Robin Goodfellow

How now, spirit! whither wander you?

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Hello there, spirit! Where are you wandering off to?

What’s happening

Puck has just entered the fairy-inhabited woods. He spots a fairy and greets her casually, establishing himself as a familiar presence in this world. The previous scene ended with the mechanicals departing; now we shift to the enchanted realm. Puck is curious, sociable, and at ease — this is his territory.

Playing the moment

Keep it light and breezy — Puck is at home in these woods and addresses the fairy as a familiar acquaintance. The greeting should feel spontaneous, as if he's genuinely curious and perhaps pleased to encounter company. Some energy and mischief in the voice sets the right tone for his entrance.

A Fairy

Over hill, over dale,

Thorough bush, thorough brier,

Over park, over pale,

Thorough flood, thorough fire,

I do wander every where,

Swifter than the moon’s sphere;

And I serve the fairy queen,

To dew her orbs upon the green.

The cowslips tall her pensioners be:

In their gold coats spots you see;

Those be rubies, fairy favours,

In those freckles live their savours:

I must go seek some dewdrops here,

And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.

Farewell, thou lob of spirits; I’ll be gone:

Our queen and all her elves come here anon.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

I need to find dewdrops and place one in each cowslip flower, like putting a pearl earring on it. Goodbye, you clumsy oaf of a spirit—I'm leaving now. Queen Titania and all her fairies are arriving here soon.

What’s happening

This fairy has just been asked by Puck where she's going. She's busy with her duties—beautifying nature for Titania's arrival. She dismisses Puck with affectionate contempt ('lob' suggests he's beneath her refined world. The fairy is establishing the contrast between delicate fairy work and Puck's coarser mischief.

Worth knowing

'Lob' meant a clumsy, heavy, or stupid person—often associated with 'lob of spirits,' a country bumpkin type of supernatural being. It's a put-down implying Puck lacks refinement.

Playing the moment

The first two lines should be light, quick, and musical—the fairy takes genuine pleasure in this delicate work. 'Farewell, thou lob' is a zinger; deliver it with amused superiority or playful disdain. The final line shifts energy: there's urgency or excitement about Titania's arrival. Some actors play the fairy as breezy and dismissive; others give genuine warmth to the teasing. Match the production's fairy aesthetic.

Robin Goodfellow

The king doth keep his revels here to-night:

Take heed the queen come not within his sight;

For Oberon is passing fell and wrath,

Because that she as her attendant hath

A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king;

She never had so sweet a changeling:

And jealous Oberon would have the child

Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild;

But she perforce withholds the loved boy,

Crowns him with flowers, and makes him all her joy:

And now they never meet in grove or green,

By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen,

But they do square, that all their elves for fear

Creep into acorn-cups and hide them there.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

King Oberon is celebrating here tonight. Watch out that Queen Titania doesn't run into him, because he's furious that she's taken a beautiful boy from an Indian king as her attendant—the sweetest changeling she's ever had. Jealous Oberon wants the child to be a knight in his retinue, roaming the wild forests. But she refuses to give up the boy, crowning him with flowers and making him her whole joy. Now whenever they meet—in groves, by fountains, under starlight—they fight so fiercely that all their fairy servants hide in terror inside acorn cups.

What’s happening

Puck is greeting a fairy and immediately sharing hot gossip about the fairy royal couple's marriage crisis. He's establishing the central conflict of the play's magical plot: Oberon and Titania's war over a changeling child. Puck takes a mischievous, almost gleeful pleasure in delivering this news—he enjoys drama. This is expository but should feel like a courtier spreading juicy scandal, not a dry plot summary.

Worth knowing

The Indian boy may reference recent English colonial ventures or the popular court entertainment genre of fairy mythology. 'Changeling' here means a child exchanged by fairies, but Titania has simply stolen and kept the mortal boy—no exchange involved. The fairy court's domestic squabble parodies royal politics Shakespeare's audience would recognize.

Playing the moment

Puck should deliver this with conspiratorial energy, like someone who thrives on being the bearer of sensational news. Pace it briskly—the storytelling should have forward momentum. Some actors play Puck as purely chaotic; others emphasize his role as Oberon's servant. Either way, his relish in describing the quarrel should be clear. Build toward the comic image of tiny fairies cramming into acorn cups—that's the punchline. Energy should be high, bright, and slightly wicked.

A Fairy

Either I mistake your shape and making quite,

Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite

Call’d Robin Goodfellow: are not you he

That frights the maidens of the villagery;

Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern,

And bootless make the breathless housewife churn;

And sometime make the drink to bear no barm;

Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?

Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck,

You do their work, and they shall have good luck:

Are not you he?

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Either I'm completely wrong about your appearance, or you're that mischievous trickster sprite called Robin Goodfellow. Aren't you the one who scares village girls, skims the cream off milk, grinds grain at the mill pointlessly, makes housewives churn butter in vain, stops beer from fermenting, and leads nighttime travelers astray while laughing at their misfortune? People who call you Hobgoblin or sweet Puck—you do their chores and bring them luck. Aren't you that sprite?

What’s happening

The fairy has just finished describing Titania's duties and announced the queen's imminent arrival. Puck has responded with a warning about Oberon's wrath. Now the fairy examines Puck closely, working up to a recognition. The speech is a playful interrogation—the fairy knows perfectly well who this is but enjoys building the list of Puck's notorious pranks. There's a delighted, mischievous energy, like gossiping with a celebrity about their scandals.

Worth knowing

Robin Goodfellow was a well-known figure in English folklore before Shakespeare; a pamphlet called 'Robin Goodfellow: His Mad Pranks and Merry Jests' appeared around 1628, possibly influenced by or capitalizing on this play. Puck was also a pre-existing folklore figure, a nature spirit or demon. Shakespeare uniquely merges these traditions. The 'quern' is a hand-mill for grinding grain. 'Barm' is the foam on fermenting beer—stopping it was a classic fairy prank. 'Villagery' means the rural peasantry.

Playing the moment

Build momentum through the list of pranks—the fairy should warm to the subject, increasingly delighted by each example. The first three lines (recognition, naming, confirmation) should land clearly. Then accelerate through the catalogue, relishing each mischief. 'Skim milk' is often accompanied by a hand gesture. 'Laughing at their harm' should contain genuine glee. The shift to the Hobgoblin section is warmer and sweeter. The final 'Are not you he?' should land as a clear question, inviting Puck's response.

