Sleep in midsummer night(English A Midsummer Night "s Dream) - a comedy by William Shakespeare, written between 1594 and 1596. Presumably, the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written by Shakespeare for the wedding of the English aristocrat and patron of the arts Elizabeth Carey, who married on 19 On February 1595, on this day, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was first performed in the theater.According to another version, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is dedicated to the celebration of St. John's Day (a holiday similar to the day of Ivan Kupala in Russian tradition).
In 1826, the 17-year-old German composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote the music for the theatrical production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mendelssohn's music for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was very popular in the productions of the 19th century, it also left its mark in cinema, being the main musical theme in the 1935 film A Midsummer Night's Dream. Especially popular was Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" from "A Midsummer Night's Dream", from a hymn to the variability of love, turning for many into a hymn of marital fidelity.

Theseus is going to marry Hippolyta, and the wedding of Demetrius and Hermia is also being prepared, on which Hermia's father insists. Hermia loves Lysander, together they decide to run away and tell Elena, who is in love with Demetrius, about this, in the hope that Elena will be pleased with the escape of her rival for Demetrius's heart. Elena, counting on the gratitude of Demetrius, tells him about the escape of his bride. As a result, all four - Hermia, Lysander, Helen and Demetrius - find themselves in the forest at a time when Oberon, the king of the fairies and elves, decides to punish his wife Titania, who does not give him her Indian page. Oberon orders his servant Pak to smear the eyes of the sleeping Titania with magic juice, after she wakes up, she will fall in love with the first living creature that she sees and forget her Indian pet. There is magic juice in a flower that has grown in the place where Cupid's arrow hit, bouncing off a chaste virgin.

Fairy

Or just in appearance you are like him,
Or are you really Rogue Robin,
Evil spirit. Not you in the villages
Do you scare girls? Do you grind grains yourself?
You skim the cream and spend hours entirely
You don't let the worker knock down the butter?
Are you ruining the yeast in your beer? You fool
Night traveler and laugh after?
And who calls you "friend Pak"
So you are happy to help this way and that.
Tell me is it you?

Fairy and Pak

Arthur Rackham - Fairy and Puck

Arthur Rackham - Fairy and Puck

Oberon

Is this meeting under the moon good,
Arrogant Titania?

Titania

What is this?

Jealous Oberon? Let's go, fairies!
I hate his appearance and bed.

Oberon and Titania

Joseph Noel Paton. Debate between Oberon and Titania

Alfred Fredricks. Titania and Oberon

Arthur Rackham - Titania and Oberon

Arthur Rackham. Titania

Arthur Rackham - Titania

Amateur actors also come to the forest, who decide to play the play "Pyramus and Thisbe" at the wedding of Theseus. One of them - the weaver Hank (in another translation - the Basis) turns out to be turned by Pak into a creature with a donkey's head. The donkey-headed weaver is the first to see Titania after waking up and falls in love with him.

Titania

Do not seek to leave this thicket.
You wouldn't have found the way anyway.
I am a being of the rarest of breeds.
In my domain - summer all year round.
And I love you. Come my friend.
Elves will run to you for services,
To look for pearls for you in the seas
And sing when you doze on the flowers.
I will thus cleanse your mortal frame,
That you, like a spirit, will rise above the earth.

Titania and Foundation

Alfred Fredericks - Foundation

Alfred Fredericks - Titania and Hank (Basic)

Alfred Fredericks - Titania and Foundation

Edwin Landseer. Titania and Foundation

John Anster Fitzgerald. Titania and Foundation

Joseph Noel Paton. Titania and Hank (Basic)

Arthur Rackham - Titania and Foundation

Oberon witnessed the conversation between Elena and Demetrius, who rejects the girl in love. Oberon orders Puck to pour magical juice over the eyes of the sleeping Demetrius so that Demetrius will fall in love with Helen. But Puck mistakenly pours juice on Lysander's eyes and he falls in love with Elena, forgetting his love for Hermia. While reforming, Puck waters Demetri's eyes as well, and he also falls in love with Elena. Helen, who did not have a single admirer, now gains two and decides that Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia want to play a trick on her. Hermia is at a loss as to why Lysander has grown cold towards her. Demetrius and Lysander leave to fight for Helen's heart.

Arthur Rackham. Elena

Jones Simmons. Hermia and Lysander

Alfred Fredericks - Lysander and Hermia

Alfred Fredericks - Hermia

Alfred Fredricks. Demetrius and Elena

Oberon orders Pak to remove the effect of the magic juice from Lysander, and he heals Titania, who has already given him an Indian boy. The weaver returns to his normal appearance and he, along with his comrades, plays at a triple wedding: Theseus marries Hippolyta, Lysander marries Hermia, and Demetrius marries his new love, Elena.

