A play there is, my lord, some ten words long
(Which is as brief as I have known a play),
But by ten words, my lord, it is too long,
Which makes it tedious; for in all the play,
There is not one word apt, one player fitted.
And tragical, my noble lord, it is.
For Pyramus therein doth kill himself,
Which, when I saw rehearsed, I must confess,
Made mine eyes water; but more merry tears
The passion of loud laughter never shed.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5, Scene 1. Philostrate tries to dissuade Theseus from choosing the Mechanicals’ play about Pyramus and Thisbe for the night’s entertainment. The play is brief, he tells him, but it is so tedious and badly played that its short length is still too long. The tragic story of Pyramus’ suicide will bring tears to the eyes, but from laughter, he warns the Duke.