Act 1, Scene 2 — A Midsummer Night's Dream

The argument Six Athenian working men — the 'mechanicals' — gather at Peter Quince's house to be cast in a play for the Duke's wedding. The play is 'Pyramus and Thisbe.' Nick Bottom, a weaver, wants to play every role. Francis Flute objects to playing a woman. Snug can't remember lines. They plan to rehearse in the forest.

Enter Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout and Starveling.

QUINCE [gathering himself, wanting to start]

Is all our company here?

Is everyone here?

Alright, is everyone here?

everyone here? let's do this

BOTTOM [helpful, not realizing his mistake]

You were best to call them generally, man by man, according to the

scrip.

You'd be better off calling them individually, one by one, according to the script.

You'd do better calling them one by one, man by man, like from the script.

call them one by one from the script bro

"scrip" 'Scrip' means script or written list. Bottom means 'script' — but the fact he says 'scrip' and 'generally' (when he means 'individually') is the first sign that his vocabulary is almost right but not quite.

QUINCE [professional, explaining what he has prepared]

Here is the scroll of every man’s name, which is thought fit through

all Athens, to play in our interlude before the Duke and Duchess, on

his wedding-day at night.

Here is the list of every actor's name, which is thought suitable throughout Athens, to perform in our short play before the Duke and Duchess on his wedding night.

Okay, here's the list of all the actors, which people in Athens thought would work good, to do our little play in front of the Duke and Duchess on his wedding night.

got the list for the play for the duke's wedding tonight

"interlude" An 'interlude' was a short dramatic entertainment performed between other activities — at feasts, weddings, court occasions. The mechanicals' play is exactly this: a brief performance for the Duke's wedding celebration.

BOTTOM [taking charge, his enthusiastic advice]

First, good Peter Quince, say what the play treats on; then read the

names of the actors; and so grow to a point.

First, Peter Quince, tell us what the play is about; then read the actors' names; and so we'll get to the point.

Okay so first, Peter, tell us what the play's about, then read out the names, and we'll get down to business.

what's the play about then read the names let's go

QUINCE [reading the grandiose title with slight embarrassment]

Marry, our play is _The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of

Pyramus and Thisbe_.

Well, our play is 'The Most Tragic Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe.'

Right, so our play is 'The Most Terrible Sad-Comedy and Super Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe.'

the play is: 'the most tragic comedy and cruel death of pyramus and thisbe'

"most lamentable comedy" The contradiction — 'lamentable comedy' — is the joke. Pyramus and Thisbe is a tragic love story (Shakespeare also told it in Romeo and Juliet, drawing from the same Ovid source). Calling it a comedy-with-a-cruel-death is both an accident and a perfect description of what the mechanicals will actually produce.

BOTTOM [genuine enthusiasm, completely sincere]

A very good piece of work, I assure you, and a merry. Now, good Peter

Quince, call forth your actors by the scroll. Masters, spread

yourselves.

That's a very good piece of work, I promise you, and a cheerful one. Now, Peter Quince, call out your actors from the script. Everyone, spread out.

That's real good work, man, really good, and it's gonna be fun. Come on, Peter, call out the names from the list. Everybody get in here.

that's real good work seriously now call out the actors let's spread out

QUINCE [brisk, professional, checking off his list]

Answer, as I call you. Nick Bottom, the weaver.

Answer when I call your name. Nick Bottom, the weaver.

Okay, answer when I say your name. Nick Bottom, the weaver.

nick bottom the weaver

BOTTOM [eager, commanding, ready to lead]

Ready. Name what part I am for, and proceed.

Here. Tell me what part I have, and let's keep going.

I'm here. What part am I playing? Let's go.

i'm ready what's my part let's go

QUINCE [matter-of-fact]

You, Nick Bottom, are set down for Pyramus.

You, Nick Bottom, are cast as Pyramus.

You're playing Pyramus.

you're pyramus

BOTTOM [serious, gathering information]

What is Pyramus—a lover, or a tyrant?