Robin Goodfellow

Thou speak’st aright;

I am that merry wanderer of the night.

I jest to Oberon, and make him smile,

When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,

Neighing in likeness of a filly foal:

And sometime lurk I in a gossip’s bowl,

In very likeness of a roasted crab;

And when she drinks, against her lips I bob

And on her wither’d dewlap pour the ale.

The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,

Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;

Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,

And ‘tailor’ cries, and falls into a cough;

And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh;

And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear

A merrier hour was never wasted there.

But, room, fairy! here comes Oberon.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

You're right — I'm Puck, the mischievous night sprite. I entertain Oberon by pranking horses, old gossips, and wise old women. But now Oberon is coming — make way!

What’s happening

Puck has just been recognized by the Fairy, who recited his reputation as a trickster. This is Puck's moment to confirm his identity and show off. He's proud of his pranks and relishes the chance to perform them. The speech shifts from boasting to sudden alertness as Oberon approaches.

Worth knowing

A 'crab' is a crab apple, not a crustacean — roasted crab apples were dropped into ale to sweeten and warm it. 'Quire' means choir, referring to the group gathered around the fireplace. 'Tailor' was a conventional exclamation when falling, possibly from the tailoring trade's reputation for sharp cries. 'Neeze' means sneeze.

Playing the moment

This is Puck's self-introduction — his 'greatest hits.' Play it with rising delight and showmanship. Each prank should build in energy and comedy. The horse prank is a warmup; the gossip's bowl is mischievous; the stool prank is the big comic climax — milk it physically. The final line snaps to urgency: Oberon is coming and the mood shifts instantly.

A Fairy

And here my mistress. Would that he were gone!

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

And here comes my mistress Titania. I wish Oberon would just leave!

What’s happening

The fairy recognizes that both Oberon and Titania are about to arrive at the same spot — exactly the dangerous encounter Puck just warned about. This is the classic moment of comic dread: two feuding ex-lovers about to collide. The fairy is nervous and wants to avoid being caught in the crossfire of their arguments.

Playing the moment

This is a quick, panicked reaction — the fairy sees Titania arriving and realizes the awkward confrontation is inevitable. The line should land with a mix of anxiety and exasperation. Some actresses play it with a grimace toward where Oberon entered; others deliver it almost as an aside to the audience, sharing the 'uh-oh' feeling. Keep it brisk; it's a setup line that launches the great marital sparring that follows.

Oberon

Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

What an unpleasant encounter under the moonlight, you arrogant Titania.

What’s happening

Oberon and Titania's marriage is in crisis. He has just learned from Puck how she refuses to give up the Indian changeling boy, and now they meet face to face. He opens with hostility, setting the tone for their confrontation. He wants to establish dominance immediately.

Playing the moment

This single line must land like a slap. The alliteration of 'met' and 'moonlight' gives the actor percussive consonants to bite into. 'Proud' should cut—there's real venom and personal hurt beneath it. Some actors play it coldly controlled; others let fury crack through. Either way, don't play civility: this is an opening salvo between wounded spouses who know exactly how to wound each other.

Titania

What, jealous Oberon! Fairies, skip hence:

I have forsworn his bed and company.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

What do you want, jealous Oberon? Fairies, leave us. I have sworn off sleeping with him and being in his company.

What’s happening

Titania and Oberon, the fairy king and queen, are in the middle of a bitter marital feud over a changeling boy. Titania has just entered with her fairy attendants and immediately encounters Oberon, whom she has been actively avoiding. She wants to assert her independence and dismiss him quickly, ordering her fairies away rather than letting them witness the confrontation.

Playing the moment

The word 'What' can be played various ways — as contemptuous dismissal, weary exasperation, or sharp defiance. 'Jealous' should land as an accusation. Many actors play 'Fairies, skip hence' as a protective gesture, not wanting her attendants caught in the crossfire. The second line is often delivered with cold dignity rather than heat — she's stating a resolved position, not arguing. The pacing should contrast: quick and sharp on the first line, slower and more deliberate on the second.

Oberon

Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy lord?

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Wait, you reckless slut. Aren't I your husband and master?

What’s happening

Oberon has just encountered Titania after she ordered her fairies to leave. He is trying to assert dominance and stop her from fleeing. The line reveals both his possessive anger and his entitled expectation of obedience as both spouse and king.

Worth knowing

"Wanton" could mean willful, spoiled, or sexually promiscuous — all three charges could apply here, as Titania is defying Oberon and has effectively separated from him.

Playing the moment

The line should carry genuine authority but also exposed frustration. 'Tarry' is a command, but 'rash wanton' reveals wounded pride. The question 'Am not I thy lord?' can be played as genuine bewilderment that she would defy him, or as threatening menace. Some actors emphasize the possessive anger; others play the insecurity beneath the bluster.

Titania

Then I must be thy lady: but I know

When thou hast stolen away from fairy land,

And in the shape of Corin sat all day,

Playing on pipes of corn, and versing love

To amorous Phillida. Why art thou here,

Come from the farthest steppe of India?

But that, forsooth, the bouncing Amazon,

Your buskin’d mistress and your warrior love,

To Theseus must be wedded, and you come

To give their bed joy and prosperity.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Then I acknowledge you as my lord—but I know when you sneaked out of Fairyland disguised as the shepherd Corin, sitting around all day playing reed pipes and writing love poetry to Phillida. Why have you come all the way from the farthest reaches of India, if not because your boisterous Amazon mistress Hippolyta—your warrior lover—is about to marry Theseus, and you've come to bless their marriage bed?

What’s happening

Titania and Oberon are locked in a bitter marital standoff. He has just asserted his authority as her 'lord'; she concedes the title but immediately weaponizes it by exposing his past infidelity. She's deflecting blame by going on the offensive—wounding him with proof that his jealousy is hypocritical. The accusation is pointed: he's only here because his former lover is marrying someone else.

Worth knowing

Corin and Phillida are conventional names from pastoral poetry (going back to Virgil and beyond), shorthand for 'shepherd' and 'shepherdess.' 'Pipes of corn' are reed pipes made from wheat or oat stalks. Hippolyta, the Amazon queen defeated by Theseus in battle, appears in Plutarch and other classical sources Shakespeare knew well. 'Buskined' refers to buskins—half-boots associated with tragic actors and, here, with warriors. A 'steep' can mean a steep mountain or, by extension, a distant remote region.

