A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A law existed in Greece which made young women very unhappy. By this law, a father was able

To choose a man as a husband for his daughter. The daughter had to agree to marry this man, or die.

One day an old man, Egeus, came to the court of the Duke of Athens. Athens was the largest city in Greece and the duke was a very important man. Everybody in Athens did what he told them.

With Egeus were his beautiful young daughter, Hermia, and two men. One of the young men was called Demetrius and the other was called Lysander.

SCENE 1

EGEUS: (pointed to one of the young men) I’ve come to tell you about my daughter, Hermia. I’ve ordered her to marry this young man, Demetrius, but she refuses. (he pointed to the other young man.) She says that she loves this young man, Lysander. But if she doesn’t marry Demetrius, then by law she must die.

DUKE: You must follow your father’s orders, Hermia. Demetrius is a good man.

HERMIA: Lysander is a good man too.

LYSANDER: I am as good and rich as Demetrius. I love Hermia and she loves me. So why I can’t marry her? I’ll tell you something. In the past, Demetrius loved Hermia’s friend, Helena, and she still loves him So he should marry Helena.

DUKE: I know. I’ve heard that too. But I can’t change the laws of Athens. Hermia, you must do what your father wants. You must marry Demetrius, or die.

SCENE 2

(Lysander and Hermia are alone)

LYSANDER: Listen to me, hermia. I have an aunt who lives a long way from Athens. Let’s go to her house and get married. The laws of Athens can’t stop us there. Leave your father’s house tomorrow night and meet me in the wood outside Athens. I’ll wait you there.

HERMIA: Yes, I’ll meet you there. I promise.

LYSANDER: Good, dear Hermia. Keep your promise. Look, here comes Helena.

HERMIA: Beautiful Helena! Where are you going?

HELENA: (sadly) Don’t call me beautiful. I love Demetrius so much, but he loves you, not me. He loves your eyes, your voice and everything about you. Oh, teach me to copy your looks and your voice and I’ll win his heart!

HERMIA: I don’t want Demetrius to love me. But he follows me all the time.

HELENA: And I do want him to love me. But he hates me.

HERMIA: Don’t be sad. Demetrius won’t see my face again. Tomorrow night, Lysander and I are going to leave Athens. We are going to meet in the wood outside the city. It’s the wood where you and I have often met, dear Helena. And then I hope that you can have Demetrius.

(they are hugging and Hermia happily run away)

HELENA: demetrius will never love me because he only loves Hermia. I’ll go and tell him about her plan to leave Athens. Perhaps he’ll be grateful to me because I told him. He will follow her, and I can go with him.

SCENE 3

The next night, Hermia and Lysander met in the wood outside Athens. They didn’t know that many other people lived in the wood too. But these other people weren’t ordinary people – they were fairies. The king and the queen of the fairies were called Oberon and Titania.

But at that time Oberon and Titania weren’t friends. Titania had a little servant boy, and Oberon wanted this boy as his servant. Titania didn’t want to give the boy to Oberon, and so Oberon was very angry with her.

Titania was walking through the forest with her fairies. She didn’t know that Oberon and his fairies were beginning their evening dances in the same part of the wood. It was a beautiful night and the moon was shining brightly.

(Oberon sees Titania)

OBERON: This is an unlucky meeting on a lovely night. Why are you angry with me, Titania? I only want your servant boy.

TITANIA: Stop asking me for him! The boy’s mother is dead. She was a very good friend, and I’m keeping the boy because of her. I’ll never give him to you. Come, fairies! We’ll get angry if we stay here.

Oberon wanted to make Titania sorry for her angry words. He called Puck, his favourite servant.

Puck was a very clever fairy. He was able to fly quickly to anywhere in the world. He loved to have fun.He was always thinking of new jokes to play on people.

OBERON: Listen, Puck. I have an important job for you. There’s a pretty flower called “Lazy Love” It has a very special kind of juice inside. When a man or woman is asleep, you can drop this magic juice on their eyes. After a time, they wake up. They fall in love with the first person or animal that they see. I showed that flower to you once – do you remember? Go and find it, and bring it to me now!

PUCK: I’ll go now. I’ll fly round the world in forty minutes! (he flew quickly)

OBERON: While Titania is asleep I’ll drop some of the magic juice from the flower on her eyes. She’ll fall in love with the first thing that she sees. She won’t be interested in her little servant boy, and she’ll give him to me.

While Puck was away, Demetrius and Helena passed through the wood near Oberon. Demetrius was fallowing Hermia, but he didn’t want Helena with him.

