A Midsummer Night's Dream: Synopsis

Hello 2023! It is time for us to embark on our next play: A Midsummer Night's Dream! As always, we begin our series with a synopsis of the play in case it has been a while since you've read the play or if it is completely new to you. So, let's dive into a summary of a play about fairies, lovers, and a donkey!

Kourtney Smith (KS): Hi Elyse!

Elyse Sharp (ES): Hi Kourtney!

ES: How are you doing today? Ooh

KS: How are you today? Aah.

ES: Ooh

KS: Ahh.

ES: Jinks.

KS: Alright

ES: I’m doing okay. How are you?

KS: I’m doing really well actually. 

ES: So, I’m very excited. We are moving into our new play. Which, again, by, like, the title of this episode listeners will know is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

KS: We are palette cleansing (E laughs) from 2022’s two tragedies.

ES: Yes.

KS: Two heavy pieces of Shakespeare text. Uh, we are lightening things up with a little bit of magic and some general confusion and, uh, a triple wedding at the end.

ES: Yeah. So, uh, let’s dive on into this synopsis. 

KS: Yes. As usual with the synopsis we will be going through the play with the actions of the play. We are going to restrain from adding commentary and interpretation and doing any sort of language analysis. This is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, action by action, the whole play.

ES: Here we go!

KS: Alright. Welcome to Ancient Greece—specifically Athens! Theseus, duke of Athens and well known in Greek mythology as the Athenian prince who slayed the Minotaur, enters with Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons; Philostrate, the Athenian Master of Revels; and other court attendants. Theseus announces that their impending wedding is four nights away—specifically the night of the next new moon—but that the time is passing too slowly for his liking. Hippolyta demures that the four days and nights will pass quickly, and Theseus commands Philostrate to go out and get young Athenians ready to party—Debbie Downers are not welcome in Athens during these celebrations. Philostrate exits, and Theseus says to Hippolyta that although he took her as a prisoner of war, he will show her a good time for their wedding. 

ES: Just then, Egeus, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius enter to interrupt the merry mood. Theseus recognizes Egeus and asks what is going on. Egeus explains that he is incredibly vexed and has come to complain to the duke about Hermia, his daughter. Egeus goes on to say that he has given his consent for Demetrius to marry Hermia, however, Lysander has wooed Hermia. Now, she will not obey her father’s wish for her to marry Demetrius. Egeus explains that he has come to Theseus to have Theseus enforce an ancient law of Athens: that because Hermia is his daughter, Egeus gets to choose what happens to her, and he has chosen that she will either marry Demetrius or be put to death. 

KS: Theseus asks Hermia her opinion and reminds her that her father does have the legal power to make such a decision. He notes that Demetrius is a worthy gentleman. Hermia counters that Lysander is too. Theseus replies that, sure, Lysander may be equal to Demetrius but because Demetrius has Egeus’s favor, he should be more worthy. In a moment of boldness, Hermia asks Theseus what is the worst she can expect if she refuses to bend to her father’s will. 

ES: Theseus replies that she will either be put to death, as her father said, or she will be forced to become a nun. He then counsels her to consider how young she is, her desires and if she really thinks marrying Demetrius would be worse than death or staying a virgin the rest of her life. For what it’s worth, he really doesn’t like the idea of being a nun 

KS: Hermia instantly replies that she would rather be a nun and a virgin the rest of her life than lose her virginity to Demetrius. Theseus offers her time to think—take the four days and nights between now and his wedding day to consider if she really wants to die, wed Demetrius, or become a nun. 

ES: Demetrius pipes up and tells Hermia to relent and tells Lysander to give up his pursuit of Hermia. Lysander counters that Demetrius has Egeus’s love, so he can let Lysander have Hermia’s. Egeus confirms that Demetrius has his love, and therefore will receive whatever Egeus’s love leads to—in this case, Hermia. 

KS: Lysander turns to Theseus and makes his casES: that he and Demetrius are equal when it comes to social status and the families they come from. They are equal in everything except that Lysander has more love for Hermia and, most importantly, Hermia loves him back. Why shouldn’t he fight for her to not wed Demetrius? He then reveals that Demetrius made love to another young woman, Helena, and now Helena is madly in love with Demetrius. 

ES: Theseus reveals that he had heard about Demetrius and Helena, and while he planned to talk to Demetrius about it, he had forgotten about it in the midst of all of the pre-wedding excitement. (Tell me about it, Theseus…) Theseus then commands Demetrius and Egeus to go with him, as he has to talk to them further in private. Theseus then tells Hermia to prepare herself to go along with her father’s will, or choose to become a nun or die. He returns to Hippolyta, and, again, tells Demetrius and Egeus to go with them, as he has something to discuss with them about the upcoming wedding. 

KS: Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and Demetrius exit, leaving Lysander and Hermia alone on stage. Lysander comforts Hermia, who has been crying, by reminding her of all of the tales of true love in fiction and history: “the course of true love never did run smooth.” And he reminds her that in all of those instances, when the lovers act too quickly, the love between them leads them to their demise. 

ES: Hermia logics, then, that since their love is star-crossed, like all those famous lovers, they should learn from others’ mistakes and be patient. They can withstand this trial of their love. Lysander agrees and tells Hermia that he has a dowager aunt who lives seven leagues away from Athens (that’s 21 miles or a little less than 33.8 kilometers). There, past the reach of Athenian law, they can get married. He tells Hermia that if she loves him, to meet him tomorrow night in the wood a mile outside of town in the spot where they once met up with Helena to celebrate May Day. Hermia swears she will meet him there.