Playing the moment

The speech should build in intensity. 'Then I must be thy lady' can land with a sharp, ironic bite—conceding the word while withholding any warmth. The Corin/Phillida section should be delivered with scornful relish: she knows exactly what he did. The pivot at 'Why art thou here' should crack open the real wound—his attachment to Hippolyta. Many modern productions play the 'bouncing Amazon' line as a taunting provocation, while others use it to reveal genuine hurt beneath Titania's defiance. The final question lands as both accusation and challenge.

Oberon

How canst thou thus for shame, Titania,

Glance at my credit with Hippolyta,

Knowing I know thy love to Theseus?

Didst thou not lead him through the glimmering night

From Perigenia, whom he ravished?

And make him with fair Ægle break his faith,

With Ariadne and Antiopa?

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

How can you shamelessly bring up my relationship with Hippolyta when you know I know about your love for Theseus? Didn't you help him escape through the dark night from Perigouna after he raped her, and then convince him to break his promises to Aegles, Ariadne, and Antiopa?

What’s happening

Oberon is retaliating after Titania accused him of coming to Athens because of his former love for Hippolyta. He's turning the tables by listing her own history of helping Theseus abandon a series of lovers. This is a bitter marital spat between powerful supernatural beings, each exposing the other's infidelities. He needs to regain the upper hand after being called out.

Worth knowing

All the women Oberon names are from classical mythology—women Theseus loved and abandoned. Ariadne famously helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur with her thread, only to be left behind on Naxos. The mythology was well-known to Shakespeare's audience from Ovid and Plutarch.

Playing the moment

The speech should escalate from injured indignation to triumphant accusation. The opening 'How canst thou thus for shame' can land like a slap—genuine outrage that she dared attack him. Then the turn: 'Knowing I know thy love to Theseus' should carry a threatening edge, the confidence of a counter-attack. The catalogue of abandoned women should build momentum, each name landing like Exhibit B, C, D. Some actors play Oberon as genuinely wounded; others lean into hypocrisy and one-upmanship. Either way, the key is that he believes this retort wins the argument—so the final question should ring with satisfaction.

Titania

These are the forgeries of jealousy:

And never, since the middle summer’s spring,

Met we on hill, in dale, forest, or mead,

By paved fountain or by rushy brook,

Or in the beached margent of the sea,

To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,

But with thy brawls thou hast disturb’d our sport.

Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,

As in revenge, have suck’d up from the sea

Contagious fogs; which falling in the land,

Have every pelting river made so proud,

That they have overborne their continents:

The ox hath therefore stretch’d his yoke in vain,

The ploughman lost his sweat; and the green corn

Hath rotted ere his youth attain’d a beard:

The fold stands empty in the drowned field,

And crows are fatted with the murrion flock;

The nine men’s morris is fill’d up with mud;

And the quaint mazes in the wanton green,

For lack of tread, are undistinguishable:

The human mortals want their winter here;

No night is now with hymn or carol blest:

Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,

Pale in her anger, washes all the air,

That rheumatic diseases do abound:

And thorough this distemperature we see

The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts

Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose;

And on old Hiems’ thin and icy crown

An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds

Is, as in mockery, set: the spring, the summer,

The childing autumn, angry winter, change

Their wonted liveries; and the mazed world,

By their increase, now knows not which is which:

And this same progeny of evils comes

From our debate, from our dissension;

We are their parents and original.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

These are jealous lies. Since midsummer, every time we've met to dance, your quarrels have ruined our festivities. The disrupted seasons—floods, disease, rotting crops, and confused weather—all stem from our fighting. We are personally responsible for this chaos.

What’s happening

Titania deflects Oberon's accusations by calling them jealous inventions, then shifts to a larger accusation: their marital strife has destabilized the natural world. She builds a devastating catalog of ecological collapse, placing blame squarely on both of them. This is a power move—she won't let him control the narrative. Her final lines are a direct confession of shared culpability, which subtly refuses to cede him the moral high ground.

Worth knowing

The detailed agricultural and seasonal disruption may echo the unseasonable weather of 1594-95, including severe floods. The catalog of ruined country life draws on complaint literature about unnatural portents and cosmic disorder. 'Nine-men's-morris' was a popular English board game played on a grid scratched into the ground, so mud filling it concretely evokes a flooded village green.

Playing the moment

This speech can be played as a controlled, escalating indictment—Titania is building a case. Some actors use the catalog to shift from cold fury to genuine grief for the suffering they've caused. The final two lines should be direct and confrontational: 'WE are their parents' lands on that pronoun hard. Peter Brook's 1970 production emphasized the sexual tension underlying the accusations. Consider varying texture: lyrical for the fairy descriptions, harsher for the agricultural devastation.

Oberon

Do you amend it, then; it lies in you:

Why should Titania cross her Oberon?

I do but beg a little changeling boy,

To be my henchman.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Then fix it yourself. You have the power to restore nature's balance. Why would you, Titania, defy me, your Oberon? All I ask is to have that little changeling boy as my page.

What’s happening

Titania has just delivered a magnificent speech about how their marital discord has unleashed ecological chaos. Oberon's response is strikingly tactical—he pivots from defending himself against her infidelity accusations to making a practical demand. He's essentially bargaining: give me the boy, and perhaps this cosmic dysfunction ends. The speech reveals his real agenda was never about Hippolyta; it's about possession of the child. Note how he softens his language from command to petition, from king to supplicant.

Playing the moment

The shift from 'Do you amend it' to 'I do but beg' is crucial—Oberon moves from accusation to persuasion. Some actors play the opening with imperious command, then soften unexpectedly; others layer the 'beg' with irony, since we know he'll resort to magic if denied. The possessive 'her Oberon' can be played as tenderness, possessiveness, or passive-aggression. The word 'but' in 'I do but beg' should be stressed: he's minimizing his request to make refusal seem petty. Physical stillness here can be more powerful than grand gesture—he's a king who doesn't need to posture.

Titania

Set your heart at rest:

The fairy land buys not the child of me.

