My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou rememberest
Since once I sat upon a promontory
And heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres
To hear the seamaid’s music?
—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 2, Scene 1
Les Oceanides, Gustave Doré, c.1860–1869.
Private Collection/Photo © Peter Nahum at The Leicester Galleries, London/Bridgeman Images