A Midsummer

Night's Dream
Study Guide by Course Hero

when spirits and humans interacted. The play repeatedly refers

What's Inside to May Day festivities, however, so the events appear to take
place the night before May Day rather than on Midsummer's
Eve. The play may have been performed first on a midsummer
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 night. The fairy king Oberon notes as four lovers return to
Athens that the events of the night in the woods may "seem a
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1
dream and fruitless vision." In his final speech, Oberon's
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 3 attendant, Puck, reiterates the idea of reality versus dreams: "If
we shadows have offended, / Think but this and all is mended:
h Characters .................................................................................................. 4 / That you have but slumbered here / While these visions did
appear. / And this weak and idle theme, / No more yielding but
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 6
a dream." Additionally, the play includes spells, magic
transformations, and quick reversals of affection that echo the
c Scene Summaries .................................................................................. 12
disjointed nature of dreams.
g Quotes ......................................................................................................... 18

l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 20

m Themes ........................................................................................................ 21
d In Context
b Motifs .......................................................................................................... 22

e Suggested Reading .............................................................................. 23 Fairies and Changelings

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the fairy king Oberon and the
fairy queen Titania quarrel over a changeling child. Titania will

j Book Basics not give the child to Oberon despite Oberon's demands. The
quarrel leads to disruptions in nature that affect both the fairy
and human worlds. The idea of a changeling goes back to old
AUTHOR
beliefs and tales about the interactions between humans and
William Shakespeare
fairies. While modern conceptions of fairies are often
YEAR PUBLISHED helpful—a "fairy godmother," for example—in folklore, fairies
1600 were not always benevolent. They were supposedly
responsible for stealing children from their families and
GENRE stealing souls from humans. One idea common to fairy myths is
Comedy the changeling—a fairy child left in place of a human child who
is taken to serve in the fairy world. Infants not yet baptized
ABOUT THE TITLE
were thought to be most vulnerable to being stolen away and
Much of the action in A Midsummer Night's Dream happens in
replaced. Most often, the term changeling referred to the fairy
the woods—a place of fantasy and illusion. In Shakespeare's
left as a replacement. But sometimes, as in A Midsummer
time Midsummer's Eve, or the summer solstice, was a time
Night's Dream, the word changeling refers to the stolen human
A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide In Context 2

child instead of the fairy. her queen of a new land.

May Day and Midsummer's Eve Sources and Early

Although the title of the play seems to indicate the action takes Performances
place at midsummer, that may not be the case. Shakespeare
seems to have combined several traditions and festivals to The main source Shakespeare used for A Midsummer Night's
form the setting of the play. The most important of these are Dream is Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE) was a
May Day—a festival day celebrating youth, spring, and new life Roman poet whose work was extremely influential on later
and associated with fertility and love—and Midsummer's writers, including Shakespeare. Ovid's long poem,
Eve—the night before the summer solstice. Outside of the title, Metamorphoses (written in 8 CE), retells many stories from
there are more references to May Day than to other festivals. mythology and folklore. The central idea of these stories is
For example, when Theseus and Hippolyta enter the woods, metamorphosis, or transformation, a plot device that plays a
the text says they do so to observe the May Day rites. When significant part in A Midsummer Night's Dream: Bottom, a
they find the four lovers, Theseus and Hippolyta believe the common Athenian, is transformed into a donkey-headed man;
four young Athenians are in the woods for the same reason. the affections of Demetrius and Lysander are transformed by
Festivities included bonfires, music, and dancing. In one virtue of a magical flower. From Metamorphoses, Shakespeare
custom called "bringing in the May," young people would foray also gleaned details of the effects of Cupid's arrows and the
into the woods just after midnight, collect branches and story of Pyramus and Thisbe, both of which play a significant
flowers, and bring these flowers home to decorate doors and role in A Midsummer Night's Dream: Cupid's arrow, gone astray,
windows. A time of singing would occur at dawn—presumably gives a flower the power to cause people to fall in love, and the
why Theseus and Hippolyta are up and about so early in the "rude mechanicals" perform a version of Pyramus and Thisbe's
morning. tragic tale as entertainment for the newly wedded couples at
the end of the play.
Midsummer did not occur at what we might call the middle or
midpoint of summer but referred to the time of the solstice that Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (published in 1478)
took place toward the end of June. The celebration of provides the story of Theseus and Hippolyta in "The Knight's
Midsummer Night (renamed for John the Baptist by the Tale": "Stories of old have made it known to us / That there
Church) dates back to pagan times. Like May Day, this was was once a Duke called Theseus, / Ruler of Athens, Lord and
also a festival time that involved bonfires and decorating Governor ... He had subdued the Amazons by force ....
homes with flowers and vines. In addition, this night was Hippolyta, Their queen, he took to wife, and ... brought her
believed to be a time when the barrier between the spirit or home in solemn pomp and glory." Furthermore, in "The Knight's
fairy world and the human world was thin, allowing fairies and Tale," two men in love with the same woman come to blows in
spirits to interact with humans. the woods outside of town. Greek author and biographer
Plutarch (46 CE–119 CE) also provided some details of
Theseus's story in his Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans.
Amazons Oberon and Titania are mentioned in 16th-century British
author Robert Greene's The Scottish History of James the
In Greek mythology, the Amazons were fierce female warriors
Fourth (1590) and in "The Merchant's Tale" in Chaucer's The
who famously fought in the Trojan War. They were said to live
Canterbury Tales. Chaucer tells of a fairy king and fairy queen
apart from men, except for those times set aside for
who quarrel about the fate of two human couples.
conceiving children. Hippolyta was an Amazon queen. Since
the Amazon society was matriarchal, the inclusion of Hippolyta Scholars estimate the writing of A Midsummer Night's Dream at
as a character in A Midsummer Night's Dream emphasizes the about 1595–96. The first printed publication was in the first
importance of the matriarchy in Athenian society. By marrying quarto, in 1600. In that publication the play is noted as having
the strong, powerful warrior queen Hippolyta, Theseus makes been "sundry times publickley acted," performed by the Lord

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Author Biography 3

Chamberlain's Men. Some believe that the play was intended Hathaway, a woman eight years his elder who was already
to be performed at a wedding celebration. It has sustained pregnant with their daughter Susanna. Anne gave birth to
interest over time, being one of Shakespeare's most often twins—Judith and Hamnet—a few years later. Church records
performed plays and a favorite of his comedies. reveal Hamnet died in childhood.