His mother was a votaress of my order:

And, in the spiced Indian air, by night,

Full often hath she gossip’d by my side;

And sat with me on Neptune’s yellow sands,

Marking the embarked traders on the flood;

When we have laugh’d to see the sails conceive

And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;

Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait

Following,—her womb then rich with my young squire,—

Would imitate, and sail upon the land,

To fetch me trifles, and return again,

As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.

But she, being mortal, of that boy did die;

And for her sake do I rear up her boy;

And for her sake I will not part with him.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Stop hoping to get him. All of Fairyland couldn't buy this child from me. His mother was a devoted follower of mine—we spent nights together in India, sitting on beaches watching merchant ships. When she was pregnant, she'd playfully imitate those sailing ships, waddling to fetch me small gifts as if returning from a voyage. She died giving birth to him, and I'm raising him for her sake. I won't give him up.

What’s happening

Titania is refusing Oberon's demand for the changeling boy. This is the first time she explains WHY she keeps him—it's not spite, it's love and a deathbed promise. She shifts from combative (the preceding ecological disaster speech) to tender and vulnerable. The confession humanizes her. Oberon's response—asking how long she'll stay in the wood—suggests he's already scheming to get the boy another way.

Worth knowing

The pregnant woman imitating a ship was possibly staged with comic physicality in original performances. The Indian setting connects to Elizabethan England's fascination with exotic trade routes.

Playing the moment

The speech should arc from firm resolve ('Set your heart at rest') through warm nostalgia (the ship passage) to grief and finality. Many Titania performers physically soften during the memory of the mother—some cradle or touch the boy if he's present. The images of pregnancy and swelling sails carry sensual undertones that actors can lean into or play as purely affectionate. The triple repetition of 'for her sake' (lines 505-506) can build from mournful to defiant. This is one of Shakespeare's most purely tender speeches between estranged spouses.

Oberon

How long within this wood intend you stay?

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

How long do you plan to stay in this forest?

What’s happening

Titania has just delivered an extraordinary speech about how their marital discord has unleashed cosmic chaos—ruined harvests, diseased livestock, and seasons collapsing into one another. Rather than respond to any of that, Oberon pivots to a practical question. It's a strategic deflection. He's already planning something and needs to know her movements so he can act while she's nearby. The question marks a shift from accusations to scheming.

Playing the moment

The danger here is playing this line as casual small talk. It should feel pointed and purposeful—Oberon is already strategizing, possibly with a slight pause that signals his mind is working. Some actors deliver it with clipped abruptness, impatient to move past Titania's rhetoric; others make it dangerously smooth, masking calculation. The line works best when the audience senses Oberon has an agenda he hasn't revealed yet.

Titania

Perchance till after Theseus’ wedding-day.

If you will patiently dance in our round,

And see our moonlight revels, go with us;

If not, shun me, and I will spare your haunts.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Maybe I'll stay until after Theseus' wedding. If you want to join our fairy circle and watch our moonlight celebrations peacefully, come along with us. If not, stay away from me, and I'll avoid your territories too.

What’s happening

Titania has just finished a sweeping description of cosmic disorder caused by their marital conflict and refused to surrender the changeling boy. Oberon attempted a softer approach, asking how long she'll remain in the woods. Her answer is calculated: she sets a boundary and offers a conditional peace, but on her terms. She's asserting independence while leaving the door open for reconciliation—if he can behave.

Playing the moment

The speech pivots twice—first an offer of inclusion, then a firm dismissal. 'Perchance' can be delivered with a hint of coyness or strategic vagueness. The invitation should feel genuine, even warm, before the temperature drops at 'If not.' The final line is not cruel but dignified: she's establishing boundaries, not threatening. Some actors play 'spare your haunts' with quiet steel; others with exhausted resignation. Both work.

Oberon

Give me that boy, and I will go with thee.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Hand over the boy and I'll come with you to your revels.

What’s happening

Titania has just offered Oberon a choice: join the fairies' moonlight dancing or leave her alone. Oberon sees an opening and makes a blunt counter-offer. He's been refusing to engage with her long speech about the seasons — he wants the boy, period. This is his final attempt at negotiation before resorting to trickery.

Playing the moment

The line should land as a pivot — Titania offered warmth and inclusion, and Oberon pivots to a transactional demand. Some actors play it with cold calculation; others let irritation crack through after being ignored. The simplicity of the language after Titania's elaborate speech is striking: keep it direct, almost terse. His frustration is barely contained.

Titania

Not for thy fairy kingdom. Fairies, away!

We shall chide downright, if I longer stay.

Exit Titania with her train.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

I wouldn't give him up even for your entire fairy kingdom. Fairies, let's go. If I stay any longer, we'll have a real fight on our hands.

What’s happening

Titania is ending the negotiation definitively. Oberon has ignored her heartfelt explanation about the boy's mother and simply repeated his demand. Her exit is both a rejection and a strategic withdrawal — she knows this argument will only escalate and turn poisonous. She's also asserting power by leaving on her terms.

Playing the moment

The line should land with decisive finality. 'Not for thy fairy kingdom' can be delivered with contempt or weary firmness — the key is that no negotiation remains. 'Fairies, away' is a command that should physically launch the exit. The second line, 'We shall chide downright,' is often played with a backward glance at Oberon — a warning that acknowledges their volatile history. Some actresses play a flicker of regret beneath the defiance, hinting at genuine affection damaged by pride.

Oberon

Well, go thy way: thou shalt not from this grove

Till I torment thee for this injury.

My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememberest

Since once I sat upon a promontory,

And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin’s back,

Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,

That the rude sea grew civil at her song,

And certain stars shot madly from their spheres,

To hear the sea-maid’s music.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Fine, leave if you want. But you won't escape this grove until I've made you suffer for this insult. Puck, my gentle friend, come here. Do you remember that time I sat on a promontory and heard a mermaid singing on a dolphin's back? Her song was so beautiful that the rough sea grew calm and stars shot out of their orbits just to hear her music.

What’s happening

Titania has just defied Oberon and exited with her fairy train. Left alone, Oberon drops the conciliatory tone and reveals his true fury — he will have vengeance. But the speech pivots sharply from threats to an almost nostalgic, lyrical memory, signaling a shift in strategy: he's hatching a plan using magic. The mermaid anecdote is a setup for his instructions about the love-in-idleness flower.

