A Midsummer Night’s Dream

(mainly for students and pupils)

1 A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most joyful and entertaining comedies.
It was written in 1595 to celebrate the marriage of an aristocratic young couple in London, and
they would have watched the first performance in the great hall of their own house on their
wedding night. As a suitable compliment to the newly-weds, Shakespeare wrote a light-
hearted play about romance and marriage, with a fairy-tale background. It would have made
a wonderful ending to a day of celebration.

2 The play opens and closes in Athens at the court of Duke Theseus, but the main action takes
place outside the city in a wood on Midsummer Night. This is a magic wood where the
supernatural fairy world collides with the human world, with comic and dramatic effect. There
are really four separate stories which make up the play, three about humans and the fourth
about the fairy kingdom. All four meet up in the wood.

3 The first story, or plot, is about Duke Theseus and his bride-to-be, Hippolyta. At the very start
of the play we learn that they are to be married in four days time, when the new moon rises.
The play ends with their wedding. (The newly-weds watching the play would have identified
with Thesues and Hippolyta.) Their story is the most straightforward of the four, but it provides
an orderly background for the mad chaos of the three plots.

4 The second story is about four young Athenians and their mixed-up love affairs. The two young
men, Lysander and Demetrius, both love Hermia, but she only loves Lysander. Unfortunately,
her father has promised her to Demetrius, so Hermia and Lysander run away to get married,
but get lost on the way in the enchanted wood. They are followed there by Demetrius and
Hermia’s friend Helena, who adores Demetrius but is scorned by him. However, everything is
turned upside down by Puck, a mischievous fairy. He puts a spell on both young men so that
they forget their devotion to Hermia and fall passionately in love with Helena.

5 Puck is part of the third plot, which is about the fairy court. He is a servant to Oberon, the fairy
king, who is in a long drawn-out quarrel with his wife, the fairy queen Titania. Finally, the fourth
story is about a group of simple but good-natured Athenian workmen who decide to put on a
play for the Duke’s wedding. To avoid being pestered by people they meet in the wood to
rehearse at night and there they are caught up in supernatural trickery. Their leader is called
Bottom, a vulgar man full of comic self-confidence. In the most famous incident in the play,
Bottom is transformed by having a donkey’s head put on his shoulders by the mischievous
 Puck. The result is such a frightening surprise to his fellow-actors that they run away back to
Athens. Bottom has no idea what he looks like and is not at all surprised when the beautiful
Titania falls instantly in love with him through Oberon’s magic.

6 Eventually everything is sorted out satisfactorily. The lovers, who have fallen asleep
exhausted, are woken at daybreak by Theseus and his hunting party. Their Midsummer
Night’s Dream is over. The fairies, who are creatures of the night, leave the wood, and all the
humans return to the city. Bottom, with his own head restored, leads his band of actors in a
ridiculously bad performance before the three newly-wed couples. A Midsummer Night’s
Dream is rounded off by the arrival of Oberon and Titania, freshly restored to harmony, to give
a blessing to all the newly-weds.

7 Even from such a simplified version of the story, you can see how many different strands there
are in the plot. Shakespeare binds them all together to make an entertaining and easy-to-
follow play. This is partly due to a number of themes, or continuing ideas that run through A
Midsummer Night’s Dream and help to give it unity. When we have read the play once you
twice you may remember some of these ideas that keep recurring, for example: love;
faithfulness; marriage; the conflict between young and old; the ease with which the human
mind can be played with and deceived.

8 One aspect you may be aware of as you read is the use Shakespeare makes of the moon. It
is mentioned in the first few lines of Act 1 and referred to over and over again. In the last Act
there is even a character called Moonshine. Think about the effect the moon has on the
atmosphere of the play, particularly the scenes in the wood.

9 You should also think of the way Shakespeare gently mocks young love and its passionate
certainties which can change in the twinkling of an eye. Marriage, too, has its problems, even
in the spirit world, as we see in the petty quarrel between Oberon and Titania. In the end,
however, love triumphs and marriage is seen as a source of harmony. The three human
couples are joined together by laughter and music.

1. In which century was A Midsummer Night’s Dream written? (1)

2. Quote an adjective from paragraph 1 to prove that this play is a comedy. (1)

3. Where do most of the events in the play take place and what is unusual about this
setting? (3)
4. Who is Hippolyta? (2)

5. Hermia’s father’s name is Egeus. What evidence is there is this summary that he has
acted unfairly to his daughter? (2)

6. Answer TRUE or FALSE and give a reason for your choice:

Demetrius adored Helena. (2)

7. Quote an adjective in paragraph 4 which describes Puck’s character. (1)

8. How do you know that Puck has supernatural powers? (2)

9. Who is Puck’s master? (1)

10. Who is Titania? (2)

11. Is she happily married? How do you know? (2)

12. Who is “a vulgar man full of comic self-confidence”? (2)

13. Write the quoted description above in your own words. (3)

14. What kind of men are the Athenian workmen? Quote a phrase. (2)

15. Why do they go to the wood at night? (2)

16. Describe Bottom’s appearance when Titania falls in love with him. (2)

17. Why, do you think, is the moon an important aspect of the play? (2)

18. Refer to paragraph 9. In your own words explain what Shakespeare is making fun of. (2)

19. Write down three themes mentioned in paragraph 7 and an example of each one
as described in this introduction. (6)

[40]
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
William Shakespeare

ACT 1 SCENE 1

Lines 1-19
Athens. The palace of Theseus.
Enter Theseus, Hippolyta, Philostrate and Attendants
Theseus is overjoyed that their wedding is in four days. Hippolyta assures him the four days
will pass quickly and then they will be married and together forever. Theseus tells Philostrate
to go out into the streets and begin to cheer up all the people of Athens for he wants a happy
wedding.
Philostrate off
As Philostrate leaves them Theseus assures Hippolyta that although he first fell in love with
her after he wounded her in battle, he has no intention of ever wounding her again. He is
looking forward to their wedding and hopes the whole city will celebrate with them.

Lines 20-45
Enter Egeus and his daughter Hermia, and Lysander, and Demetrius
Egeus greets Theseus and Theseus asks what news Egeus has. Egeus says he wants his
daughter, Hermia, to marry Demetrius and he has given his consent for this marriage but she
has become stubborn and difficult, openly disobeying him, for she is in love with Lysander.
Egeus accuses Lysander of bewitching his daughter. Egeus tells the Duke that if she will not
marry Demetrius, as he wants her to do, then he will ask the permission of the Duke to treat
her as father’s have the legal right to do. The law says that a father can force his daughter to
marry the man of his choice and if she refuses then he can have her put to death.

Lines 46-64
Theseus asks Hermia to think very carefully before she answers, for he reminds her that a girl’s
father should be as important to her as a god. She owes her life and beauty to her father and
as such he has the power to destroy that life he has created. He says Demetrius would make a
good husband for he is a good man. However, her reply is that Lysander is equally good.
Theseus reminds her that what her father has instructed her to do is important and Demetrius
is her father’s choice, therefore he is the better man of the two. Hermia refuses to accept this
explanation, proving that she is not a really dutiful daughter, and begins to argue with the
Duke, telling him that she wants her father to change his mind but he will not even consider
doing so. Therefore, as she refuses to marry Demetrius, and her father refuses to accept her
decision, she wants to know what punishment she can expect if she continues in her refusal.

Lines 65-90
Theseus is scarcely encouraging, telling her that she has only two choices available to her; she
can either choose to be put to death, or she can choose to become a nun and never see men
again. Theseus makes the life of a nun sound very depressing, pointing out that it is an
unnatural life for any young woman for it means that she will live and die a virgin. Hermia is
not to be dissuaded, telling the Duke that even this would be preferable than being forced to
marry Demetrius, whom she does not love and does not want to be married to.

Theseus is not prepared to take a spur-of-the-moment decision and tells her that she has got a
few days to think over her decision – until the next new moon, the day on which he plans to
marry Hippolyta. Then she must appear before him and tell him that she will either marry
Demetrius, or that she will die or that she will live the rest of her life as a nun, never knowing
the love of a man.

Lines 91-127
Demetrius does not like this decision any more than does either Lysander or Hermia. He begs
her to change her mind and marry him, and begs Lysander to give up his efforts to persuade
Hermia to be his wife. He feels that they will all be happier. Lysander replies that Demetrius
is well liked by Egeus therefore it is only fair that Demetrius should win his approval for
marrying Hermia. Egeus soon proves whose side he is on when he refuses to listen to this
argument, telling Lysander that it is true that he likes Demetrius better than he likes Lysander,
but it is also true that his daughter must do what he tells her to do. The argument used by
Egeus is that his daughter belongs to him, in the same way that other material possessions
belong to him. Therefore he will choose who she marries.