Pyramus and Thisbe Theatrical Life

According to Ovid's retelling, the young lovers Pyramus and Shakespeare moved to London to pursue a career as an actor
Thisbe lived in ancient Babylon. They were forbidden from and playwright, and over time, he achieved success. He
seeing each other by their families, but since they lived in became a shareholder in the open-air Globe Theatre in London
adjoining homes they were able to communicate through a and had widespread fame as a playwright whose works
crack in the wall. The two made a plan to run off and elope. included romantic and classically inspired comedies, histories,
However, when Thisbe arrives at the agreed-upon location, she and tragedies. He is credited with writing at least 37 plays and
is frightened by a lioness, whose bloody jaws are evidence of a over 150 sonnets.
recent kill, and runs away in terror, leaving her cloak behind.
When Pyramus arrives he sees the cloak, which is stained by Throughout his career Shakespeare and his fellow actors were

blood from the lioness's mouth, and believes Thisbe is dead. supported by the patronage of the nation's monarchs—first by

He stabs himself in his grief, as does Thisbe when she returns Elizabeth I (1533–1603), under whose reign Shakespeare's

only to find her lover's dead body. This story was part of the company was known as The Lord Chamberlain's Men. When

inspiration for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and is James I (1566–1625) assumed the throne in 1603, the company

performed by Bottom and the other mechanicals as part of was renamed The King's Men. Although many of

Theseus's wedding celebrations in A Midsummer Night's Shakespeare's plays were written for performance at the

Dream. Globe, the King's Men also performed at the nearby Blackfriars
Theater, a smaller indoor space, after 1608.

a Author Biography Retirement and Legacy

In 1610 or 1611 Shakespeare retired, moving back to Stratford-
Childhood and Family Life upon-Avon. Despite his retirement from London life, the
playwright continued to do some writing, contributing to Henry
The childhood of William Shakespeare is a murky area for VIII and Two Noble Kinsmen as well as to another play,
scholars since few records of his early activities exist. Very Cardenio, now lost. Scholars believe these final works to be
little is known about his birth, education, or upbringing. collaborations with John Fletcher (1579–1625), another
However, according to church records, he was baptized on playwright.
April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, which leads
Shakespeare most likely died on April 23, 1616, leading to the
scholars to the conclusion that he was born on April 23 of that
romantic notion he was born and died on the same date,
year. Birth records were not usually kept in Shakespeare's
although there are no records of the exact date of either event.
time, although church records—baptisms, weddings,
He was 52 at his death and was buried on April 25 at Holy
burials—were kept fastidiously by clergy.
Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. Over 400 years after
Shakespeare's family was solidly middle class, and he would his death, Shakespeare is still regarded as the greatest
have had a typical education for an English boy of his time at a playwright of the English-speaking world.
public school endowed by Elizabeth I, which would have
included studying the Latin language and Roman and Greek
classical literature. At age 18, Shakespeare married Anne

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Characters 4

Demetrius of Lysander and Hermia's elopement plan, hoping

h Characters Demetrius will like her just a little. She follows after him into the
woods, vowing to be his "spaniel." Helena's apparent low self-
esteem persists even after she is the object of both men's

Puck desire. After Demetrius and Lysander are enchanted and

follow after her with longing in their eyes, she gains power over
them; however, rather than feeling glory, she believes they are
The audience first sees Puck as he and another fairy servant
mocking her. When Lysander is reunited with Hermia, Helena
discuss the hilarious pranks Puck plays on unsuspecting
seems to accept Demetrius's adoration with contentment.
humans. He frightens maidens, makes beer flat, misleads
wanderers so they become lost, and makes people fall as they
go to sit on their stools. His antics amuse himself as well as his
master, Oberon, and they have garnered him a reputation.
Hermia
Puck is irresponsible but not malicious; if he poses a danger, it
Hermia's love for Lysander and her commitment to marrying
is out of a disregard for mortals, not a dislike of them. When he
him despite her father's command set up the conflict of the
mistakenly puts the magic flower nectar on Lysander's eyes, it
play. Their plan to elope takes them into the woods, with
causes strife among the lovers and annoys Oberon, but Puck
Helena and Demetrius following. Therefore, Hermia plays an
finds the situation amusing. There is no real protagonist in A
important role in driving the plot. She also plays an important
Midsummer Night's Dream, but Puck drives much of the plot
role in the play's humor. Beginning as the beloved of both
and is the only character to move between all three
Lysander and Demetrius, Hermia is both perplexed and angry
worlds—fairy realm, Athens nobility, and Athens commoners.
when Lysander and Demetrius fall in love with Helena. Her fight
He ties these worlds together with his enchantments, and his
with Helena in the woods marks the pinnacle of chaos and
words close the play.
comedy in the play as the two women trade insults and try to
physically hurt each other.

Bottom
The weaver Nick Bottom, one of the tradesmen recruited by
Titania
Quince to perform in the play about Pyramus and Thisbe,
Titania's feud with Oberon wreaks havoc on natural systems,
eagerly volunteers to play not just the lead role but the smaller
such as the weather, and inspires Oberon to obtain the magic
roles as well. His belief in himself as an intelligent man, a great
flower that will cause her to love whatever living creature she
actor, and a poetic writer is at once annoying and endearing.
sees. That later turns out to be donkey-headed Bottom.
Bottom's transformation by Puck serves a plot need—Titania
must fall in love with something hilarious for Oberon's revenge
to be satisfying—but it also reflects on his personality: he is an
ass. The other mechanicals share Bottom's belief that he is Oberon
vital to their play, so when he is suddenly transformed into a
donkey-headed man, they are frantic. Their joy at his return Oberon's fixation on forcing Titania to relinquish the
and the subsequent "success" of the play provide a changeling boy is the substance of their marital quarrel. His
lighthearted ending to the main plot. vague instruction to Puck—to place the magic flower nectar on
the man in "Athenian garments"—causes Puck to mistakenly
enchant the wrong Athenian.

Helena
Helena begins the play as a pathetically-in-love young woman
who speaks at length of her jealousy of Hermia and love for
Demetrius. Although her hope is unreasonable, she tells

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Characters 5

Character Map

Bottom
Buffoonish weaver

Titania Helena
Fairy queen Unloved Athenian woman
Enchants

Loves under
Spouses
spell

Puck
Servant Mischievous fairy

Enchants
Oberon Lysander
Fairy king Unfavored Athenian man

Truly
Enchants
loves

Demetrius Hermia
Favored Athenian man Truly Adored Athenian woman
loves

Loves under
spell

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Plot Summary 6

Full Character List Mustardseed

Mustardseed is one of Titania's fairy
servants.

Character Description Peaseblossom is one of Titania's fairy

Peaseblossom
servants.
The fairy Puck, also known as Robin
Puck Goodfellow, is Oberon's mischievous Philostrate must choose the
servant. Philostrate entertainment for Theseus and
Hippolyta's wedding festivities.
Overconfident and oblivious Nick
Bottom, a weaver, is one of the "rude Quince is a carpenter who wrote the
Bottom
mechanicals" and plays Pyramus in Peter Quince play based on the tale of Pyramus
the play-​within-​a-​play. and Thisbe.

Helena, a young Athenian woman, Snout, a tinker, plays Wall in the play-
Helena Tom Snout
loves Demetrius, who loves Hermia. within-​a-​play.

Hermia, a young Athenian woman, Snug is a joiner who plays the lion in
wants to marry Lysander, but her Snug
Hermia the play-​within-​a-​play.
father (Egeus) demands she marry
Demetrius instead.
Starveling, a tailor, plays Moonshine in
Robin Starveling
the play-​within-​a-​play.
Titania, queen of the fairies, is
Titania
Oberon's wife.
Theseus is the duke of Athens whose
Theseus upcoming wedding to Hippolyta
Oberon, king of the fairies, is Titania's provides the time frame of the play.
Oberon
husband.

Cobweb is one of Titania's fairy

Cobweb
servants.
k Plot Summary
Demetrius is a young Athenian man
Demetrius who was once in love with Helena but The play begins as Theseus, duke of Athens, and Hippolyta,
now wants to marry Hermia. queen of the Amazons, discuss their upcoming wedding. Egeus
soon enters with his daughter Hermia and two men who are in
Egeus is Hermia's father. He demands love with her—Demetrius and Lysander. Hermia prefers
Egeus
she marry Demetrius. Lysander, but Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius. Egeus
demands that Theseus force his daughter to marry Demetrius
Flute, a bellows-​mender, plays Thisbe by invoking Athenian law, which requires a daughter to obey
Francis Flute
in the play-​within-​a-​play.
her father or face death as punishment. Theseus agrees that
she must obey her father, but he says he will not have her put
The queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta to death; instead, she will have to remain chaste for the rest of
Hippolyta is recently bested in battle by
Theseus and is now engaged to him. her life if she does not marry Demetrius.