Worth knowing

The 'mermaid on a dolphin's back' is widely believed to reference an elaborate pageant at Kenilworth in 1575 honoring Elizabeth I, where a mechanical dolphin with a singing woman inside performed on the lake. This would make the 'fair vestal' in the following lines a pointed compliment to the queen, with Cupid's arrow failing to penetrate her chastity. 'Rude' means rough or untamed, not impolite.

Playing the moment

The first two lines should carry real menace — Oberon is dropping any pretense of negotiation. After the dash, the actor must negotiate a massive tonal shift: from fury to tender, almost reverent recollection. The mermaid speech should be delivered with wonder and sensuousness, drawing Puck (and the audience) into the memory. Some actors use this contrast to suggest Oberon's mercurial, unpredictable nature; others play it as calculated charm, softening Puck up before giving orders. The final line — 'To hear the sea-maid's music' — lands with quiet awe.

Robin Goodfellow

I remember.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Yes, I remember that moment.

What’s happening

Puck is responding to Oberon's lyrical, elaborate description of the mermaid's song. He's being summoned for a task and confirming he knows exactly what Oberon is referring to. The brevity is the point—where Oberon waxes poetic, Puck is blunt and businesslike.

Playing the moment

The comedy here is the contrast: Oberon has just delivered fourteen lines of gorgeous verse, and Puck cuts through with two words. Play the contrast. Some actors deliver this with cheeky brevity, almost interrupting; others pause thoughtfully before confirming. Either works, but the laugh comes from the deflation of Oberon's lyricism. Puck knows exactly what's coming and is already eager to get moving.

Oberon

That very time I saw, but thou couldst not,

Flying between the cold moon and the earth,

Cupid all arm’d: a certain aim he took

At a fair vestal throned by the west,

And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow,

As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts:

But I might see young Cupid’s fiery shaft

Quench’d in the chaste beams of the watery moon,

And the imperial votaress passed on,

In maiden meditation, fancy-free.

Yet mark’d I where the bolt of Cupid fell:

It fell upon a little western flower,

Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound,

And maidens call it love-in-idleness.

Fetch me that flower; the herb I shew’d thee once:

The juice of it on sleeping eye-lids laid

Will make or man or woman madly dote

Upon the next live creature that it sees.

Fetch me this herb; and be thou here again

Ere the leviathan can swim a league.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

At that exact moment, I saw Cupid flying between the moon and Earth, fully armed. He took aim at a beautiful virgin queen seated in the west, and fired his arrow as if to pierce countless hearts. But I watched his fiery arrow be extinguished by the moon's chaste beams, and the queen passed by untouched, lost in innocent thoughts. However, I noticed where Cupid's arrow fell — on a small western flower, once white but now purple from love's wound, which maidens call love-in-idleness. Bring me that flower I showed you before. Its juice placed on sleeping eyelids will make anyone fall madly in love with the next creature they see. Fetch it and return before a whale could swim a league.

What’s happening

Oberon has just been denied the changeling boy by Titania and is plotting his revenge. He's calling on Puck to help him acquire a magical flower — the love-in-idleness — whose juice will make Titania fall in love with some creature, giving Oberon leverage. This speech establishes Oberon's supernatural power and connects the fairy world to the human world through the elaborate compliment to Queen Elizabeth I.

Worth knowing

The 'fair vestal thronèd by the west' is widely understood as a direct compliment to Queen Elizabeth I, who was famously unmarried and often portrayed as a virgin goddess. The 'little western flower' — the pansy or love-in-idleness — became one of the play's most famous symbols. The mermaid on a dolphin's back may reference an entertainment at Elizabeth's court.

Playing the moment

The speech should shift from wondrous, almost dreamlike storytelling to sharp, commanding purpose. The first half is lyrical and mesmerizing — Oberon relishing his cosmic vision — then pivots at 'Yet marked I' into scheming energy. The final commands to Puck should crackle with urgency. Some actors play Oberon as purely manipulative; others find genuine awe in the Cupid vision. The challenge is making the long description feel motivated rather than merely decorative.

Robin Goodfellow

I’ll put a girdle round about the earth

In forty minutes.

Exit.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

I'll travel around the entire Earth and return in forty minutes.

What’s happening

Puck responds to Oberon's command with brimming confidence. Oberon has just described the love-in-idleness flower at length and given an elaborate time limit involving a sea monster. Puck cuts through all that poetic buildup with cocky brevity. He's eager to serve and showing off his supernatural speed.

Worth knowing

The 'forty minutes' reference playfully echoes the epic tradition of Mercury's winged travels, but grounds it in a specific, almost mundane timeframe that highlights Puck's irreverence toward grand mythology. Elizabethan audiences would have recognized the impossibility as pure fairy logic.

Playing the moment

This is often played with mischievous swagger and kinetic energy. The contrast between Oberon's long, lyrical buildup and Puck's snappy two-line response is key — don't undercut it by lingering. Some actors deliver it already moving, as if the promise is so effortless he's practically gone mid-sentence. Others land it as a confident beat before exiting with flourish. Either way, sell the cockiness: this is Puck at his most self-assured.

Oberon

Having once this juice,

I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep,

And drop the liquor of it in her eyes.

The next thing then she waking looks upon,

Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull,

On meddling monkey, or on busy ape,

She shall pursue it with the soul of love:

And ere I take this charm from off her sight,

As I can take it with another herb,

I’ll make her render up her page to me.

But who comes here? I am invisible;

And I will overhear their conference.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Once I have this potion, I'll wait until Titania falls asleep and squeeze the juice onto her eyelids. When she wakes, she'll fall desperately in love with whatever creature she sees first—whether it's a lion, bear, wolf, bull, monkey, or ape. Before I remove the spell with another herb, I'll force her to give up the Indian boy she's keeping from me.

What’s happening

Oberon is plotting revenge against Titania for refusing to hand over the Indian changeling boy. His plan is delightfully cruel: humiliate her by making her fall in love with a wild animal. This speech reveals the scheme in full, shifting the play's tone from fairy bickering into darker comic territory. The entrance of Demetrius and Helena will soon redirect Oberon's attention toward meddling in mortal affairs.

Worth knowing

The catalogue of beasts—lion, bear, wolf, bull, monkey, ape—would have been particularly vivid for an Elizabethan audience familiar with bear-baiting and other animal spectacles in London. The comedy depends on Titania, a fairy queen, doting on something base and bestial.

