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All Site ContentMidsummer Night's DreamAct 5Scene 1
Back to the Play
"No die but an ace"
Humor
Act 5,
Scene 1
Lines 300-303

An explanation of the wordplay on “die” and “ace” in Act 5, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Bottom (as Pyramus)

Now die, die, die, die, die.
[He dies]

Demetrius

No die but an ace for him, for he is but one.

Lysander

Less than an ace man, for he is dead; he is
nothing.

Demetrius plays on Pyramus’ repeated use of the word “die,” which can refer to one of a pair of dice used in games. Because he is just one man, Pyramus would be an ace, a die that has rolled a one.