KS: Just then, Helena enters. She complains that Demetrius loves Hermia instead of her, and Hermia echoes her complaints, adding that she has done nothing to sway Demetrius’s affections away from Helena. Hermia then reveals that she and Lysander will be running away, so Demetrius will no longer be able to pursue her. Lysander and Hermia reveal the entirety of their plan to Helena. Then, Hermia and Lysander wish Helena well in her love of Demetrius and exit separately. 

ES: Left alone onstage, Helena marvels at how happy some people can be in comparison to others. She talks about how love purely comes down to luck—she and Hermia are thought to be equal throughout Athens, except in Demetrius’s eyes. Hermia is lucky because she loves a man who loves her back. Helena thought she had that with Demetrius before he ever noticed Hermia, but all of his oaths of love turned out to be lies. She then decides to tell Demetrius of Hermia’s plan to run away, in the hopes that doing so will get her even the smallest bit of attention. Helena exits. 

KS: Elsewhere in Athens, a group of blue collar workers and tradesfolk have gathered—collectively, this group is often referred to as the Mechanicals. Peter Quince, a carpenter, asks if everyone is there; and Nick Bottom, a weaver, suggests that Quince calls everyone by name in the order of their cast list. As Quince takes out the scroll of names and declares that this group is full of the best group of actors for the play, Bottom then suggests that Quince first tell the group what the play is about, then call them by name and announce the role they are cast in. 

ES: Quince announces that the play is titled “The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” Bottom replies that it is a very good play, and a happy one. He implores Quince to call forth the actors and tells the rest of the group to spread out. 

KS: Quince then calls Bottom, who raises his hand and tells Quince (again) to name the role Bottom has been cast in. Quince says that Bottom will play Pyramus, and Bottom asks if Pyramus is more of a lover-type or a tyrant-type. Quince replies that Pyramus is a lover but he does get a death scene. 

ES: Bottom declares that he will have to cry on cue in order to perform that, and if he plays Pyramus, the audience will have to dry their own tears because his portrayal of grief will make them cry. Just as he is about to tell Quince to move on to the other actors, he interrupts himself to say that he is usually better cast as a tyrant-type. He could easily play those types of swaggering, ranting characters that bring destruction in their wake, like Hercules. He then performs an excerpt from a speech that presumably comes from another play that featured Hercules, which he then states is not like a lover at all. He tells Quince to proceed naming the rest of the ensemble. 

KS: Quince calls up Francis Flute, a bellows-mender, and says that he will play Thisbe. Flute asks if Thisbe is a wandering knight, and Quince answers no, Thisbe is the lady that Pyramus falls in love with. Flute protests being cast as a woman as he has a beard that is starting to grow in. Quince has a solution for this: Flute can wear a mask and speak in a high voice. Bottom interjects that he can play Thisbe too and demonstrates how he can modulate his voice to play both Pyramus and Thisbe. Quince shuts this down, and they move on to the rest of the cast. 

ES: Quince announces that Robin Starveling, the tailor, will play Thisbe’s mother; Tom Snout the tinker will play Pyramus’s father, Quince himself will play Thisbe’s father, and Snug the joiner will play the lion. Snug asks if Quince has the lion’s part written because Snug would like to start memorizing as soon as possible as he is typically slow at getting off-book. Quince replies that Snug can just improv the lion’s lines because it is nothing but roaring. 

KS: Bottom interjects again that he can play the lion, too! In fact, he will roar so well that it will invigorate the crowd and the Duke will demand that he roars again. Quince tells him no and that he’d actually do the opposite and scare the ladies of the court so badly that the entire troupe would be sentenced to death. Pyramus argues that he can roar so sweetly that it would sound like a nightingale. 

ES: Quince tells Bottom that he cannot play any part but Pyramus because Pyramus is a good-looking gentleman, and Bottom is the only one who can play that. With this compliment, Bottom agrees to play Pyramus and asks Quince what color beard he should wear for Pyramus. Quince does not care, but Bottom lists the options he has availablES: blonde, orange, bright red, or gold. Quince jokes that some of Bottom’s gold beards have no hair at all, so it would be like he wasn’t wearing one anyway. 

KS: Before Bottom can retort, Quince hands out copies of the script and asks everyone to learn their lines by tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, they will meet in the wood, a mile outside the town by moonlight, so they can rehearse in secret. In the meantime, Quince will make a list of props that their play needs. Bottom agrees to his plan and urges his cast mates to work hard at learning their lines before tomorrow night and arrive to rehearsal off-book and word-perfect. The Mechanicals exit. 

ES: Now the play transitions to a clearing in the forest, presumably the next night. A Fairy and Puck appear from different directions, and Puck asks the unnamed Fairy where they are going. The fairy replies that they are wandering everywhere faster than the moon, for they serve the Fairy Queen and are in the midst of doing their preparations for the Queen’s arrival.

KS: Puck reveals that the King is coming here too and that the other Fairy should be careful to not let the King and Queen encounter each other.  Apparently, King Oberon is angry because Queen Titania has a changeling child as her attendant. The child was stolen from an Indian King and is the sweetest changeling she’s ever had. But Oberon wants the child to be one of his knights. Naturally, Titania has refused and continues to dote on the child. Now, the King and Queen fight every time they run into each other and the fights are so intense that all of the fairies nearby run and hide. 

ES: The Fairy then recognizes Puck aka Robin Goodfellow, aka Hobgoblin, and asks if Puck is that famous fairy. Puck says that, yes, he is—and more. He details some of his favorite tricks and jokes he has played. Just then, Oberon and Titania enter. Titania commands her fairies to leave this place because she will not stay where Oberon is. 

