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All Site ContentMidsummer Night's DreamAct 5Scene 1
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"the fox carries the goose"
Wordplay
Act 5,
Scene 1
Lines 217-234

An explanation of the animal-related wordplay in Act 5, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Snug (as Lion)

You, ladies, you whose gentle hearts do fear
The smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor,
May now perchance both quake and tremble here
When lion, rough in wildest rage, doth roar.
Then know that I, as Snug the joiner, am
A lion fell, nor else no lion's dam;
For if I should as Lion come in strife
Into this place, 'twere pity on my life.

Theseus

A very gentle beast, and of a good conscience.

Demetrius

The very best at a beast, my lord, that e'er I
saw.

Lysander

This lion is a very fox for his valor.

Theseus

True, and a goose for his discretion.

Demetrius

Not so, my lord, for his valor cannot carry
his discretion, and the fox carries the goose.

Theseus

His discretion, I am sure, cannot carry his valor,
for the goose carries not the fox; it is well. Leave
it to his discretion, and let us listen to the moon.

Demetrius then joins the game, noting that these fox and goose metaphors are not consistent. It’s true that in a fight, a fox will defeat a goose, but valor does not conquer discretion. This second statement, that valor loses to discretion, reflects the view that in  one-on-one combat, the clever warrior defeats the courageous one.