Later, Lysander and Hermia make a plan to meet in the woods

Lysander is a young Athenian man in
Lysander on the following night and run away together, away from
love with Hermia, who loves him back.
Athenian law. The two reveal their plan to Helena, who is in
love with Demetrius but whose love is not returned. Instead of
Mote (in some versions called Moth)
Mote keeping their confidence, Helena decides it would be a good
is one of Titania's fairy servants.
idea to tell Demetrius the plan, hoping it will make him like her.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Plot Summary 7

Meanwhile, some Athenian tradesmen begin planning a play Demetrius wakes, she will be there. Helena does arrive,
they hope will be chosen for performance during the marriage followed by Lysander, who proclaims his love for her. As they
celebrations of Theseus and Hippolyta. Peter Quince has argue, Demetrius wakes and falls instantly in love with Helena.
written a play based on the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe, lovers When Hermia returns, confusion reigns, and everyone argues.
who die tragically. Nick Bottom enthusiastically agrees to the
plan, and the others—Francis Flute, Tom Snout, Snug, and Oberon gives Puck another flower to undo the spell on

Robin Starveling—warm up to it despite early hesitations. They Lysander. Puck does this, lifting the enchantment from

propose to meet and rehearse the play in the woods the next Lysander but not from Demetrius.

night.
Meanwhile in her bower, Titania, who has fallen in love with

The next night in the woods, Oberon, king of the fairies, and Bottom, praises his donkey ears and his fuzzy fur. Oberon,

Titania, his queen, are in the midst of a quarrel. Titania has a having had his revenge, tells Puck to restore Bottom's human

servant child that she will not give to Oberon despite Oberon's head. Oberon takes the spell off Titania.

demands. To get back at Titania, Oberon instructs his

The next day, Theseus, Egeus, and Hippolyta enter the woods
mischievous servant, Puck, to fetch him a magic flower.
and find the four lovers—Demetrius, Helena, Lysander, and
Oberon plans to use it to enchant Titania. The flower has a
Hermia. Everyone is surprised that Demetrius now loves
juice inside that causes a sleeping person to fall in love with
Helena, but Theseus agrees that the two couples can marry.
the first living creature he or she sees upon waking. He wants
to make her fall in love with something vile. As Puck is fetching After the marriage ceremony, the newly wedded couples
the flower, Oberon overhears Demetrius and Helena talking. watch Bottom and the other tradesmen perform their play.
Demetrius has followed Hermia and Lysander into the woods, Then they all go off to bed. The fairies enter and bless the
and Helena has followed Demetrius. Demetrius is very rude to house with music and dancing. Puck, last to leave, asks the
Helena, and Oberon feels bad for her. So when Puck returns play's audience to think of the whole play as if it were just a
with the flower, Oberon gives him some of it to use on the dream.
Athenian man, trying to help the poor Athenian woman.

As Titania falls asleep later that night, Oberon uses the magic
flower on her eyelids. Puck, however, seeking the Athenian that
Oberon had described, finds a different one: Lysander.
Lysander has met Hermia in the woods as planned and is
sleeping on the ground a little ways from her. After Puck
leaves, having anointed Lysander's eyelids, Helena enters and
wakes him up. Of course, he falls instantly in love with her, to
both Helena's and Hermia's confusion.

The Athenian tradesmen are also in the woods, rehearsing.

Puck thinks it would be funny to change Bottom's head to a
donkey head, which he does. The rest of the men run off, and
just then, Titania wakes and sees the donkey-headed Bottom.
Having been anointed with the magic flower's juice, she falls
instantly in love.

As Puck and Oberon meet again in the woods to discuss how

their plans have gone, Demetrius and Hermia enter. After
Hermia angrily runs away, making it clear that Puck did not
apply the flower juice to Demetrius, Demetrius falls asleep.
Oberon applies the flower juice to Demetrius's eyes to try to fix
the problem. He sends Puck to bring Helena so that when

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Plot Summary 8

Plot Diagram

Climax

11

10
12
9
Falling Action

Rising Action 8
13
7

6 14
5
15
4
Resolution
3

2
1

Introduction

9. Titania falls in love with donkey-headed Bottom.

Introduction
10. Both Demetrius and Lysander fall in love with Helena.

1. Demetrius and Lysander are both in love with Hermia.

Climax

Rising Action 11. Utterly confused, the four lovers get into a huge fight.

2. Theseus insists Hermia marry Demetrius.

3. Hermia and Lysander run away to elope.

Falling Action
4. Helena and Demetrius pursue them.
12. Puck reverses Bottom's and Lysander's enchantments.
5. Oberon and Titania argue.
13. The lovers are found; Theseus consents to marriages.
6. Oberon puts magic nectar in Titania's eyes.
14. The mechanicals perform "Pyramus and Thisbe."
7. Puck mistakenly puts magic nectar in Lysander's eyes.

8. Oberon puts magic nectar in Demetrius's eyes.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Plot Summary 9

Resolution

15. The fairies bless the marriages.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Plot Summary 10

Timeline of Events

Day 1, late April

Theseus and Hippolyta reveal their wedding will take

place in four days.

Day 1

Theseus insists Hermia marry Demetrius rather than

Lysander, whom she loves.

Day 1

Hermia and Lysander plan to run away and elope; Helena

overhears.

Day 1

The mechanicals plan their play.

Day 2, at night

Four lovers enter the woods and are seen by Oberon.

Day 2, at night

Oberon uses the magic flower nectar on Titania, and

Puck mistakenly uses it on Lysander.

Day 2, at night

Lysander falls in love with Helena.

Day 2, at night

As the mechanicals rehearse, Puck transforms Nick

Bottom's head into a donkey head.

Day 2, at night

Titania wakes and falls in love with donkey-headed Nick

Bottom.

Day 2, at night

Seeing the confusion of the lovers, Oberon orders Puck

to undo the damage.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Plot Summary 11

Day 3

Oberon releases the enchantments from Nick Bottom

and Titania.

Day 3

Theseus and Hippolyta enter the woods for May Day and
find the four lovers.

Day 3

Theseus gives Lysander and Hermia, and Demetrius and

Helena, permission to wed.

Day 4

Bottom reappears to the mechanicals and informs them

their play is "preferred."

Day 4, in the evening

The mechanicals perform "Pyramus and Thisbe" for the

couples.