DEMETRIUS: Go away, Helena. I don’t love you. I’ve come to this wood to find Hermia. I love her and I’m going to kill Lysander. So stop following me – I don’t want you here.

HELENA: But I love you. I’ll be like your dog. I’m going to follow you, Demetrius.

DEMETRIUS: Then I’ll run away from you. I’ll leave you with the wild animals – perhaps they’ll eat you.

They walked through the wood without seeing the fairy king. But Oberon could see and hear everything. When he heard Demetrius’s unkind words to Helena, he felt sad. He wanted to help her.

Then Puck returned with the flower.

Oberon took the flower and went to look for Titania. But before he left, he gave some of the juice from the flower to Puck.

OBERON: Take this magic juice and go through the wood. Look for a young man from Athens. A lovely lady is in love with him but he doesn’t love her. Put some of juice on his eyes when he’s asleep. But watch him when he wakes up. The lady must be the first thing that he sees.

PUCK: I’ll do as you tell me. (he flew away)

Oberon found Titania asleep in a lovely place with many beautiful flowers. He dropped some of the magic juice on her eyes.his plan was going well and he was very pleased.

OBERON: When you wake up, the magic will work. You’ll love the first thing that you see.So open your eyes when something ugly is near you!

SCENE 4

While Oberon was putting the magic juice on Titania’s eyes, Puck was looking for Demetrius and Helena. But he couldn’t find them anywhere. He saw some workmen from Athens near Titania.

PUCK: What are these people doing here? I’ll stop and listen to them.

The workmen were practicing a play. They were planning to show the play at the wedding of the Duke of Athens. But the play wasn’t going well. The workmen weren’t good actors and they were saying a lot of stupid things.

The most stupid man was called Bottom. Puck decided to have some fun and to play a joke on Bottom. Soon Bottom left the others to practice his part in the play.So Puck followed and changed Bottom’s head into the head of donkey.

Bottom didn’t know that he now had a donkey’s head. But when he came back to the workmen, they were afraid. They ran away. Bottom couldn’t understand this.

BOTTOM: Why did they ran away? Perhaps they are trying to frighten me. But I’ll show them that I’m afraid. I’ll stay here and I’ll sing loudly.

Bottom started to sing in his donkey’s voice, and the loud noise woke Titania, the fairy queen. She opened her eyes. Bottom was the first person that she saw. The magic from the juice began to work and Titania fell deeply in love with the stupid workman with the

donkey’s head.

TITANIA: Please sing again! You have a lovely voice. And you’re so beautiful. Stay here with me. I love you!

(she called her four favourite fairies)

TITANIA: Be kind and polite to this wonderful man. Be his servants and help him. Look after him well. Bring him the best food.

(Titania and the fairies took Bottom to a very special part of the wood – her beautiful fairy garden)

TITANIA: (to Bottom) Come and sit with me on this bed of flowers. I shall put roses in your hair, and touch your lovely face and kiss your beautiful big ears.

Bottom enjoyed having fairy servants. He told them to do a lot of stupid things. Titania agreed to everything. The magic was still working on her. She was in love with Bottom and she wanted to make him happy.

TITANIA: What would you like to eat, my love?

BOTTOM: I want some dried grass. And then I’ll go to sleep. Your people mustn’t wake me.

TITANIA: Sleep in my arms. I love you so much!

SCENE 5

After Puck gave Bottom the donkey’s head, he continued to look for Helena and Demetrius. Finally, he saw a young man asleep in the wood. Near him was a beautiful young lady.

PUCK: Young men of Athens wear clothes like his clothes. He’s the man that Oberon told me about. Good. I’ll put the juice on his eyes. The lady is very near him. He’ll see her when he wakes up. Then he’ll fall in love with her.

Puck dropped some juice on to the man’s eyes and flew back to Oberon. He was very pleased with his work.

But Puck made a mistake. The young man was Lysander, not Demetrius.The young lady was Hermia, not Helena!

Then Helena came to the place where Lysander and Hermia were sleeping. She was too tired to Run after Demetrius now. So she was walking through the wood, sad and alone. She saw Lysander and woke him.

Lysander opened his eyes and the magic began to work.Suddenly he fell in love with the first person that he saw.

LYSANDER: Oh, Helena! You’re so beautiful! I’ll run through fire for you! Where’s that unkind Demetrius? I’ll kill him.

HELENA: Don’t say that, Lysander! Demetrius loves your Hermia. But she loves you and you love her. Be happy about that.