What is Pyramus—a lover or a tyrant?

So what is Pyramus? Is he a lover or a tyrant?

pyramus— lover or tyrant? what's the vibe

QUINCE [explaining plainly]

A lover, that kills himself most gallantly for love.

A lover who kills himself most gloriously for love.

A lover who kills himself in a really big way for love.

a lover who kills himself for love

BOTTOM [internally rehearsing, building on information, excited]

That will ask some tears in the true performing of it. If I do it, let

the audience look to their eyes. I will move storms; I will condole in

some measure. To the rest—yet my chief humour is for a tyrant. I could

play Ercles rarely, or a part to tear a cat in, to make all split.

The raging rocks

And shivering shocks

Shall break the locks

Of prison gates,

And Phibbus’ car

Shall shine from far,

And make and mar

The foolish Fates.

This was lofty. Now name the rest of the players. This is Ercles’ vein,

a tyrant’s vein; a lover is more condoling.

That will require real tears in the true performance of it. If I do it, let the audience watch out. I will stir storms; I will grieve in some measure. But if I'm honest—my real preference is for a tyrant. I could play Hercules wonderfully, or a role where I tear a cat, to make everyone split with laughter. The raging rocks And shivering shocks Shall break the locks Of prison gates, And Phoebus' chariot Shall shine from far, And make and break The foolish Fates. That was grand. Now tell me the rest of the players. That's how a tyrant talks—a tyrant's mode; a lover is more grieving.

That's gonna need real tears when I do it right. If I play it, watch out—I'll move storms; I'll grieve pretty hard. But honestly, I'm really more of a tyrant guy. I could play Hercules amazing, or a part where I really tear into it, really kill it. Like this: The raging rocks And shivering shocks Shall break the locks Of prison gates, And Phoebus' chariot Shall shine from far, And make and break The foolish Fates. That was wild, right? That's how you do a tyrant—really big, really theatrical; a lover's more like, sad and stuff.

if i do this i will move storms i will make them cry but honestly i'm a tyrant guy i love the big angry roles the raging rocks and shivering shocks that's power

"play Ercles rarely" 'Ercles' = Hercules. 'Rarely' means excellently, splendidly. Bottom's sample rant is a parody of the bombastic style of older theatrical productions — all alliteration and noise, no sense.

"Phibbus' car" Phoebus Apollo's chariot — the sun god's vehicle across the sky. Bottom can't quite get the name right: 'Phibbus' is his slightly garbled version. This is characteristic.

"tear a cat" An expression meaning to rant and rave in an exaggerated theatrical style — to 'tear a passion to tatters,' as Hamlet will later say. It refers to the overblown acting style Bottom admires.

Why it matters Bottom's self-casting as every type of hero is comic, but his actual recitation of the ranting verse reveals something true: he genuinely loves the theatre and has absorbed its conventions, however badly. This is a man who cares.

QUINCE [moving on, checking off]

Francis Flute, the bellows-mender.

francis flute bellows-mender

FLUTE [present, attentive]

Here, Peter Quince.

Here.

here

QUINCE [straightforward]

Flute, you must take Thisbe on you.

Flute, you'll play Thisbe.

Flute, you're Thisbe.

you're thisbe

FLUTE [confused and panicked]

What is Thisbe? A wandering knight?

Who is Thisbe? Is she a wandering knight?

What? Who's Thisbe? Is she some kind of knight?

who's thisbe a knight or something

QUINCE [answering matter-of-factly]

It is the lady that Pyramus must love.

She's the lady that Pyramus has to love.

She's the girl Pyramus is in love with.

the lady pyramus loves

FLUTE [embarrassed, self-conscious]

Nay, faith, let not me play a woman. I have a beard coming.

No, really, don't make me play a woman. I'm growing a beard.

No way, come on, don't make me play a woman. I've got a beard coming in.

no don't make me i have a beard i'm a man

QUINCE [practical solution, moving on]

That’s all one. You shall play it in a mask, and you may speak as small

as you will.

