Oberon

“ Oberon and Titania follow hand in hand thro' the gates. They begin to close. Shadow-of-a-Leaf steals wistfully and hesitatingly across, as if to enter. They close in his face. He goes up to them and leans against them sobbing, a small green figure, looking like a greenwood spray against their soft ivory glow. ”

“ Fire!"
"What is so eloquent as their iron tongues!" exclaimed Oberon. "My heart leaps and trembles, but not with fear. And that other sound, too, -deep and awful as a mighty organ,--the roar and thunder of the multitude on the pavement below! Come! We are losing time. I will cry out in the loudest of the uproar, and mingle my spirit with the wildest of the confusion, and be a bubble on the top of the ferment!" ”

“ It is more like the pale beam the glow-worm sheds from his evening lamp than anything on earth, but ten thousand times more bright and more beautiful. By such a light Oberon and his Queen, attended by their band of tiny sprites, might have held their midnight revels, amidst the bowers and halls of fairyland; and by such a light, enchanted spirits in happier worlds might be supposed to slumber. ”

“ But good ones love the dark, and find
The night as pleasant as the day.
When the song was finished Oberon and Titania arose on their throne and faint strains of music were heard in the air; for a moment the whole place sparkled with light and colour, and then all the fairies had gone in a flash to their distant places, and nothing but a faint circle of darker grass showed where the great assembly had been. ”

“ You must have seen him!" cried Oberon. "How he glared at me and laughed, in that last sheet of flame, with just the features that I imagined for him! Well! The tales are gone."
The papers were indeed reduced to a heap of black cinders, with a multitude of sparks hurrying confusedly among them, the traces of the pen being now represented by white lines, and the whole mass fluttering to and fro in the draughts of air. The destroyer knelt down to look at them.
"What is more potent than fire!" said he, in his gloomiest tone. "Even thought, invisible and incorporeal as it is, cannot escape it. ”

“ Great was the rejoicing throughout the realm of Fairyland, and greater still it became when King Oberon summoned to his court all his subjects from all parts of the world to celebrate the reconciliation. Quick as thought his wish was made known by Ariel and Puck his ready messengers, and at once all the little people were hurrying to obey the monarch’s behest, and within the forty minutes which Puck takes to put a girdle round about the earth all had assembled. ”

“ Everyone was happy down to Fretillon, who ate nothing but partridge wings for the rest of his life.
“Now,” said King Oberon, when the French Fay had finished, “let us hear of the doings in another part of the world.” ”

“ The night on which the lovers were to meet in this wood, as Titania was walking with some of her maids of honor, she met Oberon attended by his train of fairy courtiers.
"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania," said the fairy king. The queen replied, "What, jealous Oberon, is it you? Fairies, skip hence; I have forsworn his company." "Tarry, rash fairy," said Oberon; "am not I thy lord? Why does Titania cross her Oberon? Give me your little changeling boy to be my page."
"Set your heart at rest," answered the queen; "your whole fairy kingdom buys not the boy of me." ”

“ The music to Oberon, though the work of a man dying by inches, bears no traces of mental exhaustion. Indeed it is delightfully fresh and original throughout, and entirely different from all the rest of Weber's compositions. The keynote of the whole is its picture of the mysteries of Elf-land, and the life of the spirits of air, earth, and water. True, this note is touched in Der Freischütz and Euryanthe, but in Oberon it is struck with full force, and vibrates with an almost intoxicating sweetness. ”

“ In all the annals of Fairyland nothing is more wonderful—and the annals are found in many hundreds of volumes—than that chapter which tells of the reign of the true fairy King Oberon and his beautiful wife Titania, who is sometimes called Queen Mab. Marvellous are the doings of Oberon’s little subjects in every land—good fairies and bad fairies, dwarfs, elves and sprites, brownies, pixies and gnomes, pucks, trolls and kobolds and Robin Goodfellow—and marvellous (3) are the tales which have been told of them by travellers in the fairy realms. ”