KS: Oberon tells her to stay because he is her husband. She says, sure she’s his wife, but she knows about the times that he has left fairy land and pretended to be a shepherd in order to woo a mortal shepherdess. She asks why Oberon even came to Athens; was it because Hippolyta, one of his mistresses, is getting married to Theseus and he’s here to bless their marriage bed?

ES: Oberon calls Titania a hypocrite for bringing up Hippolyta because he knows that she’s slept with Theseus and made Theseus abandon other women. Titania argues that Oberon is feigning jealousy. She claims that he and his train have purposefully shown up, been disruptive, and caused fights every time that she and her train have met since the beginning of midsummer, in order to perform their rituals and rites for the season. Now, the weather and seasons are in a state of confusion—it is midsummer but the weather is more like winter. This climate change, Titania reasons, is due to their fight. 

KS: Oberon argues that Titania should be the one to apologize and end the fight. If she’d just give him the changeling child, he’d stop ruining her seasonal rituals. Titania tells him that she would not give over the child for the whole of the fairy kingdom. She explains that his mother was a votaress that served Titania and who Titania was very close with—more like god-siblings or play cousins. Titania continues that she and the woman would often sit on the beach and watch the merchant ships go by, and that the woman would bring Titania gifts during the woman’s pregnancy. But, the woman died in childbirth, and so, in memory of the woman, Titania will not give up the boy and she will raise him. 

ES: Oberon then asks how long Titania plans to stay in the wood outside of Athens. Titania answers that she will stay at least until after Theseus’s wedding day. She then invites Oberon to join in the rituals, rites, and celebrations her train plans on, if he can behave himself. If not, they can avoid each other. Oberon says that he will go with her if she gives him the boy. Titania reiterates that she will not give away the boy for anything Oberon has to offer, and Titania and her train exit. 

KS: Oberon watches them go and says that they will not leave Athens until he has sought revenge for this insult. He calls over Puck and describes how he once saw Cupid shoot an arrow that ended up hitting a little white flower, turning it purple. He instructs Puck to fetch that flower, which is called “love-in-idleness,” because the nectar of it applied to the eyelids of a sleeping creature will make that creature fall in love with the next living creature it sees. Puck says that he’ll do a lap around the earth in forty minutes and be back. 

ES: Puck exits, and Oberon explains his plan a little further. He will wait until Titania is asleep, then he will apply the nectar to her eyes. After this, she will fall in love with an animal or something, and she will be so in love with that creature that she will no longer care so much about the boy. Once Oberon is able to get her to give up the boy to him, he will take the charm off of her eyes. (Luckily there’s another herb he knows that can do that). He then hears people approaching and, because he is invisible, he will eavesdrop on them. 

KS: Demetrius enters with Helena pursuing him. Demetrius is getting frustrated that they haven’t run into Lysander and Hermia yet, as Helena told him they would. He shoos Helena away and tells her to stop following him. She says she cannot because he draws her onward. She tells him to stop being so worth following and she’ll stop following him. Demetrius asks her what he is doing to make her follow him—all he does is tell her that he does not and cannot love her. 

ES: Helena declares that this is exactly what motivates her love. She compares herself to a loyal dog, and no matter how terribly he treats her, she will continue to love him. She tells him that he can think of and treat her like a dog, for she can’t think of any better way to be treated by him. Demetrius tells her not to tempt him like that and that she makes him sick when he sees her. Helena says that she feels sick when she isn’t near him. 

KS: Demetrius says that she is putting her reputation at risk to be out at night, away from the city, and alone with a man who doesn’t love her—people could start saying that she’s no longer a virgin. Helena says that she knows Demetrius is virtuous, and that, furthermore, she does not feel alone with him because he is the whole world to her.  Demetrius says that he will run away and leave her to fight off the beasts of the forest on her own.  Helena says that he can run but she will continue to pursue him. 

ES: Demetrius tells her to let him go or he will do mischief to her in the woods.  Helena points out that he makes mischief for her everywhere.  Demetrius’ wrongs make her (and other women) experience scandal. As a woman, she says, she cannot fight for love and was made to be wooed, not to woo. 

KS: Demetrius exits, and Helena follows shortly after, noting that she will continue to follow him. Oberon, having watched all of this, decides that he will help Helena in her pursuit of Demetrius. Before Helena and Demetrius leave the wood, Oberon will make sure Demetrius is in love with  Helena. 

ES: Puck enters with the ‘love-in-idleness’ flower, and Oberon explains the plan for Titania to Puck. Oberon then gives some of the flower to Puck and tells him to seek through the wood and find an Athenian lady and young man. Oberon instructs Puck to anoint the young man’s eyes but to do it carefully so that the next thing the young man sees will be the lady. Oberon tells Puck that the young man will be recognizable by his Athenian clothes. Then, Oberon tells Puck to meet him back here before the rooster’s first crow. Oberon and Puck exit. 

KS: Titania enters, instructing her train to sing her to sleep and gives them a to-do list that they should complete while she sleeps. They sing, Titania falls asleep, and all of the remaining fairies exit but one. Oberon enters, avoiding the one fairy standing sentinel and uses the love-in-idleness to enchant the sleeping Titania. Oberon exits, leaving the sleeping Titania onstage.

ES: Hermia and Lysander enter, tired from their journey, and Lysander admits that he has lost their way. He says that, if Hermia agrees, he thinks they should rest and wait to continue their journey in the morning. Hermia agrees and tells Lysander to find a place to sleep for himself as she has found a comfortable spot for herself. 