Playing the moment

Oberon should relish this scheme. The speech moves from conspiratorial satisfaction through dark comic glee as he imagines the ridiculous possibilities, then shifts to a hardening resolve about the boy. The 'soul of love' line lands with particular relish—the idea of Titania pursuing an ape with the full force of passion. At 'But who comes here?' there should be a genuine break in concentration. Directors traditionally have Oberon step aside or draw a circle of enchantment, becoming 'invisible' to the approaching mortals.

Demetrius

I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.

Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?

The one I’ll slay, the other slayeth me.

Thou told’st me they were stolen unto this wood;

And here am I, and wode within this wood,

Because I cannot meet my Hermia.

Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

I don't love you, so stop following me. Where are Lysander and Hermia? I want to confront him, and she keeps me in pursuit. You told me they ran away to this forest, and now I'm here, going mad in these woods because I can't find my Hermia. Leave me alone and stop following me.

What’s happening

Demetrius is searching for Hermia and Lysander, who have eloped into the forest. Helena, who loves Demetrius despite his rejection, has pursued him relentlessly. He is frustrated, exhausted, and desperate—he wants rid of Helena so he can focus on finding his rival. Oberon is secretly watching, which gives the audience dramatic irony.

Worth knowing

The pun on 'wood' (meaning both 'forest' and 'mad/crazy') was a common Elizabethan wordplay. 'Wood' meaning 'mad' survives in modern English only in the fossilized word 'bewildered' (from 'wild'/'wilde'/'wood').

Playing the moment

Demetrius should radiate frustrated impatience—he's been hounded through the woods by a woman he actively dislikes. Energy is high but agitated rather than threatening. The 'wood within this wood' line demands a sharp landing on the pun. Some actors play him genuinely cruel; others find exasperation that borders on desperation. Given Helena's upcoming spaniel speech, his harshness here should have teeth.

Helena

You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant;

But yet you draw not iron, for my heart

Is true as steel: leave you your power to draw,

And I shall have no power to follow you.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

You pull me toward you like a magnet, you cruel man! But you don't attract iron—my heart is as true as steel. If you stopped your power to attract me, I'd have no power to follow you.

What’s happening

Helena has pursued Demetrius into the forest despite his rejection. She is desperate and humiliated, yet cannot stop herself. This speech captures her central contradiction: she blames him for her obsession while acknowledging her own complicity. She wants him to feel the power he holds over her, even as she claims she wishes she could break free.

Worth knowing

Adamant referred to lodestone (magnet) or sometimes an impossibly hard stone. Shakespeare exploits the scientific confusion between magnetism and hardness—Helena's wordplay on 'hard-hearted' and 'draw' depends on the magnetic sense. The steel/iron distinction would land immediately for an Elizabethan audience: steel was refined iron, valued and tempered, making her heart both magnetic and noble.

Playing the moment

The speech should feel exhausted, not histrionic—she has been running through the woods. The wordplay on 'draw' (attract/pull/withdraw) can be physically embodied: she moves toward him, then catches herself. The final couplet admits her weakness; play it as much to herself as to him. Avoid self-pity; she is angry at him and frustrated with herself in equal measure.

Demetrius

Do I entice you? do I speak you fair?

Or, rather, do I not in plainest truth

Tell you, I do not nor I cannot love you?

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Am I leading you on? Am I being sweet to you? Or am I not telling you as clearly as possible that I don't and can't love you?

What’s happening

Demetrius is exasperated and desperate to shake off Helena, who is pursuing him through the woods. He has already told her bluntly to leave; now he tries logic, demanding she acknowledge he's given her no encouragement. He wants freedom; she refuses to grant it.

Playing the moment

The rhetorical questions build in intensity—some actors play the first with incredulity, the second with rising frustration, and the final line as near-shouting despair. Others underplay coldly, which can be crueler. The key is clarity: he genuinely wants her to hear him, not just punish her.

Helena

And even for that do I love you the more.

I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius,

The more you beat me, I will fawn on you:

Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me,

Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave,

Unworthy as I am, to follow you.

What worser place can I beg in your love,—

And yet a place of high respect with me,—

Than to be used as you use your dog?

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

I love you more because you hate me. I'm like your dog—the harder you beat me, the more I'll adore you. Let me follow you even if you treat me as badly as you treat your own spaniel.

What’s happening

Helena is pursuing Demetrius, who has just told her plainly that he does not and cannot love her. Rather than retreat with dignity, she doubles down, offering herself as a willing victim. This speech reveals both the depth of her humiliation and a strange, desperate agency—she would rather be abused and near him than rejected and apart. The spaniel metaphor captures love stripped of all pride.

Worth knowing

The spaniel image draws on a well-known Elizabethan convention of the fawning, devoted dog. 'Adamant' in Helena's previous speech refers to a lodestone or magnet, playing on the idea of irresistible attraction—she is drawn to Demetrius against her will.

Playing the moment

The danger is playing this purely for pathos or as pathetic groveling. The poetry has genuine audacity—Helena is making a bold, almost perverse argument. Some actresses find a defiant pride in the degradation; others play genuine anguish. The repetition in 'spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me' should build rhythmically. Helena is not weak—she is relentless, and there is power in that.

Demetrius

Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit;

For I am sick when I do look on thee.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Don't push me to the point where I completely hate you. Looking at you literally makes me feel ill.

What’s happening

Demetrius has reached his breaking point with Helena's relentless pursuit. Nothing he says deters her, and he is now issuing a genuine warning—trying cruelty as his last resort. He is frustrated, exhausted, and desperate to be rid of her so he can find Hermia. Oberon is secretly watching this exchange, which will soon motivate him to intervene with the love potion.

Playing the moment

The key decision is whether Demetrius is genuinely venomous or sounding a warning from exasperation. 'Sick' can be played as visceral disgust, nausea, or the exhaustion of a man who has already tried everything else. Resist the urge to shout—the line can be more effective delivered cold and deliberate, making the cruelty land harder. Some actors find a beat of genuine discomfort here, as if her devotion actually troubles him.

Helena

And I am sick when I look not on you.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

And I feel sick when I can't look at you.

What’s happening

Helena immediately mirrors and reverses Demetrius's insult. Where he says looking at her makes him sick, she counters that not looking at him has the same effect on her. This is a rapid-fire exchange—she doesn't let his cruelty land before throwing it back, transformed into devotion. She is pleading and desperate but also quick-witted, refusing to let him have the last word.