“ There are so many of us here that would like to take a turn on the tale-teller’s stool that it is now not easy to choose, so we will have our next story from the first fairy who can get on the stool—but wait,” for as soon as Oberon spoke the rush began, “you must all go to your places and start fair when I say ‘three.’” There was a pause while all settled back in their places, and then Oberon said slowly, “One—Two—Three.” ”

“ There's Oberon!
SHADOW-OF-A-LEAF
Oberon!
TITANIA
He can tell you more than I.
[Enter Oberon.]
OBERON
Where's Orchis? Where's our fairy trumpeter
To call the court together? [Pg 187]
ORCHIS
Here, my liege.
OBERON
Bugle them hither; let thy red cheeks puff
Until thy curled petallic trumpet thrill
More loudly than a yellow-banded bee
Thro' all the clover clumps and boughs of thyme.
They are scattered far abroad.
ORCHIS
My liege, it shall
Outroar the very wasp!
[Exit.]
OBERON
[As he speaks, the fairies come flocking from all sides into the glade.] ”

“ There were days when no wind stirred anywhere, and the gorgeous sun made the little city and all the land round about a pretty silver kingdom, where Oberon and his courtiers might have danced and been glad.
Often, too, you could hear a distant woodcutter’s axe make a pleasant song in the air, and the woodcutter himself, as the hickory and steel swung in a shining half-circle to the bole of balsam, was clad in the bright livery of frost, his breath issuing in grey smoke like life itself, mystic and peculiar, man, axe, tree, and breath one common being. ”

“ The first act opens in Oberon's bower with a melodious chorus of fairies and genii ("Light as fairy Feet can fall") , followed by a solo for Oberon ("Fatal Oath") , portraying his melancholy mood, and "The Vision," a quaint, simple melody by Reiza ("Oh! why art thou sleeping?") , which leads up to a splendid ensemble ("Honor and Joy to the True and the Brave") , containing a solo for Oberon, during which the scene suddenly changes from the fairy bower to the city of Bagdad. ”

“ The King and Queen were much taller than their subjects, and Oberon was dressed in a green hunting-suit, with a crown of dewdrops on his head and a silver wand in his hand; while Titania wore a delicate pink robe made entirely of rose leaves, and her golden hair streamed from under a wreath of lilies of the valley, a spray of the same flowers being in her tiny hand. ”

“ Oberon is desirous of relieving the lovers from their perplexities, but greatly adds to them through the mistakes of his minister, till he at last comes really to the aid of their fruitless amorous pain, their inconstancy and jealousy, and restores fidelity to its old rights. ”

“ Berl did so, and then Oberon struck the ground with his wand, whereupon a great red rose sprang up, in which he took his seat with Queen Titania, while the other faeries gathered round and prepared to listen.
“Now, mortal,” said Oberon in a dignified manner, “how is it that with an earthly eye you have beheld the unseen revels of the faeries?”
“It was by this rowan twig, your Majesty,” said Berl, showing Oberon the sprig; “the Wise Woman gave it to me as a protection, in case the faeries should be angry.”
“We are only angry with evil-disposed people,” said Oberon gently ”

“ However that might be, when Puck returned with the little purple flower, Oberon said to his favorite: “Take a part of this flower; there has been a sweet Athenian lady here, who is in love with a disdainful youth; if you find him sleeping, drop some of the love-juice in his eyes, but contrive to do it when she is near him, that the first thing he sees when he awakes may be this despised lady. ”

“ His Fairies agree with the former in their diminutive stature,—diminished, indeed, to dimensions inappreciable by village gossips,—in their fondness for dancing, their love of cleanliness, and their child-abstracting propensities. Like the Fays, they form a community, ruled over by the princely Oberon and the fair Titania. [389] There is a court and chivalry: Oberon would have the queen's sweet changeling to be a "Knight of his [Pg 326] train to trace the forest wild." Like earthly monarchs, he has his jester, "the shrewd and knavish sprite, called Robin Good-fellow." ”

“ The little drama seems born of a smile, so delicate, refined and ethereal it is. Graceful and delicate to a degree is also the setting of the dream, the celebration of the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta and the theatrical performance of the artisans, for these are not merely ridiculous in their clumsiness; they are also childlike and ingenuous, arousing a sort of gay pity: we do not laugh at them: we smile. Oberon and Titania are at variance owing to reciprocal wrongs, and trouble has arisen in the world. Puck obeys the command of Oberon and sets to work, teasing, punishing and correcting. ”

