Go, Philostrate,
Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments.
Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth.
Turn melancholy forth to funerals;
The pale companion is not for our pomp.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, Scene 1. Theseus instructs his Master of the Revels Philostrate to organize a celebratory atmosphere among the young people of Athens. He charges him with awakening the spirit of merriment for his marriage. He personifies both mirth and melancholy in this passage and says that sadness is for funerals and not the friend of a wedding celebration.