num_pages: 200
description:  The play features three interlocking plots, connected by the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens &amp; the Amazonian queen Hippolyta, &amp; set under moonlight in the woodland &amp; in Fairyland. Hermia refuses her father, Egeus's demand she marry his chosen man, Demetrius. Egeus quotes before Theseus an Athenian law whereby a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, or die. Theseus doesn't want the young girl to die, &amp; offers her the choice of lifelong chastity worshipping Diana.  Hermia &amp; her lover Lysander elope by escaping thru the forest at night. Hermia informs her best friend Helena. Helena has recently been rejected by Demetrius &amp; decides to win his favor by revealing the plan to him. Demetrius, followed doggedly by Helena, chases Hermia. Believing themselves safe, Hermia &amp; Lysander sleep in the wood. Oberon &amp; Titania, king &amp; queen of the fairies, arrive in the forest outside Athens. Titania tells Oberon she plans to stay there until after she has attended Theseus &amp; Hippolyta's wedding. Oberon &amp; Titania are estranged because she refuses to give her Indian changeling to Oberon, since the child's mother was one of her worshippers. Oberon seeks to punish Titania's disobedience &amp; recruits the mischievous Puck--aka Hobgoblin &amp; Robin Goodfellow--to help him apply a magical juice from a flower called "love-in-idleness" (a pansy), which makes the victim fall in love with the first living thing seen upon awakening. He instructs Puck to retrieve the flower so he can make Titania fall in love with some vile creature. Oberon applies the juice to Titania in order to distract her &amp; force her to give up the boy. Having seen Demetrius act cruelly toward Helena, Oberon orders Puck to spread some elixir on his eyelids. Instead, Puck accidentally puts the juice on Lysander's eyes, who then falls in love with Helena. Oberon sees Demetrius still following Hermia &amp; is enraged. When Demetrius decides to go to sleep, Oberon sends Puck to get Helena while he charms Demetrius' eyes. Due to Puck's errors, both lovers now fight over Helena instead of Hermia. Helena, however, is convinced that her two suitors are mocking her, as neither loved her originally. The four pursue &amp; quarrel most of the night, until they become so enraged that they seek a place to duel. Oberon orders Puck to keep the lovers from catching up with one another in the forest &amp; to re-charm Lysander for Hermia, to prevent them all from killing each other. Meanwhile, a band of laborers have arranged to perform a crude play about Pyramus &amp; Thisbe for Theseus' wedding, &amp; venture into the forest, near Titania's bower, for rehearsal. Nick Bottom, a stage-struck weaver, is spotted by Puck, who transforms his head into that of an ass. Titania, awakened by Bottom's singing, falls in love with him. She treats him like a nobleman, lavishing him with attention. While in this state of devotion, she encounters Oberon &amp; casually gives him the Indian boy. Having achieved his goal, Oberon releases Titania &amp; orders Puck to remove the ass's head from Bottom. The magical enchantment is removed from Lysander but is allowed to remain on Demetrius, so he may reciprocate Helena's love. The fairies then disappear. Theseus &amp; Hippolyta arrive on the scene, during an early morning hunt. They wake the lovers. Since Demetrius doesn't love Hermia anymore, Theseus overrules Egeus's demands &amp; arranges a group wedding. The lovers decide the night's events to have been a dream. After they exit, Bottom awakes. He too decides that he must have experienced a dream. In Athens, Theseus, Hippolyta &amp; the lovers watch the mechanicals perform "Pyramus &amp; Thisbe." It is badly performed but gives everyone pleasure regardless. Everyone retires to bed. Finally, as night falls, Oberon &amp; Titania bless the house, its occupants &amp; future children of the newlyweds, &amp; Puck delivers a soliloquy to the audience.
language: English
title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
titlecomplete: A Midsummer Night's Dream
characters: Hermia, Nick Bottom, Robin Starveling, Helena (Shakespeare), Cobweb, Peter Quince, Francis Flute (Shakespeare), Egeus, Philostrate, Theseus (mythology), Tom Snout, Hermia (Shakespeare), Demetrius, Lysander (Shakespeare), Mustardseed, Moth, Oberon, Snug, Titania, Peaseblossom, Puck, Hippolyta
genres: Fiction, Plays, Theatre, Classics, Drama, Romance, Fantasy, Literature, Poetry, School
ratings_count: 525442
places: Atenas
publisher: Signet Classics