A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare
Plot
Act I
As Duke Theseus prepares for his marriage to Hippolyta, Queen of the
Amazons, he is interrupted by a courtier, Egeus. Egeus asks for the Duke to
intervene in a dispute. His daughter, Hermia, will not agree to marry
Demetrius (whom Egeus has chosen for her) because she loves a gentleman
named Lysander. The Duke asks Hermia to be obedient to her father. He
offers her one of two options: she must either die or accept a celibate life as a
nun in Diana's temple.
Naturally upset with the offer, Lysander and Hermia plan to elope and
share their secret with Helena, Hermia's friend. Helena is desperately in love
with Demetrius, who seems to have abandoned her in favour of Hermia. At
night, Lysander and Hermia escape from Athens; but they soon lose their way
in the woods. After Helena tells him of their intention to defy the law,
Demetrius decides to follow the lovers into the woods. In turn, Helena follows
Demetrius in the hope that he will give up on Hermia and choose her instead.
Meanwhile, a group of working men are preparing a play of the tragic
love-story of Pyramus and Thisbe to present before the Duke Theseus on his
wedding day. Nick Bottom, the weaver, is to play the lover Pyramus, while
Flute, the bellows-mender, begrudgingly agrees to play Thisbe.
Act II
Nearby, Oberon - King of the Fairies—has recently quarrelled with his
queen, Titania. She acquired a magical child from one of her waiting women,
and now refuses to hand him over to Oberon to use as a page. Oberon begins
to plot a way to get revenge on Titania for her disobedience. He sends his
fairy servant, Puck, to fetch a purple flower with juice that makes people fall in
love with the next creature they see.
Afterwards, Oberon overhears Helena and Demetrius arguing in the
forest. Oberon hears Demetrius mistreat Helena and tells Puck to anoint 'the
Athenian', so Demetrius will fall in love with the first person that he sees. Puck
mistakes the Athenian and puts the flower juice on the eyes of the sleeping
Lysander. When he is woken by Helena, he immediately falls in love with her
and rejects Hermia. When Demetrius rests, Oberon puts magic juice on his
eyes, which makes him fall in love with Helena as well.
Act III
The workers' rehearsals in the wood are overheard by Puck, who plays
a trick on them by giving Bottom an ass's head. After frightening the others
away, Bottom is lured towards the sleeping Titania whom Oberon has
anointed with Puck's magic flower juice. On waking, the fairy queen falls in
love with the ass and entertains him with her fairies.
Meanwhile, Demetrius and Lysander, still under the spell of the flower
juice, pursue Helena. Hermia is jealous and confused about the lack of
attention paid to her. Oberon and Puck watch the chaos, and Oberon
commands Puck to put it right again. The lovers' arguments have tired them
all out as they have chased one another through the woods. Puck eventually
distracts the two men from their pursuit of Helena by impersonating their
voices, and they get lost in the woods. The four lovers fall asleep, exhausted.
Puck places restorative juice on Lysander's eyes.
Act IV
After an afternoon of being pampered by Titania's fairies, Bottom falls
asleep beside her. Oberon restores Titania's sight and wakes her (thank
goodness). After expressing her dismay at the sight of Bottom, she reconciles
with Oberon, and she ends up giving him the little Indian prince for his page.
Bottom's ass head is removed, and he returns to the city to rejoin his friends
as they prepare to perform their play. The lovers are woken by Theseus and
Hippolyta's hunting party. Lysander sees Hermia and falls in love with her
once again.
Act V
Happily reunited (Lysander with Hermia and Demetrius with Helena),
they agree to share the Duke's wedding day. The play of 'Pyramus and
Thisbe' is presented before the wedding guests. As the three couples retire to
bed, Puck and the fairies return to bless the palace and its people.