KS: Lysander says that they should sleep next to each other, after all they are almost married and they love each other. Hermia asks him to sleep further away for her sake. He insists that he is not suggesting they do anything, he just wants to sleep near her. She insists that a separation is better for a virtuous bachelor and a maid. He agrees and finds a spot some distance from her.

ES: Hermia and Lysander fall asleep, and Puck enters. Puck says that he has searched throughout the forest but has not been able to find a single Athenian whose eyes he can put the flower’s nectar on. He then sees Lysander and recognizes that Lysander is wearing Athenian clothes. Therefore, this must be the young Athenian that Oberon told him about. He then sees Hermia and thinks she is the young woman Oberon also mentioned. Puck enchants Lysander and then Puck exits to go find Oberon. 

KS: Demetrius and Helena enter, with Helena still chasing him. Demetrius is able to get away, and exists. Helena is out of breath and chooses not to pursue him. She thinks about Hermia and how they are compared to each other. She feels she must be as ugly as a bear because Demetrius runs from her like she is one. She thinks some trick mirror must have made her think she was as pretty as Hermia. 

ES: Just then, Helena discovers Lysander on the ground and wakes him. He instantly falls in love with her and starts to seek out Demetrius for a duel. Helena tells him to stop because so what if Demetrius loves Hermia; Hermia loves Lysander so Lysander should be content. Lysander says that he cannot be content with Hermia and regrets every moment he spent with her. He says he loves Helena, not Hermia, and that it was youthful folly that made him not realize his love for Helena until now. 

KS: Helena thinks that Lysander is mocking her and chides him for it. Helena exits, and Lysander turns to the sleeping Hermia. He tells her to stay there and not come anywhere near him. She now turns his stomach like too much candy, and he hates her. He will now turn all of his energy towards loving Helena. Lysander exits.

ES: Hermia wakes from a nightmare to find that Lysander has disappeared. She calls for him, and when he doesn’t answer, she decides to go find him or die trying. Hermia exits, leaving Titania alone asleep onstage. 

KS: Next, the Mechanicals enter the clearing for their first rehearsal. Quince points out that the grass will be the stage, a hawthorn bush will be the backstage or green room, and says that they will rehearse full-out like they are doing it before the Duke. Bottom has some issues with the script: Pyramus has to draw a sword and kill himself, which Bottom believes the ladies of the court will not like. His solution is for Quince to write a prologue for the play that says that the ensemble will do no harm with the swords, that Pyramus is not actually killed, and that Pyramus is actually Bottom the weaver. 

ES: Quince agrees to this plan, when Snout asks if the ladies will also be afraid of the Lion. Bottom agrees that bringing a lion to court is a terrible thing. Snout suggests that another prologue should be written to say that Snug is not a lion. Bottom disagrees and says that Quince should instead write a speech for the lion’s entrance for Snug to introduce himself as Snug the joiner and entreat the ladies not to be afraid. Plus, Bottom says, they can make the lion costume in a way that shows Snug’s face. 

KS: Quince agrees to this as well, and then says that he has two problems that need to be solved for the play as well. First and foremost, they need to figure out how to bring moonlight into the room where they will perform because Pyramus and Thisbe meet by moonlight. Snout asks if the moon will be shining on the night of the performance—which is one or two nights from now.

ES: Bottom calls for someone to pull out an almanac and see if the moon will be shining that night. Quince confirms that it will be shining that night. (Side notES: Theseus said earlier that he and Hippolyta are getting married on the next new moon, so, no, the moon would not be shining that night. The new moon is the moon phase where the moon is not visible—and so the Mechanicals have misread their almanac here. Anyway, back to the story). Bottom says that they can leave a window open in the chamber where they play, and that will allow the moon to shine in. 

KS: Quince says sure, or they could have one of their company play the person of Moonshine. Then, the other issue Quince sees is that they have to bring in a wall because Pyramus and Thisbe speak through the wall that parts their fathers’ properties. Bottom suggests that one of their company could play the wall. Quince agrees to that solution and, now that they have workarounds for the problems of lighting and a set, Quince has them start rehearsal. 

ES: Puck enters and observes Bottom rehearsing Pyramus’s first speech. When Bottom exits to the “backstage”, Puck follows. It is then Flute’s turn to rehearse Thisbe, and he runs through all of his lines at once and skips past the cue for Bottom’s entrance. Quince calls out for Bottom, and Flute repeats the line that is Bottom’s entrance cue.

KS: Bottom enters with a donkey’s head, with Puck following. Seeing Bottom, the Mechanicals run away. Puck decides to follow them and torment them by shapeshifting. Bottom does not understand why his friends ran away. Snout re-enters and asks Bottom what is on him. Bottom responds that Snout is being an ass. Snout exits and Quince re-enters and says that Bottom has been transformed, then exits. 

ES: Left alone, Bottom thinks he has figured out that his cast mates are pulling a prank on him and trying to scare him. He decides to not leave and to show them that he is not afraid by walking around and singing. His singing wakes the sleeping Titania, and Titania instantly falls in love with the donkey-headed Bottom. 

KS: Titania calls in her fairies, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote (also called Moth), and Mustardseed, and instructs them to wait upon Bottom. Bottom interacts with Peaseblossom, Cobweb, and Mustardseed before Titania orders the fairies to lead Bottom to her bower. They all exit. 

ES: In another part of the forest, Oberon enters, wondering if Titania has woken yet and, if so, what she fell in love with. Puck enters and tells Oberon of the events of the previous scene. Oberon says that everything has happened better than he could have believed, and he asks Puck if Puck also managed to charm the eyes of that Athenian youth. Puck says, yes, he did find that youth and put the nectar on his eyes when there was no way the youth couldn’t have seen the young woman when he woke up. 