Day 4, at night

The newlyweds go off to bed, and the fairies appear to

bless their marriages.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Scene Summaries 12

The scene also introduces important themes. First, it

c Scene Summaries introduces the idea of love as a magical force that makes
people act irrationally. Love is not something that comes from
within a person but from without: Egeus accuses Lysander of

Act 1, Scene 1 putting a spell on his daughter, Hermia, with his gifts, singing by
moonlight, and cunning: "This man hath bewitched the bosom
of my child." Helena also remarks on the irrational nature of
love as she describes her feelings of love for Demetrius
Summary despite the fact that he has treated her terribly: "And, as he
errs, doting on Hermia's eyes, / So I, admiring of his qualities. /
At his palace, Theseus, the duke of Athens, and Hippolyta,
Things base and vile, holding no quantity, / Love can transpose
former queen of the Amazons, discuss preparations for their
to form and dignity." Another way that the love theme plays out
wedding, which is to take place in four days. Egeus, one of
is in the way that love directly opposes law and order.
Theseus's lords, arrives with his daughter, Hermia, and two
Lysander's idea suggests their love can survive, but only if they
men who are in love with her, Demetrius and Lysander. Hermia
escape the laws of Athens.
loves Lysander, but Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius.
Egeus thinks Theseus should follow old Athenian law and force Another important theme concerns gender roles. Theseus has
Hermia to obey her father or die. Theseus instead says that won Hippolyta not by wooing her with affection but by besting
she must obey her father or vow never to be with any man. her in battle. Yet she seems happy enough with the
Hermia says this vow would be better than having to marry arrangement, and Theseus doesn't seem to think it odd that he
Demetrius. Lysander makes his case for marrying Hermia, transitions from violence to celebrating a marriage: "Hippolyta,
noting that another woman—Helena—is in love with Demetrius. I wooed thee with my sword / And won thy love doing thee
Theseus says he will talk to Egeus and Demetrius further on injuries, / But I will wed thee in another key, / With pomp, with
the matter. triumph, and with reveling." Egeus, as Hermia's father, expects
her to obey him, and Theseus agrees that she owes her father
When the others leave, Lysander tells Hermia that they can run
her obedience.
away together, and they make a plan to meet in the woods the
following evening. Then Helena enters. She says she loves As the lovers escape to the woods, both of these themes
Demetrius but her love is not reciprocated. Hermia and continue to develop not only by the relationships between the
Lysander reveal their plan to her. lovers, but in the characters of the fairy world as well.

After they exit, Helena is left alone. To gain Demetrius's favor,

she decides she will tell Demetrius about Hermia and
Lysander's plan. Then when Demetrius follows Hermia and
Act 1, Scene 2
Lysander, she will follow him.

Summary
Analysis
At the home of Peter Quince, some tradesmen of Athens—Nick
This opening scene introduces several main characters and Bottom, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, and
sets up the central conflict of the play. The four Snug—gather. They are planning a play they hope they can
lovers—Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius—and what perform after Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding in the
happens to them when they enter the woods are central to the "interlude" between the ceremony and bedtime. Quince has
main storyline. The situation summarized in this scene provides written it, and he tells the men it is based on the story of
the plot's conflict: Hermia is loved by two men; Helena's love is Pyramus and Thisbe, an old tale of two young lovers whose
unreturned; Egeus demands his daughter's obedience, causing families try to keep them apart and who tragically die. As
her to flee in secret to the woods to meet Lysander. Quince attempts to assign roles in the play to the men, Bottom
interrupts, describing in dramatic fashion how he will play all

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Scene Summaries 13

the parts. Eventually, Quince manages to assign Bottom the chaos in the natural world, including wind, fog, and flooding,
role of Pyramus and Flute the role of Thisbe. The other men which is affecting the crops.
will play the Lion, Moonshine, and the Wall. The men say they
will memorize their parts and meet for rehearsal in the woods Oberon tells Puck that he is going to play a trick on Titania.

on the following night. Cupid, he says, once shot an arrow that went awry and hit a
flower instead. The juice of the flower can be placed on a
sleeping person's eyes, and the person, waking up, will fall in
Analysis love with "the next live creature that it sees." He sends Puck to
get him the flower, planning to use it on Titania so that she may
The humor of this scene reveals Shakespeare's most hilarious fall in love with something hideous.
comedic devices. Much of the humor comes from the fact that
After Puck leaves, Demetrius and Helena enter, and Oberon
Bottom and, to some degree, Quince believe they are far more
secretly watches them. Demetrius is searching for Hermia and
adept at theater craft than they actually are. Quince names the
Lysander, and Helena follows along, expressing her love for
play "The most lamentable / comedy and most cruel death of
him. He tells her harshly to go away, but she keeps following
Pyramus and / Thisbe," which contains the unintentional
him.
oxymoron "lamentable comedy." Bottom mixes up the
meanings of similar-sounding words, substituting generally for Puck brings the flower to Oberon, who tells Puck to use some
individually, aggravate for moderate, and obscenely for seemly. of its juice to make the Athenian man he has just seen fall in
love with the poor woman who has been treated so badly. He
Bottom's eagerness to play all the roles ("Let me play the lion
tells Puck he will recognize the man "by the Athenian garments
too") and his overestimation of his ability to wow the audience
he hath on." They both leave to use the magic flower nectar.
("I will roar that I will / do any man's heart good to hear me. I
will roar that / I will make the Duke say 'Let him roar again. Let
/ him roar again!'") also add to the humor. The men's reaction
to the suggestion that the men might all be hanged if their lion
Analysis
is too frightening for the ladies in the audience shows they are
Act 2 shows what happens when humans enter the fairy realm
earnest but naive. They are concerned the audience will find
of the woods. This world does not obey the same rules as the
their portrayals too realistic—a silly notion.
human Athenian world, as shown through the opening

Francis Flute's objection that he cannot play a lady because he conversation between two fairies discussing their everyday

has a beard coming is a humorous reference to the practice in activities as if magic is a typical occurrence. The woods,

Elizabethan times of having young men play the female especially at night, is a place where magic turns reality into a

characters because the law forbade women from taking roles dream.

on the stage. However, once an actor's voice changed and his

The feud between Oberon and Titania develops the theme of
beard came in, he had to move on to other roles.
gender roles. Oberon is peeved not just because he wants the
changeling boy, but also because Titania is defying him. He
calls her "rash wanton" and asks her, "Am not I thy lord?" Their
Act 2, Scene 1 argument, and the disorder it is unleashing on the natural
world, emphasizes the connection between the fairy realm and
nature. The unseasonable weather Titania describes has its
Summary origin in the tension between the fairy king and queen.

The next night, King Oberon's fairy servant, Puck (also called Gender roles are also emphasized in the interaction between
Robin Goodfellow), meets another fairy, who is a servant of the Helena and Demetrius. Helena's utter devotion to Demetrius is
fairy queen Titania. Puck boasts about the practical jokes he a caricature of subservience: "Use me but as your spaniel:
plays on humans. Oberon and Titania enter, arguing about a spurn me, strike me, / Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave
changeling boy who is Titania's. Oberon wants Titania to give / (Unworthy as I am) to follow you."
him the boy, and she refuses. Their quarrel has been causing

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Scene Summaries 14

Oberon's decision to take pity on Helena, the "sweet Athenian situation also creates a sense of suspense as the audience
lady," is the action that first intertwines the human and fairy imagines how this will play out now that Helena is loved by the
plots. Puck, who already has experience playing tricks on wrong man and the man Hermia loves no longer loves her. A
humans, moves between these two plots, weaving them confrontation seems imminent.
together.
Notably, within this larger dreamlike plot, an actual dream
The theme of love as a magical force finds its most concrete takes place: Hermia dreams about a snake eating her heart.
symbolic representation in the flower that was shot by Cupid's This foreboding dream foreshadows the betrayal of love and
arrow. The juice of this flower actually puts a spell on a person, trust she will soon experience.
causing him or her to fall in love with the first living thing he or
she sees upon waking. The living thing can be
anything—animal, fairy, human—showing how irrational love's Act 3, Scene 1
magic can be.

