Student Question
What does Hermia mean in line 65 of A Midsummer Night's Dream, specifically who is the wisher and what is the wish?
Quick answer:
In Act II, Scene 2 of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hermia responds to Lysander's wish for her to have a restful sleep. Lysander, the "wisher," expresses this sentiment by saying, "sleep give thee all his rest." Hermia reciprocates by hoping that "with half that wish the wisher's eyes be press'd," meaning she wishes half of his goodnight wish returns to him, ensuring he also sleeps well. This exchange is a poetic way of saying "good night."
I believe that you are talking about Act II, Scene 2 here. In this scene, Hermia and Lysander have made their way into the forest and are lying down to go to sleep. Hermia has just made Lysander move farther away from her so that they will not look like they're doing anything improper.
Lysander is okay with that -- he says that he hopes he'll die before he stops loving her. Then he tells her goodnight "sleep give thee all his rest!"
This is the wish. Lysander is the wisher. So when Hermia hopes that "With half that wish the wisher's eyes be press'd!" she is hoping that half of his goodnight to her will go back to him and help him sleep too.
Much more poetic than having them each just say "good night" but more
difficult to understand too.
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