Miko: annotations

“Shadows” was sometimes used to mean actors; more generally it means “illusions”. At the end of the play, Robin will use the word again with the same sense.

Whether life or death. “'Tide” is short for “betide”.

two components in the mortar used to make walls

Possibly playing on the vulgar use of “stones” to mean testicles, a joke which works if the wall's “chink” is Snout's crotch.

In these lines, Pyramus and Thisbe get various love stories mixed up. Limander is probably meant to refer to Leander who drowned while swimming to his love, Hero. By Helen he might mean Hero, or he might mean Helen of Troy, who was not actually very trustworthy. Shafalus and Procrus are Cephalus and Procris, two other tragic lovers from Greek mythology. There is irony in comparing themselves to Cephalus and Procris, who were greatly distrusting of each other.

Probably a reference to the proverb that “the walls have ears”.

This line is significantly different between the First Quarto and the First Folio. The First Quarto has it as it is written here. The First Folio reads “Now is the morall downe betweene the two Neighbors.” “Morall” is presumed to be “mural”, a wall. The Folio's sentence makes a little more sense because in the next lines Demetrius refers to the wall. However, there is significant disagreement among scholars about which are the better words to use.

stabbed

not at all

control