Have you sent to Bottom’s house? Is he come home yet?
Did anyone go to Bottom's house to check on him? Has he come home yet?
Did anybody check on Bottom? Is he back yet?
where's bottom has he come home
He cannot be heard of. Out of doubt he is transported.
No one has seen or heard from him. He's definitely been taken away.
Nobody's seen him anywhere. He's definitely been kidnapped or spirited away.
he's gone. disappeared. totally taken away.
If he come not, then the play is marred. It goes not forward, doth it?
If he doesn't come, the play is ruined. We can't do it without him.
If he doesn't show up, we're screwed. The play's over.
no bottom no play we're done
It is not possible. You have not a man in all Athens able to discharge
Pyramus but he.
It's impossible. There's no other man in all of Athens who can play the role of Pyramus except for him.
It's not going to work. Nobody else in Athens can pull off Pyramus like he can.
no way. no one else in athens can do pyramus like him.
No, he hath simply the best wit of any handicraft man in Athens.
No, Bottom is simply the most clever of all the craftsmen in Athens. He's the best actor.
No, he's the smartest guy we got. Best actor in the whole city.
he's smart best actor
Yea, and the best person too, and he is a very paramour for a sweet
voice.
Yes, and he's the best-looking one too, and he has such a beautiful singing voice.
And he's the best looking, and his voice is absolutely lovely—really sweet.
plus hes the hottest and has an amazing voice
You must say paragon. A paramour is, God bless us, a thing of naught.
You must say 'paragon.' A paramour is, God help us, a low and vulgar thing.
You gotta say 'paragon.' A paramour is, like, a bad word.
it's paragon not paramour paramour is bad
Scene 4-2 is the shortest scene in the play, and its brevity is meaningful. Bottom has just had the most extraordinary experience in the entire play — more extraordinary, in some ways, than anything the young lovers experienced, because he was fully conscious during his transformation and his encounter with Titania. The lovers were asleep when they were enchanted; Bottom was awake. He talked with fairies, was waited on by supernatural attendants, slept in a fairy queen's arms. And he cannot explain it. His response to the inexplicable is the most human thing in the play: he moves on to the next practical task. The scene gives him five lines of mystery and then forty lines of production management. This is Shakespeare's tribute to Bottom's character — the inexpressible experience doesn't paralyze him or elevate him; it becomes, for him, something he'd like to put in a ballad eventually, and in the meantime there are ribbons to be attached to shoes.
Masters, the Duke is coming from the temple, and there is two or three
lords and ladies more married. If our sport had gone forward, we had
all been made men.
Gentlemen, the Duke is coming from the temple, and there are two or three other lords and ladies who have been married. If our performance had gone ahead, we would all have been made successful men.
Guys, the Duke is coming from the temple, and more nobles just got married. If our play had happened, we all would have made it big and gotten rich.
duke's coming from temple more weddings happened if our play went on we'd all be successful
O sweet bully Bottom! Thus hath he lost sixpence a day during his life;
he could not have ’scaped sixpence a day. An the Duke had not given him
sixpence a day for playing Pyramus, I’ll be hanged. He would have
deserved it: sixpence a day in Pyramus, or nothing.
Oh wonderful Bottom! Thus he has lost sixpence a day for his entire life; he could not have escaped sixpence a day. If the Duke had not given him sixpence a day for playing Pyramus, I'll be hanged. He would have deserved it: sixpence a day for Pyramus, or nothing.
Oh you wonderful Bottom! So he's lost out on sixpence a day for his whole life; he would never have escaped that. If the Duke wasn't giving him sixpence a day for playing Pyramus, I'd be shocked. He definitely deserved it: sixpence a day for Pyramus, or bust.
oh wonderful bottom! he lost sixpence a day his whole life the duke should pay him sixpence a day for pyramus or nothing
Where are these lads? Where are these hearts?
Where are you, my friends? Where are these brave hearts? I'm so glad to see you!
Where are you guys? Come on! I'm so happy to see you!
guys where are you happy to see you
Bottom! O most courageous day! O most happy hour!
Bottom! This is the happiest day! We thought we'd lost you!
Bottom! You're alive! We thought you were gone!
you're alive we thought you died happiest day
Masters, I am to discourse wonders: but ask me not what; for if I tell
you, I am not true Athenian. I will tell you everything, right as it
fell out.
Gentlemen, I have wonders to tell you, but don't ask me what, because if I tell you, I wouldn't be a true Athenian. I will tell you everything, exactly as it happened.
Guys, I've got some incredible stories to tell you, but don't ask me what they are—because if I tell you, you won't think I'm from Athens anymore. But I'm going to tell you everything exactly how it happened.
got stories / can't explain why / but i'm telling / everything
Let us hear, sweet Bottom.
Please, tell us, sweet Bottom. We're listening.
Come on, tell us! We wanna know!
tell us please
Not a word of me. All that I will tell you is, that the Duke hath
dined. Get your apparel together, good strings to your beards, new
ribbons to your pumps; meet presently at the palace; every man look
o’er his part. For the short and the long is, our play is preferred. In
any case, let Thisbe have clean linen; and let not him that plays the
lion pare his nails, for they shall hang out for the lion’s claws. And
most dear actors, eat no onions nor garlick, for we are to utter sweet
breath; and I do not doubt but to hear them say it is a sweet comedy.
No more words. Away! Go, away!
Don't ask me anything. All I'll tell you is that the Duke has finished eating. Get your costumes ready, good strings for your beards, new ribbons for your shoes; meet immediately at the palace; everyone review your part. The bottom line is, our play has been selected. Make sure Thisbe wears clean linen; and don't let the actor playing the lion trim his nails, because they should stick out as the lion's claws. And most dear actors, don't eat onions or garlic, because we need to have sweet breath; and I'm sure I'll hear them say it's a wonderful comedy. No more talking. Away! Go, away!
Don't ask me anything. I'll just tell you that the Duke has finished dinner. Get your costumes together, make sure your fake beards are on tight, put new ribbons on your shoes; meet right now at the palace; everyone look over your part. The point is, our play was chosen. Make absolutely sure Thisbe has clean clothes on; and whoever plays the lion shouldn't cut his nails, because they need to look like the lion's claws. And every one of you, don't eat onions or garlic, because we need fresh breath; and I know they're going to say it's a great comedy. Stop talking. Get out of here! Go away!
don't ask me anything the duke's done eating get your costumes ready strings for beards ribbons for shoes meeting at the palace review your parts our play is chosen thisbe needs clean linen lion can't trim his nails no onions or garlic we need fresh breath
The Reckoning
A brief scene — barely a hundred lines — but it does something important: it restores the mechanicals' world to the same registers as the lovers' world. Everyone has lost something; everyone is being returned to it. The mechanicals' grief at Bottom's absence is genuine — they truly cannot perform without him, and their faith in his abilities is touching. Bottom's return is characteristically Bottom: he arrives with maximum dramatic impact, refuses to explain himself, and immediately redirects everyone toward the job at hand. The scene's brevity is itself a joke — Bottom's adventure in the enchanted bower, which we have watched in detail, is compressed into a passing mention and a mysterious hint.
If this happened today…
The night before the show and your star has been missing since the rehearsal. Everyone assumes it's cancelled. He walks in at the last minute, mysterious and changed, says 'don't ask,' and then says 'actually we're performing tonight for the mayor.' Everyone grabs their costumes.