Oberon
(speaking)

Oh Robin, hello! See? Admire.
I begin to feel sorry for the poor.
Now she was gathering at the edge
Flowers for this vile image;

Oberon, Titania and Hank (Basic)

Titania

My Oberon! Oh, what a fable!
I had a dream that I love a donkey.

Oberon

Here he is, your gentle friend.

Oberon, Titania and Foundation

Alfred Fredericks - Titania, Oberon and Foundation

John Anster Fitzgerald - Oberon and Titania

William Blake. Oberon, Titania and Puck with dancing fairies

Alfred Fredericks - Theseus and Hippolyta

Now I'll tell you about two adaptations of Shakespeare's comedy that I watched - 1935 release and 1999 release.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1935 film directed by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterli. This film has a wonderful fairy-tale atmosphere, especially Titania, played by Anita Louise. The music of Mendelssohn was used as a musical arrangement.

Stills from the movie "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935):

Oberon and Titania

Titania and Foundation

Hermia (portrayed by Olivia de Havilland)

Elena (played by Jean Muir)

Of the modern adaptations of A Midsummer Night's Dream, I would like to mention the 1999 film directed by Michael Hoffman, I like it even more than the 1935 film, despite some deviations from Shakespeare's original text - the action is transferred to the Italian town of Athens at the end of the 19th century, and Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena ride bicycles through the forest. If in the film of 1935 the emphasis is shifted towards fairy tales, then in the film of 1999 the main thing is not fabulousness, but the comicality of what is happening, due to this the film looks in one breath. Titania is playing. The best actress for this role cannot be chosen, Michelle Pfeiffer as the queen of fairies and elves is simply magnificent.

Stills from the movie "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999):

Oberon and Titania

Titania and Foundation

Of the theatrical performances of the role of Titania, one cannot fail to mention Vivien Leigh, she first appeared on the stage as Titania in the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on December 27, 1937.

Vivien Leigh as Titania

Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream was written between 1594 and 1596. It is considered the most romantic of all the comedies of the writer, who, when writing it, connected all his rich imagination. Shakespeare filled the play with amazing creatures, and presented events in an unreal, fantastic light.

For reader's diary and preparation for the literature lesson, we recommend reading the online summary of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by acts and scenes. You can check your knowledge with the test on our website.

Main characters

Theseus- Duke of Athens, kind and just ruler.

Lysander, Demetrius- young men, rivals in love.

Hermia- the bride of Demetrius, in love with Lysander.

Elena- a girl unrequitedly in love with Demetrius.

Oberon- the good king of fairies and elves.

Other characters

Aegeus- Hermia's father, a domineering and cruel man.

Hippolyta Queen of the Amazons, fiancee of Theseus.

Pigwa- carpenter, organizer of the play.

The basis- a weaver, one of the central characters in the play.

Titania- wife of Oberon, mistress of elves and fairies.

Pack- little elf, prankster.

Philostratus- entertainment manager

Act I

Scene 1

Theseus is looking forward to his marriage to the Amazon queen Hippolyta, which is to take place in four days. He orders Philostratus to stir up "all the youth in Athens" and arrange a merry feast in honor of the upcoming marriage.

Aegeus comes to the ruler with “in chagrin, with a complaint”. He wants to marry his daughter to Demetrius, but the recalcitrant Hermia refuses this union, because she loves Lysander.

Theseus reminds the girl that she must obey her father unquestioningly, reading him "as if by a god". Otherwise, death or imprisonment in a monastery awaits her.

Lysander invites his beloved to get married in secret, and she agrees. They share their secret with Elena. However, she decides to tell Demetrius about the upcoming escape, with whom she is unrequitedly in love.

Scene 2

On the eve of the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, the carpenter Pigwa gathers the townspeople, who are to play in a festive production called "The pitiable comedy and the very cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe."

Pigwa assigns roles, gives texts to homegrown actors, and schedules a rehearsal for the next night.

Act II

Scene 1

In a magical forest near Athens, there is a quarrel between the ruler of the fairies and elves Oberon and his wife Titania. The subject of the dispute is the baby, who was "kidnapped from the Indian Sultan" and to whom Titania became strongly attached. The jealous king wants to take the baby away from his wife to make him his page, but she refuses him and leaves with the elves.

In obedience to Oberon is the little elf Peck - "a cheerful spirit, a naughty night tramp." The king orders him to find a flower, which was accidentally hit by Cupid's arrow - "Love in idleness" is his name. If you smear the eyelids of a sleeping person with the juice of this flower, then he will fall in love with the first person he sees immediately after waking up. Thus, Oberon wants to divert the attention of his wife from the boy and take him away.

Seeing Demetrius and Helen, the king of the elves becomes invisible in order to "eavesdrop on the conversation of mortals". Elena confesses her love to the young man, but he rejects her. Oberon decides to help the unfortunate girl, and orders Pack to smear the eyelids with the magic juice of the flower Demetrius, and he fell in love with Elena.

