{"product_id":"four-comedies-isbn-9780553212815","title":"Four Comedies","description":"\u003ci\u003eThe Taming of the Shrew\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRobust and bawdy, The Taming of the Shrew captivates audiences with outrageous humor as Katharina, the shrew, engages in a contest of wills–and love–with her bridegroom, Petruchio, in a comedy of unmatched theatrical brilliance, filled with visual gags and witty repartee. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Midsummer Night's Dream\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFairy magic, love spells, and an enchanted wood turn the mismatched rivalries of four young lovers into a marvelous mix-up of desire and enchantment, all touched by Shakespeare’s inimitable vision of the intriguing relationship between dreams and the waking world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Merchant of Venice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis dark comedy of love and money contains one of the truly mythic figures in literature–Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. The “pound of flesh” he demands as payment of Antonio’s debt has become a universal metaphor for vengeance. Here, pathos and farce combine with moral complexity and romantic entanglements, to display the extraordinary power and range of Shakespeare at his best.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwelfth Night\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSet in a topsy-turvy world like a holiday revel, this comedy juxtaposes a romantic plot involving separated twins and mistaken identity with a more satiric one about the humiliation of a pompous killjoy. The hilarity is touched with melancholy, and the play ends, not with laughter, but with a clown’s plaintive song.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEach Edition Includes:\u003cbr\u003e• Comprehensive explanatory notes \u003cbr\u003e• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship \u003cbr\u003e• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English\u003cbr\u003e• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories \u003cbr\u003e• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmographyWilliam Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23.  The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse.  He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community.  William probably went to the King’s New School in Stratford, but he had no university education.  In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna.  She was born on May 26, 1583.  Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585.  By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright.  A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as “an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers.”  Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord  Chamberlain’s Men (later under James I, called the King’s Men).  In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain’s Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River.  Here many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin.  In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including \u003ci\u003eSir Thomas More\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Two Noble Kinsmen\u003c\/i\u003e, and he wrote poems, including \u003ci\u003eVenus and Adonis\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Rape of Lucrece\u003c\/i\u003e. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609.  In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as \u003cb\u003eThe Tempest\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eHenry VII\u003c\/b\u003e until about 1613.  He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.  No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.\u003cp\u003e[Dramatis Personae\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristopher Sly, a tinker and beggar,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehostess of an alehouse, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea lord, Persons in the \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea page, servants, huntsmen,              Induction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eplayers, \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBaptista, a rich gentleman of Padua\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKatharina, the shrew, also called Katharine and Kate, Baptista's elder daughter\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBianca, Baptista's younger daughter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePetruchio, a gentleman of Verona, suitor to Katharina\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrumio, Petruchio's servant\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCurtis, Nathaniel, Philip, Joseph, Nicholas, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeter, and other servants of Petruchio\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGremio,  elderly suitor to Bianca\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHortensio, suitor to Bianca\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLucentio, son of Vincentio, in love with Bianca\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTranio, Lucentio's servant\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBiondello, Lucentio's servant\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVincentio, a gentleman of Pisa\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea pedant (or Merchant) of Mantua\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea widow, courted by Hortensio\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea tailor\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea haberdasher \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ean officer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOther Servants of Baptista and Lucentio\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003escene: Padua, and Petruchio's country house in Italy;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe Induction is located in the countryside and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eat a Lord's house in England]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[Induction.1]  A  Enter Beggar (Christopher Sly) and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHostess.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  I'll feeze you, in faith. 1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehostess  A pair of stocks, you rogue! 2\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  You're a baggage. The Slys are no rogues. Look in  3\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe chronicles; we came in with Richard Conqueror.  4\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTherefore paucas pallabris, let the world slide. Sessa! 5\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehostess  You will not pay for the glasses you have\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eburst?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  No, not a denier. Go by, Saint Jeronimy, go to thy  8\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecold bed and warm thee. 9\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehostess  I know my remedy; I must go fetch the third-  10\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eborough. [Exit.]  11\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  Third, or fourth, or fifth borough, I'll answer him  12\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eby law. I'll not budge an inch, boy. Let him come, and  13\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ekindly. Falls asleep.  14\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWind horns [within]. Enter a Lord from hunt-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eing, with his train.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHuntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds. 15\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBreathe Merriman--the poor cur is embossed-- 16\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd couple Clowder with the deep-mouthed brach. 17\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSaw'st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good 18\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the hedge corner, in the coldest fault? 19\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI would not lose the dog for twenty pound.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst huntsman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy, Bellman is as good as he, my lord.