KS: They are interrupted by the entrance of Hermia and Demetrius—who Oberon says is the Athenian youth, but Puck notes that Demetrius is not the Athenian that was enchanted. Oberon and Puck stand aside and watch Hermia and Demetrius. Demetrius asks Hermia why she is so mean to him. She says that she is only chiding but he deserves worse. She should be cursing him because she believes he may have slain Lysander while Lysander slept, and if that’s the case, Demetrius should kill her too. She cannot believe that Lysander would have willingly left her of his own accord—he is too loyal. Therefore, Demetrius must have murdered Lysander. 

ES: Demetrius says that Hermia is being cruel while looking so fair. Hermia asks again what he has done with Lysander. He says he would rather feed Lysander’s dead body to his dogs. That leads Hermia to start cursing him. Demetrius says that he is not guilty of shedding Lysander’s blood, nor does he have any knowledge of Lysander’s death. Hermia then asks if Demetrius knows if Lysander is well. Demetrius asks what he could get from Hermia if he does know (gross), and she says that he won’t see her again whether Lysander is dead or not. Hermia exits and Demetrius decides to sleep. 

KS: Oberon chastises Puck for Puck’s mistake and instructs Puck to find Helena while he enchants Demetrius. Puck exits. Immediately after Oberon finishes enchanting Demetrius, Puck enters again with news that Helena and Lysander are close behind. Oberon notes that the noise they make will cause Demetrius to wake up, and Puck is excited by the chaos this will cause. 

ES: Helena and Lysander enter. Lysander is crying and points to his tears as proof that he can’t possibly be making fun of her. Helena then asks what these vows are, compared to  the vows he gave Hermia—if he is truly in as much love with Helena as he was with Hermia, then his vows of love mean nothing. Lysander says that he had no judgment when he swore love to Hermia, and Helena says that he has none now either. 

KS: Demetrius is awakened by the noise Helena and Lysander are making, and he instantly falls in love with Helena as well. However, this is also not received well by Helena. She chastises them both for mocking her, saying that they are behaving ungentlemanly and no good man would treat a woman like this. 

ES: Lysander offers up whatever claim he had to Hermia to Demetrius if Demetrius will stop pursuing Helena. Demetrius says that Lysander can keep Hermia because his love to Helena has returned and will stay until his death. Lysander protests, and Demetrius says that Lysander should stop talking about things he doesn’t know about unless he’d like to duel Demetrius. 

KS: Then, Hermia enters, having been drawn towards the sound of Lysander’s voice. She asks why Lysander left her so suddenly, to which he says that love drew him away—love for Helena, that is. Helena exclaims that Hermia is also in on the prank that she believes Demetrius and Lysander are playing on her. Helena addresses Hermia directly and asks her if she has forgotten their entire friendship, or worse, given up their friendship in order to join these two men in making fun of Helena. 

ES: Hermia says that she is surprised by Helena’s accusations and hasn’t done anything like that. Helena asks more specifically if Hermia has made both of the men pretend to be in love with Helena as a joke. Hermia still doesn’t understand, but Helena thinks this is all part of the plot against her and threatens to leave. 

KS: Lysander tries to get Helena to stay; Hermia tells him not to tease Helena. Demetrius says that if Hermia can’t convince Lysander with her pleas, he will fight Lysander for Demetrius. Lysander says that Demetrius’s threats are no more convincing than Hermia’s weak pleas, and he will fight Demetrius for Helena’s honor and to prove Demetrius the liar. 

ES: Lysander and Demetrius go back and forth about who loves Helena more, then Lysander invites Demetrius to go elsewhere and fight to prove who is telling the truth and who is lying. Then, Hermia physically stops Lysander from going to fight. Lysander tries to shake her off, while Demetrius mocks him and Helena continues to think that this is all part of some sort of joke. 

KS: Lysander declares that he hates Hermia, which makes her realize that he intentionally left her. He affirms this and restates that he only loves Helena now. Hermia then turns on Helena, accusing Helena of purposefully stealing Lysander from her. Helena curses at Hermia, saying that Hermia is shameless, a fake, and then makes fun of Hermia’s short height. 

ES: Making fun of Hermia’s height was the wrong choice, and in response, Hermia tries to scratch out Helena’s eyes. Lysander and Demetrius jump in to hold Hermia back and prevent her from attacking Helena. Helena pleads with the men to protect her from Hermia. Hermia lunges for Helena again, and Helena asks Hermia to not be so mad at her. Helena admits that she has never done any wrong to Hermia, with the exception of being the one who told Demetrius that Hermia and Lysander were running away. 

KS: But, Helena confesses, that was all for love, and Demetrius has continued to shun her and has even wished her dead. If Hermia will let Helena leave peacefully, Helena says, she will leave quietly and bare the shame of her foolish attempt alone. Hermia asks what is keeping her from leaving now, and Helena says it is her foolish love for Demetrius. The men chime in that they will protect Helena from Hermia. 

ES: Helena remarks that even though Hermia is small, she is a credible threat. Hermia hates being called little again and tries to get the men to let her go. Lysander shoos Hermia away, further insulting her diminutive size. Demetrius says that Lysander is trying too hard to win Helena’s love. Lysander challenges Demetrius to a duel, and they exit to duel offstage. 

KS: Hermia, now free from the men restraining her, confronts Helena. Helena tries to run, but Hermia tells her to not step away. Helena says that she will not trust being alone with Hermia, and that while Hermia would be the faster to fight, Helena’s height gives her advantage when running away. Helena exits. Left alone onstage, Hermia is amazed at what just happened and is rendered speechless, so she exits. 