Scene 2

The elf lord applies the remaining magic juice to Titania's eyelids. Meanwhile, Hermia and Lysander lose their way and, exhausted, fall asleep in the woods.

Little Pack, confusing Demetrius with Lysander, wets the latter's eyelids during sleep. Helena walks through the woods, upset by Demetrius's behavior, and stumbles upon a sleeping Lysander. As soon as he sees Elena in front of him, the young man unleashes a flurry of love confessions on her. Elena is sure that Lysander is mocking her and runs away into the forest.

Hermia has a terrible dream. She asks Lysander to come to the rescue, but, not finding her lover nearby, she goes in search of him.

Act III

Scene 1

Citizens of Athens, who have been chosen to participate in the performance, gather in the forest. The plot suggests suicide, "and the ladies absolutely can't stand it." Therefore, the Foundation decides to write two prologues to the play and emphasize the fiction of everything that happens.

The rehearsal of the actors is watched by the elf Pack. He decides to play a trick on them, and enchants the Foundation, turning his head into a donkey. The Foundation's buddies flee in fear, and the prankster Baek rushes after them to "grunt and neigh, burn, roar and growl" and scare them even more.

Titania wakes up and falls in love with the Foundation with all her heart, who wandered alone not far from her. She summons "light swarm elves" to serve the new master.

Scene 2

Peck reports to his master that "Titania fell in love with a monster" - a man with a donkey's head. Oberon is pleased with this state of affairs. But, having learned that Peck confused the young men, the king is angry, and goes in search of Demetrius in order to correct the oversight of his servant. Peck, on the other hand, flies "faster than all Tatar arrows" to Elena in order to lure her into the wilderness.

Hermia finds Demetrius and accuses him of killing his beloved Lysander. Tired of proving his innocence to the girl, Demetri falls asleep. Waking up, he sees Elena in front of him and, being bewitched by the juice of a flower, falls in love with her. However, the girl is not at all happy: she is sure that Lysander and Demetrius, who unexpectedly inflamed feelings for her, are only mocking her, and are ready to “joke at the defenseless - for the game.”

The young people, who have now become rivals, are ready to fight a duel to find out "who has more rights to Elena." Peck is “glad that it turned out so funny”, but Oberon orders him to lead the young people into the thicket, then separate and drive in circles for a long time. When exhausted rivals fall asleep, the elf lubricates Lysander's eyelids with an antidote for magic love juice.

Act IV

Scene 1

Having got the baby and having plenty of fun with his wife, who is in love with a donkey, Oberon decides to save her from the spell and "chase away her empty delusion". Also, the elf lord orders the faithful Pak to remove the donkey's head "from the head of the Athenian tramp", and send all the actors back to the city.

Theseus enters the clearing, accompanied by Hippolyta and his subjects. He wants to show his beautiful hounds to his beloved, but suddenly notices sleeping young people. Theseus is surprised to see them together - after all, they are old "rivals in love".

Lysander honestly tells the master that he planned to run away with his beloved Hermia and secretly get married. Demetrius, in turn, admits that from now on “passion, purpose and joy of the eyes” are Elena, not Hermia.

Theseus graciously agrees to these unions and reports that today "two couples in love will unite in the temple."

Scene 2

The actors gather at Pigwa's house. After a nightly rehearsal, no one can find the Foundation - "no other way than he was carried away by evil spirits."

The Base enters and informs his friends that it is ordered "everyone to converge at the palace." He asks everyone to repeat their roles again, put on clean linen, but most importantly, do not eat "neither onion nor garlic" in order to "emit a sweet fragrance" during the game.

Act V

Scene 1

Theseus is wary of the story of lovers - he does not believe in "fables and fairy tales." Hippolyta shares the opinion of the future spouse, and believes that "in the events of this night there is more than one game of the imagination."

Theseus asks the lovers how they would like to brighten up their leisure time “from dinner to sleep”. He summons Philostratus, the manager of entertainment, and he offers the duke "a list of all ready entertainments." Theseus chooses a play by Athenian craftsmen, but Philostratus considers this production unsuccessful, because "there is not a word in it, nor a good actor."

Upon learning that the actors in the play are "common people, artisans from Athens", the duke wants to support his subjects and insists on his choice.

During the performance, the actors say frank nonsense, distorting the text and making their own amendments to the plot. Such nonsense amuses the duke and his guests, and they are satisfied with the play. At midnight everyone goes home.

Scene 2

At the site of the theatrical performance, Obreon appears with Titania and her retinue. The lord of the elves allows his subjects to have a good time. Finally, he decides to bring "as a gift to the beautiful newlyweds" well-being, happiness and good luck.

Conclusion

This play is strikingly different from other dramatic works of Shakespeare, in which realism has always dominated. This is a real magical extravaganza, light and ironic, which naturally ends with a happy ending.

For a better analysis of Shakespeare's work, after reading a brief retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream, we recommend reading the play in its full version.