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe cried upon it at the merest loss, 22\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd twice today picked out the dullest scent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTrust me, I take him for the better dog.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThou art a fool. If Echo were as fleet,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI would esteem him worth a dozen such.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut sup them well and look unto them all. 27\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTomorrow I intend to hunt again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst huntsman  I will, my lord.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord [seeing Sly]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat's here? One dead, or drunk? See, doth he\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  breathe?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esecond huntsman [examining Sly]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe breathes, my lord. Were he not warmed with ale,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis were a bed but cold to sleep so soundly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOh, monstrous beast, how like a swine he lies!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image! 34\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSirs, I will practice on this drunken man. 35\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat think you, if he were conveyed to bed,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWrapped in sweet clothes, rings put upon his fingers, 37\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA most delicious banquet by his bed, 38\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd brave attendants near him when he wakes, 39\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWould not the beggar then forget himself?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst huntsman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBelieve me, lord, I think he cannot choose. 41\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esecond huntsman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt would seem strange unto him when he waked.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven as a flatt'ring dream or worthless fancy. 43\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen take him up, and manage well the jest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCarry him gently to my fairest chamber,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd hang it round with all my wanton pictures.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBalm his foul head in warm distilled waters, 47\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProcure me music ready when he wakes,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo make a dulcet and a heavenly sound. 50\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd if he chance to speak, be ready straight, 51\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd with a low submissive reverence 52\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSay, \"What is it Your Honor will command?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLet one attend him with a silver basin\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFull of rosewater and bestrewed with flowers;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnother bear the ewer, the third a diaper, 56\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd say, \"Will 't please Your Lordship cool your\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  hands?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSomeone be ready with a costly suit,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd ask him what apparel he will wear;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnother tell him of his hounds and horse, 60\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd that his lady mourns at his disease. 61\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePersuade him that he hath been lunatic,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd when he says he is, say that he dreams, 63\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor he is nothing but a mighty lord.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis do, and do it kindly, gentle sirs. 65\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt will be pastime passing excellent, 66\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf it be husbanded with modesty. 67\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst huntsman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy lord, I warrant you we will play our part\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs he shall think by our true diligence 69\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe is no less than what we say he is.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTake him up gently, and to bed with him,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd each one to his office when he wakes. 72\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[Some bear out Sly.] Sound trumpets [within].\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSirrah, go see what trumpet 'tis that sounds. 73\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[Exit a Servingman.]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBelike some noble gentleman that means, 74\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTraveling some journey, to repose him here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnter [a] Servingman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow now? Who is it?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eservingman An't please Your Honor, players 76\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat offer service to Your Lordship.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnter Players.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBid them come near.--Now, fellows, you are welcome.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eplayers  We thank Your Honor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDo you intend to stay with me tonight?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst player\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo please Your Lordship to accept our duty. 81\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith all my heart. This fellow I remember\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince once he played a farmer's eldest son.--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Twas where you wooed the gentlewoman so well.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI have forgot your name, but sure that part\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWas aptly fitted and naturally performed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esecond player\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI think 'twas Soto that Your Honor means.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Tis very true. Thou didst it excellent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, you are come to me in happy time, 89\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe rather for I have some sport in hand 90\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWherein your cunning can assist me much. 91\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is a lord will hear you play tonight.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut I am doubtful of your modesties, 93\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLest, overeyeing of his odd behavior-- 94\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor yet His Honor never heard a play--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou break into some merry passion 96\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd so offend him; for I tell you, sirs,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you should smile, he grows impatient.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst player\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFear not, my lord, we can contain ourselves,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWere he the veriest antic in the world. 100\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord [to a Servingman]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGo, sirrah, take them to the buttery, 101\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd give them friendly welcome every one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLet them want nothing that my house affords. 