Summary
Act 2, Scene 2
In the woods near the place where Titania is sleeping, the six
Athenian tradesmen gather to rehearse the play-within-a-play.
Summary They are a little concerned that having a lion or a sword fight in
the play will frighten the ladies, leading to disaster for the
Titania's fairies sing her to sleep, and then Oberon places the actors. Bottom suggests that they simply explain in the play
magic flower nectar on her eyelids. Lysander and Hermia enter that they are actors playing roles so no one will be afraid.
soon after, lost and tired. They lie down (a little apart, being Realizing that the night will have no moon (a new moon is dark),
unmarried) and fall asleep. Puck enters and, seeing Lysander's they decide an actor will play Moonshine in the play. They also
Athenian clothing, believes he is the man Oberon sent him to add the role Wall to the play.
find. He places the flower's juice on Lysander's eyelids and
then leaves. As they rehearse, Puck enters and soon decides to play a
practical joke, changing Bottom's head to that of a donkey just
Demetrius enters with Helena still chasing after him, but he before Bottom enters for a scene. When Bottom makes his
finally evades her and runs off. Helena sees Hermia and entrance, the other tradesmen run away, terrified at his sudden
Lysander and wakes up Lysander, thinking he is injured. As transformation. Bottom is confused and thinks they are all
soon as he opens his eyes, he falls in love with her. Helena trying to scare him. He begins to sing loudly, waking Titania,
thinks Lysander is making fun of her and runs away. Lysander who instantly falls in love with him. She forbids him to leave the
follows. When Hermia wakes up, Lysander is gone. She goes woods and tells her fairy servants to wait on him hand and foot.
off to search for him. She takes Bottom back to her bower to dote on him.

Analysis Analysis
Oberon sows chaos on purpose, as revenge against Titania's This scene presents a contrast. The tradesmen argue about
prideful denial of his demand that she give him the changeling the content of the play, worrying that the audience will not
boy. He hopes that she falls in love with something vile, which understand that they are simply actors playing roles. Their lack
creates a sense of suspense as the audience wonders what of trust in the audience to separate fact from fiction is funny in
"vile" thing she will see. itself, but it takes on additional layers as a commentary on
theater in general. Everyone watching A Midsummer Night's
Puck sows chaos without meaning to. He mistakenly applies Dream knows that actors are playing the roles of Bottom and
the juice to the wrong lover's eyes, trusting Oberon's vague the other tradesmen, who are then, in Shakespeare's play,
description of a young man in "Athenian garments." The playing actors putting on a play.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Scene Summaries 15

In contrast to this meta-theatrical subtext, Puck says he will Lysander and Demetrius are now head-over-heels in love with
become an actor in their play if he has cause, but then instead Helena. The two men begin fighting over Helena. Hermia
of playacting, he changes reality. This choice emphasizes the becomes angry with Helena for stealing her lover. The men
difference between the "magic" of theater, which requires the leave to duel, and the women run off in different directions.
audience to willingly participate in the fiction, and true magic,
which takes its victims unawares. Oberon and Puck watch the feuding, and Oberon is a bit
annoyed with Puck for causing all the confusion. Puck claims it
Wordplay continues to be Shakespeare's approach to the was an honest mistake, but he's enjoying himself anyway.
humor of this scene. Bottom continues with malapropisms Oberon tells him to prevent the duel, and he gives Puck a
(using wrong words), substituting odious for odors, and when flower to use on Lysander to reverse the enchantment.
he is transformed becomes a walking pun: he is an ass-headed
man named Bottom, who is something of an ass in personality. Oberon then says he will once again ask Titania to give him the

Moreover, Bottom's jokes are so bad even Titania, who is in changeling boy and then use the second flower on her, too.

love with him, wants him to stop talking. She ends the scene by Puck tells him it is almost dawn, so they will need to work fast.

instructing her fairy servants: "Tie up my lover's tongue. Bring After Puck creates a fog, he leads the Athenian men around in

him silently." Yet Shakespeare allows the foolish Bottom to confusion by imitating their voices. The men become

make a remark that is nothing if not true in context: "And yet, to exhausted and finally lie down to sleep. Helena and Hermia

say the truth, reason / and love keep little company together also enter and fall asleep on the ground. With the four lovers all

nowadays." As fools often do, Bottom gets to the heart of the asleep on the ground near each other, Puck puts magic flower

matter and states a major theme of the play: love is not nectar on Lysander's eyelids to reverse the spell.

rational; it is magical.

Analysis
Act 3, Scene 2 One of Shakespeare's plot-development devices is the layering
of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony occurs when the audience
knows more than the characters do, creating a sense of
Summary tension or suspense. The plots of Shakespeare's Love's
Labor's Lost, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night also
Elsewhere in the woods, Puck gleefully tells Oberon that after all rely on the audience knowing that characters are sneaking
he had transformed one of the "rude mechanicals" into a behind each other's backs. In this play, the dramatic irony
donkey-headed man, "Titania waked and straightway loved an begins as soon as Helena decides to tell Demetrius that
ass." He also says he has put the magic flower nectar on the Hermia and Lysander are planning to escape to the woods.
eyes of the Athenian youth as Oberon wanted. However, just The audience knows that her plan is not going to work. Then,
then Demetrius and Hermia enter, and since Demetrius is still separately, the mechanicals decide to rehearse in the woods.
longing after Hermia, Oberon can clearly see that Puck must Now the audience knows that a whole bunch of Athenians are
have enchanted the wrong Athenian man. going to end up in the woods at the same time. When it
becomes clear that Oberon has seen only one Athenian man,
Hermia runs off, and Demetrius falls asleep on the ground.
the audience, having seen a second Athenian man, knows that
Oberon instructs Puck to bring Helena to him. After Puck goes
his plan could go very awry.
to get her, Oberon anoints Demetrius's eyelids with the flower
nectar. Puck then returns, telling Oberon that Helena and In this climactic scene, all the pent-up tension comes to fruition
Lysander are coming. Puck, amused by what is occurring, as the mortals are hopelessly confused and caught up in the
exclaims, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" quarrel between Oberon and Titania. The lovers become
perplexed and angry. Love as a magical force, which causes
As Lysander professes his love for Helena, Demetrius wakes
people to act irrationally, is now operating at maximum
up and sees Helena. He instantly falls in love with her also.
intensity. The argument devolves quickly into a brewing brawl.
Helena is convinced that the two men are mocking her. Hermia
Hermia accuses Helena of stealing away Lysander's love, and
enters and is completely confused and dismayed because

