| “to live a barren sister all your lifeChanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon.” | -Theseus to Hermia-About her choice with marrying Demetrius and what she would rather do with her life. |
| “The course of true love never did run smooth.” | -Lysander to Hermia-Love is fragile and no true love story can go without a hardship. |
| “Swift as a shadow, short as any dreamBrief as lightning in the collied night.” | -Lysander to Hermia-About how short love can be. |
| “Nay, faith, let me not play a woman: I have a beard coming” | -Flute to Quince-About Flute not wanting to play a woman (Thisby) in the play. |
| “I am that merry wanderer of the night” | -Puck to the other fairies-This is Puck admitting that he is Robin Goodfellow |
| “Yet marked I where the bolt of Cupid fell;It fell upon a little western flower, Before milk-white, now purple with love’s woundAnd maidens call it love-in-idleness.” | -Oberon to Puck-Where the love potion flower is. |
| “I’ll put a girdle round about the earth in forty minutes.” | -Puck to Oberon-This is how quickly Puck claims to get things done |
| “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.” | -Oberon to Puck-About where Titania sleeps |
| “What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?” | -Titania to Bottom-When the love flower juice is in her eyes and she falls in love with Bottom. |
| “So we grew together,Like a double cherry, seeming parted,But yet an union in partition;Two lovely birdies moulded on one stem;So, with two seeming bodies, but one heart” | -Helena to Hermia (and Demetrius/Lysander/audience)-About how they were the best of friends and something changed once Helena was getting the attention of the boys. |
| “O when she’s angry, she is keen and shrewd!She was a vixen when she went to school;Although she be but little, she is fierce” | -Helena to Hermia (and Demetrius/Lysander/audience)-About Hermia |
| “Cupid is knavish lad,Thus to make poor females mad” | -Puck to Audience-When the four lovers have run around but now are tired so they lie down 2 and 2. Puck then tries to fix everything. |
| “My Oberon! What visions have I seen!Methought I was enamoured of an ass” | -Titania to Oberon-About waking up and the concept of dreams |
| “Wherat with blade, with bloody blameful blade.He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast” | -Quince to Audience(Duke)-Rambling about the play and Pyramus killing himself |
| “Use me but as your spaniel – spurn me, strike me,Neglect me, lose me. Only give me leaveUnworthy as I am, to follow you” | -Helena to Demetrius-Love is blinding Helena. She loves Demetrius no matter what the circumstances. |
| “I know you two are rival enemies:How comes this gentle concord in the worldThat hatred is so far from jealousyTo sleep by hate and fear no enmity?” | -Theseus to Demetrius and Lysander-When Theseus was in the forest hunting and found them. It’s how they had change of hearts about each other, and they’ve learned to get along. |
| “Get your apparel together, good strings to your beards,new ribbons to your pumps; meet presently at the palace” | -Bottom to the Play Cast-This is Bottom telling the actors to get ready to preform because the show must go on. |
| “No, my noble lord;It is not for you; I have heard it over,And it is nothing, nothing in the world;Unless you can find sport in their intentsExtremely stretch’d and conn’d with cruel pain, To do you service.” | -Philostrate to Theseus-Philostrate was trying to convince Theseus not to pick Pyramus and Thisby for the play for the wedding. |
| “Not a mouseShall disturb this hallow’d houseI am sent with broom before,To sweep the dust behind the door” | -Puck to Audience-This is about the fairies’ blessing |
| “Now until the break of dayThrough this house each fairy stray.To the best bride-bed will weWhich by us shall blessed be.” | -Oberon to Fairies-This is Oberon ordering the Fairies to bless the lovers and protect the offsprings from being blasphemies. |
| “If we shadows have offended,Think but this and all is mended,That you have slumber’d hereWhile these visions did appear.” | -Puck to the Audience-If you were offended or couldn’t believe what was happening, pretend it was all just a dream. |
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare – Quotes
August 10, 2019