103\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExit one with the Players.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSirrah, go you to Barthol'mew my page,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd see him dressed in all suits like a lady. 105\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat done, conduct him to the drunkard's chamber,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd call him \"madam,\" do him obeisance. 107\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTell him from me, as he will win my love, 108\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe bear himself with honorable action\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuch as he hath observed in noble ladies\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnto their lords by them accomplished. 111\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuch duty to the drunkard let him do\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith soft low tongue and lowly courtesy,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd say, \"What is't Your Honor will command,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWherein your lady and your humble wife\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMay show her duty and make known her love?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd then with kind embracements, tempting kisses,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd with declining head into his bosom,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBid him shed tears, as being overjoyed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo see her noble lord restored to health,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWho for this seven years hath esteemed him 121\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo better than a poor and loathsome beggar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd if the boy have not a woman's gift\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo rain a shower of commanded tears,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn onion will do well for such a shift, 125\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhich in a napkin being close conveyed 126\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShall in despite enforce a watery eye. 127\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSee this dispatched with all the haste thou canst.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnon I'll give thee more instructions. 129\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExit a Servingman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI know the boy will well usurp the grace, 130\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVoice, gait, and action of a gentlewoman.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI long to hear him call the drunkard husband,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd how my men will stay themselves from laughter 133\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen they do homage to this simple peasant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI'll in to counsel them. Haply my presence 135\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMay well abate the overmerry spleen 136\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhich otherwise would grow into extremes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[Exeunt.]\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[Induction.2]  A  Enter aloft the drunkard [Sly], with attendants; some with apparel, basin, and ewer and other appurtenances; and Lord.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  For God's sake, a pot of small ale. 1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill't please Your Lordship drink a cup of sack? 2\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esecond servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill't please Your Honor taste of these conserves? 3\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethird servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat raiment will Your Honor wear today?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  I am Christophero Sly. Call not me \"Honor\" nor\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Lordship.\" I ne'er drank sack in my life; and if you\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003egive me any conserves, give me conserves of beef.  7\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNe'er ask me what raiment I'll wear, for I have no\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emore doublets than backs, no more stockings than  9\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elegs, nor no more shoes than feet--nay, sometimes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emore feet than shoes, or such shoes as my toes look  11\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethrough the overleather. 12\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHeaven cease this idle humor in Your Honor! 13\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOh, that a mighty man of such descent,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOf such possessions and so high esteem,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShould be infused with so foul a spirit!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  What, would you make me mad? Am not I Christo-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epher Sly, old Sly's son of Burton-heath, by birth a  18\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epeddler, by education a cardmaker, by transmutation  19\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ea bearherd, and now by present profession a tinker?  20\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAsk Marian Hacket, the fat alewife of Wincot, if she  21\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eknow me not. If she say I am not fourteen pence on  22\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe score for sheer ale, score me up for the lyingest  23\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eknave in Christendom. What, I am not bestraught:  24\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehere's--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethird servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOh, this it is that makes your lady mourn!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esecond servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOh, this is it that makes your servants droop!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHence comes it that your kindred shuns your house,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs beaten hence by your strange lunacy. 29\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOh, noble lord, bethink thee of thy birth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCall home thy ancient thoughts from banishment, 31\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd banish hence these abject lowly dreams.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLook how thy servants do attend on thee,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEach in his office ready at thy beck. 34\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilt thou have music? Hark, Apollo plays, Music. 35\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd twenty caged nightingales do sing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr wilt thou sleep? We'll have thee to a couch,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSofter and sweeter than the lustful bed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn purpose trimmed up for Semiramis. 39\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSay thou wilt walk; we will bestrew the ground. 40\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr wilt thou ride? Thy horses shall be trapped, 41\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir harness studded all with gold and pearl.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDost thou love hawking? Thou hast hawks will soar\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbove the morning lark. Or wilt thou hunt?