Playing the moment

The line should land fast, almost an interruption—Helena seizes his language and turns it before he can even breathe. The word 'sick' should probably carry genuine feeling; she's not just being clever, she's also confessing something true. Some actors play it with painful vulnerability, others with fierce defiance. Both work. The key is that she refuses to let him wound her without wounding herself worse first.

Demetrius

You do impeach your modesty too much,

To leave the city, and commit yourself

Into the hands of one that loves you not;

To trust the opportunity of night

And the ill counsel of a desert place

With the rich worth of your virginity.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

You're compromising your reputation by leaving the city and entrusting yourself to a man who doesn't love you, risking your virginity by trusting the cover of darkness and the dangerous isolation of this deserted place.

What’s happening

Demetrius is genuinely alarmed and frustrated. Helena's dog metaphor has failed to deter her, and now he tries a different tactic: appealing to her self-interest and propriety. He's not just rejecting her—he's warning her that she's endangering herself. This is the closest he comes to showing concern for her welfare, even as he remains repulsed by her pursuit.

Playing the moment

This speech can work beautifully as a shift from irritation to genuine alarm. Demetrius may be exasperated, but he also recognizes the real danger Helena is putting herself in. Some actors lean into the protective angle, almost pleading; others play it colder, as calculated shaming. The key is the pivot from 'loves you not' (personal rejection) to 'your virginity' (social consequences)—let the weight land on that final phrase. The meter carries a mounting sense of accusation across the enjambed lines.

Helena

Your virtue is my privilege: for that

It is not night when I do see your face,

Therefore I think I am not in the night;

Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,

For you in my respect are all the world:

Then how can it be said I am alone,

When all the world is here to look on me?

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Your moral character is my protection—I trust you won't harm me. When I can see your face, it's not dark, so I don't feel like I'm alone in the woods at night. This forest isn't empty either, because you are the whole world to me. How can anyone say I'm alone when the entire world is right here with me?

What’s happening

Demetrius has just warned Helena about the dangers of being alone with a man who doesn't love her in a secluded place at night—implying she could be assaulted. Helena utterly rejects his framing. She refuses to see herself as vulnerable and insists on reinterpreting everything: the man who rejects her becomes her protector, the darkness becomes light, the empty forest becomes crowded. She is desperate but also brilliantly quick, turning his logic inside out. This is a woman who will not be shamed or frightened away.

Worth knowing

Helena's logic here playfully echoes the rhetorical tradition of Petrarchan love poetry, where the beloved's presence transforms the world. The word 'virtue' carries its older sense of moral character and manly worth—she's essentially saying 'your honor protects me,' which is both sincere trust and subtle manipulation.

Playing the moment

Helena should seem to gain confidence and momentum here—she's winning the argument, at least in her own mind. Some actors play her as deluded and pitiable; others find genuine wit and intelligence in her reasoning. The speech can work as desperate optimism or clever defiance. Let the logic build: she is constructing an airtight case, and each line should land like a point scored. By the end, she should sound almost triumphant, which makes Demetrius's frustrated exit all the more satisfying.

Demetrius

I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes,

And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

I'm going to run away from you and hide in the thick bushes, and leave you to be attacked by wild animals.

What’s happening

Demetrius is desperate and frustrated beyond measure. Helena's relentless pursuit and poetic declarations have only hardened his rejection. He resorts to a direct threat—abandoning her to danger in the dark forest—hoping to shock her into leaving him alone.

Playing the moment

This should land as a desperate threat rather than a composed exit. Demetrius has lost all patience; his cruelty here comes from exhaustion and panic. The line can work played as a genuine warning (almost pleading), as cold disdain, or as barely contained fury. Whatever the choice, the threat should feel visceral—he's weaponizing the real danger of the woods against her.

Helena

The wildest hath not such a heart as you.

Run when you will, the story shall be changed:

Apollo flies, and Daphne holds the chase;

The dove pursues the griffin; the mild hind

Makes speed to catch the tiger; bootless speed,

When cowardice pursues, and valour flies.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Even the wildest animal has a gentler heart than yours. Run if you want—I'll turn the story around. Now the man flees and the woman chases, like the myths reversed: the prey hunts the predator, the gentle pursues the fierce. Your running is pointless cowardice.

What’s happening

Helena has just been threatened with abandonment to wild beasts, and she turns Demetrius's metaphor inside out. She is fearless, even exhilarated—his cruelty cannot shake her. She casts herself as the pursuer in an inverted world, drawing energy from the very absurdity of her position. This is Helena at her most bold and verbally brilliant, refusing victimhood.

Worth knowing

The Apollo and Daphne myth (from Ovid's Metamorphoses) was universally known: Apollo pursued Daphne until she was transformed into a laurel tree to escape him. Helena reverses the roles entirely—now the woman chases the man.

Playing the moment

The speech builds through three inverted images with increasing speed—the list should accelerate. Many modern productions play Helena's pursuit for physical comedy, but the language has genuine defiance and wit. The final line ('Bootless speed / When cowardice pursues and valor flies!') can land as a taunt—she's calling him a coward and daring him to run. Some actors find a note of exhilaration here, almost enjoying the chase.

Demetrius

I will not stay thy questions; let me go:

Or, if thou follow me, do not believe

But I shall do thee mischief in the wood.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

I won't wait around to hear you talk anymore. Let me go. If you keep following me, don't doubt that I'll hurt you here in this forest.

What’s happening

Demetrius is at his wit's end. Nothing he says deters Helena, and her witty reversals have left him without rhetorical ammunition. He resorts to a blunt physical threat—the last weapon available when words fail. This is a desperate, cornered man who doesn't genuinely want to harm Helena but hopes the threat will finally scare her off.

Playing the moment

The energy should shift from frustrated to threatening, but the threat should feel hollow—as Helena immediately calls his bluff. Some actors play this with genuine menace; others make the desperation more visible, undermining the threat. Both choices work, but the text supports the latter: a man who keeps walking away while threatening over his shoulder is running, not hunting. Pace should be clipped and urgent, cutting Helena off before she can launch another clever reply.

Helena

Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field,

You do me mischief. Fie, Demetrius!

Your wrongs do set a scandal on my sex:

We cannot fight for love, as men may do;

We should be woo’d, and were not made to woo.