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Scene Summaries 16

Helena refers to Hermia as a "puppet." Meanwhile, the men Alone on stage, Bottom wakes up. He recalls having a very odd
plan to duel over Helena. dream: a "most rare vision." He decides he will tell it to Quince,
who can write it as a ballad for him to sing at the end of their
In the dreamlike fairy woods, the line between actor and play. Then he departs for Athens.
audience is blurred, just as the line between reality and dream
is blurred. Throughout the scene, Puck and Oberon watch the
unfolding insanity. Puck is especially amused at the foolishness Analysis
of the lovers in a way that is similar to how the nobles will later
be amused by the foolishness of the mechanicals. Oberon and After Oberon gets the changeling boy from Titania, he is willing
Puck are the audience for the lovers' play. In a reversal, Puck to remove the humiliating enchantment from her and Bottom.
becomes an actor in the lovers' play as he imitates the voices Instead of becoming angry, Titania seems content to go back
of Lysander and Demetrius to lead them astray. to Oberon. Their dance is one of reconciliation and a return to
peace. The patriarchal normalcy interrupted by Titania's
refusal to comply with Oberon's demands is now reestablished.
Act 4, Scene 1 Considering how nature became unpredictable and disorderly
when Titania denied Oberon his dominance over her, and the
way she accepts her place by his side after his trick, the play
Summary suggests that male dominance is part of the natural order—not
just a societal one.
As the invisible Oberon watches, Titania praises Bottom's ears,
Most of the enchantments have been lifted by now. (Demetrius
and her fairy servants scratch his head and make him
is the only one who retains his; he notes that "by some power"
comfortable. After Bottom and Titania fall asleep, Oberon says
he loves Helena instead of Hermia.) The mortals—the four
that he feels bad for her and that in any case, she's now given
lovers as well as Bottom—think their experiences were simply
him the changeling boy. He releases Titania from the love spell.
strange dreams. While all the lovers seem to agree that they
When Titania wakes up, she tells Oberon about a dream in
experienced strange dreams, Demetrius seems the most
which she was "enamored of an ass." Oberon directs her
confused, perhaps because he is still under the love spell: "Are
attention to Bottom, still sleeping nearby. Now, she loathes
you sure / That we are awake? It seems to me / That yet we
Bottom. Oberon tells Puck to return Bottom to his normal
sleep, we dream."
state, and Puck obeys, removing the ass head from the
sleeping Bottom. Oberon and Titania dance together, and the Bottom seems to recall his in some detail, which makes him
three fairies exit. quite uncomfortable. "Methought I was—" he begins, before
trailing off in disbelief and finally finishing, "there is no man can
Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus enter, along with a group of
tell what." Then he continues, "methought I had—" before
attendants. They have been observing May Day rites in the
trailing off again as he recalls what he thought he had. Ears? A
woods and are about to begin a hunt. Suddenly, Egeus notices
furry donkey head? A fairy lover? Bottom's inability to
and points out the young lovers. Theseus observes that today
articulate is not evidence of a fuzzy memory but of the
is the day Hermia is supposed to make her choice. Theseus
ridiculousness of the experience. His inability to articulate also
asks for horns to play, and the four lovers wake up.
reinforces his problem with language overall.
After they wake, Lysander explains that he and Hermia ran
Shakespeare can't pass up the chance to make one more use
away to escape from Athenian law. Egeus is furious. Then
of the ass/Bottom pun. When Bottom first wakes and recalls
Demetrius says he now loves Helena and doesn't want to
his "dream," he notes that "man is but an ass if he go about / to
marry Hermia anymore. Theseus decrees the two young
expound this dream." But then he decides to "expound"—or
couples will be married along with himself and Hippolyta. Then
explain—his dream to Quince so it can be made into a ballad.
Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and their party leave. The four
By his own judgment, he is now an ass for planning to expound
lovers, confused, think they have been dreaming. As they leave
his dream. He then goes on to say, "It shall be called 'Bottom's
to go back to Athens, they agree to share their strange dreams
Dream,' because / it hath no bottom." This nonsensical
with each other.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Scene Summaries 17

statement is typical of Bottom's inflated sense of himself and

his intellectual abilities. He's an ass, but a likable one in the end. Act 5, Scene 1

Act 4, Scene 2 Summary

Back at Theseus's palace, newlyweds Theseus and Hippolyta
discuss the events reported by the four lovers. Theseus thinks
Summary these events were simply imaginings. Hippolyta, however,
points out that the stories of the four have "constancy," or fit
Quince, Flute, Snout, and Starveling sadly bemoan the
together well, so there might be something true in them.
disappearance of Bottom. They all agree that they cannot
perform the play without their Pyramus. Snug enters, saying The four lovers—now two newlywed couples—enter with
that Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia, and Philostrate, who is in charge of organizing entertainment for
Demetrius and Helena have all married. They think that if they the nobles between the wedding and bedtime. Philostrate has
had been able to perform their play, Theseus might have given made a list of possibilities, which Theseus peruses. He is
them payments of money for life. As they sadly think about this intrigued by the "tedious brief scene" and "tragical mirth" of the
loss, Bottom enters, and they all greet him joyfully. They all go play with Pyramus and Thisbe and decides to see it. Philostrate
together to the palace in good spirits. cautions him that the play is not good, but Theseus likes the
idea of a play performed by everyday men.

Analysis The mechanicals enter and perform their play, which is so

awful that it is hilarious. The nobles interject their sarcastic
The happy ending that began at the end of the Act 3 continues comments throughout but are entertained and applaud when it
as this act opens. The reunion of Bottom and the other is done. As the play ends, the bell strikes midnight. The three
mechanicals echoes the way the lovers are brought together couples leave for bed.
into two happy couples. The conflict of the play has been
resolved, and the only event that remains is for the wedding After the humans disperse, the fairies return. Puck, armed with
celebration to commence. a broom, sweeps the floor. Then Oberon and Titania, along
with their fairy servants, enter to bless the house. Titania leads
When Nick Bottom, the weaver, is enchanted and does not the fairies in a song and dance: "Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
return from the woods, the other mechanicals sadly discuss / Will we sing and bless this place." Oberon instructs the fairies
what life might have been like if they had been able to perform to go throughout the house and bless each chamber with
their play for Theseus and the other nobles. They think it is "sweet peace." After the rest of the fairies leave, Puck tells the
likely they would have had "sixpence a day" for life if the play audience that if they did not like the play, they can think of it as
had been pleasing to the duke. Sixpence is about the same just a dream. Then he asks the audience to consider him a
amount a farm worker might receive for a day's work in friend and to applaud.
Shakespeare's time; a skilled worker might be paid a shilling a
day, equal to 12 pence. Groundlings, those who stood in the pit
of the theater, would gain admission to one of Shakespeare's Analysis
plays using one penny (the singular of pence).
Now that the humans have exited the fairy world, they enter
As Bottom finally enters, breaking up the pity party, his once again the Athenian world of law and order. Theseus, as a
tendency to hilariously contradict himself lifts the spirits of the representative of order, finds the lovers' stories unbelievable.
audience as well as those of the assembled men. He tells the Hippolyta is more willing to believe them; perhaps she is
mechanicals he will tell them everything "right as it fell out," but curious about the sudden change that has come over
then he refuses to tell them what happened, saying "Not a Demetrius, who emerges from the fairy woods still under the
word of me." Then he talks for a long time before saying, "No spell, madly in love with Helena.
more words." Bottom is back as his usual oblivious self.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Quotes 18

