A Midsummer Night's Dream
is a comedy play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 to 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, who are manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set.
The Athenians:
Theseus,- Duke of Athens
Hippolyta, - Queen of the Amazons and betrothed of Theseus
Egeus, - father of Hermia, forces Hermia to marry Demetrius
Lysander, - in love with Hermia and Helena at different times of the play.
Helena, - in love with Demetrius
Demetrius, - in love with Hermia and Helena at different times of the play.
Hermia, - in love with Lysander
Philostrate, - Master of the Revels for Theseus
The supernatural characters:
Oberon, King of the Fairies
Titania, Queen of the Fairies
Puck, a.k.a. Robin Goodfellow, servant to Oberon
Titania's fairy servants (her "train")(Wait on Bottom):
Peaseblossom, fairy
Cobweb, fairy
Moth, fairy
Mustardseed, fairy
The acting troupe (also known as The Mechanicals):
Peter Quince, carpenter, who leads the troupe.
Nick Bottom, weaver; Bottom is turned into a donkey and is loved by Titania, he plays Pyramus in the troupe's production of "Pyramus and Thisbe".
Francis Flute, the bellows-mender who plays Thisbe.
Robin Starveling, the tailor who plays Moonshine.
Tom Snout, the tinker who plays Wall.
Snug, the joiner who plays a Lion.
The play features three interlocking plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazonian queen, Hippolyta, and set simultaneously in the woodland, and in the realm of Fairyland, under the light of the moon.[1]
In the opening scene, Hermia refuses to follow her father Egeus's instructions to marry Demetrius, whom he has chosen for her. In response, Egeus quotes before...