Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night’s Dream - plot summary

How much do you know about Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream? This section takes you step by step through the play, helping you to identify key plot points.

Four lovers, having an argument in the Athenian woods at midnight, are confused by fairies who are only trying to help. Throw in some magic, a custody battle over a little boy, and an amateur actor who unsuspectingly becomes the fairy queen’s love interest… oh and a magic set of ass’s ears… and there you have it - A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a comedy.

Contents

• Hermia runs away with Lysander instead of marrying Demetrius.
• The King and Queen of the fairies fight over a little boy.
• Puck muddles up the lovers and causes havoc with a love potion.
• Bottom gets the ears of an ass and Titania falls in love with him.
• Oberon puts things right and wins the little boy from Titania.
• The lovers get married. Bottom’s friends put on a play to celebrate.
• The play is about Pyramus and Thisbe.
• The fairies bless the marriages.

Theseus, the ruler of Athens, is going to marry Hippolyta, the next day. All of Athenian society is preparing for the wedding.

Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius. He says that if she refuses, he will have her put to death. But she is in love with Lysander. They run away to the woods, planning to get married in secret. Hermia (the short one) confides in her best friend, Helena (the tall one). Helena, however, is upset because she is in love with Demetrius, but he wants nothing to do with her. Helena tries to make him like her by telling him about Hermia’s plans to run away with Lysander. Demetrius sets off into the woods to find Hermia, with Helena trailing along behind him.

Did you know?

During Shakespeare’s time, girls had no rights and no say in who they could marry. They were their dad’s property until they got married. And then they became their husband’s property.

Titania is the Queen of the fairies. When her friend dies, she promises to look after her little boy. Oberon, the King of the fairies, is jealous and wants the little boy for himself. The couple also accuse each other of being unfaithful.

Titania won’t give in to Oberon, so he comes up with a plan for revenge. He will put a potion from a purple flower called Love-in-Idleness on Titania’s eyes. When she wakes up, she will fall in love with the first creature that she sees. Oberon hopes it will be a bear, a bull or a monkey. He sends his servant, Puck to find the magic flower.

Did you know?

Shakespeare’s audience were a superstitious lot. Most ordinary folk believed that fairies lived in the woods and worked their magic at night.

Oberon sees Demetrius being horrible to Helena. He tells Puck to put some of the potion in Demetrius’ eyes so that he will love Helena. Puck finds a young couple asleep, but it is the wrong couple. He puts the potion in Lysander’s eyes.

Helena loses Demetrius in the wood and trips over Lysander. When he wakes up, Helena is the first person he sees, so he instantly falls in love with her. Suddenly, he hates Hermia.

When Oberon finds out, he orders Puck to put the potion into Demetrius’ eyes, so Demetrius falls in love with Helena too. Helena thinks it’s a cruel joke. Helena and Hermia have a big argument. Hermia is left alone, speechless and confused.

Puck finally manages to get the potion in the right place. Titania is asleep in her bower with Oberon’s potion in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Bottom and his friends are in the woods trying to rehearse a really bad play. Puck watches them unseen and thinks they are hilarious. Mischievously, he transforms Bottom’s head into an ass’ head. Terrified, Bottom’s friends run away. Bottom sings to stop himself from being scared. He wakes up Titania, who instantly falls in love with him. She takes him to her fairy bower where she pampers him and attends to his every need. Titania is breathlessly besotted with Bottom.

Oberon orders Puck to bring down a fog and separate the lovers. He puts the potion into Lysander’s eyes so that he will fall in love with Hermia again. Demetrius will remain in love with Helena. Oberon puts a spell on the lovers so that they will fall asleep and think it has all been a strange dream.

Titania is so in love with Bottom that she gives the little boy to Oberon. Because he has won, Oberon releases Titania from the spell. Titania thinks that she dreamt that she fell in love with an ass. Titania and Oberon seem to be in love with each other again.

Bottom thinks that he has woken up from a strange dream. The spell on him is broken too.

The lovers get married in a joint ceremony with the Duke of Athens and his new bride. Bottom and his friends put on their terrible play, a love story about Pyramus and Thisbe. It is hilarious, but the actors mean it to be a serious tragedy. The wedding guests enjoy laughing at the play as much as the actors enjoy performing it.

Pyramus and Thisbe are in love and speak to each other through a chink in the wall. They agree to meet in secret. A lion frightens Thisbe and tears her veil. Pyramus finds her torn veil with blood stains on it and assumes she’s been killed by the lion, so he kills himself. When Thisbe finds his body, she kills herself.

It doesn’t sound very funny, does it? Imagine Thisbe is a boy pretending to be a girl, kissing Bottom (as Pyramus) through his friend Snout’s parted fingers. Snout plays the part of the wall! Snug is a pretty unconvincing lion and Starveling wanders on stage with his dog professing to be the man in the moon. Bottom takes a very long time to die and they all keep muddling up their words. It turns out to be a comedy rather than a tragedy.

At the end, everyone is happy and Oberon and Titania bless each of the couples on their wedding night. Puck has the last word. He hopes the audience have enjoyed the play - if not, to pretend it was all a dream. He asks for the audience’s applause.

Did you know?

It is believed that Shakespeare may well have written this play as a celebration for a wedding, but no one knows for certain who the couple were.