A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1595 and first printed in 1600. Four young Athenian lovers, a group of amateur actors and the fairies of the forest are tangled together on one magical night, thanks to the mischief of the sprite Puck. It is one of Shakespeare's most popular plays.
Three worlds
Hermia and Lysander flee Athens to escape a forced marriage, followed by Demetrius and Helena. In the forest, the fairy king Oberon and queen Titania are quarrelling.
Meanwhile, a group of craftsmen led by Peter Quince rehearse a play for the duke's wedding.
Puck's mistakes
Oberon orders Puck to use a magic flower to make Demetrius love Helena. Puck enchants the wrong man, and chaos follows.
Oberon also enchants Titania, who falls in love with the weaver Bottom, whose head Puck has turned into an ass's head.
The play within the play
The craftsmen perform the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe at the wedding, so badly that it becomes hilarious.
This clumsy parody of tragic love echoes, and lightens, the young lovers' own troubles in the forest.
Anecdotes
Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn wrote an overture to the play at seventeen, in 1826, and later incidental music including the famous Wedding March.
Bottom
Bottom, the confident weaver who wants to play every part, is one of Shakespeare's most beloved comic characters.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Puck?
A mischievous sprite who serves Oberon.
Who falls in love with Bottom?
Titania, queen of the fairies, under a spell.
What play do the craftsmen perform?
The story of Pyramus and Thisbe.