A Midsummer Night's Dream | Act I
A Midsummer Night's Dream | | | | | | | | Script of Act I A Midsummer Night's Dream The play by William ShakespeareIntroduction
This section contains the script of Act I of A Midsummer Night's Dream the play by William Shakespeare. The enduring works of William Shakespeare feature many famous and well loved characters. Make a note of any unusual words that you encounter whilst reading the script of AMidsummer Night's Dream and check their definition in the Shakespeare Dictionary The script of A Midsummer Night's Dream is extremely long. To reduce the time to load the script of the play, and for ease in accessing specific sections of the script, we have separated the text of A Midsummer Night's Dream into Acts. Please click A Midsummer Night's Dream Script to access further Acts.Script / Text of Act I A Midsummer Night's DreamACT I
SCENE I. Athens. The palace of THESEUS.
Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants
THESEUS
Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace; four happy days bring in
Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow
This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires,
Like to a step-dame or a dowager
Long withering out a young man revenue.
HIPPOLYTA
Four days will quickly steep themselves in night;
Four nights will quickly dream away the time;
And then the moon, like to a silver bow
New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night
Of our solemnities.
THESEUS
Go, Philostrate,
Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments;
Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth;
Turn melancholy forth to funerals;
The pale companion is not for our pomp.
Exit PHILOSTRATE
Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword,
And won thy love, doing thee injuries;
But I will wed thee in another key,
With pomp, with triumph and with revelling.
Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and DEMETRIUS
EGEUS
Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke!
THESEUS
Thanks, good Egeus: what's