Lysander will not accept this without argument and proceeds to tell Egeus that his background
is as good as that of Demetrius. He is as wealthy as Demetrius; he has as many possessions
as Demetrius. In addition he is very much in love with Hermia, so that he feels that he has
every right to ask to marry her. In order to prove that he is the better suitor he tells all those
present that Demetrius has not been faithful to Hermia; in fact he has been seen with Helena,
who is very much in love with him and who really wants to marry him, despite the fact that he
has not remained faithful to her.

When Theseus hears this he immediately remembers that he has heard this rumour, and had
intended to speak to Egeus about it, but his mind was so preoccupied with his own plans that
he had temporarily forgotten about it. He decides that it might be a good idea if Egeus and
Demetrius go with him for a private talk. In the meantime he advises Hermia to think seriously
about her father’s wishes and be prepared to fit in with them, otherwise he will be forced to
put the law into action and condemn her to death or to the life of a nun.
All but Lysander and Hermia off

Lines 128-135
Lysander wants to know why Hermia looks so pale. The roses, which usually shine in her
cheeks, are gone, as though they have faded. Hermia tells Lysander that roses usually die from
lack of rain, but that in her case she has done so much crying over the situation in which she
finds herself, that they should have had plenty of water.

Lysander encourages her telling her that true love never seems to run smoothly. Whenever he
hears about it there are problems connected with it. He starts giving her some of the reasons
why lovers face
problems, and she soon joins in with her own ideas.

Lines 136-141
Hermia says that people are kept apart because they are considered not to be good enough for
each other.
Lysander replies that in some cases their ages are considered to be too far apart.
Hermia feels that it is spiteful to deny an older person to be engaged to a younger one.
Lysander’s comment is that friends frequently feel that a couple would be a good match for
each other, rather then the couple choosing for themselves.
Hermia feels that you cannot choose your prospective partner because someone else likes
them.
Lysander replies that it is a pity that there is not some guidelines by which the choice of
partners can be made.
Lysander carries on to tell Hermia that if there had been a set of rules then it exists no longer,
for there is always something which comes to upset the natural order of man. Sometimes it is
an outside influence, such as war, sometimes death or illness intervenes. When these things
come along they are so quick that man does not have time to comment upon them before he
has been overcome by them. What was light and joy suddenly turns to darkness and confusion.

Hermia is slightly comforted by these words, realising that she is not the first one to suffer as
a result of love. It appears to her that those who are truly in love will always suffer before they
can be united with the one they love. The only thing that they can do is be patient, as lovers
throughout history have learned to be. Just as love causes people to have dreams about their
future happiness and to sigh over their unhappy state, so it also causes the loved ones to cry
and wish for that which seems to be unobtainable initially.

Lines 156-167
Lysander has had enough of this situation, no matter how usual it may be, and he suddenly
comes up with an idea which might enable them to get around their problems and be married,
thus saving Hermia from death or the nunnery. Lysander has a widowed aunt who has lots of
money but no children. She lives about seven miles out of Athens and thinks of, and treats,
Lysander as a son. If they go and get married from her house all will be well, because they
will be outside the legal boundaries of Athens, meaning that neither her father nor the Duke
will be able to use their influence to get her back again or to stop the marriage. He suggests
that Hermia should leave her father’s house secretly the following night and meet him in a
wood that is about a league out of the town. This is a place that he knows well, because he
met Helena there early one May day. He will be waiting for her.

Lines 168-180
Hermia is overjoyed. This looks like the answer to all her prayers. She swears on the names
of all those who have any connection with lovers that she will meet him the following morning
in the place which he has proposed. Lysander reminds her to keep her promise.

Lines 180-193
Enter Helena
Helena enters and Hermia asks her where she is going in such a hurry. Helena is not pleased
to see Hermia, for she is in love with Demetrius, yet Demetrius does not love her, but loves
Hermia instead. She is very depressed and jealous. It does not seem fair to her that two men
should love Hermia, and yet no one loves her. To make matters worse Hermia does not even
want to marry Demetrius, but Helena would give anything if he would only offer to marry her.
Helena starts to tell Hermia of the way the men look at her and regard her. She is very bitter.
The men regard Hermia’s eyes in the same way that the mariner regards the stars which guide
his boat – something to be valued; something beyond all comparison.

When she speaks her tongue sounds sweeter than even the lark sounds to the ears of the
shepherd. The shepherd always listened for the lark, for when he heard it singing he knew that
summer was come and that the bad weather was ended. Therefore there was no more danger
to his lambs from the cold weather. Helena wishes that it were possible to catch love in the
same way that it is possible to catch a disease, for if this were so she would be able to catch
some of the things that attracted the men to Hermia. She longs for her voice to sound as sweet
as Hermia’s; for her eyes to look as bright as Hermia’s; for all she does and says to be the same
as the way Hermia does and says things. If this were so then she would be able to attract
Demetrius to herself and away from Hermia. If she could do this then Hermia could have
everything else in the world for her own. She begs Hermia to teach her how she can capture
the heart of Demetrius.

Lines 194-202
Hermia is amazed for she dislikes Demetrius and is doing everything she can to avoid marrying
him. She tells Helena how she frowns at him, rather than smiling but he continues to love her.
Helena can only wish that she could frown as well, for then Demetrius might interpret her
frowns as smiles. Hermia goes on to say that she says nothing nice to him, but he still loves
her; to which poor Helena can only reply that she has offered up numerous prayers for his love
and still he shows her none.
When Hermia tells Helena that the more she shows her dislike the more he follows her, Helena
can only reply that in her case it is the very opposite – the more she loves him the more he
seems to hate her.

Hermia sympathises with Helena, for she would do anything to be rid of the love of Demetrius,
yet she is adamant that she has done nothing to encourage him.

Lines 203 - 225

Poor Helena can only wish that she were as beautiful as Hermia, which persuades Hermia to
confide in Helena and tell her of her plans to leave Athens with Lysander. She has always
loved the place and regarded it as a paradise on earth; however, now it is more like hell than
heaven.

Lysander decides that they will tell Helena their plans, for then she might feel better. The next
night he and Hermia will leave Athens.

Hermia adds to this information by reminding Helena that it is these same woods where she
and Helena used to go together and lie on the pale primrose-strewn ground, exchanging the
type of secrets girls talk about. Once she and Lysander have met up with each other they will
turn their backs on Athens and on all their friends, and hope that they can start a new life
together.

It is with an air of sadness that they say their final goodbyes, asking that Helena will pray for
them. They also wish her luck with Demetrius once they have gone.

After saying this Hermia decides that the time has come for her to leave Lysander until they
meet at midnight the next night. Lysander bids her goodbye, until they meet again, promising
that he will be there waiting for her.
Hermia off
Before leaving Helena, Lysander says he hopes that Demetrius will come to love her as much
as she loves him.
Lysander off

Lines 226-251
Helena then goes into a soliloquy about the love of others. She says that some are happy,
whilst others are not. She knows that in Athens she is thought to be just as beautiful as Hermia,
but that is of little consequence if Demetrius does not think so. She feels that it is unfortunate,
at least for her that he will not recognise what everyone else in Athens knows; namely that she
admires and loves him. He only has eyes for Hermia and is unable to see anyone else. She has
recognised that love consists of more than a pretty face. It is necessary to love the qualities
that a person has. However, even the ancient Romans understood that men look with their
eyes, which was why they depicted Cupid, the god of love, as being blind. Love takes away
man’s judgement so that he becomes like a child again because he can be sidetracked so easily.
A man in love is like a boy in a game; prepared to say anything if he can only win.

Before Demetrius saw Hermia he had sworn undying love to Helena. However, once he
realised that Hermia existed he ceased to have eyes for anyone but Hermia. It is certain that
he will follow her to the wood the next night if she lets him know what Hermia is planning.
At least he will be grateful to her for something, even if he does not love her. She may suffer
more for a short time while he is trying to get her back, but in the end he will return to her if
she gets her way.

ACT 1 SCENE 2

Athens. Quince’s house.

Enter Quince the carpenter, and Snug the joiner, and Bottom the weaver, and Flute the
bellows-mender, and Snout the tinker, and Starveling the tailor

Lines 1-12
Quince asks if all those selected are present and Bottom feels that there should be a roll call
and Quince shows him a list of the names that he has already made, together with the parts
that each is to play. The play is to be performed on the evening of Theseus and Hippolyta’s
Wedding. Bottom is still not satisfied, for he wants to know first what the play is about, then
the names of each person who should be present. Quince reads out the name: ‘The most
lamentable comedy and most cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe’.

