Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace. Four happy days bring in
Another moon. But, oh, methinks how slow
This old moon wanes. She lingers my desires,
Like to a stepdame or a dowager
Long withering out a young man’s revenue.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 1. The Duke of Athens Theseus comments to Hippolya about their approaching wedding day in these opening lines of the play. He is impatient for their "nuptial hour" to arrive, complaining that time is passing too slowly. He uses the moon as a metaphor for his frustrated desires. He compares the slowly waning moon to a greedy aging stepmother or widow spending her husband’s fortune before her son can inherit it (examples of similes).