ES: Oberon chastises Puck again for messing up so badly. Puck notes that he actually did exactly what Oberon asked of him. Oberon notes that the lovers are all looking to fight, so he instructs Puck to make the night super dark and lead the lovers away from each other so that they don’t actually end up fighting. Oberon tells Puck to imitate Demetrius and Lysander to each other until they are so tired they decide to sleep in the forest. 

KS: Then, Oberon gives Puck an herb that will remedy the charm and instructs Puck to put it into Lysander’s eyes. Once this is done, the four lovers can return to Athen and will think that everything that happened was a dream. While Puck is doing this, Oberon says that he will go to Titania and ask for the changeling child, then Oberon will remedy the charm on Titania’s eyes. Puck notes that this needs to be done quickly because it is almost morning—Venus (the morning star) is already visible in the sky. Oberon reminds Puck that they have until sunrise to complete this work and tells Puck to get to it. 

ES: Puck overcasts the night and in comes Lysander, ready to duel Demetrius. Puck impersonates Demetrius and gets Lysander to run in a different direction. Just then, Demetrius enters, searching for Lysander whose voice he just heard. Puck impersonates Lysander this time around, and gets Demetrius to follow him offstage. Lysander re-enters, having heard Demetrius, but when he doesn’t find Demetrius, he determines that Demetrius is just running away from him too fast. Lysander decides to fall asleep until the sun rises, when he can better search for Demetrius. 

KS: Puck and Demetrius re-enter, with Puck still imitating Lysander and Demetrius still trying to locate the source of the voice. After running around after Puck for a bit, Demetrius decides that Lysander is mocking him and also decides to  let the duel wait until after he has slept. He falls asleep right before Helena enters. She is also overcome with tiredness and decides to sleep until sunrise, when she will start to go back to Athens. 

ES: Puck notes that three out of four of the lovers are now sleeping and calls in Hermia. Hermia is also exhausted and decides to lie down and rest until daybreak. She prays for Lysander’s safety if he does end up dueling. Puck puts all four lovers asleep and puts the remedy into Lysander’s eyes. Puck exits. 

KS: Titania and Bottom enter with her train of fairies, followed by a hidden Oberon. Titania instructs Bottom to lie down upon the bed of flowers while she cuddles him and kisses him. Instead, he asks for Peaseblossom and Mustardseed to scratch his head and for Cobweb to go fetch him some honey. Titania asks if he wants to hear some music, and Bottom replies that he has good taste in music and would like to hear the tongs and the bones—instruments similar to the modern triangle and playing the spoons. 

ES: Titania ignores this and asks if Bottom wants anything to eat, and he says he could go for some hay or oats. Titania says that she can have a fairy get him nuts from a squirrel’s hoard, and Bottom says he would rather have some dried peas. However, he is feeling sleepy so he asks Titania to not have any fairies disturb him. 

KS: Bottom falls asleep and Titania orders the fairies to go away. She big spoons Bottom and falls asleep. Puck enters, and Oberon shares that, while Puck was leading the lovers around the forest, Oberon ran into Titania while she was picking flowers for Bottom. After he teased her and they had a little fight, she agreed to give Oberon the changeling boy in order to get him to stop teasing her. She also commanded her fairies to take the changeling child to Oberon’s bower in Fairyland. 

ES: Having won this argument over the boy, Oberon instructs Puck to remove the donkey’s head from Bottom after Oberon breaks the spell on Titania. That way, Oberon says, Bottom can go back to Athens like the lovers, and all five of them will think that the events of this past night were a dream. Oberon removes the spell from Titania’s eyes 

KS: Titania wakes, confused by what she thought was a dream. Oberon tells her that he will explain all later and again tells Puck to take off the donkey head. Oberon tells Titania to call for music, and she does. Puck takes off the donkey’s head. Oberon also calls for music, then asks Titania to go with him. Now that they are no longer fighting, he says, they can go to celebrate Theseus’s wedding tomorrow night and bless the union. He also says that the lovers will be married together in a triple wedding with Theseus and Hippolyta. 

ES: Puck interjects that the morning lark is singing. Oberon tells Titania that it is time to leave Athens until tomorrow night and they’ll talk as they chase the night around the globe. She agrees, asking him to explain what happened and how she ended up on the ground with the five mortals. 

KS: Just then, horns sound and Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus enter with a hunting party. Apparently, for the morning of their wedding, they are doing a little hunting. Theseus sends someone to find the Forester (who will lead their party in the hunt). Theseus and Hippolyta compare hunting stories as they walk. They stumble upon the sleeping lovers and wake them up. 

ES: Theseus asks the lovers how they came to be sleeping so near each other when, last he knew, Lysander and Demetrius hated each other. Lysander confesses that he doesn’t know how they got there. He admits to running away from Athens with Hermia, and Egeus is not happy to hear about that. He tries to get Demetrius to side with him and pleads with Theseus to arrest Lysander as a thief. 

KS: Demetrius replies that Helena told him of Lysander and Hermia’s plan, and he followed, with Helena following him. However, he does not know how or why, but he no longer loves Hermia and now loves Helena. He admits that he was betrothed to Helena before he saw Hermia, which caused him to reject Helena, but now he has returned to his original senses and loves Helena again. 

ES: Theseus says that he wants to hear more about this later and tells Egeus that he will override Egeus’s will. He then declares that the couples will be married with him and Hippolyta, and that they won’t continue hunting this morning. He tells everyone to come back to Athens and that they will also hold a feast. Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus exit. 