Lines 13-37
Bottom says he likes the title of the play and then asks everyone to spread out so that they can
be seen as Quince reads out the list of names.

The first name to be read out is that of Bottom himself, who instructs Quince to tell him what
part he is to play, then continue reading the list of names. However, the list seems doomed
not to be read, for after Bottom has been told that he is to play Pyramus he wants more details
of the part. After being told that he is a lover who kills himself for the sake of love Bottom
seems to feel that he should begin rehearsing ways to bring tears to the eyes of the audience.
Then he wonders whether this part will suit him, for he feels that he would make a better tyrant
than a lover. Failing this he could rant and swagger equally well, at which point he gives a
demonstration by suddenly breaking into verse.

After Bottom says he is pleased with the part he gives Quince permission to go on with the
list, but before Quince can start Bottom again makes a comment, saying that the part of a lover
is not so loud or ranting as that of a Tyrant.
Lines 38-103
Quince then says Francis Flute is to play Thisbe. Flute has no idea what the play is about
because he asks whether he is a knight and is upset to find he is the lady who Pyramus falls in
love with. He immediately says he cannot play the part as he has a beard but Quince says he
can wear a mask but he must speak in a high-pitched voice so he sounds like a lady.
Bottom then says he thinks he should play this part but Quince vetoes this idea.

Robin Starveling is given the role of Thisbe’s mother while Tom Snout is given the part of
Pyramus’ father. Snug the joiner is given the part of the lion. Snug has no objection, but wants
to know if his part is written, for he is afraid that he will not be able to remember the words.
Quince says all he has to do is roar. Bottom then decides this part would be perfect for him, as
he would roar loud enough to frighten everyone. Quince vetoes this idea again by saying he
would frighten the ladies, then the Duke would disapprove of their play and order them all to
be hanged.

The group is horrified saying this punishment is extreme. Bottom says that if the ladies were
frightened it could indeed happen so he will roar quietly. Still Quince won’t agree, telling
Bottom he must play Pyramus.

Finally Bottom agrees to the decision but says he wants to wear a beard and he wants Quince’s
advice on what colour would be best. Quince makes a crude comment to Bottom about the
one colour he likes and then makes the point that he wants everyone to learn their lines before
the next evening when they will rehearse in the Duke’s wood. He explains this is not to far to
walk and if they rehearse in town the people will discover what they are planning and will not
leave them alone. While they are learning their lines he will make a list of the scenery and the
stage props they will require. He begs them not to let him down. Bottom in an effort to
reinforce what Quince has said, begs them to be word perfect, then gets himself muddled up.
Quince tries to get in the final word, telling them they will meet at the tree known as “the
Duke’s Oak”, but even now Bottom has not finished and manages to have the last word.
QUESTIONS – ACT ONE

SCENE 1

1. What is Theseus’s full title? (2)

2. Who does Theseus want to marry (Provide her full name and title) and
how many days until he marries her? (2)

3. How did Hippolyta meet Theseus? (3)

4. What is the relationship between Hermia and Egeus? What has

caused the conflict between the two? (3)

5. What are the choices open to Hermia if she disobeys the wishes of
her father? (2)

6. How many days does the Duke give Hermia to change her mind before
he will be forced to put the ‘punishment’ into effect? (1)

7. Quote to show what Lysander tells Hermia about ‘true love’? (1)

8. Lysander proposes a solution to their problems. What is the plan?

(Explain in detail) (5)

9. Why is Helena jealous of Hermia? (1)

10. Helena threatens to tell Demetrius of Hermia’s plans. Why would this
upset him? (1)

[22]
QUESTIONS – ACT ONE
SCENE 2

1. What are the rustic characters planning? What is their reason for
doing this? (2)

2. Draw four columns on your page. The first heading will be surname, the second heading
will be the first name; the third heading will be occupation and the fourth heading will be
part in the play. Now complete the table for each of the people below:

2.1 Quince
2.2 Snug
2.3 Bottom
2.4 Flute
2.5 Snout
2.6 Starveling (18)

3. There is a problem regarding the part that Flute is offered. What is the problem? What is
the suggested solution? (3)

4. Why does Snug say he is pleased with the part he is given? (2)

5.1 Which part does Bottom want to play? (1)

5.2 Who finds a way to discourage Bottom from taking the part? (1)

6. What is the suggestion that the person in 5.2 makes to the men so
that they can prepare the play properly? (2)

[29]

TOTAL:50
ACT 2 SCENE 1

A wood near Athens

Lines 1 - 16
Enter a Fairy at one door, and Puck (Robin Goodfellow) at another
Puck greets the Fairy and asks where she is going. She tells Puck that she can go wherever
she wants to go, nothing stands in her way. If she needs to go over hills or valleys it makes no
difference. She can go through bush and thorny roses without damaging herself. Enclosed
land belonging to the lords, or enclosed land belonging to the common people, it is the same
to the fairies; just as neither fire nor flood will bring her harm. When she moves it is faster
than the moon moves through its cycle. All this is possible because she serves the Fairy Queen.
She continues by telling Puck that the flowers that are found in the fields and hedges are
actually members of the household of the Fairy Queen. She is very busy, for she must go and
search for dewdrops that will become pearls when she puts them in the ears of the cowslips.
She has no more time to waste speaking to Puck, for soon the Queen and her elves, who are
her attendants, will be here, and everything must be ready for them.

Lines 17 – 41
Puck’s speech is in direct contrast to that of Titania’s Fairy. There is nothing light-hearted in
his warning to her to make certain that Titania is well away from the place where they now are
before evening, for then Oberon, the King of the Fairies intends to come with his attendants to
hold his revels. He is still angry with Titania for stealing from him a changeling (a human
boy) who was stolen from an Indian King, to use as her own attendant. Oberon wanted the
child for himself to train as a knight and join his attendants. However, since Titania has refused
to hand him back, and has made a great fuss of him, the King and Queen have done nothing
but quarrel. Their attendants, the elves, are so frightened that they creep away and hide in the
acorn cups. Suddenly the Fairy realises that she recognises Puck, unless she is badly mistaken.
He is also called Robin Goodfellow. He enjoys teasing the young ladies of the village. When
they are working in the dairy he skims the milk of its cream; at other times he frustrates the
housewives as they are doing the churning stopping the milk from turning into butter until the
women are exhausted. At other times he interferes with the beer so that the head of froth that
is expected when the beer is poured into the tankard is missing. Another of his tricks is to
make the people who are walking around at night in the dark lose their way, then laughs at
them when they get confused and upset. He goes by a variety of names. Some call him
“Hobgoblin”, while others address him as “sweet Puck”. One thing is certain, those who speak
to him and of him in a nice way, always get treated well by him. Some have even found that
he has done their work.

Lines 42 – 59
Puck admits that she is correct; he is the person that she believes him to be. He is the happy
Elf that wanders through the night and acts as a jester to Oberon. Then he begins to give
examples of what he does to entertain his King.
 1. He makes the fat, overfed horses neigh as though they are newborn foals.
2. Sometimes he pretends to be a roasted crab apple, bobbing up and
down in the drink that the gossiping woman has prepared, then when she goes to drink
he jumps up and stops in front of her lips so that she cannot drink. This causes her to
spill the spiced ale that she has made and is trying to drink. He feels that this is just
revenge for all the gossiping which she has done.
3. Then he makes the old lady who is telling a tale of woe mistake him for a stool, so that
when she goes to sit down on him he moves away and she falls onto the floor,crying out
“tailor” as she topples backwards and starts to have a coughing fit. This causes all the
people present to hold their sides and laugh and sneeze, convinced
that they have never had such a happy hour in that house.

Suddenly his mood changes as he sees Oberon, the King of the Fairies and his master,
approaching. Just to complicate matters the Fairy sees Titania at the same moment. They are
both coming to the same place. The Fairy expresses what is in their minds when she says that
she wishes that Oberon had already left. She is anticipating the trouble that is ahead.
Enter Oberon, the King of the Fairies, at one door, with his train; and Titania, the Queen, at
another with hers

Lines 60 –176
As soon as Oberon and Titania meet it is obvious that they are not going to get on together at
all well. Oberon’s opening words that they are “Ill met by moonlight” does nothing to help
the atmosphere.