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William Shakespeare

A dream in a summer night

CHARACTERS

Theseus , Duke of Athens.

Aegeus father of Hermias.

Lysander, Demetrius in love with Hermia.

Philostratus , manager of entertainment at the court of Theseus.

Pigwa , a carpenter.

Milyaga , carpenter.

The basis , weaver.

Dudka , repairer of inflatable bellows.

Snout , coppersmith.

zamorysh , tailor.

Hippolyta , queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus.

Hermia in love with Lysander.

Elena in love with Demetrius.

Oberon , king of fairies and elves.

Titania , queen of fairies and elves.

Pack, or Good Little Robin , little elf.

Sweet Pea, Spider Web, Moth, Mustard Seed , elves.

Fairies and elves, obedient to Oberon and Titania, retinue.

The scene is Athens and the forest nearby.

ACT I

SCENE 1

Athens, Theseus Palace.

Enter Theseus, Hippolyta, Philostratus And retinue.

Theseus

Beautiful, our wedding hour is getting closer:

Four happy days - new month

They will bring us. But oh, how slow the old one is!

He stands in the way of my desires,

Like a stepmother or an old widow,

What youths income seizes.

Hippolyta

Four days in the nights will sink quickly;

Four nights in dreams will sink so quickly ...

And the crescent is a bow of silver,

Stretched in the sky - illuminate

Our wedding night!

Theseus

Philostratus, go!

Stir up all the youth in Athens

And awaken the frisky spirit of fun.

Sadness for the funeral let it remain:

We do not need a pale guest at the feast.

Philostratus leaves.

Theseus

I got you with a sword, Hippolyta;

I won your love with threats,

Solemn, and fun, and magnificent!

Enter Aegeus, Hermia, Lysander And Demetrius.

Aegeus

Be happy, our glorious Duke Theseus!

Theseus

Thank you, Egey! What do you say?

Aegeus

I'm upset, complaining to you

To Hermia - yes, to her own daughter! -

Demetri, come! - My sovereign,

Here is the one to whom I wanted to give my daughter. -

Lysander, come near! - My sovereign!

And this one bewitched her heart. -

You, you, Lysander! You wrote poetry to her

Pledges of love changed with her,

Under her windows in the moonlight

Pretending to sing a love pretense song!

You used it to captivate her heart,

Bracelets, hair rings, sweets,

Flowers, knick-knacks, trinkets - everything

That inexperienced youth is cute!

By deceit you stole her love,

You are an obedience due to the father,

Turned evil into stubbornness! - So if

She will not let you, my sovereign,

Consent to Demetrius, I appeal

To the ancient Athenian law:

Since my daughter, I can completely with her

locate; and I decided: Demetrius

Or - as provided by law

In such cases - immediately death!

Theseus

Well, Hermia, beautiful maiden,

What do you say? Think well.

He created your beauty, and you

They cast a wax mold;

Leave it or break it - he has the right.

Demetrius is a decent man.

Hermia

My Lysander too.

Theseus

Yes, by itself;

But if your father is not for him,

That means he deserves it.

Hermia

I wanted my father to look at my

Theseus

No! Hurry your eyes

We must obey his judgment.

Hermia

Excuse me, Your Grace, I beg you.

I don't know where I found the courage

And is it possible, without offending modesty,

With all of me so freely to speak.

But I conjure, let me know:

What's the worst for me

When will I not marry Demetrius?

Theseus

What? Death! Or renunciation forever

From the society of men. That's why,

Oh Hermia, check yourself. Think:

You are young ... You ask your soul,

When you go against your father's will:

Are you able to put on a nun's outfit,

Forever be imprisoned in a monastery,

Live your whole life as a barren nun

And it's sad to sing hymns to the cold moon?

A hundred times blessed is he who humbles his blood,

To complete the virgin path on earth;

But the rose, dissolving in incense,

Happier than the one on the innocent bush

Blossoms, lives, dies - all alone!

Hermia

So I bloom and live and die

I want it sooner than girlish rights

Give him power! His yoke

My soul does not want to submit.

Theseus

Think Hermia! On the day of the new moon

(On the day that will connect me with my love

For eternal fellowship) should

You be ready or die

For violation of the father's will,

Or marry the one he chose,

Or give forever at the altar of Diana

A vow of celibacy and a harsh life.

Demetrius

Soften, O Hermia! - And you, Lysander,

Give in to my undeniable rights.

Lysander

Demetrius, since your father loves you so much,

Give me your daughter, and marry him yourself!

Aegeus

Bold mocker! Yes, father's love

Behind him and with her everything that I own.

But the daughter is mine, and all rights over her

I give Demetrius in full!

Lysander

But, sir, I am equal with him by birth

Yes, and wealth; I love more;

I'm not inferior in position

Rather even higher than Demetrius;

And most importantly - which exceeds everything -

I love the beautiful Hermia!

Why should I renounce my rights?