Exit Dem.

I’ll follow thee, and make a heaven of hell,

To die upon the hand I love so well.

Exit.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Yes, everywhere—in sacred places, in the city, in the open countryside—you hurt me. Shame on you, Demetrius! Your behavior disgraces all women. We can't fight for love the way men can. We're supposed to be courted, not do the courting. I'll follow you anyway, and I'll turn this hell into heaven by dying at the hands of the man I love so much.

What’s happening

Helena has been pursuing Demetrius into the forest despite his cruel rejections. He just threatened her with physical violence—unheard-of for a gentleman toward a noblewoman. This speech marks her transition from witty repartee to raw exposure of pain. She is simultaneously shaming him for his ungentlemanly behavior and declaring her desperate, irrational devotion. Oberon is watching, which gives this speech dramatic weight—it's the catalyst for the entire love-juice plot.

Worth knowing

The verb 'woo' could mean either 'court' or 'sue for love,' making Helena's inversion of expected gender roles particularly stark. Her complaint that women 'were not made to woo' would have resonated with Elizabethan anxieties about women pursuing men. 'Die upon the hand' carries a double meaning: death, but also sexual consummation—a common Elizabethan double entendre.

Playing the moment

The speech moves from confident rebuttal through wounded dignity to reckless declaration. 'Ay, in the temple, in the town, the field' should land with gathering force. 'Fie, Demetrius!' is a genuine rebuke—let it sting. The couplet about women's roles needs gravity; Helena is exposing vulnerability, not making a feminist speech. The final two lines shift to a strange, almost ecstatic determination—she knows she sounds irrational and doesn't care. Many performers underplay the desperation; don't. She's embarrassed, hurt, and unable to stop herself.

Oberon

Fare thee well, nymph: ere he do leave this grove,

Thou shalt fly him, and he shall seek thy love.

Re-enter Puck.

Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Goodbye, Helena. Before Demetrius leaves this forest, you will run from him, and he will chase after your love. Do you have the flower? Welcome, Puck.

What’s happening

Oberon has just witnessed Helena's desperate pursuit of Demetrius and been moved to intervene. He makes a decisive vow to reverse the dynamic so Demetrius will pursue Helena instead. The second half of the speech shifts attention entirely — Oberon spots Puck arriving with the love-in-idleness flower and greets him with warmth.

Playing the moment

This speech contains a dramatic pivot. The first two lines are a vow made to an absent Helena — Oberon is decisive, almost savoring the coming reversal. Then his attention snaps to Puck's arrival with the flower, and his energy shifts to conspiratorial warmth. Some actors deliver 'Fare thee well, nymph' as a whispered aside; others speak it with open authority. The contrast between the tender promise and the brisk 'Hast thou the flower there?' signals that Oberon is now a plotter in motion.

Robin Goodfellow

Ay, there it is.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Yes, here's the flower you asked for.

What’s happening

Robin (Puck) has returned from fetching the love-in-idleness flower Oberon requested. Oberon has just witnessed Helena's desperate pursuit of Demetrius and vowed to fix the situation. Robin's brief response confirms he's completed his errand efficiently. The moment marks the transition from observation to action — the magical plot is about to unfold.

Playing the moment

Keep it quick and cheerful — Robin is eager and obliging, a sprite who takes pride in doing tasks swiftly. The line should feel like a servant happily presenting completed work. Don't oversell it; the brevity is the joke. A beat of satisfaction, perhaps producing the flower with a flourish. Some actors play Puck with mischief already brewing; others keep him innocently dutiful at this stage. Either works, but the line itself is straightforward.

Oberon

I pray thee, give it me.

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:

There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,

Lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight;

And there the snake throws her enamell’d skin,

Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in:

And with the juice of this I’ll streak her eyes,

And make her full of hateful fantasies.

Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove:

A sweet Athenian lady is in love

With a disdainful youth: anoint his eyes;

But do it when the next thing he espies

May be the lady: thou shalt know the man

By the Athenian garments he hath on.

Effect it with some care that he may prove

More fond on her than she upon her love:

And look thou meet me ere the first cock crow.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Please hand me that flower. I know a flower-covered bank where Titania sleeps at night. I'll squeeze this juice on her eyes so she falls in love with the first creature she sees. You take some and find a young Athenian man who's rejecting a woman who loves him—anoint his eyes so he wakes seeing her and loves her back. Meet me before dawn.

What’s happening

Oberon has overheard Helena's desperate pursuit of Demetrius and resolved to fix this through magic. He's giving Puck a dual mission: enchant Titania (his own political/romantic rival) and help the spurned Helena. Oberon is in command here—generous to young lovers, ruthless with his wife. The speech pivots from lyrical beauty to scheming energy to brisk instructions.

Worth knowing

The 'bank where the wild thyme blows' (0621-0624) is one of Shakespeare's most celebrated descriptions of the English countryside and is frequently excerpted as a standalone poem. 'Eglantine' is sweetbriar rose, not the modern plant called eglantine. 'Weed' (0628) means 'garment'—the snake's shed skin is clothing fine enough for a fairy. 'Fantasies' (0630) here means illusions or phantoms, not imagination.

Playing the moment

The speech has two distinct modes: the dreamy lyricism of describing Titania's bower (lines 0621-0628) and the crisp plotting of instructions to Puck (lines 0629-0639). The transition should be palpable—Oberon shifts from almost tender reverie to cold efficiency when he mentions the revenge plot. The famous 'I know a bank' lines need to land with wonder; resist rushing them. By 'hateful fantasies,' the energy sharpens—this is mischief, not malice. The final line should carry the authority of a king giving orders.

Robin Goodfellow

Fear not, my lord, your servant shall do so.

Exeunt.

Modern translation & notes

In plain English

Don't worry, my lord. Your servant will carry out your orders exactly as you've said.

What’s happening

Robin is accepting Oberon's commission to find the Athenian man and dose him with the love potion. He's eager, confident, and relishing the mischief ahead. This brief response seals the pact between fairy king and trickster servant, setting the plot's central confusion in motion.

Playing the moment

Keep it brisk and cheery — Robin should radiate confidence and barely contained energy. Some actors play this with a conspiratorial wink or bow, emphasizing the servant-master relationship while hinting that Robin relishes this task a little too much. The line should feel like a promise that will absolutely be kept, though perhaps not perfectly executed.