Student Essay on A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Summary:   A plot summary of William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream, is a fantastic love story written by William Shakespeare. The play takes place in Verona, Italy. There, two ill-fated couples overcome many ordeals to remain faithful to true love. Throughout the chaos, the couples seem to find a way to double-cross destiny.

The hope to have the affection of one woman's heart is the desire of two men; and there our story begins. Theseus is the King of Athens, and is planning on marrying Hippolyta. The progressions of their marriage were being taking care of until Egeus presented to Theseus, the dispute between Lysander and Demetrius. Egeus is the father of Hermia, and he refuses to let Lysander marry her; he wants Demetrius to marry Hermia. However, Hermia loves Lysander, and will be executed if she marries Lysander.

Helena is in love with Demetrius. One day Demetrius seduced her, then the made love. From that day on Helena would long for him. She worshiped him. She praised him. She adored him. Helena envied Hermia for her beauty, and questioned why she didn't love Demetrius back. She wanted to be Hermia so badly.

Meanwhile, In an enchanted land, unknown to man, lived King Oberan, and King Tatania of Fairyland. They were disputing who would raise the little gypsy boy. The king was jealous, and felt that he should have to raise they boy, but Titania refused to give up the boy because his mother was a friend of hers. Oberon became very angry and plotted ways to seek his revenge, with his servant Puck. This was the beginning of hardships for everyone.

Because Hermia was forbidden to marry Lysander, the two decided to secretly flee from their hometown, and elope. Before she and Lysander were off to leave Hermia told her dear friend Helena her plans, and told her not to worry. Helena was sad, but happy because she would now be able to pursue her relationship with Demetrius.

King Theseus advertised his wanting of a play for his marriage. Nick Bottom and his fellow actors were practicing to play at the King's wedding. They were going to perform the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. Bottom wanted to play many roles, but he is cast as the lover Pyramus. The younger man got the role of a female, and his colleague got the role of the lion. Bottom was happy to have a role in the play at all, but he wanted to perform ALL of the parts in the story.

Oberon finally determines which method of revenge he would use. So, he told his assistant Puck to go fetch him a few flowers. The flowers that Puck would go get were called love-in-idleness. They grew from a bed of flowers on the very same ground where Cupid struck one of his arrows. The arrows turned them red, and gave them clear nectar. If placed on the eyelids of a human while sleep, the nectar would make the person fall in love with the next thing in sight. Oberon was going to put a curse Titania so that the very first foul creature she looked at would be her new love interest.

Unknowingly, Helena and Demetrius stumble upon Oberon's dominion and Oberon watched them. Helena told Demetrius that Hermia and Lysander were running away to get married, in hope that he would is pleading Demetrius to pursue her, but he refuses. Helena becomes so desperate that she relinquishes all of her self-respect and dignity. She compares herself to a dog in the sense that she'd rather be completely abandoned, ignored, or lost as long as she was Demetrius' dog.

Concurrently, Hermia and Lysander are entering Titania's pillar. Titania asked her faeries to sing her a lullaby while she was on her way to sleep. Hermia and Lysander have been wondering around, and finally declare themselves lost. Frantic and exhausted, Hermia decides to go to sleep. Lysander wanted to lie next to Hermia, being that they were engaged, buy Hermia felt uncomfortable and asked him to move a short distance away. He did so.

Oberon was laying down when Puck came back with the flowers. He told Puck about the Athenian woman he seen earlier, desperately begging a man to lover her. He told Puck how he pitied that woman, and wanted Puck to place a few drops of love juice on his eyelids, while he slept. While Puck hurried off to find the couple, Oberon grabbed a flower, and proceeded to Titania's bower to place the spell over her.

Through the mystical forests, Puck ran. In such a rush to do what Oberon says, he mistakes the wrong couple for Helena and Demetrius. So, the places the love juice over Lysander's eyes because he finds the lovers sleeping far apart. Faerie believe that love should be expressed, and would never find two lovers sleeping away from each other.

Just as Puck finishes applying the potion onto Lyander's eyes, Helena stumbles upon the ground where Lysander and Hermia lye. Demetrius managed to outwit her, and left her stranded. When she saw Lysander lying on the ground she thought that he was dead. She rushed over to his aid to see if he was living. When she touched him she woke him up, and he instantly fell in love with her.

Puck scattered off deeper into the woods. There he found Bottom and he men rehearsing their play. While waiting for his Bottom sat down in a bush, right in front of Puck. Puck couldn't resist his urges and insisted playing a joke on Bottom. When it was Bottom's turn to say his line all his company ran away saying that he was cursed. Bottom did not realize it, but his head had been transformed into that of an ass.

Dumbfounded, Bottom walked through the woods singing a familiar tune. Titania wakes up, and saw Bottom standing there. Titania mistakenly calls him an angel and wants to make him hers at once. She tells her faeries to bring him to her, and makes them wait on him hand and foot.

Puck went back and reported what happened to Oberon. He told him that he put a spell on a man, turned him into a donkey, and that Titania fall in love with him. Oberon was pleased to hear that. Just as Puck finished speaking Oberon watched and Demetrius and Helena entered the scene. Helena was yelling at Demetrius because she thought that he killed Lysander and hid his body. Demetrius tried to explain to her that he didn't, but she wouldn't believe him.

Oberon knew that Puck had placed the potion on the wrong person's eyes after what he had just seen. He fussed at Puck, and then told him to put the love spell on the right man's eyes. Tired of fussing, Demetrius surrendered and fell asleep on the ground. Puck put the juice on the cold-hearted Lysander's eyes.

Lysander and Helena enter the scene fussing. Helena insists that Lysander is mocking her, and gets mad. Both are oblivious to the fact that Lysander was placed under a spell in his sleep. Knowing his true love for Hermia, she won't accept the fact that Lysander is indeed being true.

Their voices awake Demetrius and he falls in love with Helena, the first woman in his sight. He immediately tries to make her love him. By then, Helena was furious. She knew in her heart that Lysander and Demetrius were trying to make her miserable by teasing her. Not only was she furious, so were Lysander and Demetrius for wanting the same lady.

Hermia walked in during that scene, and saw Demetrius and Lysander both doting upon Helena. Helena thought that Hermia was in on the farce, and couldn't believe that her best friend could be so evil. Likewise, Hermia never thought that her best friend would try to steal her fiancé. By then both everyone was livid in this love affair. Hermia questioned Lysander him, but simply told her that he never loved her and that he'd always Helena.

Everything was hectic. Helena and Hermia were wrestling in a mud puddle, and Lysander and Demetrius were trying to separate them. After they were separated, Lysander and Demetrius started to wrestle for Helena's love. Nobody could figure out what was going on.

Oberon was frustrated with Puck for creating such a mess. Oberon told Puck to keep them distracted. Puck decides to create a thick fog so that they four couldn't see one another, and it corrects the spell. Oberon headed to Titania's layer to reverse the spell and ask for the little gypsy boy.

When he gets to the part of the forest where she resides, he sees her with her arms wrapped around a man with the head of a donkey. Feeling guilty about what he had done, he squeezes an herb on her eyes, replenishing her vision. Oberon has Puck reverse the spell on Bottom, and tells him to place him back where he was in the woods. Titania tells Oberon that she had a dream about loving a donkey. The two reunite and rejoice as if nothing had ever happened.