Demetrius - yes, I'll tell him to his face -

He was in love with Elena, the daughter of Nedar.

He carried her away. Gentle Elena

The inconstant loves madly,

Worships the empty man!

Theseus

To be honest, I heard something about it.

And even thought to talk to him;

But, busy with the most important things,

Forgot about that. - Come with me, Demetrius,

And you, Hey! Come with me both

And we'll find something to talk about! -

Well, Hermia, try to subdue

Your dreams to the desire of the father,

Otherwise the Athenian law will betray you

(which we can't change)

To death or eternal celibacy. -

Well, Hippolyta... What, my love?

Let's go ... - Demetrius and Aegeus - for me.

I will instruct you to arrange something

To the solemn day and the ceiling

Something that concerns both of you.

Aegeus

We are always glad to fulfill our duty.

Theseus, Hippolyta, Aegeus, Demetrius And retinue leave.

Lysander

Well, my love? How pale cheeks!

How quickly the roses withered on them!

Hermia

Is it because there is no rain, which

From the storm of my eyes is easy to get.

Lysander

Alas! I have never heard

And I didn’t read it - in history, in a fairy tale, -

May the path of true love be smooth.

But - or the difference in origin ...

Hermia

Oh grief! Higher - to be captivated by the lower! ...

Lysander

Or difference in years...

Hermia

O mockery!

To be too old for a young bride!

Lysander

Or the choice of relatives and friends ...

Hermia

But how to love someone else's choice?

Lysander

And if the choice is good for everyone, - war,

Sickness or death always threaten love

And make it, like sound, instantaneous,

Like a shadow, flying and like a dream, short.

So lightning, flashing in the darkness of the night,

Anger will open heaven and earth,

And before we exclaim: "Look!" -

She will be swallowed by the abyss of darkness -

Everything bright fades so quickly.

Hermia

But if it's inevitable for lovers

Suffering is the law of fate

So let us be patient in trials:

After all, this is an ordinary cross for love,

Decent for her - dreams, languor, tears,

Desires, dreams - unfortunate retinue of love!

Lysander

Yes, you are right... But, Hermia, listen:

I have an aunt. She is a widow

Wealthy, childless.

Lives about seven miles from here.

So: she loves me like a son!

There, Hermia, we can get married.

Cruel Athenian Laws

They won't find us there. If you really love

You sneak out of the house tomorrow night.

In the forest, three miles from Athens, in the place

Where did I meet you with Elena (you came

Perform rituals on a May morning, remember?),

I will wait for you.

Hermia

Oh my Lysander!

I swear by Cupid's strongest bow,

His best arrow, golden,

Venus doves purity,

By the fire into which Dido threw herself,

When the Trojan set sail,

All that love binds heaven

The darkness of men's oaths, broken godlessly

(In what it is impossible for women to catch up with them),

I swear: in the forest indicated by you,

I'll be there tomorrow night, my dear!

Included Elena.

Lysander

You will keep your oath... But look - Elena!

Hermia

Hello! Where are you going, my beautiful friend?

Elena

Beautiful - me? Oh, don't joke around.

Your beauty Demetrius captivates,

Lucky! Your eyes shine on him

Than a lark song among the fields ...

Whether beauty is a sticky disease -

I'd be infected with you, my friend!

I would steal from you

And the sparkle of the eyes, and the tenderness of sweet speech ...

Be my whole world - Demetrius soon

I would take it; everything else - own it!

But teach me: what art

Demetrius, have you mastered the feeling?

Hermia

I frown - he loves more and more.

Elena

Such power - my smile!

Hermia

I swear it - in it only the flame is brighter!

Elena

Oh, if I could soften him with prayers!

Hermia

The tougher I am, the more tender he is with me!

Elena

The more tender I am, the harder he is with me!

Hermia

His madness is not my fault.

Elena

Your beauty! Oh, be mine, guilt!

Hermia

I won't see him again: don't suffer.

We will leave this land forever!

While I lived here, not knowing love,

Athens seemed to me better than paradise ...

And here is love! How good is she

When is it free to make hell out of heaven?

Lysander

Elena, friend, I will reveal everything to you:

Tomorrow night, barely sees Phoebe

Your face is silvery in the mirror of the river,

Reeds strewn with liquid pearls, -

At the hour that keeps secrets for lovers,

We will go out with her from the city gates.

Hermia

In the forest, where often, lying between flowers,

We shared girlish dreams

My Lysander must meet me,

And we will leave our native city,

Looking for other friends, a different circle.

Farewell, my friend's childhood games!

Please pray for our fate

And God send Demetrius to you. -

So remember the agreement, Lysander: until night

Our eyes must fast.

Lysander

Yes, my Hermia...

Hermia leaves.

Farewell, Elena!

Demetrius I wish you love.

(Exits.)

Elena

How happy one is to the detriment of the other!

In Athens, I am equal in beauty with her ...