Titania can give as good as she gets and asks him whether he is jealous of her, which is
obviously a reference to the fact that she has got the changeling, not he. Titania tells her Fairies
to leave, she has nothing to say to him for she has already left both him and his bed. However,
Oberon does not want her to leave so suddenly and tells her to stay. He reminds her that as
her husband he is also her lord and master and has the right to order her what to do. Titania is
not impressed by his boasts. However, she has to admit that she is his wife therefore he can
order her to stay, but she reminds him that he has frequently been unfaithful to her when he
has left fairy land and adopted a different shape in order to mix with humans. Then disguised
as a shepherd he has sat all day playing on the shepherd’s pipes and making up poems to
Phillida, a shepherdess, who loves him. She goes on to reprimand him by telling him that he
would not be here now if it were not that the Amazon that he has been living with in India is
due to be married to Theseus, therefore he is no longer welcome in her bed, for the newly
married couple will not want an outsider with them. Oberon is equally angry, telling Titania
that she has also been having an affair with Theseus. She made him leave Perigouna with
whom he had already had an affair; made him break his promise to Aegles, Ariadne and
Antiopa. Titania will not accept this and tells him that these ideas are just figments of his
imagination. She has not met with anyone else since the middle of spring. In fact she has had
no fun, while he has been disturbing her constantly with the fun he has been having.

She adds that even the weather has been upset by his behaviour, which is the reason for all the
fogs and rain that they have recently had. The rivers have flooded with the extra rain, with the
result that the farmers have been unable to get on with their work. Those fields that did start
to grow have been soaked by the rain that the corn has rotted. This weather, she reminds him,
has lasted for such a long period of time that young men have started to grow beards, indicating
the length of time the weather has been so bad. Some creatures have benefited, she does admit.
So many sheep have died that the crows, which are birds of prey, have got fat on the dead
bodies.
The ‘nine men’s morris’ which is a game, similar to a game of draughts, and the ‘boards’ of
which were frequently made out in the open-air, like outdoor chess games, have been filled up
with mud so that they will all have to be cleaned out before they can be used again. Those
people who have mazes in their grounds cannot use them because the grass paths have become
totally overgrown due to lack of use during the bad weather.

In fact, she adds, the people really believe that winter has come, because they have been unable
to have summer due to the bad weather.

People have stopped singing hymns of joy, which has caused the moon, which determines how
the tides shall behave, to become so pale and angry that many people are ill with rheumatism
and other related diseases.

All the seasons seem to have been turned around. The winter frosts have come in summer
when the roses are out. The buds of spring look silly in weather like this. It appears that the
entire world is changed around and all the seasons are muddled up. The people do not know
what season it is supposed to be anymore. The reason for all this muddle is due to the fact that
Titania and Oberon, the Queen and King of the Fairies, have fallen out, causing the entire
world to become unhappy.

Oberon feels that only Titania can put right this wrong. It is she who has refused to give him
his own way. He tells her that he only asked for a small gift, but she refused to let him have
it. He wanted a human baby to be exchanged for a fairy one so that he could have a human
child to act as his pageboy. Titania tells him that he might as well stop asking for this gift, for
she will not give it to him. The mother of the child that he wanted was one of her women.
They frequently sat and talked together in India and on the banks of the River Neptune. They
used to watch the way the wind filled the sails of the ships and tell each other that the ships
looked pregnant with their sails billowing out. The woman was pregnant then with the child
that Oberon wants to use as a pageboy. Unfortunately, because she was a human woman, not
a fairy one, she died in childbirth and Titania promised to bring up the child on her behalf.
This is the reason she refuses to let Oberon have him.

Oberon is far from happy and wants to know how much longer she intends to remain away
from him. She tells him that she thinks that she might stay in the woods until after the wedding
of the Duke. If he wants to join her and her ladies and have fun, then he is invited. If not, then
he can go away and leave her alone with her women.

Oberon tries to make a bargain with her. If she will let him have the boy that he wants as a
pageboy, then he will stay with her. When she refuses his request, saying that it is not right
for a human child to go and live in fairyland, he becomes angry and tells her that he will not
let her have all her own way.

Titania Off
He calls Puck, his fairy servant, to come and help him in his plan to torment her. When Puck
arrives Oberon reminds him that one day he actually saw Cupid loose his arrow and he watched
where it landed. He knows that it landed on a flower that they called ‘love-in-idleness’. Before
the arrow landed on this flower the flower was white, but now it is stained with purple because
it has been wounded by love. He instructs Puck to go and fetch him one of these flowers, for
he knows that if it is squeezed on the eyelids of a person who is sleeping, then they will fall
madly in love with the first living creature they see when they wake up. He wants to play a
trick on Titania in revenge for not being allowed to have the boy. Puck rushes away as quickly
as possible, telling us, the audience, that he intends to go right around the earth in forty
minutes.

Puck Off
Once Puck has gone Oberon speaks his thoughts aloud in order that the audience will know
what he is planning to do. This is called a soliloquy.

Oberon is going to wait for Titania to fall asleep, then he is going to squeeze the juice of the
flower in her eyes. Whatever creature she sees when she wakes up, even if it is a lion, or bear,
monkey or bull, she will chase after for she will immediately fall in love with it. Before he
removes the magic, for he knows how to do that as well, he will force her to give him the boy
he wants so that he can use him as a pageboy.

Suddenly he is interrupted in his soliloquy by the arrival of strangers. Being invisible he can
listen to what they are saying without their knowledge.
Enter Demetrius, Helena following him

Lines 188 – 198

Demetrius is sick of Helena following him around for he does not love her. He wants to find
Lysander and Hermia, for he has a great desire to kill Lysander, who has taken Hermia, whom
he loves, away from him. He accuses Helena of telling him that the two came into this wood,
but feels that she was deceiving him in order to get him alone. Helena is upset by his attitude
and his accusation. She tells him that no matter what he says he will never stop her loving him
for she is faithful to him. The only way he will get rid of her is if he gives her a dagger and
then she can kill herself.

Lines 199 – 246

Demetrius no longer cares what she does. The only thing of which he is certain is that he does
not love her and does not want to be with her.
Helena loves him so much that even now she is not offended by his words. She tells him that
she is like a dog, the more she is beaten the more she will follow him. Just as a dog that loves
its master cannot stop following, neither can she. All she asks is for permission to follow him,
no matter how he might treat her. Demetrius finds this difficult to accept and asks her not to
tempt him to do something he might regret, for he feels sick when he even looks at her, he
dislikes her so much. She, on the other hand, feels sick if she does not look at him. It seems
that a stalemate has been reached.

Demetrius reminds her that by coming here with him people will think badly of her. Anyway,
when she looks at him she is so happy that it is hard for her to believe that it is night. He
means everything in the world to her, therefore she feels that she is not alone. It is the same
as if she were in the midst of many people.

Demetrius has had enough of this nonsense. He threatens to run away and leave her with wild
animals; then she will be afraid. Still Helena is not afraid for she says that no wild animals
could be as cruel as he is. There have been many instances when men have tried to escape,
such as when the god Apollo tried to escape from Daphne, but it was useless. Even the mildest
animals have chased the fastest and fiercest. The deer chases the tiger; the dove the griffin,
but it is useless the chased one trying to escape, for it cannot be done. If he is going to act like
this people will say that he could not treat a lady properly.

Demetrius tells her that he will no longer listen to her. No matter what she says he intends to
go and leave her. If she does follow him then he will not be answerable for what harm he
might do to her in the woods.
Helena can only remind him that he has already done her so much harm, and people are already
talking about the two of them, that he cannot possibly do her any more harm. If they were two
men then they would have a sword fight to see which one was the better person. The only
thing left for them to do is to get married. If he does not wish to marry her then it is a pity.
However, she will follow him wherever he may go and he will never be able to escape from
her. She will make life so miserable for him that he will believe that he is living in hell. She
is determined that if she must die it will be because he kills her.
Demetrius and Helena Off

When the two have left Oberon makes a promise to them. He will make certain that before
they leave this group of trees she will run away from him and he will do the chasing after her,
begging her to love him.

Lines 247 – 268

Enter Puck
Soon after this Puck returns with the flower that Oberon has sent him to get. As Puck is
handing it to him there follows one of the most famous of all Shakespeare’s speeches, when
Oberon tells Puck that he knows a beautiful bank that is covered in wild flowers. This is one
of the places that Titania chooses to sleep on, for the flowers will lull her to sleep, whilst the
snake casts its skin to make a covering to wrap her in. He intends to visit this bank and put
the juice from the flower in her eyes so that she will have horrible dreams. While he is dealing
with Titania he wants Puck to take some of the juice and go and search for a young lady who
has come from the city of Athens. This lady (obviously referring to Helena) is in love with a
young man who is treating her badly. When he finds them he must the juice in the eyes of the
man so that when he wakes in the morning the first person he will see will be this woman.

