Act 1, Scene 1
Setting: Palace
THESEUS, HIUPPOLYTA and PHILOSTRATE Enter
THESEUS: Our Wedding is almost here my Beautiful Hippolyta We’ll be getting married in Four days, on the day of the New Moon. But it seems to me that the days are passing too slowly.
HIPPOLYTA: No, You’ll see my dear; four days will pass quickly, and after that, we’re down to our wedding
Celebration.
THESEUS: Go, Philostrate, get the people ready to celebrate and have a good time.
PHILOSTRATE Exit
EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER and DEMETRIUS Enter
EGEUS: Love live Theseus, our famous and highly respected Duke.
THESEUS: Thanks, good Egeus. What’s new with you?
EGEUS: I am here, full of anger, to complain about my daughter Hermia. My lord, this man, Demetrius, has my permission to marry her. But this man, Lysander, has poisoned my child’s heart. You’ve given her poems and exchanged tokens of love. You’ve pretended to be in love with her, making her stubborn and harsh instead of obeying me. And my gracious duke, I ask you to let me exercise the right that all fathers have in Athens--as the law says: I can either make her marry Demetrius- or have her killed.
THESEUS: What do you have to say for yourself, Hermia? Think carefully pretty girl. You should obey your father. Anyway, Demetrius is an admirable man.
HERMIA: So is Lysander!
THESEUS: You’re right, Lysander’s admirable too. But you have to consider Demetrius to be the better man because your father wants you to marry him. And to tell you, when you disobey your father, you’ll either be executed then be killed—or you’ll never see another man again because you’ll be a nun.
HERMIA: I’d rather wither away than to marry someone I don’t love.
THESEUS: Take some time to think about this, I’ll give you until before my wedding ceremony.
DEMETRIUS: Please give in, my sweet Hermia. Just marry me.
LYSANDER: (To DEMETRIUS) No, She won’t…
(To THESEUS) My lord, he’s already engaged with Helena, daughter of Nedar. He made her fall in love with him, but this unfaithful man abandoned her.
THESEUS: I have to admit, I’ve heard something about that. Demetrius and Egeus, both of you, come with me; I want to say a few things to you in private.
(To HIPPOLYTA) Come with me, my Love.
EGEUS: We’re following you, my lord.
They all Exit except LYSANDER and HERMIA
LYSANDER: Oh, Hermia! Listen, in books, they say that true love always faces obstacles.
HERMIA: What an obstacle that would be! How awful, to have your love life determined by someone else.
LYSANDER: Its okay my Love. So listen, I have a widowed-rich aunt who lives about twenty miles from here. She has no children and she treats me as her own son. I could marry you there, where the strict laws of Athens can’t touch us. So, here’s my Plan, I’ll meet you in the Forest outside the town, tomorrow night. And we’ll go to my aunt together.
HERMIA: Oh! I swear my love, I’ll be there.
HELENA Enter
HERMIA: Hello! Where are going beautiful Helena?
HELENA: Did you just call me “Beautiful”? Take it back! You’re the beautiful one as far as Demetrius is concerned. But the more I love Demetrius the more he hates me.
HERMIA: Don’t worry. He won’t see my face ever again. Lysander and I are running away from here.
LYSANDER: Tomorrow night, we are planning to sneak out of here.
HERMIA: (To HELENA) In the place where you and I used to tell each other sweet secrets—that’s where we’ll meet. I have to go now Helena, Goodbye.
LYSANDER: Goodbye Helena.
LYSANDER and HERMIA Exit in different Directions
HELENA: I’ll go tell Demetrius that Hermia is running away. If he’s grateful to me for this information, it’ll be worth my pain in helping him pursue my rival Hermia.
HELENA Exit
YOU ARE READING
A Midsummer Night's Dream (English Play Script - DRAFT)
FantasyWritten by William Shakespeare Script Translated and Editted by Sayeed Nabil D. Mindalano December 28, 2011 at 3:42pm You can Use this Script BUT please NOTIFY, and of course... proper Credits. For request of the script's soft copy, kindly send a re...