What of that? He is blind to my beauty:

He doesn't want to know what everyone knows.

He is in error, captivated by Hermia;

I, too, admiring them blindly.

Love is able to forgive low

And turn vices into valor

And not with the eyes - with the heart chooses:

That is why she is portrayed as blind.

It is difficult for her to come to terms with common sense.

Without eyes - and wings: a symbol of the reckless

Haste! ... Her name is - a child;

After all, it is easy to deceive her by joking.

And how the boys swear in the game,

So she is easy and uneasy deceit.

Until he was captured by Hermia,

Then he swore to me with a hail of oaths of love;

But only from Hermia breathed heat -

The hail melted, and with it all oaths in vain.

I will go, I will reveal their plans to him:

He, surely, will go into the forest at night;

And if I get gratitude,

I will pay dearly for this.

But I'm in my anguish and that's a lot -

With him, together in the forest and out of the forest, the road!

(Exits.)

SCENE 2

Athens. A room in a hut.

Enter Pigwa, Milyaga, The basis, Dudka, Snout And zamorysh.

Pigwa

Is our whole company assembled?

The basis

And you better do a roll call: call us all on the list.

Pigwa

Here is a list with the names of all who have been found in the slightest degree fit to present our interlude before the Duke and Duchess on the evening of their marriage.

The basis

First of all, good Peter Pigwa, tell us what the play is about, then read the names of the actors and you'll get to the point!

Pigwa

Right! Our play is "The pitiable comedy and the very cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe".

The basis

An excellent little thing, I assure you in a word, and a jolly one! Well, good Peter Pigwa, now call all the actors on the list. Citizens, line up!

Pigwa

Answer the call!… Nick Base!

The basis

Eat! Name my role and continue the roll call.

Pigwa

You, Nick Base, have been targeted for Pyramus.

The basis

What is Pyramus? Lover or Villain?

Pigwa

A lover who blatantly kills himself for love.

The basis

Aha! So it takes tears to play it right. Well, if I take this role - prepare, the public, handkerchiefs! I will raise a storm ... I will lament to some extent ... But, to tell the truth, my main calling is the role of villains. I would play Hercules in an unusual way, or even such a role as to gnaw the earth and smash everything around to pieces!

A roar will be heard

Fighters blows -

And the bolt will collapse

Cruel dungeon.

And Phoebe, the bright god,

Far and high

Will change evil rock

From your chariot!

What was it like? Great, huh? Well, call other actors. Here was the manner of Hercules, the character of the villain; lover - much more tearful.

Pigwa

Francis Dudka, bellows fixer.

Dudka

Yes, Peter Pigwa!

Pigwa

You must take the role of Thisbe.

Dudka

And who will this be Thisbe? The errant knight?

Pigwa

No, this is the lady Pyramus is in love with.

Dudka

No, I beg your honor, don't make me play a woman: my beard is breaking through!

Pigwa

Does not mean anything; you can play in a mask and you will squeak in the thinnest voice.

The basis

A! If you can play in a mask - come on, I'll play Thisbe for you: I can speak in a monstrously thin voice. “Yours, yours ... Ah, Pyramus, my dear lover! I am your dear Thisbe, I am your dear lady!”

Pigwa

No! No! You must play Pyramus, and you, Dudka, - Thisbe.

The basis

Pigwa

ROBIN Squishy, ​​the tailor!

zamorysh

Yes, Peter Pigwa!

Pigwa

Squishy, ​​you will play Thisbe's mother. - Thomas Rylo, coppersmith!

Snout

Yes, Peter Pigwa!

Pigwa

You are Pyramus' father. I'll play Fisbin's father. - Milyaga, carpenter, you get the role of Leo. Well, I hope the play goes well with us.

Milyaga

Have you rewritten the role of Leo? You will give it to me now, otherwise my memory is very slow for learning.

Pigwa

There is nothing to learn here, and so you will play: you will only have to growl.

The basis

Let me play Leo for you! I will growl so that your heart will rejoice; I will growl so that the duke himself will surely say: “Come on, let him growl some more, let him growl some more!”

Pigwa

Well, if you growl so terribly, you will probably frighten the duchess and all the ladies to death; they will scream too, and that will be enough to hang us all!

Yes, yes, they hang everyone to one!

The basis

I agree with you, friends, that if we incite the ladies, they won’t come up with anything better than to hang us all up. But I can change my voice in such a way that I will growl softly, like your little dove bird; I will growl to you that your nightingale!

Pigwa

You can’t play any role except Pyramus, because Pyramus is a handsome fellow, just such a real man in his prime, a first-class man, well-mannered, with manners, well, in a word, exactly like you ... You only need play Pyramus.

The basis

Okay, I agree, I'm taking the role. And in what beard should I play it?

Pigwa

Yes, whichever you want.

