A Midsummer Night's Dream

In the grand court of Athens, the air hums with anticipation for the wedding of Duke Theseus and his bride, Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Though Theseus won her with his sword, he vows to wed her with pomp and reveling. But this stately joy is broken by the arrival of Egeus, dragging his daughter Hermia before the Duke. He demands the ancient privilege of Athens: that Hermia marry Demetrius, the man of his choosing, or face death. Hermia, however, loves Lysander, and her heart refuses to yield. Theseus, bound by law, gives her a terrible choice: wed Demetrius, die, or abjure forever the society of men in a cloistered life.

Left alone, Hermia and Lysander lament their fate. "The course of true love never did run smooth," Lysander sighs, and in that shared sorrow, a desperate plan is born. They will flee Athens, stealing away to the house of Lysander's aunt where the city's cruel law cannot reach them. They confide their secret to Hermia's friend, Helena, a woman drowning in her own unrequited love for Demetrius, who once swore his love to her before turning his eyes to Hermia. Seeing a chance to win back his favor, however small, Helena resolves to betray her friends and tell Demetrius of their flight, hoping only for his thanks and the chance to follow him into the woods.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a group of simple craftsmen - Quince the carpenter, Snug the joiner, and the irrepressibly confident Bottom the weaver among them - gather to prepare their own offering for the Duke's wedding. They will perform a play, "The most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe." Bottom, eager to prove his theatrical range, offers to play not only the lover Pyramus but also the lady Thisbe and the lion, promising to roar as gently as a sucking dove. Their earnest, bumbling preparations conclude with an agreement to rehearse in secret, in that same palace wood, a mile outside the town, by moonlight.

That very wood is alive with a power unknown to the mortals who seek its shelter. Oberon, king of the fairies, and his proud queen, Titania, have met by moonlight, their quarrel disturbing the seasons themselves. They are locked in a bitter dispute over a changeling boy, a human child Titania has sworn to raise. To punish her defiance, Oberon sends his mischievous servant, Robin Goodfellow - a puck - to fetch a magical flower, love-in-idleness. The juice of this flower, laid on sleeping eyelids, will make any man or woman fall madly in love with the first living creature they see upon waking.

As Oberon waits, he overhears Demetrius striding through the forest, cruelly spurning the devoted Helena who follows him like a spaniel. Pitying her plight, Oberon resolves to mend this broken love. When Robin returns with the flower, Oberon anoints the sleeping Titania's eyes, whispering, “Wake when some vile thing is near.” He then gives the remaining potion to Robin, commanding him to find a youth in Athenian garments and anoint his eyes, so that he may fall for the lady who loves him so.

But the woods are full of Athenians. Robin happens upon the sleeping Lysander and Hermia. Seeing the man lying apart from the woman, he assumes this must be the disdainful youth. He squeezes the flower's juice onto Lysander's eyelids and departs. Soon after, Helena stumbles upon the sleeping man and wakes him. Lysander's eyes open, and the first thing he sees is Helena. He is instantly consumed by a burning passion for her, renouncing all his vows to Hermia and pursuing Helena with fervent declarations of love. Helena, convinced she is being mocked, flees from him in anger and confusion. Hermia awakens from a terrifying nightmare of a serpent eating her heart, only to find herself utterly alone.

In another part of the forest, the craftsmen begin their rehearsal. Robin Goodfellow, delighted by the "hempen homespuns," decides to join their play. When Bottom steps aside into a thicket, Robin transforms his head into that of an ass. His friends flee in terror at the sight of the monster, leaving Bottom alone and bewildered. To prove he is not afraid, he begins to sing, and his braying voice awakens the enchanted Titania. She gazes upon him, her eyes filled with magical adoration. "What angel wakes me from my flow'ry bed?" she asks, instantly enthralled by the ass-headed weaver, whom she crowns with flowers and commands her fairies to serve.

The lovers' chaos deepens. Oberon, discovering Robin's mistake, anoints the sleeping Demetrius's eyes just as Lysander arrives, still pleading with Helena. Demetrius awakens, sees Helena, and he too is overcome with love. Now both men vie for her affection, turning on Hermia with scorn when she appears. Helena believes all three are joined in a cruel conspiracy against her, while Hermia, short and fierce, accuses the taller Helena of stealing Lysander's heart. "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" Robin observes with glee as the lovers' quarrel verges on a duel. Oberon, his sport grown dangerous, commands Robin to cast a fog over the woods and lead the rivals astray with mimicking voices until they fall, exhausted, into a deep sleep.

With the four lovers sleeping near one another, Robin applies the antidote to Lysander's eyes, restoring his true love for Hermia. Oberon, having won the changeling boy from his distracted queen, releases Titania from her enchantment. She awakens with revulsion for the creature beside her, and she and Oberon are reconciled. As dawn breaks, Theseus's hunting party discovers the four lovers. They awaken as if from a strange and complicated dream, their affections now perfectly aligned. Overruling Egeus, the Duke declares they shall all be married together in the temple. Bottom, too, awakes alone, his own head restored, struggling to recall a vision "past the wit of man to say what dream it was."

That night, the triple wedding is celebrated with the performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe." The craftsmen's tragic tale becomes a source of great mirth, their earnest incompetence delighting the noble audience. When the mortals have retired to bed, the fairies emerge from the shadows. Led by Oberon and Titania, they move through the silent palace, blessing the house and the marriage beds, promising peace and fortunate children to the sleeping couples. Robin Goodfellow is left alone to sweep the dust behind the door, addressing the audience as the last shadows fade. He asks them to forgive the play's faults, and if they have been offended, to think of it as nothing more than a dream.