Though the happy endings make it seem as if the humans have words also anticipate the confusion that will shortly ensue in
returned to normalcy after emerging from the magical fairy the play.
realm and reentering the human world, they have not. While the
enchantments on Bottom and Lysander are lifted, Demetrius's
remains. He is forever changed in a way that benefits the social "Either to die the death or to
order. The fairy magic may have upset reality, but in the end, it
averts a tragedy that simple law and order would have caused. abjure / Forever the society of
Remarkably similar to Romeo and Juliet, the tragedy of
men."
Pyramus and Thisbe, even poorly performed, acts as a
reminder of what might have happened to Hermia and
— Theseus, Act 1, Scene 1
Lysander had the fairies not intervened. The happy ending and
the blessing of the fairies that closes the play are evidence
that the fairy magic, while mischievous, can bring about good. When Hermia asks what the punishment is if she refuses to
Its benevolence stands against the cold cruelty of the Athenian wed Demetrius, Theseus tells her she must choose death or a
law. chaste life as a nun. She replies, "So will I grow, so live, so die,
my lord, / Ere I will yield my virgin patent up / Unto his Lordship
Since this scene focuses on the play-within-a-play as staged whose unwishèd yoke / My soul consents not to give
by the enthusiastic yet untalented mechanicals, it allows sovereignty." Although Theseus clearly thinks she is making a
Shakespeare to comment on the nature of theater. The hasty decision, Hermia is committed to Lysander in her heart
mechanicals' play runs parallel to the "dream" playing out in the and will have no other man, even if it means never being with
woods. Both are theater, of sorts. The mechanicals have been any man.
very concerned that Theseus and the others will not
understand the difference between fiction and reality.
However, it is obviously easy for the audience to distinguish
reality and fiction when watching the play-within-a-play. The
"The King doth keep his revels
place for distinguishing between reality and dreams is the fairy here tonight. / Take heed the
realm. Where the mechanicals fail, making the gap between
reality and fiction into a wider chasm, the fairies are wildly
Queen come not within his sight."
successful, blurring the line between waking and dreaming,
between reality and fiction. They succeed so well that some of — Puck, Act 2, Scene 1
the magic stays with those who entered the dream. Perhaps
Shakespeare is suggesting that the very best theater has a
Puck references the quarrel between Oberon, king of the
sort of magical ability to cross lines between fiction and reality.
fairies, and Titania, his queen. The crux of the matter is that
It can change a person permanently.
Titania has taken a changeling boy as a servant and Oberon
wants the boy as his own servant. He has demanded that
Titania give him the boy, but she has refused.
g Quotes
"And this same progeny of evils
"The course of true love never did
comes / From our debate, from
run smooth."
our dissension; / We are their
— Lysander, Act 1, Scene 1 parents and original."

Lysander comforts his love, Hermia, noting that the troubles — Titania, Act 2, Scene 1
they are experiencing show their love to be true love. His

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Quotes 19

After listing a number of problems their quarrel has caused in — Titania, Act 3, Scene 1
the natural world, including alterations in the seasons, Titania
explains that these disruptions owe their origin to the
Titania wakes to hear the ass-headed Bottom singing loudly.
argument between Titania and Oberon. This explanation
This line signals that the charm of the flower has indeed done
demonstrates the close connection between the fairies and
its work and typically receives a loud laugh from the audience,
nature. When the fairies are at peace, so is nature.
especially if Bottom's singing is particularly bad and braying.

"The juice of it on sleeping eyelids "Then will two at once woo one ...
laid / Will make or man or woman And those things do best please
madly dote / Upon the next live me / That befall prepost'rously."
creature that it sees."
— Puck, Act 3, Scene 2
— Oberon, Act 2, Scene 1

Although Puck mistakenly applies the flower's nectar to

Oberon instructs Puck, his servant, to fetch him a flower that Lysander's eyes, forcing Oberon to try to undo the mess by
has absorbed some of the magic of Cupid's arrow, which is also anointing Demetrius's eyes, Puck is beyond pleased by the
known to cause people to fall in love suddenly. This flower will hilarious mess that he anticipates. He echoes the audience's
be used to enchant three characters: Demetrius, Lysander, and gleeful anticipation when they realize how this disorder will
Titania. The love spells placed on these three are the cause of play out.
both confusion and hilarity in the play.

"And though she be but little, she

"I know a bank where the wild is fierce."
thyme blows ... Quite overcanopied
— Helena, Act 3, Scene 2
with luscious woodbine, / With
sweet muskroses, and with With both men in love with her and Hermia in a confused rage,
eglantine." Helena lashes out at her one-time friend with insults about her
stature. The petty insults and fighting in this scene bring the
plot to its climactic chaos. To add to the humor, Helena's
— Oberon, Act 2, Scene 1
insults are echoed by Lysander a few lines later: "Get you
gone, you dwarf, / You minimus of hind'ring knotgrass made, /
Oberon eloquently describes Titania's bower as he explains to You bead, you acorn."
Puck his plan to come quietly upon Titania as she sleeps,
streak her eyelids with the magic flower's nectar, and hope she
wakes when something hateful is before her enchanted eyes.
"Jack shall have Jill; / Naught shall
go ill."
"What angel wakes me from my
— Puck, Act 3, Scene 2
flow'ry bed?"
Puck applies the remedy to the love spell to the eyes of

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Symbols 20

Lysander but leaves Demetrius permanently enchanted: each "as imagination bodies forth / The forms of things unknown,
Jack shall have one Jill. the poet's pen / Turns them to shapes and gives to airy
nothing / A local habitation and a name." It is hard not to
imagine Shakespeare referencing his own vocation as
"I have had a most rare / vision. I playwright and poet in these lines. He has brought the forms of
things unknown into being.
have had a dream past the wit of
man to say / what dream it was."
"'Merry' and 'tragical'? 'Tedious'
— Bottom, Act 4, Scene 1 and 'brief'? / That is hot ice and
wondrous strange snow!"
Bottom, having been transformed back into his normal body,
recalls his experience as Titania's lover as if it were a vision or
— Theseus, Act 5, Scene 1
dream. His description here notes that it was fantastical
beyond a man's ability to explain. Shakespeare goes on to have
Bottom nonsensically mix up the biblical quote from 1 Theseus reads the description of the mechanicals' play before
Corinthians 2:9: "The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of making a decision on which to see: "A tedious brief scene of
man hath not seen, man's hand is not able to taste, his tongue young Pyramus / And his love Thisbe, very tragical mirth."
to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was." Understandably, Theseus becomes confused by the
contradictory description. He makes fun of the oxymorons
merry/tragical and tedious/brief with his own: hot ice.
"And, most dear actors, eat no
onions nor garlic, for / we are to "If we shadows have offended, /
utter sweet breath." Think but this and all is mended: /
— Bottom, Act 4, Scene 2 That you have but slumbered here
/ While these visions did appear."
After he returns to his fellow mechanicals, magically restored
to normalcy, Bottom gives his fellow actors advice to make — Puck, Act 5, Scene 1
sure that their play does not offend the nobles. He is both
advising them and encouraging them.
At the end of the play, Puck—left onstage alone and
addressing the audience—encourages any audience members
who didn't care for the play to think of it as a dream. He goes
"The lunatic, the lover, and the on to ask the audience for pardon and for their applause.
poet / Are of imagination all
compact."
l Symbols
— Theseus, Act 5, Scene 1

Referring to the stories of the night in the woods told by the

lovers, Theseus expresses the opinion that lunatics, lovers, and
poets are nothing but imagination. Yet he goes on to say that

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Themes 21

the fairies takes great pleasure in being a night fairy, saying

The Woods that it is "swifter than the moon's sphere," which means that
this fairy is much too quick to be caught in the net of the
moon's spell. The moon shows the passage of time. When the
The woods is a powerful symbol of untamed nature, and in this play opens, as Theseus and Hippolyta are discussing their
play, nature is specifically tied to the fairy realm. Titania and approaching marriage (Act 1, Scene 1), Theseus remarks how
Oberon's extended argument is said to cause ongoing unrest the "old moon" makes time progress slowly. The moon is also a
in nature, including unseasonable weather. So the woods witness to their marriage ceremony and their union on the
represents both untamed nature and untamed magic, which wedding night.
are intertwined. The fairies are seen to be closer to disorder
The moon represents chastity, too. In Act 1, Scene 1 Theseus
than to order. Their pranks are disruptive to human activities,
tells Hermia that it would be difficult "To live a barren sister all
and they do not seem governed by laws as Theseus is. The
[her] life / Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon."
disruptive fairy magic represented by the woods is then the
This reference to nuns evokes purity, and the words barren
perfect setting for the "dream" part of the "midsummer night's
and fruitless also denote chastity.
dream." In the woods, dreamlike events can take place—events
that do not obey the rules of nature or Athenian civilization. At the same time, the moon represents lust. This idea appears
in Act 1, Scene 1 when Egeus says that Lysander "hast by
moonlight at her window sung / With feigning voice verses of
feigning love," showing how Lysander serenaded his love by
Flowers the moonlight, which is an act of lust.

