague or sickness kills one of them.

It's quick. Like a shadow. Like lightning cutting through the dark

for just a moment. Before you can even say 'Look!' it's gone.

That's how fast love dies.

or war kills one of them.

or sickness.

it's fast.

like lightning.

here and gone.

that's what happens to love.

If true lovers have always faced such obstacles,

Then it is written in the book of fate.

Let us teach ourselves to endure patiently,

Because it is a common obstacle,

As much a part of love as thoughts and dreams and sighs,

Wishes and tears, which are the natural companions of love.

If that's how love always goes, then it's just destiny.

We have to be patient. It's part of loving someone.

Love comes with suffering — that's just how it is.

if all true lovers suffer like this

then it's just destiny.

we have to accept it.

suffering is part of love.

That's a good argument. Listen to me, Hermia.

I have an aunt who is a widow with a large estate,

And she has no children.

Her house is seven miles from Athens,

And she loves me as if I were her only son.

There, my dear Hermia, I can marry you,

And the harsh Athenian law

Cannot reach us. If you love me,

Escape from your father's house tomorrow night;

And in the woods, a mile outside the town

(Where I once met you with Helena

To celebrate the first day of May),

I will be waiting for you there.

That's smart. Listen — I have a widow aunt who's really wealthy

and has no kids. She's like seven miles outside Athens

and treats me like I'm her son. We can get married there,

and Athenian law can't touch us. Just sneak out tomorrow night

and meet me in the woods outside town — you know that spot

where we went with Helena for May Day? I'll be there.

my aunt lives seven miles from athens.

we can get married there.

the law can't reach us.

sneak out tomorrow night.

meet me in the woods where we saw helena for may day.

My dear Lysander!

I swear to you by Cupid's most powerful bow,

By his finest arrow with the golden point,

By the gentleness of Venus's doves,

By the force that bonds souls and brings lovers together,

And by the fire that burned the Queen of Carthage

When she saw the false Trojan sail away,

By every vow that men have ever broken

(A number greater than all the words women have spoken),

That in the place you have chosen for us,

Tomorrow night I truly will meet you there.

Oh Lysander! I swear by Cupid's arrow, by Venus's doves,

by the sacred fire of love — I swear by every broken promise

men have ever made — I will be there tomorrow night.

I won't fail you.

i swear by cupid's arrow.

i swear by love itself.

i'll be there tomorrow night.

i promise.

Keep your promise, love. Look — Helena is coming.

Don't break your promise. Here comes Helena.

don't forget. helena's here.

Greetings, fair Helena! Where are you going?

Hey Helena! Where are you headed?

hey helena, what's up?

Fair? Take back that word. You call me fair?

Demetrius loves your beauty. Oh, how fortunate you are!

Your eyes are like guiding stars and your voice is sweeter

Than a lark singing to a shepherd,

When the wheat grows green and the hawthorn blooms.

Beauty is catching like a sickness. I wish I could catch yours, Hermia,

Before I leave. My ear would catch your voice, my eye your beauty,

My tongue would catch the melody of your words.

If the world were mine, except for Demetrius,

I would give all of it to become you.

Oh, teach me how to look the way you look, and how

You control the heart of Demetrius!

Don't call me fair. Take that back.

Demetrius thinks you're fair. And you're lucky — you have his love.

Your eyes are like the North Star. Your voice is prettier than anything.

I wish your beauty was contagious. I'd catch it.

I'd take your eyes, your voice, your whole way of being.

If I owned the world except for Demetrius, I'd trade it all to be you.

How do you do it? How do you make him fall for you?

you're so beautiful.

and demetrius loves you.

i'm nothing like you.

i'd trade anything to be you.

how do you make him want you?

I frown at him, yet he still loves me.

I'm mean to him and he still loves me.

i'm rude to him and he loves me anyway.

Oh, if only my smiles could learn your frowning power!

I wish my smile could work like your frown does.

god i wish i could make him love me like you do.

I curse at him, yet he gives me only love.

I yell at him and he's still nice to me.

i curse him out and he loves me.

Oh, if only my prayers could move such love in him!

God, if only my prayers could make him love me like that.

i'd pray forever if he loved me like that.

The more I hate him, the more he follows me.