The basis

OK. I'll introduce him to you in a straw-colored beard. Or is it better in orange-brown? Or purple red? Or maybe the colors of the French crown - pure yellow?

Pigwa

Some French crowns have no hair at all, and you will have to play with a naked face ... - Well, citizens, here are your roles for you, and I ask you, I beg you and conjure you - memorize them by tomorrow evening. And in the evening come to the palace forest, a mile from the city, where we will have a rehearsal by moonlight. Otherwise, if we gather in the city, they will sniff out about it and blurt out our idea. In the meantime, I'll make a list of the props we need for the play. And please don't let me down.

The basis

We will definitely come. There it will be possible to rehearse, as they say, more unceremoniously, more freely. Try not to lose face! Until then, stay healthy!

Pigwa

Meeting - at the ducal oak.

The basis

OK. Even hang yourself, but stay where you are.

They leave.

ACT II

SCENE 1

Forest near Athens.

Appear from different angles fairy And Pack.

Ah, fairy! Hello! Where is your path?

Over the hills, over the valleys,

Through the thorn bushes, through the bushes,

Over the waters, through the flames

I wander here and there!

I fly the moon faster

I serve the queen of the fairies

Initial letters - her convoy.

See the golden outfit?

Spots on it burn:

That rubies, the color of the queen, -

They have all the flavor in them.

For drop caps, I need a supply of dewdrops -

Put pearl earrings into each ear.

Farewell, spirit goof! I fly forward.

Here the queen will come with the elves.

My king will have fun here at night, -

See that the queen does not meet with him!

He is furious with her, angry - fear!

Because of the child that is in her pages

(Kidnapped from the Indian Sultan).

She pampers, dresses the little boy,

And Oberon the jealous wants to take

Him to himself, so that with him in the forests to wander.

The queen sees all the joy in him,

Doesn't give! Since then, only over the stream,

On a clearing lit by the light of stars

They will come together - in a moment for a squabble,

So much so that the elves are all out of fear - away,

Climb into the acorn and tremble all night!

Yes, you ... I'm not mistaken, perhaps:

Habits, appearance ... are you Good Little Robin?

The one who scares the rural needlewomen,

Breaks them and spoils the handles of mills,

It prevents the oil from knocking down on the sly,

That skims the cream from the milk,

That prevents yeast from fermenting in Braga,

That at night leads travelers in a ravine;

But if someone calls him friend -

It helps, brings happiness into the house.

Well, yes, I am Good Little Robin,

Cheerful spirit, naughty night tramp.

In Oberon's jesters I serve ...

Then before a well-fed stallion I will neigh,

Like a mare; I'm still fooling around

Suddenly I’ll hide in a mug with a baked apple,

And only the gossip will gather to sip,

From there, I'm on her lips - lope! And chest

I'll sag all over her with beer.

Or to the aunt who tells the story whiningly,

I’ll show myself with a three-legged chair in the corner:

Suddenly I slip out - trrah! - aunt on the floor.

Well, cough, well, yell! There will be fun!

Everyone is dying bursting with laughter

And, holding on to the sides, the whole choir repeats,

That they have not laughed so much until now ...

But, fairy, away! Here is the king. Get out of here.

And here she is! Ah, it wouldn't be bad!

Enter from one side Oberon with my retinue, with another Titania with his.

Oberon

Not in good hour I am in the moonlight

I meet the arrogant Titania.

Titania

How are you, jealous Oberon? -

Fly, elves, away! I renounce

From society and the lodge of Oberon.

Since the middle of summer we cannot

Converge in the meadows, in the forest, by the noisy river,

At the stone-enclosed key,

On the golden sand washed by the sea

Drive circles to the whistle and song of the wind,

So that you do not interfere with our games with a cry!

And the winds sang songs to us in vain.

In revenge they raised from the sea

Evil fogs. Those by the rain

They fell to the ground. The rivers got angry

And they came out, proud, from the shores.

Since then, the ox has been pulling the yoke in vain,

In vain the plowman pours his sweat: bread

They rot without growing antennae.

Empty paddocks in flooded fields,

Crows got fat from falling...

The dirt has brought traces of merry games;

There are no paths in the green labyrinths:

Overgrown their trail, and not to find it!

Already mortal winters rather ask;

You don’t hear songs at night with them ...

And here is the moon, the ruler of the waters,

Pale with anger, washed the whole air

And she spread rheumatism everywhere.

All times interfere in confusion:

And the gray-headed frost falls

To the crimson rose in a fresh embrace;

But to the crown of the icy winter

Fragrant wreath of summer buds

Attached in a mockery. Spring and summer

Birthing autumn and winter

They change attire, and cannot

The world is amazed to distinguish times!

But such disasters appeared

All because of our quarrels and disagreements:

We are their cause, we create them.

Oberon

It's in your hands to change everything: why

Titania defies Oberon?

'Cause I'm asking for little: give me

You are a page boy for me!