That doesn't matter. You'll wear a mask, and you can speak in as high a voice as you want.

Doesn't matter. You'll wear a mask, and you can talk high as you want.

wear a mask talk high it's fine

BOTTOM [seizing the opportunity enthusiastically, oblivious]

And I may hide my face, let me play Thisbe too. I’ll speak in a

monstrous little voice; ‘Thisne, Thisne!’—‘Ah, Pyramus, my lover dear!

thy Thisbe dear! and lady dear!’

And if I could hide my face, let me play Thisbe too. I'll speak in a thin voice; 'Thisne, Thisne!'—'Oh, Pyramus, my lover dear! your Thisbe dear! and lady dear!'

And if I can cover my face, let me do Thisbe too. I'll do a crazy high voice; 'Thisne, Thisne!'—'Oh, Pyramus, my love! your Thisbe love! and lady love!'

let me do thisbe too i'll do the voice thisne thisne oh pyramus my love

Why it matters Bottom volunteers to play both the hero and the heroine. This tells you everything about him: the desire to do everything, combined with a falsetto impression that is clearly terrible. Quince's patience is the real performance.

QUINCE [firm, ending the discussion]

No, no, you must play Pyramus; and, Flute, you Thisbe.

No, no, you have to play Pyramus; and, Flute, you play Thisbe.

No, you're playing Pyramus. Flute's doing Thisbe. That's it.

no you're pyramus flute is thisbe done

BOTTOM [accepting, ready to move forward]

Well, proceed.

Fine. Let's continue.

Okay, whatever. Keep going.

fine let's go

QUINCE [continuing down the list]

Robin Starveling, the tailor.

robin starveling the tailor

STARVELING [present]

Here, Peter Quince.

Here.

here

QUINCE ≋ verse [distributing roles]

Robin Starveling, you must play Thisbe’s mother.

Tom Snout, the tinker.

SNOUT

Here, Peter Quince.

Robin Starveling, you're playing Thisbe's mother. Tom Snout, the tinker. [SNOUT: Here, Peter Quince.]

Robin, you're Thisbe's mom. Tom Snout, the tinker. [SNOUT: Here.]

robin you're thisbe's mom tom snout tinker

QUINCE [assigning, then Snug's worry interrupts]

You, Pyramus’ father; myself, Thisbe’s father;

Snug, the joiner, you, the lion’s part. And, I hope here is a play

fitted.

SNUG

Have you the lion’s part written? Pray you, if it be, give it me, for I

am slow of study.

You play Pyramus' father; I'll play Thisbe's father. Snug, the joiner, you're the lion. And I hope the cast is now complete. [SNUG: Do you have the lion's part written? Please, if you do, give it to me, because I'm slow to learn.]

You're Pyramus' dad, I'm Thisbe's dad. Snug, you're the lion. And I think we're done casting now. [SNUG: Do you have my lines written down? Please give them to me, because I'm not good at memorizing.]

you pyramus' dad i'm thisbe's dad snug you're the lion snug: is it written i'm slow to learn

QUINCE [reassuring, practical]

You may do it extempore, for it is nothing but roaring.

You can improvise it. The lion part is just roaring.

You can make it up as you go. The lion's just gotta roar.

you can improvise just roar

BOTTOM [interrupting eagerly, imagining his triumph]

Let me play the lion too. I will roar that I will do any man’s heart

good to hear me. I will roar that I will make the Duke say ‘Let him

roar again, let him roar again.’

Let me play the lion too. I will roar so well that everyone will be happy to hear me. I will roar so well that I'll make the Duke say, 'Let him roar again, let him roar again.'

Let me do the lion too. I'll roar so good that it makes everyone happy. I'll roar so good that the Duke's gonna say, 'Let him roar again, come on, one more time.'

let me do the lion i will roar so good the duke will ask for more

Why it matters Bottom's verbal malapropisms are not signs of stupidity — they are signs of someone who has absorbed language enthusiastically without precise calibration. He grasps for the right register and lands just beside it, every time.