KS: The lovers are still stunned by their sudden wake up and confer with each other about what seems to have happened. They agree that Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus were definitely just there and that Theseus said  they could have a triple wedding; so they leave to follow Theseus’s group, agreeing to discuss their dreams on the way to the temple. 

ES: Bottom wakes, alone on stage. He calls out for his cast mates, then realizes that they have left him asleep in the woods. He reflects that he has had a strange dream that is past the ability of man to recount. He tries to put the dream into words, but he cannot name what he was or what thought he had. In his opinion, there are no words or senses that can capture this dream. What he will do is get Quince to write a ballad about this dream that will be called “Bottom’s Dream,” and it can be performed at the end of the play. Or, even better, it can be performed after Thisbe’s death. Bottom exits.

KS:  Back in Athens, the mechanicals enter, distraught that they have not seen or heard from Bottom since the strange events of the last night. Flute asks if the play won’t happen if Bottom doesn’t show up. Quince says yes, because there is no one else who can play Pyramus except for Bottom. Flute agrees.

ES: Snug the joiner enters and shares the news that Theseus and Hippolyta have been married along with two pairs of other lords and ladies (aka the lovers). If the play could have been performed, they all would have their fortunes made. Flute laments about the money that they could have earned and that Bottom would have deserved for playing Pyramus.

KS: Just then, Bottom enters. Quince is thrilled. Bottom tells them that he has wonderful news, but they shouldn’t ask him what it is because if he tells them, he isn’t a true Athenian. Then he says, he will tell them everything as it happened. Quince prompts him to tell the news. Bottom says that he won’t say anything, but what he will say is that the Duke has held a feast and they should get ready to perform because, rumor has it, their play has made the short list for entertainment tonight. 

ES: He instructs them all to get ready like they will be chosen and to not eat onions or garlic so they can have sweet breath for the sweet comedy. He then tells everyone to go away and prepare. The mechanicals exit. 

KS: Next, we are back in the Athenian palace. Hippolyta, Theseus, and Philostrate enter, Hippolyta and Theseus discuss how strange the lovers’ story of the night is. It would be unbelievable, except for the fact that all four of them were witnesses to the same events. Their narrative is consistent, even if it sounds impossible. 

ES: The lovers enter and exchange greetings and toasts with Theseus. Theseus calls forth Philostrate to present the options for the night’s entertainment—they have to kill the remaining three hours between when their feast ended and when they can go to bed. Philostrate presents Theseus with the list of options and Theseus reads them out loud. 

KS: He decides against hearing an Athenian eunuch sing about the battle with the Centaurs, accompanied by the harp—he has already told that story to Hippolyta in honor of his kinsman, Hercules. Then, he decides against a performance of “The Riot of the Tipsy Bacchanals, Tearing The Thracian Singer in their Rage” because that play is old and was played at a previous celebration of his. Next, he also decides against a performance of “The Thrice Three Muses, Mourning for the Death of Learning Late Deceased in Beggary” because it is a cutting satire, and satire isn’t the right mood for a wedding. 

ES: Last, but not least, Theseus reads his final option for the night’s entertainment: “A tedious brief scene of Pyramus and Thisbe” which is described as being very tragical mirth. Theseus is amused and confused that something can be both tedious and brief, merry and tragical, and he asks Philostrate to explain. Philostrate explains that the play is short in length but feels long when you are watching it because the script is so bad and the actors are worse. And it is tragical because Pyramus kills himself, but when Philostrate saw the rehearsal, it made him laugh so hard he cried.

KS: Theseus asks who the actors are, and Philostrate shares that they are a group of blue collar workers, artisans, and laborers who have never really had to use their brains until now (classist, much?). Theseus declares that Pyramus and Thisbe will be the play they watch tonight. Philostrate protests that he does not believe it is fit entertainment for Theseus, unless Theseus can be entertained by the effort and intention behind the work. 

ES: Theseus, again, declares that he has made his choice, for nothing can be that bad when it comes from a place of sincerity and duty. He tells Philostrate to call the actors in and asks for the ladies of the court to take their seats. Hippolyta tells Theseus that she’d rather not watch something cringe-worthy. Theseus says that she won’t see anything like that, and she counters that Philostrate said this group can’t be anything but cringey. 

KS: Theseus replies that the court will be giving an even greater kindness to give them applause when they don’t deserve it. They, the court, shall find sport in enjoying the mistakes and the noble way of watching this play will be to appreciate the effort, not the result. He tells everyone that he has often, in his travels, been greeted by even the most experienced bureaucrat and seen them intimidated by his presence and get nervous speaking to him. In these situations, Theseus doesn’t make a big deal out of it and pretends that the other individual got through what they needed to say without issue. Therefore, unless he is mistaken, earnest effort speaks louder than savvy speech. 

ES: Philostrate re-enters and says that the Prologue is ready to begin. Theseus allows them to begin, and Quince enters. Quince delivers the Prologue he wrote about not wanting to offend and that their intent is to bring delight. However, Quince stops in the middle of sentences while speaking. Theseus, Hippolyta, and Lysander comment on the quality of Quince’s speech and compare it to a tangled chain and a child playing on a recorder—the lack of attention to the ends of sentences made the speech just nonsensical noise. 

KS: Next, the rest of the mechanicals enter in their costumes. Quince introduces Bottom as Pyramus, Flute as Thisbe, Snout as Wall, Starveling as Moonshine, and Snug as Lion, and provides a summary of the play they are about to perform. All of the mechanicals, except for Snout, exit. 

ES: Theseus wonders aloud if the Lion will speak,  and Demetrius jokes that it is possible since asses do. Snout then begins his monologue where he introduces himself as the wall that parts the properties of Pyramus’s father and Thisbe’s father, and shows the court the hole in the wall where Pyramus and Thisbe secretly conversed. Theseus asks the audience if they would desire a wall to speak better than that, and Lysander responds that it is the wittiest partition he ever heard talk. 

