Theseus, duke of Athens, after conquering the warrior Amazons in battle, is in turn conquered by the charms of
their queen, Hippolyta, and they are now planning to marry. To speed the time until their wedding night, he
orders amusements to be staged. In a spirit of loyalty, Bottom the weaver and other tradesmen decide to prepare
a play for the duke and his bride.
The preparations are interrupted by Egeus, an Athenian, who brings his daughter, Hermia, and her two suitors
before Theseus, entreating him to command Hermia to wed Demetrius. Hermia pleads to be allowed to marry the
other suitor, the one she loves-Lysander. The duke orders her to obey her father under penalty of death or
confinement in a convent. Hermia and Lysander bewail the harsh decree and secretly agree to meet in a wood
nearby and flee to another country. They tell their plans to Helena, a jilted sweetheart of Demetrius, and she,
to win back his love, goes straightway to inform him of the plan.
Meanwhile, in the forest, the fairy king and queen, Oberon and Titania are at odds. In spite, Oberon bids the
capricious Puck to procure a love-juice to pour upon Titania’s eyelids when she is asleep, in order that she may love the first
thing her waking eyes behold. Just then, Oberon sees Demetrius, who has sought out the trysting-place of
Lysander and Hermia only to meet Helena, much to his distaste. The lady’s distress at her lover’s coldness
softens the heart of Oberon, who bids Puck touch Demetrius’s eyes also with the love-juice, for Helena’s sake.
Meanwhile, Lysander and Hermia arrive, and Puck in error anoints Lysander’s instead of Demetrius’s eyes, so that Lysander,
happening to awake just as the neglected Helena wanders by, falls in love with her-and abandons Hermia.
The same enchanted spot in the forest happens to be the place selected by Bottom and company for the final rehearsal
of their play. The roguish Puck passes that way while they are rehearsing, and mischievously and magically crowns Bottom
with an ass’s head. Then he brings Bottom to Titania; and, when she awakens, she gazes first upon the human-turned-to-an-ass
and falls in love.
After all is resolved, a wedding-feast for three couples instead of one only is spread in Duke Theseus’s place. Bottom’s players come
to this feast to present the “comic” tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe, which is performed in wondrous and hilarious
fashion. After the company retires for the night, the fairies dance through the corridors on a mission of blessing
and goodwill for the three wedded pairs.