QUINCE [urgent, afraid, shared panic]

If you should do it too terribly, you would fright the Duchess and the

ladies, that they would shriek; and that were enough to hang us all.

ALL

That would hang us every mother’s son.

If you roar too loudly and violently, you'll scare the Duchess and the ladies, and they'll shriek; and that would hang us all. [ALL: That would hang every one of us.]

If you roar too loud and scary, you're gonna freak out the Duchess and all the ladies, and they'll start screaming, and that could get us all killed. [ALL: Yeah, that'd hang every one of us.]

if you roar too scary the ladies will scream we'll all get hanged ALL: we'd all be dead

BOTTOM [agreeable, warming to the problem, confident in his solution]

I grant you, friends, if you should fright the ladies out of their

wits, they would have no more discretion but to hang us. But I will

aggravate my voice so, that I will roar you as gently as any sucking

dove; I will roar you an ’twere any nightingale.

I understand, friends. If you scare the ladies out of their minds, they'd have no better choice but to kill us. But I will soften my voice, so that I'll roar as gently as any nursing dove; I'll roar as if I were any nightingale.

Yeah, I get it, guys. If you scare the ladies half to death, they'd kill us, no question. But here's the thing—I'll keep my voice really soft, so I'll roar real gentle, like a baby bird; I'll roar like a nightingale.

if we scare the ladies we're done but i'll be gentle i'll roar soft like a little baby bird

"aggravate my voice" Bottom means 'moderate' or 'soften' — but he says 'aggravate,' which means the opposite (to make worse or louder). This is his characteristic mistake: using a word that sounds right but means the opposite of what he intends. He will do this constantly.

"sucking dove" Bottom has blended two separate gentle images: 'sucking lamb' and 'cooing dove.' The result — 'sucking dove' — is wrong in a way that is perfectly Bottom: almost right, slightly off, completely confident.

QUINCE [firm but pleading, using flattery to manage him]

You can play no part but Pyramus, for Pyramus is a sweet-faced man; a

proper man as one shall see in a summer’s day; a most lovely

gentleman-like man. Therefore you must needs play Pyramus.

You can't play any part except Pyramus. Pyramus is a handsome man; a proper, well-formed man as you'd see in a summer's day; a most lovely, gentlemanly man. That's why you must play Pyramus.

You can't play anything but Pyramus. Pyramus is a good-looking guy, a really nice-looking man, the kind of man you see in a summer's day, real handsome and gentlemanly. So you've gotta play Pyramus.

you have to be pyramus pyramus is handsome very gentlemanly that's you

BOTTOM [accepting his role, getting into character]

Well, I will undertake it. What beard were I best to play it in?

Well, I'll do it. What kind of beard would be best for me to play it with?

Alright, I'll do it. What kind of beard should I wear?

okay i'll do it what beard should i wear

"French-crown-color beard" A French crown was a gold coin. The color is a yellowish gold. There may also be a joke here: a 'French crown' was a slang term for the baldness caused by syphilis — a 'French disease.' If so, Quince's line about some faces being 'bare' is a rejoinder to Bottom's inadvertent bawdy reference.

QUINCE [weary, just trying to move forward]

Why, what you will.

Whatever you want.

Whatever you want, man.

whatever you want

Why it matters Quince's instruction to 'meet me in the palace wood' is what sends the mechanicals to the forest — the same forest the lovers are fleeing to, the same forest where Oberon and Titania are at war. The comedy requires all the plot threads to converge in one place.

🎭 Dramatic irony The mechanicals plan to meet 'in the palace wood, a mile without the town, by moonlight' — the exact same forest where Hermia and Lysander are eloping, Helena and Demetrius are running, and Oberon and Titania are warring. None of them know any of this. Every thread of the plot is about to converge on one enchanted patch of forest.

BOTTOM ≋ verse [enthusiastically cataloguing options, seeing theater everywhere]

I will discharge it in either your straw-colour beard, your

orange-tawny beard, your purple-in-grain beard, or your

French-crown-colour beard, your perfect yellow.