“ However, I am not sorry this has happened, for I think their jangling makes excellent sport." "You heard," said Oberon, "that Demetrius and Lysander are gone to seek a convenient place to fight in. I command you to overhang the night with a thick fog, and lead these quarrelsome lovers so astray in the dark, that they shall not be able to find each other. Counterfeit each of their voices to the other, and with bitter taunts provoke them to follow you, while they think it is their rival's tongue they hear. ”

“ So the knight and the fairy king took leave of each other, and they fared on their way, and in the evening they sat and rested in a green meadow, and ate and drank of the food that Oberon had given them. Now Huon was uplifted by the gifts the king had given him, and thought that he himself must be in some way better than other men, to be singled out for such honour, and, as young men will, he began to boast and talk idly, making pretence that he doubted the magic qualities of the horn and the cup, so that he might prove them at once before his company. ”

“ Rezia proclaims herself his wife, and she also is condemned to the stake; but at this crisis Oberon intervenes. The lovers have been tried enough, and their constancy is rewarded. They are transported to the court of Charlemagne, where a royal welcome awaits them.
Although written for England, 'Oberon' has never achieved much popularity in this, or indeed in any country. The fairy music is exquisite throughout, but the human interest of the story is after all slight, and Weber, on whom the hand of death was heavy as he wrote the score, failed to infuse much individuality into his characters. ”

“ Puck is borne along on his fairy errand like the light and glittering gossamer before the breeze. He is, indeed, a most Epicurean little gentleman, dealing in quaint devices, and faring in dainty delights. Prospero and his world of spirits are a set of moralists: but with Oberon and his fairies we are launched at once into the empire of the butterflies. ”

“ The night is as busy and full of life as though it were open day, and a legato cantabile, keeping up the character of the scene, expresses the impassioned prayer of the maiden, exhausted by her flight, imploring that she may be allowed to slumber undisturbed on the mossy rock. In the foreground beneath the trees the mechanics are rehearsing their drama, each according to his part; Oberon surveys unseen the strange performance, and gives his commands to the sly Puck. ”

“ The English way of living suits mine exactly; and my little stock of English, in which I make tolerable progress, is of incalculable use to me.
"Give yourself no uneasiness about the opera (Oberon) , I shall have leisure and repose here, for they respect my time. Besides, the Oberon is not fixed for Easter Monday, but some time later; I shall tell you afterwards when. The people are really too kind to me. No king ever had more done for him out of love; I may almost say they carry me in their arms. I take great care of myself, and you may be quite at ease on my account. ”

“ Oberon directed Huon what course he should take to reach the country of the Sultan Gaudisso. "You will encounter great perils," said he, "before arriving there, and I fear me," he added, with tears in his eyes, "that you will not in everything obey my directions, and in that case you will suffer much calamity." Then he embraced Huon and Sherasmin, and left them. ”

“ Legend at Kensington—in which neighbourhood is not only Bryanstone Square but also on the summit of Campden Hill an Aubrey Walk—relates that Kenna, the fairy princess of Kensington Gardens, was beloved by Albion the Son of Oberon; hence we may probably relate young Kenna with Morgana the Fay, or big Gana, the alleged Mother of Oberon. [334] Mediæval tales represent the radiant Oberon not only as splendid, as a meteor, and as a raiser of storms, but likewise as the childlike God of Love and beauteous as an angel newly born.
At once the storm is fled ”

“ Puck’s story made all laugh, and the more so because he artfully contrived a loud sneeze at the finish of it and set everybody thinking of what would have happened had the afflicted soldier or princess been given a pinch of snuff by some mischievous person passing by the ends of their noses. By a quick jerk forward Puck somersaulted on to the steps of Oberon’s throne where he made a low bow to the fairy king and queen and then jumped to a thin branch of a shrub growing near where crossing his legs again in his favourite attitude he swung gently to and fro waiting for the next story-teller. ”