A Midsummer Night's Dream summary

As the play begins, Theseus has got a lot on his plate. To start with, he’s the Duke of Athens and he’s about to get married to Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons. And the hour of this grand wedding is nigh. But before the festivities can begin, Theseus has to deal with Egeus, who’s come to the Duke “full of vexation.” The problem is, Egeus’s daughter, Hermia, is in love with the wrong man.

In a scene that resembles a quick mock trial, Egeus presents Demetrius, a man of means who has professed his love of Hermia. And then he points to Hermia’s supposed ‘true love’, Lysander, a man both Egeus and Demetrius believe to be cunning and deceitful, and who they believe has bewitched his daughter and turned her against her father. 

But this isn’t your average love triangle. The stakes are much higher. Egeus is presenting this whole affair to the Duke with the intention of exercising his right under Athenian law that, as a father, he may have his daughter executed if she does not obey his wishes.

Theseus listens to Hermia and Lysander’s side of the story, but ultimately upholds the law. He tells Hermia that she has until the day of his own wedding to Hippolyta to make up her mind. As he puts it, “Upon that day either prepare to die for disobedience to your father’s will,” or “fit your fancies to your father’s will.” But not wanting to be cruel, Theseus also suggests that, perhaps, if she doesn’t marry Demetrius but makes a vow to remain single for the rest of her life, they can avoid the unpleasantness of an execution.

After everyone leaves, Lysander quickly reveals his plan to Hermia: let’s run off together. His aunt has a home where they’ll be safe and far enough away that the long arm of the Athenian law won’t reach them. Hermia agrees, and so they plan to flee Athens tomorrow night.

But just as the plan is hatched, the lovers cross paths with Helena, a friend who is miserable due to her unrequited love for Demetrius. Hoping to lift her spirits, Hermia confides in her – perhaps unwisely – that by the next day, Demetrius will be free to love Helena, since she and Lysander will be gone. Unfortunately, this backfires, as scene one ends with Helena hatching a plan of her own: she’ll betray their secret to Demetrius in hopes of winning his affection.

As the second scene begins, the focus shifts. We’re introduced to a group of amateur actors preparing a play for Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding, a tragic romance titled Pyramus and Thisbe. Shakespeare, ever fond of plays-within-plays, uses this device to mirror the main plot. The doomed lovers of Pyramus and Thisbe echo Hermia and Lysander’s predicament – and foreshadow Romeo and Juliet, which Shakespeare was writing around the same time.

This subplot also brings a dose of comedy. Leading the troupe is the overconfident Nick Bottom, a weaver who’s been cast as Pyramus but insists he could play every role in the production. Bottom gets reigned in, however, and the director tells his troupe that they will begin rehearsal tomorrow night in the woods by the Duke’s palace.

It should be noted that all of the actors in this amateur theater group are what Shakespeare calls “mechanics”. Bottom is a weaver, the rest of the group is made up of a carpenter, a joiner, a bellows-mender, a tinker, and a tailor. This is, of course, a significant shift in terms of the class structure of the time, contrasting with both the noble Athenians and, as we’ll soon see, the supernatural fairies. These three groups – the aristocratic Athenians, the laborers, and the God-like magical beings – form the layered world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, each bringing its own energy, perspective, and purpose to the story.