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All Site ContentMidsummer Night's DreamAct 5Scene 1
Back to the Play
"lily lips" etc.
Humor
Act 5,
Scene 1
Lines 318-341

An explanation of Flute’s humorous description of Pyramus’ face in Act 5, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Flute (as Thisbe)

Asleep, my love?
What, dead, my dove?
O Pyramus, arise.
Speak, speak. Quite dumb?
Dead, dead? A tomb
Must cover thy sweet eyes.
These lily lips,
This cherry nose,
These yellow cowslip cheeks
Are gone, are gone.
Lovers, make moan.
His eyes were green as leeks.
O sisters three,
Come, come to me
With hands as pale as milk.
Lay them in gore,
Since you have shore
With shears his thread of silk.
Tongue, not a word.
Come, trusty sword,
Come, blade, my breast imbrue.
[She stabs herself]
And farewell friends,
Thus Thisbe ends.
Adieu, adieu, adieu.

These colors are all wrong. It’s the lips that should be cherry colored (a red nose indicates an alcoholic), and yellow cheeks indicate someone who's diseased.