Titania

Stay calm:

I won't give you a magical land for your entire land!

After all, his mother was my priestess!

With her in the spicy air of Indian nights

On the golden sands of Neptune

We often sat, counting the ships.

Laughed with her, looking like sails,

Pregnant with the wind, inflated ...

She jokingly imitated them

(At that time she was heavy

My favorite) and swam as if

Returning with some trifle

To me, as if from a voyage with goods ...

But my friend was mortal

And this boy cost her her life.

Loving her, I will cherish the child;

Loving her, I won't give it up!

Oberon

How long will you stay here in the forest?

Titania

Must be before Theseus' wedding.

If you want to dance peacefully with us

And have fun under the moon - stay.

Oberon

Give me the baby, I'll go with you!

Titania

Not for the magical land! - Follow me, elves!

If I don't leave, we'll quarrel forever.

Titania and her retinue leave.

Oberon

Go! You won't leave the forest before

What offense I will not avenge. -

My dear Peck, come here! Do you remember"

As I listened to the song of the siren by the sea,

Climbed to the dolphin on the ridge?

So sweet and harmonious were

Those sounds that the rough ocean itself

Politely subsided, listening to this song,

And the stars fell like crazy

From their heights to listen to the song ...

Oberon

At that moment I saw (though you did not see):

Between the cold moon and the earth

Armed Cupid flew.

In the Vestal Virgin reigning in the West

He took aim and so shot an arrow,

End of free trial.

Theseus , Duke of Athens.

Aegeus father of Hermias.

Lysander, Demetrius in love with Hermia.

Philostratus , manager of entertainment at the court of Theseus.

Pigwa , a carpenter.

Milyaga , carpenter.

The basis , weaver.

Dudka , repairer of inflatable bellows.

Snout , coppersmith.

zamorysh , tailor.

Hippolyta , queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus.

Hermia in love with Lysander.

Elena in love with Demetrius.

Oberon , king of fairies and elves.

Titania , queen of fairies and elves.

Pack, or Good Little Robin , little elf.

Sweet Pea, Spider Web, Moth, Mustard Seed , elves.

Fairies and elves, obedient to Oberon and Titania, retinue.

Location - Athens and the forest nearby.

ACT I

SCENE 1

Athens, Theseus Palace.

Enter Theseus, Hippolyta, Philostratus And retinue.

Theseus

Beautiful, our wedding hour is getting closer:

Four happy days - a new month

They will bring us. But oh, how slow the old one is!

He stands in the way of my desires,

Like a stepmother or an old widow,

What youths income seizes.

Hippolyta

Four days in the nights will sink quickly;

Four nights in dreams will sink so quickly ...

And the crescent is a bow of silver,

Stretched in the sky - will illuminate

Our wedding night!

Theseus

Philostratus, go!

Stir up all the youth in Athens

And awaken the frisky spirit of fun.

Sadness for the funeral let it remain:

We do not need a pale guest at the feast.

Philostratus leaves.

Theseus

I got you with a sword, Hippolyta;

I won your love with threats,

Solemn, and fun, and magnificent!

Enter Aegeus, Hermia, Lysander And Demetrius.

Aegeus

Be happy, our glorious Duke Theseus!

Theseus

Thank you, Egey! What do you say?

Aegeus

I'm upset, complaining to you

To Hermia - yes, to her own daughter! -

Demetri, come! - My sovereign,

Here is the one to whom I wanted to give my daughter. -

Lysander, come near! - My sovereign!

And this one bewitched her heart. -

You, you, Lysander! You wrote poetry to her

Pledges of love changed with her,

Under her windows in the moonlight

Pretending to sing a love pretense song!

You used it to captivate her heart,

Bracelets, hair rings, sweets,

Flowers, knickknacks, trinkets - everything

That inexperienced youth is cute!

By deceit you stole her love,

You are an obedience due to the father,

Turned evil into stubbornness! - So if

She will not let you, my sovereign,

Consent to Demetrius, I appeal

To the ancient Athenian law:

Since my daughter, I can completely with her

locate; and I decided: Demetrius

Or - as provided by law

In such cases - immediately death!

Theseus

Well, Hermia, beautiful maiden,

What do you say? Think well.

He created your beauty, and you

They cast a wax mold;

Leave it or break it - he has the right.

Demetrius is a decent person.

Hermia

My Lysander too.

Theseus

Yes, by itself;

But if your father is not for him,

That means he deserves it.

Hermia

I wanted my father to look at my

Theseus

No! Hurry your eyes

We must obey his judgment.

Hermia

Excuse me, Your Grace, I beg you.

I don't know where I found the courage

And is it possible, without offending modesty,

With all of me so freely to speak.

But I conjure, let me know:

What's the worst for me

When will I not marry Demetrius?

Theseus

What? Death! Or renunciation forever

From the society of men. That's why,

Oh Hermia, check yourself. Think:

You are young ... You ask your soul,