KS: Bottom enters as Pyramus. Pyramus worries that Thisbe has forgotten to meet him that night, and asks the wall to show him the hole so he can try to see if Thisbe is on the other side. When he looks through the wall, he doesn’t see Thisbe and curses the wall. Theseus jokes that the wall should swear back. Bottom breaks character and the fourth wall to tell Theseus that no, the wall shouldn’t curse back because the end of his line is actually Thisbe’s cue, and as Pyramus, he will see her through the wall when she enters. 

ES: Flute, as Thisbe, enters and also talks to the wall. Pyramus says he sees Thisbe’s voice and will go back to the wall to try and hear her face. Pyramus and Thisbe then speak through the wall, professing their love. They try to also kiss through the wall, but end up just kissing the wall. Then, they promise to meet at Old Ninus’s tomb (or as Bottom and Flute mistakenly say, “Ninny’s tomb”). Pyramus and Thisbe exit separately. Then, wall explains his part has ended, and he exits. 

KS: Theseus comments that the wall is now torn down between the two neighbors. Demetrius jokes that it had it coming since it was so quick to eavesdrop. Hippolyta comments that this is the silliest thing she’s ever seen. Theseus says that even the best actors are just like shadows, and the worst aren’t that much worse if the audience can imagine them better. Hippolyta quips that it must be his imagination and not theirs. Theseus says that if they imagine these actors are no worse than the actors think they are, then the acting might be passable. 

ES: Then, Starveling (as Moonshine) and Snug (as Lion) enter. Snug performs the monologue Quince wrote, explaining that he is not actually a Lion, so the ladies of the court should not be afraid. The gentlemen of the court are generally pleased by this, though they joke that he is maybe not so much of a lion but a fox because lions are not so gentle. 

KS: Starveling tries to begin his introduction monologue to explain his costuming as the moon, but the court repeatedly interrupts him with critiques on how he should have been costumed as the moon instead of just holding a lantern, dog, and thorn bush. When they finally allow him to speak, he gives a very blunt answer that he just needed to tell them that he represents the man in the moon: the lantern is the moon, and the thorn bush and dog are the moon’s thorn bush and dog. 

ES: Thisbe enters for the scene at Old Ninus’ tomb and encounters the lion, who roars, causing Thisbe to run off and drop her mantle, which the lion chews on, leaving blood from its mouth on the mantle. The court applauds the work of Lion, Thisbe, and Moon. Pyramus enters as the Lion exits. Pyramus thanks the moon for its light, then sees Thisbe’s bloodied mantle on the ground. He takes it to mean that Thisbe is dead and invokes the Fates to cut his thread of life too. 

KS: The court comments that it is a very passionate performance by Bottom and that they even pity him. Bottom continues to perform Pyramus’s death scene. Pyramus draws his sword and stabs himself and takes a while to die. Starveling as Moonshine exits during the death scene. The court comments on the performance, with Hippolyta wondering aloud how Thisbe will find Pyramus now that the moon has exited. Theseus replies that she will find him by starlight. 

ES: Flute, as Thisbe, re-enters as the court discusses how the play will end after her death and that they hope she doesn’t have that long of a speech for such a Pyramus. Lysander comments that it is hard to tell which one—Bottom or Flute—is the better actor, because they both aren’t great. 

KS: Thisbe discovers Pyramus dead and cries over his body. She takes Pyramus’s dagger, stabs herself and dies. Theseus comments that Moonshine and Lion are left to bury the dead, and Demetrius remarks that Wall is dead too. Bottom gets up and explains that no, the wall is down between the houses of the two fathers. As Flute gets up, Bottom asks Theseus if he would like to see an Epilogue or a Bergomask dance between two company members. 

ES: Theseus declines the Epilogue because there is no need to ask for an audience to excuse a play when everyone is dead at the end. If the players are all dead at the end of the play, there isn’t anyone to be blamed. Indeed, Theseus says, if the writer had played Pyramus and died at the end of the play, it would have been an excellent tragedy. In another sense, it is an excellent tragedy and will be a performance Theseus won’t forget. He then requests the Bergomask, which is performed, before the mechanicals exit. 

KS: After the mechanicals exit, Theseus notes that it is after midnight and time for bed. In fact, he says they have stayed up so much later than they expected, he thinks they will oversleep in the morning. The play did its job at distracting them. He tells the lovers to go to bed—they will continue celebrating for the next two weeks. The lovers, Theseus, and Hippolyta exit. 

ES: Puck enters and says that it is now the time of night when fairies (and other spirits) are frolicking about. Specifically,  he has come to make sure the house is clean. Oberon and Titania enter with other fairies and lead the fairies in a song of blessing. Oberon instructs the fairies to continue to bless the house and the marriage beds until the break of day. Oberon, Titania, and the Fairies exit. Puck remains onstage for the epilogue, asking the audience to think that the play was nothing more than a dream if anyone found it offensive. If you hated it, don’t leave a negative review—come back and we’ll put on a better play next time. So just give us some applause.

KS: And that’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream!

ES: Thank you for listening!

Quote of the Episode:

ES: From The Two Noble Kinsmen, act two, scene one, said by Jailer’s daughter, “It seems to me they have no more sense of their captivity than I of ruling Athens. They eat well, look merrily, discourse of many things, but nothing of their own restraint and disasters.”

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

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Works referenced:

Shakespeare, William, and Harold F. Brooks. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Bloomsbury, 1979.