Puck must make certain that he has got the right man by looking at the clothes he is wearing.
They will be the clothes that are worn by the people of Athens. Puck must do his job very
carefully, for it is important that the man shall love the lady more than she loves him.
Oberon arranges that they will meet again before daybreak, before the first cock begins to
crow. Puck assures Oberon that he will do this, telling Oberon that he will make no mistake.
Oberon and Puck of

SCENE 2

Another part of the wood near Athens

Lines 1 - 33
Enter Titania, Queen of Fairies, with her train
Meanwhile in another part of the wood Titania is arranging with her ladies-in-waiting that they
will sing a special song and dance a special dance. After they have done this they must go out
and perform their nightly duties. Some of them have the job of killing off the bugs in the
roses; others must chase the insects in order to get wings to make coats for the elves. Still
others must stop the owl coming and waking them. Then she asks them to sing her to sleep.
Titania sleeps

Once she is asleep the fairies leave her to go and do their jobs.

Fairies off

Enter Oberon
He squeezes the flower on Titania’s eyelids
Oberon wishes that when she wakes she will see something really horrible.
Oberon off

Lines 34 – 64
Enter Lysander and Hermia
In another part of the forest Lysander and Hermia are walking together. Lysander thinks that
Hermia must be tired and he can be of little help for he has forgotten the way home. Therefore
he suggests that they rest where they are for the night and resume their journey the following
morning. Hermia admits that she is tired and decides that the bank where they are at the present
moment will make a good enough bed for her. She tells Lysander to go off a little way and
look for a place where she can rest. Lysander does not like this idea at all, he thinks that they
would be far more comfortable if they lay down together, but Hermia is determined that she
will not lie with any man until she is married to him.

Lysander tries to persuade her that he will do her no harm and that there is nothing wrong with
them staying together, for they mean to get married soon, therefore it cannot be wrong. Hermia
refuses to be persuaded. She compliments Lysander on making it sound so plausible, but says
that she is not convinced. She feels that as they are not yet married they should preserve their
modesty. She hopes that their love will last forever, but she is not prepared to let him sleep
alongside her.

Lysander is not offended and swears that he will love her until the end of his life. If he stops
doing so then he hopes that his life itself will end. He wishes her a good night’s rest and she
wishes him a good night.
They sleep

Lines 65 – 82
Enter Puck
He has been searching through the forest looking for someone wearing the clothes indicating
that they come from Athens. Therefore he has not been able to squeeze the juice from his
flower into the eyes of anyone.

Suddenly he sees a young man dressed in the clothes of an Athenian, and nearby is a young
lady, also asleep. He decides that these must be the two people that his master was telling him
about. He feels sorry for the lady, for she is pretty and seems to be lying alone. He decides to
use all the juice from the flower that he has got.

He squeezes the flower into Lysander’s eyes

He makes a wish that when he wakes up he will be so in love that he will be unable to sleep at
all. However, he tells him to go on sleeping until he has left. After which he sets off to find
Oberon.
Puck off

Lines 83 – 101
Enter Demetrius and Helena, running
They are still arguing. Helena is so desperately in love with Demetrius that she begs him to
stand still for a moment, even if it is only long enough to kill her. Demetrius is still determined
to have nothing to do with her and he begs her to leave him alone and stop following him. She
is making his life like a nightmare. Helena is desperate for him to show her a little affection,
but he is still convinced that she is not the woman for him. He finally begs her to stay in the
clearing and he will go and find some other place to go to.
Demetrius off

Helena admits that she is out of breath, for she has been chasing after him for a long time. She
admits that the more she prays that he will love her the more he seems determined not to do
so. In fact, she is convinced that he hates her more as each moment passes. She feels envious
of Hermia who seems able to attract men with her eyes. She cannot understand why she cannot
have such bright and shining eyes. After all she has cried so much that her eyes should be
clean and shining. She decides that she must be the ugliest woman alive, perhaps uglier even
than a bear, for all the animals that see her seem to run away from her as though they are
frightened of her. If it is true and she is ugly then she can understand why Demetrius runs
away from her. Yet, when she looked at herself in the mirror she was certain that she was as
attractive as Hermia.

Suddenly she notices Lysander lying on the ground. At first she wonders whether he is dead,
but when she can see no sign of blood or a wound she wakes him up.

Lines 102 – 155

As he wakes Lysander immediately begins to tell her what a wonderful woman she is. He tells
her that he can see right into her heart. Then he asks where Demetrius is, for if he is nearby
her, Lysander, will kill him, for he wants Helena for his own. Helena cannot believe what she
is hearing. She begs him not to speak in this way, saying that even if he does love Hermia it
is not so serious that he must kill himself because of it. She reminds him that Hermia loves
him very much and that he should be a happy man as a result. Lysander immediately tells her
that he has no intention of being content with Hermia now that he has seen her. He intends to
have her and no one else. He explains that he only thought he loved Hermia because he was
young and had not yet grown up. Now that he is old enough to know better he knows that it
is Helena, not Hermia that he loves. Helena is sure that he is making fun of her and wonders
what she has done to be treated in this way. She wants Demetrius to look at her with love, not
Lysander. She is certain that he knows how much she is suffering and he is treating her like
this on purpose. She adds that she had thought that he was a gentleman, but anyone who can
treat a lady like this can be no gentleman. She is very upset that one man refuses her while
another treats her so badly.
Helena off

Lysander is certain that Helena is not aware that Hermia is nearby, and he hopes that Hermia
will never approach him again, for he has no intention of ever loving her. In fact he believes
that he hates her, but on the other hand he knows that he loves Helena and that he wants to
look after her for evermore.
Lysander off

Hermia awaking
Hermia wakes up calling to Lysander to help her, for she has had a dreadful dream in which
she saw a snake crawling over her, and it was gradually eating her heart away, while Lysander
just stood by and smiled at what was happening. Suddenly she realises that Lysander is not
where she expected him to be. Now she is afraid, for she never believed that he would leave
her. She calls out to him to tell her where he is, but getting no reply she becomes very afraid.
When she still receives no reply she decides that she must go and look for him, for something
dreadful may have happened to him, or he might even be dead.
Hermia off
QUESTIONS – ACT TWO

1. Why is the fairy, at the beginning of this act, preparing the fairy rings on the grass? (2)

2. Puck warns the fairy that this might not be a good spot to pick. What is his
reason? (3)

3.1 What was the cause of the disagreement between Titania and Oberon? (3)
3.2 What reason does she give for her actions in 3.1? (2)

4. What instructions does Oberon give to Puck? (5)

5. Why does Oberon decide that Puck should anoint the eyes of a man wearing
Athenian clothes? (2)

6. How does Lysander come to be in the wood? (3)

7.1 What mistake does Puck make regarding the juice of the flower? (2)
7.2 What is the result of the mistake made by Puck? (5)
7.3 What is Helena’s reaction to this action? (2)

8. Hermia wakes up alone. What does she think has happened to Lysander when
she cannot find him? (1)

TOTAL: 30

ACT 3 SCENE 1

The same part of the wood near Athens. Titania lying asleep.
Enter the clowns: Bottom, Quince, Snout, Starveling, Flute and Snug

While Titania is sleeping in the woods Quince, Bottom, Snug, Flute, Snout and Starveling all
meet together to practise the play that they are planning to perform at the wedding of the Duke.

Bottom is the leader and he is the one who is trying to get everyone arranged and in order.
Quince feels that the flat area of grass in the midst of the trees will make a good place to
rehearse, for it is the same size as a stage, and they can use the hawthorn trees as the backstage
area, so that they can come on and off stage by going through the trees.

The country people have decided to perform a play called “Pyramus and Thisbe” but Bottom
feels that this might not be suitable, because Pyramus has to kill himself with a sword, and the
ladies might not like this.
As the conversation continues Bottom suggests that if he speaks a Prologue (introduction)
before the play starts, saying that no harm will occur as a result of the swords, and that he is
not really Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver, whom they all know, then they will not be
frightened.

The next problem is the lion. This story was adapted from a much older story written by Ovid,
a Roman poet, and many of the audience would have been familiar with it. Once more there
is a fear that a lion will frighten the ladies, but Snout suggests that if they write a second
prologue it will solve the problem. However, Bottom is not in agreement. He suggests that it
would be better if the person acting the lion had half his face uncovered, then the ladies will
be in no doubt that he is not a real lion. In addition he can tell them that he is not a real lion
but Snug the joiner.

