QUINCE: Flute, you must take Thisbe on you.
FLUTE: What is Thisbe? – a wand’ring knight?
QUINCE: It is the lady that Pyramus must love.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 2. In the play that the Athenian craftsmen are to perform in celebration of Duke Theseus’ wedding, director Quince gives the part of Thisbe to bellows-maker Francis Flute. Flute is happy to play such a manly role when he thinks Thisbe is a wandering knight. But he is disappointed and unhappy when he discovers that Thisebe is instead a woman in love.