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThy hounds shall make the welkin answer them 45\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd fetch shrill echoes from the hollow earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSay thou wilt course, thy greyhounds are as swift 47\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs breathed stags, ay, fleeter than the roe. 48\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esecond servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDost thou love pictures? We will fetch thee straight\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdonis painted by a running brook, 50\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd Cytherea all in sedges hid, 51\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhich seem to move and wanton with her breath, 52\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven as the waving sedges play wi'th'wind.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe'll show thee Io as she was a maid, 54\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd how she was beguiled and surprised,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs lively painted as the deed was done. 56\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethird servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr Daphne roaming through a thorny wood, 57\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScratching her legs that one shall swear she bleeds,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd at that sight shall sad Apollo weep,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo workmanly the blood and tears are drawn. 60\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThou art a lord, and nothing but a lord.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThou hast a lady far more beautiful\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThan any woman in this waning age. 63\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd till the tears that she hath shed for thee\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLike envious floods o'errun her lovely face, 65\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe was the fairest creature in the world;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd yet she is inferior to none. 67\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAm I a lord? And have I such a lady?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr do I dream? Or have I dreamed till now?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI do not sleep: I see, I hear, I speak,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI smell sweet savors, and I feel soft things.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUpon my life, I am a lord indeed,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd not a tinker nor Christopher Sly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, bring our lady hither to our sight,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd once again a pot o'th' smallest ale.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esecond servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWill 't please Your Mightiness to wash your hands?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOh, how we joy to see your wit restored! 77\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOh, that once more you knew but what you are! 78\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese fifteen years you have been in a dream,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr when you waked, so waked as if you slept.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese fifteen years! By my fay, a goodly nap. 81\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut did I never speak of all that time? 82\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efirst servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOh, yes, my lord, but very idle words;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor though you lay here in this goodly chamber,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYet would you say ye were beaten out of door,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd rail upon the hostess of the house, 86\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd say you would present her at the leet 87\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause she brought stone jugs and no sealed quarts. 88\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSometimes you would call out for Cicely Hacket.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAy, the woman's maid of the house.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethird servingman\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy, sir, you know no house, nor no such maid,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNor no such men as you have reckoned up,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs Stephen Sly, and old John Naps of Greet, 93\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd Peter Turf, and Henry Pimpernel,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd twenty more such names and men as these,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhich never were, nor no man ever saw.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow Lord be thanked for my good amends! 97\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eall\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEnter [the Page as a] lady, with Attendants.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly I thank thee. Thou shalt not lose by it. 98\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epage\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow fares my noble lord?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly Marry, I fare well, 99\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor here is cheer enough. Where is my wife?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epage\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere, noble lord. What is thy will with her?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAre you my wife, and will not call me husband?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy men should call me \"lord\"; I am your goodman. 103\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epage\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy husband and my lord, my lord and husband;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI am your wife in all obedience.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI know it well.--What must I call her?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord Madam.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  Al'ce madam, or Joan madam?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elord\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMadam, and nothing else. So lords call ladies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMadam wife, they say that I have dreamed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd slept above some fifteen year or more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epage\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAy, and the time seems thirty unto me,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeing all this time abandoned from your bed. 112\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Tis much.--Servants, leave me and her alone.--\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMadam, undress you and come now to bed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epage\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrice-noble lord, let me entreat of you\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo pardon me yet for a night or two,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr, if not so, until the sun be set.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor your physicians have expres Sly charged,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn peril to incur your former malady,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat I should yet absent me from your bed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI hope this reason stands for my excuse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSly  Ay, it stands so that I may hardly tarry so long. But 122\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI would be loath to fall into my dreams again. I will\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etherefore tarry in despite of the flesh and the blood.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bantam Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304732283109,"sku":"NP9780553212815","price":7.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780553212815.jpg?v=1767727602","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/four-comedies-isbn-9780553212815","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}