This seems to suit them all, but then another problem arises. It is necessary for them to get the
audience to believe that it is a moonlight night. However, not stumped Bottom has another
idea, they will leave the window open of the room in which they are acting and the people can
see real moonlight. Failing that, suggests Quince, one of them could come in carrying a lantern
and disguised with branches of a thorn tree fastened to his clothes, and say that he is
Moonshine. Quince has now thought of another problem. They need a wall in their play, for
Pyramus and Thisbe talked to each other through a gap in the wall.

This seems to pose a problem for there is no way they can ever bring in a wall. Suddenly
Bottom has another idea. One man will stand in the room, holding his fingers open and
pretending that they are the gap in the wall. Then Pyramus can stand one side, and whisper
through the fingers which will represent the gap.

Now that all the problems are sorted out it is time for the rehearsal to begin

Enter Puck
Puck has been standing listening to what they are saying. He is full of mischief and is
determined to interfere if he gets the opportunity.

It is obvious that the actors are not very good at their task. They keep missing their cues and
seem to be making a mess of the play. However, when Bottom enters wearing the ass’s head
all the actors are so frightened that they run away.

Puck decides that he will follow the actors and see where they are going. Having fairy qualities
he is able to follow with little or no difficulty. Suddenly the mischief that is in his soul makes
him decide that instead of following he will lead them. He will pretend to be a horse, or a
hound, a pig or a headless bear, or even a fire. Then he will have a great deal of fun.
Bottom cannot understand why all his friends have run away for he does not know that he is
wearing the ass’s head. However, he tells Quince that they are trying “to make an ass of me”.
He is quite unaware that he has said what is literally true.

He decides that he will walk up and down and sing to himself in order to prove to both himself
and his friends that he is not afraid. It is his singing which wakes Titania, who has been
sleeping quite nearby.

No one would claim that Bottom has a good voice, but to Titania, with the magic potion in her
eyes, he not only looks wonderful but also sounds wonderful. As Oberon intended, she has
fallen in love at first sight.

Bottom is a little surprised when she tells him that she loves him, but admits that he is glad of
her company. Titania flatters him by telling him how wise she finds him, but he has to
disagree, for he knows that there is nothing clever about him. The only thing he can do is
make the occasional joke. However, he has had enough of being by himself and longs to
escape from the wood, but has no idea in which direction he should go.

Titania is horrified. She cannot lose him now, for she loves him dearly. She promises him
fairies to wait on him; all the jewels he could want; a bed made from flowers. In addition she
will change him into a fairy so that he fits in with the others around her.

Titania calls to her fairies Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed, and asks them to
look after Bottom. She instructs that he is to be fed with the finest fruit, lit to bed by glow-
worms, then awakened in the morning by the wings of the butterflies being gently fanned
across his eyes.

All the fairies fall down to greet him, as instructed by Titania. Bottom is overwhelmed and
suddenly realises the endless possibilities that are being presented to him. Bottom makes a
few rather crude jokes before Titania has him led away to bed, for she is afraid that it might
be going to rain and she does not want him to get wet. The only request she makes is that they
stop him from talking. It would appear that his nonsense does not appeal to her.
Titania with Bottom and fairies off

SCENE TWO

Another part of the wood near Athens

Enter Oberon, King of the Fairies

Lines 1 – 5
Oberon is wondering if Titania is awake, and if so what she saw when she first woke.
Enter Puck

Lines 6 – 34
Puck is delighted with the information that he has got for his master. He tells him how the
tradesmen were practising their play near the place where Titania was sleeping. The most
stupid of them (Bottom) went by himself into a group of trees and Puck took the opportunity
to fix an ass’s head over the man’s head without his knowledge. When he returned he looked
so stupid that his friends ran away, just as a flock of birds will all rise into the air when a gun
is fired. They were so frightened that they all lost all sense of direction and got tangled up in
the thorns and wild rose bushes as they tried to escape, so that some of them returned home
without hats, whilst others have the sleeves torn out of their clothes. He admits that he
deliberately led them through the worst and most thorny parts of the wood that he could find.
It was while he was doing this that Titania woke up and fell in love with the actor who was to
act Pyramus (Bottom), complete with his ass’s head.

Lines 35 – 42
Oberon is delighted with the news. It is better than he had ever anticipated. However, he is
anxious to know whether Puck remembered to put juice in the eyes of the young man from
Athens. Puck reassures him that he did as he was instructed.
Enter Demetrius and Hermia
Oberon is delighted, for now he will be able to see for himself if his experiment has worked,
but Puck tells the King of the Fairies that although this might be the woman he saw, it is
certainly not the same man.

Lines 43 – 57
Demetrius is upset he has constantly told Hermia how much he loves her, but she has done
nothing to encourage him. If anything she has blamed him for paying him so much attention.

Hermia is very angry. She is afraid that Demetrius might have killed Lysander while he was
sleeping. If he has done so she begs that he will kill her as well for they were deeply in love
with each other. She uses the comparison of the way the sun shines, showing that it loves the
day, and saying that she loved Lysander even more than this.

She knows that Lysander would never have left her while she slept, just as she knows that the
moon would never choose to desert the earth. The only way he would have deserted her was
if he was dead, which is why she believes that Demetrius might have murdered him.

Lines 58 – 61
Demetrius has had enough of these accusations. He feels that she is just as likely to have
murdered Lysander as he is, and she does not look guilty.
Lines 62 – 73
Hermia is getting very anxious as she begs him to tell her where Lysander is. She wants his
body, even if he is dead. Demetrius is tired of these accusations and tells her that if he had
murdered Lysander he would give the body to his dogs rather than her.

This causes Hermia to lose her temper completely and she orders him, in the same way that
she would order a dog, to leave her, telling him that if he has murdered Lysander then she
hopes that he will be an outcast for the rest of his life. Suddenly her temper goes as she pleads
with him to tell her where the man she loves so dearly is. The only thing that she can compare
him with is an adder, feeling that his tongue has caused as much damage as the tongue of the
adder when it kills

Lines 74 – 87
Demetrius decides that he has heard enough nonsense and tells her that he is not guilty of
killing Lysander and that as far as he knows Lysander is not even dead. When Hermia begs
him again to tell he where he is he tells her that he is unable to do so for he does not know.
However, he tries a little blackmail, asking what reward he would get if he could tell her.
Her answer is not at all to his liking. His reward will be that he will never need to see her any
more and she will be able to escape from him. She is determined to leave him now, even if he
does not give her the information she wants.
Hermia off
Detmetrius has already decided that there is little point in following her when she is this angry,
so he decides to stay where he is. He feels that maybe he feels so sad because he has had very
little sleep.
He lies down and sleeps

Lines 88 - 91
Oberon is very annoyed with Puck, for he has not put the magic juice in the eyes of the right
people. As a result the people that were in love with each other are no longer in love, while
the ones he wanted to be in love will never stand a chance of being so.

Lines 92 – 101
Puck wants to know what he can do to put things right and Oberon sends him to look for
Helena. He will recognise her for she is pale and miserable as a result of her unhappiness.
She must be brought to the place where Demetrius is and Oberon will work some magic
charms so that when he wakes the next time he will see Helena.

Lines 102 – 121

Puck off
Once Puck has left Oberon squeezes juice onto the eyelids of Demetrius.
Enter Puck
Puck says that Helena is already here. However, it will not be as easy as they had hoped, for
Lysander is with Helena and if Demetrius is woken then both men will want Helena.

Lines 123 – 136

Enter Lysander and Helena
Lysander is still begging Helena to believe that he is serious when he says that he loves her.
Helena reminds him that he should be telling these things to Hermia, not to her. She knows
that he has made the same promises to Hermia that he is making to her. However, Lysander
says that he was mistaken then, it was the innocence of youth. Anyway, he knows that
Demetrius loves Hermia and does not love Helena, therefore she should be pleased to hear
him.

Lines 137 – 144

Suddenly Demetrius wakes up. He cannot believe that he is seeing Helena. The magic juice
has worked well. She is the most marvellous creature he has ever seen.

Lines 145 – 162

Now Helena is convinced that they are all trying to make a fool out of her and are laughing at
her. It is not enough that they hate her, but they must also make fun of her. She knows that
they both love Hermia and that they have joined together to mock her. They want to see her
cry. They are selfish and irresponsible.

Lines 163 – 168

Lysander gets upset and accuses Demetrius of being unkind to Helena, saying that he knows
Demetrius loves Hermia. He is prepared to give up all claim to Hermia if Demetrius will give
up all claim to Helena, for he loves Helena and will continue to do so until the day he dies.

