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All Site ContentMidsummer Night's DreamAct 2Scene 1
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"labor in the quern"
Cultural Context
Act 2,
Scene 1
Lines 32-42a

An explanation of the phrase “labor in the quern” in Act 2, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Fairy

Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villag’ry,
Skim milk, and sometimes labor 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?

Robin 

Fairy

[Enter King Oberon and his fairies from one side, Queen Titania and her fairies from the other]

Oberon

Titania

Oberon

Titania

Oberon

Titania

Oberon

Titania

Oberon

Titania

Oberon

Titania

[Exit Titania with her fairies]

Oberon

Robin 

Oberon

Robin 

[Exit Robin]

Oberon

[Enter Demetrius with Helena following him. Oberon remains nearby.]

Demetrius

Helena

Demetrius

Helena

Demetrius

Helena

Demetrius

Helena

Demetrius

Helena

Demetrius

Helena

[Exit Demetrius, Helena following him, leaving Oberon alone on the stage]

Oberon

[Enter Robin with the flower which had been struck by Cupid's bow]

Robin (Puck)

Oberon

[Oberon gives some of the flowers to Robin]

Robin

[Exit Robin and Oberon separately]

A woman on a farm had to frequently perform numerous laborious tasks including grinding grain into flour for making bread using a quern, a stone hand mill (this is the origin of our expression “the daily grind”.) Another was churning milk to turn it into butter. Robin is known for interfering with both of these tasks.