Their sense thus weak, lost with their fears thus strong,
Made senseless things begin to do them wrong.
For briars and thorns at their apparel snatch,
Some sleeves, some hats, from yielders30 all things catch.
I led them on in this distracted fear,
And left sweet Pyramus translated there:
When in that moment, so it came to pass,
Titania waked and straightway loved an ass.
OBERON This falls out better than I could devise.
But hast thou yet latched36 the Athenian's eyes With the love juice, as I did bid thee do?
ROBIN I took him sleeping -- that is finished too --
And the Athenian woman by his side,
That, when he waked, of force40 she must be eyed.
Enter Demetrius and Hermia
OBERON Stand close41. This is the same Athenian.
They stand aside
ROBIN This is the woman, but not this the man.
DEMETRIUS O, why rebuke you him that loves you so?
Lay breath so bitter on your bitter foe.
HERMIA Now I but chide, but I should use45 thee worse, For thou, I fear, hast given me cause to curse,
If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep,
Being o'er shoes48 in blood, plunge in the deep, And kill me too.
The sun was not so true50 unto the day As he to me. Would he have stol'n away
From sleeping Hermia? I'll believe as soon
This whole earth may be bored53 and that the moon May through the centre54 creep, and so displease Her brother's noontide with th'Antipodes55.
It cannot be but thou hast murdered him,
So should a murderer look, so dead57, so grim.
DEMETRIUS So should the murdered look, and so should I, Pierced through the heart with your stern cruelty:
Yet you, the murderer, looks as bright, as clear,
As yonder Venus in her glimm'ring sphere61.