As part of nature, flowers are necessarily associated with

fairies and with magic. However, certain flowers have a special m Themes
role in this play. One is the flower that Oberon tells Puck he
witnessed Cupid's arrow striking. This flower contains a
magical juice that when placed on a person's eyelids causes
that person to instantly fall in love with whatever living creature
Patriarchy
he or she sees upon waking. The other flower is used to
reverse the magical enchantment of the first flower. In the play
these enchantments create confusion but ultimately work The first scene of the play introduces a conflict that hinges on
together to make a happy ending out of tragic circumstances. male dominance in the social hierarchy. Egeus wants his
Therefore, the flowers symbolize not only nature and fairy daughter to marry Demetrius, and according to the law, she
magic, but also the wild yet ultimately benevolent nature of the must obey or be punished. Theseus has won his wife, the
fairy magic. Amazon queen Hippolyta, by defeating her in battle. The
patriarchal nature of Athenian society is the focus of the
scene. This theme further develops as the setting shifts to the
woods, where Titania refuses to obey her husband, Oberon.
Moon Her refusal to give in persists, causing disturbance in the
natural world and prompting Oberon to play a cruel joke on her
in retaliation.
The moon exerts a powerful force on many of the characters,
In contrast, the enchantments placed on Demetrius and
affecting how they act. It is associated with the love and
Lysander cause them to want to please Helena. This shift in
dreaming the characters encounter. The action of the play
gender roles places Helena, a woman in a position of social
occurs at night, when the moon presides. The moon mainly
power over two men. In these ways Shakespeare establishes
affects the humans and not the fairies. In Act 2, Scene 1 one of
and then challenges traditional notions of gender in romantic

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Motifs 22

relationships. she is not allowed to love.

In contrast, in the fairy woods, disorder reigns. Titania,

Oberon's wife, continues to defy him rather than submit to him
Love as a Magical Force as might be expected in Athens. Nature itself, with its
unseasonable weather, is disordered because of their long-
term quarrel over the changeling boy. The lovers who enter the
woods end up in total disorder because of Puck's mistake. The
In the play, love is characterized as an external, magical force.
mechanicals are disordered as they become terrified at seeing
Egeus accuses Lysander of bewitching his daughter, as if
Bottom's transformation.
Hermia's love for Lysander were a magical power that forced
her to love him. In the woods, the flower imbued with the magic As the Athenians emerge from the woods, the world goes back
of Cupid's arrow is a concrete representation of the magical, to being quite orderly. The couples pair up and are married.
bewitching nature of love, as people are literally put under love The play is chosen and performed (if poorly). Yet somehow the
spells that cause them to fall in love with the first living disorder of the dream-woods leaves its mark on the lives of
creature they see. those who entered it, resulting in even greater order
afterwards. The couples are happy, and the mechanicals
Furthermore, love's magic proves to be unpredictable and not
possibly even more so.
subject to rules or laws, tying this theme closely to the theme
of order versus disorder. Demetrius once loved Helena but has, The play shows that not all order is good; in fact, order can
at the beginning of the play, fallen out of love with Helena and cause tragedy. Also, not all disorder is bad; in fact, it can be a
into love with Hermia. Helena's love for Demetrius, who scorns blessing.
her, is out of control, causing her to follow him around like a
beggar hoping for a crumb. The fact that there are two eligible
young men and an equal number of eligible young women sets
up an expectation that they will become two couples, making b Motifs
the situation at the beginning of the play seem unstable (which
the ending resolves, of course). Fortunately, since all love
comes from without, not within, Demetrius's enchantment
doesn't reduce the satisfaction felt by the audience when Day and Night
everyone is happily married.
To support the theme of order versus disorder and draw
attention to the dreamlike nature of the woods, Shakespeare
sets some scenes in the day and some at night. Act 1 takes
Order versus Disorder place in the daytime, and events are far from dreamlike: Egeus
invokes Athenian law, lovers plan their escape, and tradesmen
attempt to plan a play for which they are unqualified. Acts 2
and 3, which take place at night, are dominated by fairies
Athens is the pinnacle of civilization. It is a place of law, as Act
playing pranks, magical love spells, and a quarrel between the
1, Scene 1 makes clear. In Athens, Theseus maintains order by
king and queen of the fairies. This is the night in which the
enforcing the law and by observing the correct ceremonies at
"dream" of the title takes place. In Act 4 the lovers exit the
an appropriate time—the new moon. He is the duke, and as a
woods and go back to "reality," though one enchantment
noble and a military man (he won Hippolyta's hand when he
remains in place. In Act 5, Scene 2 the play shifts again to
defeated her in battle), order and hierarchy are very important
nighttime as the fairies come to bless the three marriages. The
to him. He stresses that Hermia's obedience should be to her
dream world of chaos, fairies, and magic is associated with the
father because in the social hierarchy, her father is in charge of
disorderly night, and the orderly part of the play—the
her decisions. The only disturbance in the order of Theseus's
ceremonies and laws—is associated with the day.
world is love: Demetrius's inconstant love first toward Helena
and then toward Hermia and Hermia's love for Lysander, whom

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A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide Suggested Reading 23

Play-within-a-Play
The mechanicals' play is about two lovers, Pyramus and
Thisbe, whose families will not allow them to be with each
other. Living next to each other, they whisper of their love
through a crack in the wall. They make a plan to meet secretly,
but when Thisbe gets there, she is frightened by a bloody-
jawed lion and, dropping her cloak, runs away. The lion chews
the cloak, leaving it bloody, so that when Pyramus arrives, he
believes the lion has killed and eaten his lover. He kills himself
in sorrow. This play-within-a-play includes a main event that is
similar to one in the larger play: two lovers are forbidden from
marrying by family. However, the play-within-a-play has a tragic
ending while the larger play has a happy one. This contrast
highlights the effect of the fairies' magic to turn tragedy to a
"dream" of romance and comedy.

Additionally, the play-within-a-play calls attention to the

theatricality of the antics that ensue in the fairy woods. Just as
the nobles watch with amusement as the mechanicals act their
parts poorly in a play, so Puck watches in amusement as the
four lovers make fools of themselves in the woods.

e Suggested Reading
Bloom, Harold. William Shakespeare: The Comedies. Bloom's
Literary Criticism, 2009.

Bloom, Harold, and Janyce Marson. A Midsummer Night's

Dream. Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2008.

Isherwood, Charles. "Love Trouble: The Light and Dark of 'A

Midsummer Night's Dream.'" New York Times, 31 Oct. 2015.

Kehler, Dorothea. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Critical Essays.

Routledge, 2001.

Nostbakken, Faith. Understanding A Midsummer Night's Dream:

A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical
Documents. Greenwood, 2003.

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