Lines 169 – 176

Demetrius will not agree. He also wants Helena and tells Lysander that he can have Hermia.
It was a mistake for him to think that he loved Hermia. Now he knows that he really loved
Helena. Lysander appeals to Helena to tell him the truth, but before she can reply they see
Hermia approaching and Demetrius tells Lysander once again that this is the woman that he
has always professed to love.
Enter Hermia

Lines 177 – 184

Hermia is speaking aloud to herself for she is afraid of the dark and is unable to see the man
that she is looking for. She tries to convince herself that even if she cannot see then her hearing
will be greater, but she does not seem to be really impressed by her own logic. However, she
suddenly discovers Lysander, much to her relief.
Lines 185 – 190
Lysander does not seem to be at all pleased to see her and tells her that there is no reason to
stay beside someone that you do not love. She is totally confused, wanting to know who he
does love if it is not herself. When he tells her that his love is for Helena, whom he regards as
more beautiful than all the stars that shine in the sky she cannot believe that what he is saying
is true. When he goes on to tell her that he actually hates her she is incredulous and totally
unable to believe him.

Lines 191 – 219

Helena sees the two of them together, speaking secretly, and is sure that they are in a
conspiracy with Demetrius to make fun of her. She immediately gets angry with Hermia,
accusing her of false friendship. She reminds her of the way they have exchanged their secrets,
just as sisters might do; how they have been sad when they have had to go their separate ways
because of the demands of time. She feels that the friendship they have had for each other
since they were children has all been forgotten.

She is so upset that she goes on to remind Hermia of the way they even worked together on
the same flower when they were doing embroidery; how they sat side by side on the same
cushion; how they sang the same song together. They were like a pair of cherries, growing
side by side on the same stem. Their bodies may have been separate but their hearts appeared
to be joined for they had so much in common. Just as a coat of arms is made up of sections,
so they were like two parts of one complete whole. Now, as far as Helena can see all that they
have meant for each other seems to have been forgotten, for she is sure that Hermia is joining
with the men to laugh at her. Even if Hermia does not like her any more she should remember
that they are both women and as such she should be prepared to side with her against the men.

Lines 222 – 243

Helena is not convinced. She is certain that it was Hermia who persuaded Lysander to follow
her around, praising her eyes and her face, which she believes he did in fun only to make a
fool of her. At the same time Demetrius, who previously told her he had no time for her, is
also praising her by calling her a goddess and a nymph, and he must have been put up to it by
Hermia, for Helena can see no other reason for him to behave like this. She is very unhappy,
for he is certain that she is not as attractive as Hermia, but at least she does not want to be
made a fool of.

Hermia is totally bemused, but when she tells Helena this Helena is certain that she is not
serious, and feels that the minute her back is turned they will all begin making fun of her again.
She begs her to show kindness at this time, but says that as she is leaving now, and hopes to
die, they will not be able to make fun of her much longer.
Lines 244 – 253
Suddenly Lysander begins to speak and begs Helena to listen to him while he tries to explain
to her his reasons for the way he has changed. Helena is certain that this is yet another attempt
to make fun of her, while Hermia begs him not to do it. At the same time Demetrius tells
Lysander that if she will not stay willingly and listen to him, then he will force her to stay, but
Lysander is not certain that any of them have the power to make her do anything any more.

Lines 254 – 298

Soon a disagreement breaks out between the two men as to which of them love her best, each
begging her to leave with him. Before long they are almost fighting, for each believes that he
has the better case. When they begin to insult each other Hermia thinks that they have gone
too far and begs them to stop making fun of everyone and everything which she believes to be
important. When Lysander tells Demetrius that he hates Hermia it is her turn to get upset, for
they have always loved each other. Suddenly Lysander orders Hermia to get out of his sight,
telling her that he cannot bear to look at her. Now it is Hermia’s turn to be upset.

Lines 299 – 304

Hermia can only think that Helena must secretly have persuaded Lysander to act in this way
and she accuses her of persuading Lysander to stop loving her, but Helena has had enough.
She wants to hear no more of this and orders Hermia to have more modesty, and at the same
time to get out of her sight, certain that she has not been sincere in what she has said previously.

Soon a slanging match starts between the two women, each picking on those aspects of the
other that they feel are at fault. Helena is the first one to realise what they are doing to each
other and she tries to bring some order back into the situation.

Lines 305 – 344

Helena explains that she has always loved Hermia as a sister. She has never told tales about
her, neither has she done anything which could have upset or wronged her. The only thing she
has done that might have offended Hermia is in telling Demetrius that Hermia had gone into
the wood. However, because she loves Demetrius she followed him into the wood, which is
when he got annoyed with her and ordered her to go home. She realises how stupid she has
been and asks to be allowed to return quietly to Athens where she will try not to be so silly.
She is sure that Hermia, after hearing this, must believe that she is very fond of her.
Hermia tells her to go immediately and asks why she did not do so earlier, to which Helena
answers that she is in love. Hermia is certain that Helena must love Lysander, but is assured
that the love Helena feels is for Demetrius.

The men cannot leave well alone and once more they interfere, taking the part of Helena. Soon
the situation becomes so confused that the men decided to go and leave the two women alone,
after they have stirred up the situation.
Demetrius and Lysander off
The two women decide that they have had enough of each other and resolve to stay together
no longer. Helena is certain that if it comes to a fight Hermia will win, but Helena has the
advantage of the longer legs, so she can run away faster.
Helena and Hermia off

Lines 345 - 395

Oberon and Puck come forward
Once the humans have left Oberon, the King of the Fairies, comes forward. He is annoyed
and blames Puck, who is with him, for making a mistake and causing this muddle to occur.
Puck, anxious to put himself in the right with Oberon tells his king that he was told to look for
a man wearing Athenian clothes and put the juice in his eyes. He did this, and he for one was
amused by the argument that took place.

Oberon, calling Robin, which is the other name by which he is known, is determined that no
fighting shall occur as a result of his orders being misunderstood by Puck. Therefore he orders
Puck to cause a fog to descend over the area and then orders him to lead the two men in
different directions so it is impossible for them to fight. Puck himself must pretend to be
Demetrius and so make Lysander go in the opposite direction. Eventually they will get so
tired that they will fall asleep from exhaustion. When this happens Puck is to squeeze some
other liquid into Lysander’s eyes so that he will forget all that he has seen and said this night.
If he remembers anything it will only seem like a dream.

Once the lovers return to Athens all will be well once more and the only thing which will part
them will be death. In the meantime Oberon will return to Titania and ask her once more to
let him have the Indian boy to be his pageboy. Once she agrees he will take the magic from
her eyes so that she will no longer be in love with a monster. After this the whole kingdom
can return to peace again.

Puck tells Oberon that there is no time to waste for the sun will soon be rising and all the evil
spirits of the night will return to their resting places, for they do not like to be seen by day.

Lines 396 – 463

Oberon feels that he is able to identify with the day as easily as with the night, for he has
frequently enjoyed the daytime for his adventures. However, he does agree that there is no
time to lose if their plan is to be put into operation.
Oberon off
Puck decides that it is time for him to put into operation the plan that Oberon has outlined and
to lead the two men astray.
Enter Lysander
Lysander is looking for Demetrius, shouting to him to ask where he is, but it is Puck who
answers in the voice of Demetrius, and Lysander is completely deceived as he follows Puck’s
voice.
Lysander off
Enter Demetrius
Meanwhile Demetrius is looking for Lysander, running as fast as possible in an effort to catch
him. Puck pretends to be Lysander and deceives him into following him.
Puck and Demetrius off
Enter Lysander
Lysander is exhausted as Oberon prophesied he would be. He can go no further and lies down
to wait for daybreak.
He sleeps
Enter Puck and Demetrius
After Puck has raced around and around, pretending to be Lysander, Demetrius also has to
admit that he is totally exhausted. The decision that he makes is that he will rest until daybreak
then he too will resume the chase.
He lies down and sleeps
Enter Helena
Helena has also arrived at the spot where the others are assembled, unknown to each other.
She feels that as no one likes her she will return to Athens at daybreak, but before then she
will sleep and try to forget all that has upset her.
She lies down and sleeps
Puck has now got three of the four that he needs, now he is waiting for Hermia to arrive, then
the quartet will be complete.
Enter Hermia
She is also totally exhausted and her clothes are torn by the wild rose bushes through which
she has been forced to crawl.
She lies down and sleeps
Puck squeezes the juice Oberon has given him into Lysander’s eyes, with the promise that
when he wakes he will love his original love. All will be as it was before.