I'll play it in either your straw-colored beard, your orange-yellow beard, your deeply-dyed purple beard, or your French-gold-colored beard, your perfect yellow.

I could do it in your straw-colored beard, your orange-yellow beard, your deep purple beard, or your French gold-colored beard, the real bright yellow one.

straw beard orange beard purple beard yellow french beard so many options

QUINCE [practical, a subtle jab, moving to serious instructions]

Some of your French crowns have no hair at all, and then you will play

bare-faced. But, masters, here are your parts, and I am to entreat you,

request you, and desire you, to con them by tomorrow night; and meet me

in the palace wood, a mile without the town, by moonlight; there will

we rehearse, for if we meet in the city, we shall be dogg’d with

company, and our devices known. In the meantime I will draw a bill of

properties, such as our play wants. I pray you fail me not.

Some bald men don't have any hair, so then you'll perform bare-faced. But, everyone, here are your parts, and I'm asking you, requesting you, and begging you, to learn them by tomorrow night; and meet me in the palace wood, a mile outside the town, by moonlight; there we'll rehearse, because if we meet in the city, we'll be followed by people, and our plans will be discovered. In the meantime, I'll make a list of the props our play needs. Please don't let me down.

Some bald guys just don't have any hair at all, so then you'll do it bare-faced. But okay, here are your scripts, and I'm asking you—begging you, really—to memorize them by tomorrow night. Meet me in the palace wood, a mile outside of town, when it's dark; we'll practice there, because if we do this in the city, people will follow us and figure out what we're doing. I'll write down what props we need. Please don't mess this up.

learn your lines by tomorrow night meet in the forest a mile outside town after dark so nobody follows us i'll make a props list please show up

"Hold, or cut bowstrings" A proverbial expression meaning 'keep your promise or give up entirely.' The exact origin is unclear, but it functions like 'be there or don't bother.' Bottom delivers it as a dramatic exit line.

BOTTOM ≋ verse [enthusiastically confirming, malapropisms flying]

We will meet, and there we may rehearse most obscenely and

courageously. Take pains, be perfect; adieu.

We will meet, and there we can rehearse in the most hidden and daring way. Work hard, be perfect; goodbye.

Yeah, we'll meet, and we'll practice in the most secret and bold way possible. Work hard, get it right; see you there.

we'll be there we'll rehearse secret and bold work hard be perfect goodbye

"obscenely and courageously" Bottom means 'obscurely and courageously' — rehearsing in secret. 'Obscenely' is another of his near-miss vocabulary choices. That he delivers it with complete confidence makes it funnier.

QUINCE [confirming, final detail]

At the Duke’s oak we meet.

We'll meet at the Duke's oak.

Right, at the Duke's oak tree.

duke's oak that's where

BOTTOM [dramatic flourish, theatrical exit line]

Enough. Hold, or cut bow-strings.

Enough. Keep your word, or give up entirely.

That's it. Be there or don't bother showing up.

enough be there or forget it

[_Exeunt._]

The Reckoning

After the heightened drama and threatened death sentences of 1-1, scene 2 is a deliberate gear-shift — pure, warm, generous comedy. The mechanicals are not stupid, exactly; they are simply operating in a world they don't fully understand. Bottom's confidence is total and genuine: he has no idea how bad he is, but he also has no malice. His enthusiasm for every role, his theatrical ambition, his willingness to perform in a lion costume or a woman's voice — all of it comes from a real place. Quince is the suffering straight man, perpetually trying to run a rehearsal and perpetually derailed. The scene establishes the play-within-the-play that will pay off spectacularly in Act 5.

If this happened today…

A community theater group meets to cast their play for a local event. One guy — a well-meaning loudmouth — wants to play every role and can't understand why the director won't let him. Another guy refuses to play the female lead on principle. The third actor can't memorize lines and asks to read from a script. They all agree to rehearse in the park tomorrow night — the same park where, unknown to them, four people are running away from a legal crisis.

Continue to 2.1 →