“O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." Which dreams, indeed, are ambition; for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.”

“Which dreams, indeed, are ambition, for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.”

“I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself king of infinite space.”

“A dream itself is but a shadow.”

“Swift as shadow, short as any dream”

“O that I were a mockery king of snowStanding before the sun of BolingbrokeTo melt myself away in water drops!”

“I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was: man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was--there is no man can tell what. Methought I was,--and methought I had,--but man is but a patched fool, if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report, what my dream was. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream: it shall be called Bottom's Dream, because it hath no bottom...”