W. Shakespeare - A Midsummer’s Night´s Dream (by Veronika Kabátová, II.C)

This play was written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 (we don´t know the exact year). I read just a retold version (by Rachel Bladon), but there were also some extracts from original play.

The story is set in Greece in Athens and wood round the city in ancient times. 

The story starts four days before Theseus and Hippolyta´s wedding (Theseus is the Duke). Egeus wants to talk to Theseus, so he comes to the Duke´s palace with his daughter, Hermia and two young men, Demetrius and Lysander. Egeus is angry of his daughter, because he told Demetrius he could marry Hermia. But Hermia has fallen in love with Lysander. Egeus wants Hermia´s marriage with Demetrius. Theseus tells Hermia that she must marry Demetrius and if not, she must die or become a nun. Lysander tells Egeus and Theseus that Demetrius had been in love with Helena before he met Hermia and Helena still loves him. Hermia and Lysander decide to run away from Athens. Hermia tells Helena about their plan and Helena tells it Demetrius.

Meanwhile, the craftsmen want rehearse a play, which they will perform on a Theseus and Hippolyta´s wedding. They decide to meet in the palace wood next day. They want to meet at night, so nobody will see them.

Next night in the palace wood, Puck, a fairy, is sitting by a tree. Another fairy comes to him and they start talking. Fairy tells him that Titania, Queen of the Fairies will come there with other fairies. Puck tells her that Oberon, the King of the Fairies, is spending the evening there and he wants that fairy makes Titania change her decision. Titania has a little Indian boy and Oberon wants him, but Titania doesn´t want to give him Oberon. Every time when they two meet, they argue about the little boy. Suddenly, Oberon and Titania are coming and when they see each other, they´re starting argue and Titania with her fairies goes away. Oberon´s got an idea - he tells Puck to find a magical flower. He wants to put the juice of the flower on Titania´s eyes while she´s sleeping and when she wakes up, she´ll fall in love with first thing she´ll see.

Into the wood comes Demetrius, followed by Helena (they can´t see fairies and Oberon is hidden). Demetrius is angry, because he can´t see Lysander and Hermia and he thinks that Helena laid him. Demetrius isn´t nice to Helena and he goes away. Helena makes promise to herself that she´ll always follow him and she goes away, too. Oberon isn´t happy with Demetrius and he wants to help Helena. Then Puck comes with the magic flower. Oberon gives some juice to Puck and tells him what to do. He wants Puck to put the juice on Demetrius´ eyes while he´s sleeping. Juice will make him love Helena. Then Oberon goes to Titania and puts a juice on her eyes.

Lysander and Hermia come into a wood and tired fall asleep. Puck is discontented, because he hasn´t found Demetrius and Helena. Suddenly he sees Lysander and Hermia and he makes a big mistake - he thinks they are Demetrius and Helena and he puts the juice on Lysander´s eyes. Then he goes to find Oberon.

Helena is still running after Demetrius, but she is out of breath and she can´t follow him further. She sees Lysander and wakes him up. When he sees Helena, he falls in love with her. Helena isn´t happy about that. Then Hermia wakes up and she sees that Lysander disappeared.

Craftsmen come into a wood, too and they want to rehearse the play on a place where Titania is sleeping (they don´t see her). Puck comes there and decides to have fun - he´ll give one of them, Bottom, a donkey´s head. When other craftsmen see him, they run to Athens. Bottom thinks that they just want to make a fool of him and he starts sing. Titania wakes up.  She falls in love with him and wants of fairies to take care about him.

Puck finds Oberon and tells him, what happened. Suddenly they see Demetrius and Hermia are coming. Hermia wants know where Lysander is, but Demetrius doesn´t know it. Hermia goes away to find Lysander and Demetrius lies down and sleeps. Oberon tells Puck that he put the juice on a wrong person´s eyes and he puts the juice on Demetrius´ eyes again. Puck is running (or flying) to find Helena. He finds her quickly, because Helena is running away from Lysander opposite them and Lysander is following her. Oberon and Puck decide to watch what they´ll do. Demetrius wakes up and when he sees Helena, he falls in love with her. Now, Lysander and Demetrius are both begging for Helena´s love. Helena just thinks that they are making fun of her. Then comes Hermia and she doesn´t understand what is Lysander doing. Helena is angry of Hermia and they´re starting argue. Lysander and Demetrius go away; they want to fight for Helena´s love. Angry Helena is going away and Hermia too, on the other side like Helena.

Oberon is angry on Puck, who admits that he made a mistake. Oberon tells him what to do. He gives Puck another juice for Lysander and Puck is going to find him. Oberon wants to find Tatiana.

Titania is sleeping on her flowery bed with Bottom. Oberon tells Puck that Titania gave him the little boy and now he can break the love spell. Titania wakes up and tells Oberon that she had a strange dream. Oberon tells her that wasn´t a dream. Titania can´t understand how it happened and Puck takes of the donkey´s head of Bottom. Titania and Oberon become friends again and Athenians are still sleeping.

Next morning, Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus and another Athenians are in the wood - they want hunting. Suddenly they see Helena, Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius and wake them up. They say why they are there and Demetrius says that he loves Helena, not Hermia. Theseus tells them that they will be married at the temple with him and Hippolyta. They´re all going back to Athens.

Bottom wakes up and he thinks he had a strange dream. He wants to write a song about it and sing it on an n end of their play. When he comes back to Athens, other craftsmen are surprised and very happy that they see him.

Next evening they all meet in the Duke´s palace in Athens. It was a wedding day. Craftsmen perform their play and then all go sleep. Oberon and Titania are blessing that place.

A Midsummer’s Night´s Dream is a very funny story, but little children won´t understand it, so I can recommend it just to students and older people.

Questions

1. Why, according to Puck, are Oberon and Titania fighting (2.1.20-31)?

2. How did you feel when you read Helena’s decision to tell Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander’s plan? Why did you feel this way?

3. Describe Theseus’s character. What sort of leader does he seem to be?

Answers

1. Because Titania has a little Indian boy which she loves and Oberon wants to take him with himself when he travels. But Titania keeps him with her all the time and she doesn´t let Oberon take him.

2. I´m not happy with her decision. If my friend tells me a secret, I won´t tell it anybody and if I have a reason to say it I will be quiet.

3. Theseus seems to be an equitable, good and friendly. He respect laws of his city, but he isn´t strict (we´ve seen that he allowed Hermia to marry Lysander and she mustn´t marry Demetrius, die or become a nun). In my opinion he is an example for a perfect leader.