The more I push him away, the more he chases me.

he won't leave me alone.

The more I love him, the more he hates me.

And the more I love him, the more he pulls away.

the more i love him the more he hates me.

His foolishness, Helena, is not my fault.

It's not your fault, Helena. It's his problem.

that's on him, not you.

No fault but your beauty. I wish that fault were mine!

It's your beauty that's the problem. And I wish I could blame my beauty instead.

it's only your beauty. i wish that was my problem.

Take comfort — you won't see my face again.

Lysander and I will flee this place.

Before I ever saw Lysander,

Athens seemed like heaven to me.

Oh, what beauty he gave to my love,

That he's turned heaven into hell for me!

Good news though — you won't have to see me anymore.

Lysander and I are running away tonight.

You know, before I met Lysander, Athens was paradise.

But he made me feel so alive, and now it's just painful.

i'm leaving.

lysander and i are running away.

i loved athens before i loved him.

now it's hell.

Helena, I'll tell you our plans.

Tomorrow night, when the moon rises

And shows her silver face in the still water,

Decorating the grass with pearl-like dew

(A time when lovers' escapes go unnoticed),

We plan to sneak through Athens' gates.

Helena, I'm going to tell you something.

Tomorrow night when the moon comes up and reflects in the water,

Lysander and I are sneaking out of Athens.

tomorrow night.

when the moon reflects in the water.

we sneak out of athens.

And in the wood where you and I

Often lay on soft primrose beds,

Sharing all our secrets with each other,

There Lysander and I will meet.

And from there we'll turn our eyes away from Athens,

To find new friends and strange adventures.

Farewell, dear friend. Pray for us,

And good luck with Demetrius!

Keep your promise, Lysander. We must avoid

Seeing each other until tomorrow night at midnight.

You know that woods where you and I used to go and talk?

Where we'd lie on the flowers and just tell each other everything?

That's where Lysander and I will meet. And then we're leaving Athens forever.

We're looking for a whole new life. Goodbye, Helena.

I hope things work out with Demetrius. See you tomorrow night — midnight.

in the woods where we used to talk.

then we leave athens.

goodbye, helena.

midnight tomorrow.

we can't see each other before that.

I will keep my promise, Hermia.

I'll be there.

i promise.

How happiness can be unequally distributed!

Through Athens I am thought as beautiful as she is.

But what does that matter? Demetrius doesn't think so.

He will not know what everyone else knows.

And as he is confused, loving Hermia's eyes,

So I, admiring his qualities.

Things base and worthless, lacking any real value,

Love can transform into beauty and nobility.

Love does not see with the eyes, but with the mind;

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

Love has no judgment or sense of discernment.

Wings, and no eyes, represent thoughtless haste.

And therefore love is called a child,

Because in choosing he is so often deceived.

Like mischievous boys who swear false oaths in games,

So the boy Love breaks his promises everywhere.

Before Demetrius even saw Hermia's eyes,

He rained down oaths that he was only mine;

And when some of this hail turned warm through seeing Hermia,

He dissolved, and showers of oaths melted away.

I will go tell him of fair Hermia's escape.

Then tomorrow night he will chase her into the woods;

And for this information,

If he thanks me, it's worth the pain.

But my goal is to ease my suffering

By being near him, there and back again.

How come some women get all the luck?

Everyone in Athens thinks I'm pretty. Everyone except Demetrius.

He's obsessed with Hermia's eyes instead.

And me? I'm as stupid as he is. He loves Hermia's beauty.

I love him — which makes no sense. Love is blind.

That's why Cupid is painted without eyes.

Love has no judgment. It's like a child making careless promises

and then breaking them. Demetrius swore he was mine

before he ever even saw Hermia. And then she came along

and he forgot all his promises. They melted away.

So here's my plan. I'm going to tell Demetrius that Hermia

and Lysander are running away into the woods tonight.

He'll chase after her. And if he thanks me, great.

But honestly, I just want to be near him.

Even if it's just watching him chase someone else.

everyone thinks i'm pretty.

demetrius doesn't.

he loves her instead.

love is blind.

literally.

he promised me everything then forgot me.

i'm telling him hermia's running away.

he'll chase her into the woods.

and i'll get to be near him.

that's enough.