QUESTIONS – ACT THREE

SCENE 1

1. In the play the artisans are performing Bottom is playing the part of Pyramus. What concerns
Bottom about playing the role of Pyramus? (2)
2. He suggests a solution to his problem mentioned in 1. and he also has two solutions for the
concerns raised by the artisans about the lion’s roar. Explain Bottom’s plan in your own
words. (4)

3.1 Explain what Puck does to Bottom. Is Bottom aware of the change in
his appearance? (3)
3.2 What is Puck’s reason for doing what he does in 3.1? (2)

4.1 What is Titania’s reaction to Bottom when she wakes? (1)

4.2 Why does Titania’s reaction to Bottom please Oberon? (3)
[15]
SCENE 2

1.1 Why are Demetrius and Hermia quarrelling? (4)

1.2 What is Hermia’s reaction to his words? (2)

2. When Oberon realises the mistake that has been made what orders
does he give Puck and what does Oberon say he will do to rectify the
mistake that has been made? (4)

3. When Demetrius wakes he appears to be madly in love with Helena.

Why is she annoyed rather than happy? (2)

4. What has the mistake Puck has made caused to happen? (2)

5. The entrance of Hermia leads to further confusion.

6.1 Provide two reasons why Hermia is upset. (2)

6.2 Provide two reasons why Helena is upset. (2)
6.3 Write down the reason Lysander and Demetrius are fighting with
each other. (1)

7. Oberon has a solution. What does this involve Puck doing? (6)

[25]

TOTAL: 40
ACT 4 SCENE 1
Lines 1 – 44
The same part of the wood near Athens
Enter Titania, and Bottom, and Fairies; and Oberon behind them.
Titania is hopelessly in love with Bottom who is still wearing his ass’s head. Bottom is quite
happy about the attention he is receiving from Titania and her fairies, sending them on the
strangest errands, such as to collect a honey-bag from a bee, or asking them to scratch his head.
Eventually Titania decides that she wants him to herself and so she dismisses her fairies as she
holds him in her arms
Fairies off
They sleep. Enter Puck. Oberon comes forward.

Lines 45 – 74
Oberon is sorry he has made Titania fall in love with this strange creature, and even sorrier
that the attention she is lavishing on Bottom is not lavished on him. It turns out that Titania
has changed her mind about his having the child and has sent him to Oberon, therefore he will
release her from the spell he has put on her, and which has made her fall in love with this odd
creature. At the same time he instructs Puck to take the donkey’s head from Bottom, so that
when he goes back to Athens he will look like all the other men. His memory of what happened
will appear to be like a dream.
He squeezes the herb juice on Titania’s eyelids

Lines 75 – 101
Titania awakes
When she wakes she tells Oberon that she has had a dream in which she thought she was in
love with an ass. However, now that she is awake she knows how much she hates the shape
of the heads of donkeys as she sees Bottom on the ground near her.
Oberon orders Robin (Puck) to remove the head from Bottom, while he orders sweet music to
be played to Titania, to which she and Oberon dance. As they dance Oberon suggests that as
they are once again united they should dance at the pre-wedding celebrations of the Duke the
following evening, and bless the lovers.
Puck removes the asses head from Bottom as they dance

When Puck announces the arrival of the morning, as he hears the lark begin to sing, Oberon
suggests they should follow the night around the earth. Titania agrees on condition that
Oberon tells her why there are four humans lying on the ground.
Oberon, Titania, and Puck off
Horns sound. Enter Theseus with Hippolyta, Egeus, and all his train.
Theseus, Hippolyta and Egeus have come to watch the hunt from the top of a nearby hill.
However, before they can move to their vantage point Egeus sees Hermia lying sleeping on
the ground nearby. With her is her friend Helena. The Duke thinks that maybe they got up
early to see the coming of May Day, and that perhaps they also intend to watch the hunt and
praise the Duke and his lady. Suddenly Theseus remembers that this is the day when Hermia
is to give her decision about who she intends to marry. He orders the huntsmen to wake the
lovers so that all can hear the decision she has arrived at.
Horns sound; the lovers wake; shout within; the lovers start up
When the four young people see the Duke they kneel in homage before him, but he orders
them to their feet, asking how two men, who are such sworn enemies as Demetrius and
Lysander, come to be together, sleeping side by side. It is Lysander who decides to reply.

Lines 146 – 197

Lysander is as surprised as the Duke but tells him that he can remember little of what happened.
He came to the woods with Hermia, for they intended to run away from Athens and so get
married secretly.
Egeus is very angry that anyone could treat his daughter as Lysander intended to do. He has
always intended that Demetrius should marry his daughter.
Now it is Demetrius’s turn to speak. Helena told him what they planned, so he hurried after
them into the woods, and Helena, in turn, followed him. However, he has vague memories
that he suddenly decided that he loved Helena better than Hermia. In fact, he admits that he
was engaged to marry Helena before he saw Hermia. Unfortunately he seemed to lose this
love, but now he knows he will remain true to his decision.
Theseus decides to overrule Egeus and orders that the lovers will be married at the same time
and in the same place that he will marry his lady. In the meantime the hunting will stop and
the three couples will return to Athens, where they will have a feast to celebrate their happy
fortune.
Theseus with Hippolyta, Egeus, and his train off
A discussion follows amongst the couples, who are not certain whether they really did see the
Duke or whether it was all part of their imagination.
Demetrius, Helena, Lysander, and Hermia off

Line 198 – 217

Bottom wakes
Bottom is unaware that he has been to sleep. He starts to practise the play from the place that
they had arrived at before he fell asleep. However, he cannot forget his ‘dream’, and the
feeling he had that his head was changed. He orders Quince to write a song about his
experiences that he will sing at the end of the play.
Bottom off
SCENE TWO

Athens. Quince’s house.

Enter Quince, Flute, Snout, and Starveling
The artisans who are to act their play at the wedding of the Duke are rather upset because
Bottom, their leader, has not turned up for the rehearsal. They have sent a message to his
house, but no-one knows where he is. Quince, Flute, Snout and Starveling are very worried
for Bottom has the leading role of Pyramus, and without him they have no-one to play the part.

Enter Snug the joiner

Snug who works in the wood comes rushing to the place where they are gathered to say that
the Duke, plus two or three other couples, are already married. If they can put on their play
then they will become respected citizens with a pension.

Enter Bottom
While they are still discussing the bad luck that has come their way with the disappearance of
Bottom, he suddenly arrives. He has got a long story to tell them, but no time at the moment.
They must get their costumes ready and meet him at the palace where they will perform their
play, for it has been accepted. He gives a few more instructions, such as eating onions so that
their breaths remain sweet, and the one who is to play the lion must not cut his nails, before
he rushes away to get himself ready.
ACT FOUR QUESTIONS

SCENE 1

1.1 Why has Titania handed over the changeling boy to Oberon? (2)

1.2 Why is Oberon upset that his plan has worked really well? (2)

2. Quote the words that indicate that Titania believes she dreamt that
she was in love with an ass. (2)

3. Provide two reasons why Puck removes the ass’s head from Bottom.
(2)

4. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta and Egeus in the woods? (1)

5. Puck promises that all will be well in the end. How do things end well
for:

5.1 Hermia and Lysander; (1)

5.2 Helena and Demetrius? (1)

6. What are the two couples in the woods a little confused about? (1)

7. Why is Bottom fed up when he wakes up and what does he believe he

has been doing while he was ‘sleeping’? (2)

[14]

SCENE 2

1. Quince and the rustics are unhappy. Why is this? (2)

2. How is their problem solved? (1)

[3]

TOTAL:17
ACT FIVE SCENE 1

Athens. Theseus’s palace

Theseus and Hippolyta discuss the strange story that the Athenian youths have told them
concerning the magical romantic mix-ups of the previous night.

Theseus summons Philostrate to read him a list of plays, each of which Theseus deems
unacceptable. Philostrate then tells him of the Pyramus and Thisbe story that the common
craftsmen have prepared; warning that it is terrible in every respect, he urges Theseus not to
see it. Theseus, however, says that if the craftsmen’s intentions are dutiful, there will be
something of merit in the play no matter how poor the performance.

Quince delivers the prologue haltingly. The other players act out a clumsy version of the story,
during which the noblemen and women joke among themselves about the actors’ mistakes.

Bottom asks if the audience would like an epilogue or a dance; Theseus replies that they will
see the dance. Bottom and Flute perform the dance, and the whole group exits for bed.

Puck enters and says that, now that night has fallen, the fairies will come to the castle. Oberon
and Titania enter and bless the palace and its occupants with a fairy song, so that the lovers
will always be true to one another, their children will be beautiful, and no harm will ever visit
Theseus and Hippolyta. Oberon and Titania take their leave, and Puck makes a final address
to the audience. He says that if the play has offended, the audience should remember it simply
as a dream. He wishes the audience members good night and asks them to give him their hands
in applause if they are kind friends.