Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream plot. Performance: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Benjamin Britten
A dream in a summer night
(A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Premiered 1960, Aldborough
Oberon - countertenor
Titania - soprano
Lysander – tenor
Demetri - baritone
Hermia – mezzo
Elena – soprano
Theseus – bass
Ippolita – mezzo
Puck - speaking role
Bobbin - bass
Action 1. In the night, magical forest, the elves collect pearl dew for their queen Titania. Puck, a cheerful spirit, runs in and reports that Oberon, the king of the forest, is coming here. Everyone is confused: Titania, who is in a quarrel with her husband, should appear this very minute. It would be better to prevent their meeting. But it's too late: they're coming. Oberon offers his wife peace if she gives him a beautiful boy taken from an Indian rajah as a page. Titania is angry with her husband for his unreasonable jealousy and refuses to fulfill the request. The boy is the son of her dead priestess, and he is dear to her. The quarrel between Oberon and Titania led to a disruption of the harmony in nature: winter and summer mixed up. But both persist, not wanting to give in. As soon as Titania leaves, Oberon, wanting to have his way, sends Puck for a magic flower to bewitch Titania. As soon as you sprinkle its juice into the eyes of a sleeping person, he will wake up and fall madly in love with the first creature he meets.
Hermia and Lysander come to the forest. The lovers fled from Athens: Hermia's father wanted to marry his daughter not to Lysander, but to his rival Demetrius. As soon as the first couple leaves, the lurking Oberon sees the other. This is Demetri and Elena. Demetrius is looking for Hermia, who was promised to him as a wife. But he is pursued by Elena, who is in love with him. A young man drives away a beautiful girl. Oberon decides to help Helen win Demetrius's love by also dripping the juice of a magic flower into his eyes. Oberon instructs Puck to bewitch an Athenian youth who offends young Helen with his indifference.
Six artisans appear in the clearing. They decided to perform a performance - a play about Pyramus and Thisbe - tomorrow, on the day of the wedding of the Athenian ruler Theseus with the beautiful Hippolyta. After much debate, they assign roles: Pyramus should be played by the weaver Bobbin, and Thisbe should be played by a young bellows repairman nicknamed Whistle; carpenter Tikhonya must portray a lion... They disperse to learn the roles before the rehearsal.
Meanwhile, Hermia and Lysander have lost their way. They decide to rest and, having wished each other good night, lie down on opposite sides of the clearing. Puck runs in and, mistaking the sleeping Lysander for Demetrius, sprinkles the juice of a magic flower in his eyes. The young man, having awakened, is the first to notice Elena who has come here and fervently confesses his love to her. The girl, considering this a mockery, runs away from him. Lysander hurries after her. The awakened Hermia does not understand where her Lysander has disappeared.
Meanwhile, Titania prepares for bed to the sound of the Elves' lullaby. As soon as she falls asleep, Oberon bewitches Titania with the juice of a flower brought by Puck. Everything goes to sleep.
Act 2. Magical moonlit night. Not far from the sleeping Titania, artisans are organizing a rehearsal. They decide to introduce new characters into their play: a prologue that will explain the play to the audience; a wall that will interfere with the meeting of lovers Pyramus and Thisbe; and the moon that will shine for them. These roles are taken on by the carpenter Stump, the coppersmith Snout and the tailor Hunk. Prankster Puck, watching the rehearsal from a tree branch, notices Bobbin and plans to make him a participant in the joke started by Oberon. He turns Bobbin's head into that of a donkey. The craftsmen, seeing their friend in such a monstrous guise, run away in horror.
But Titania wakes up and, submissive to the magic, immediately falls in love with the loud donkey. She calls on the elves: Cobweb, Pea, Onion, Fly - and orders them to give royal honors to the donkey. The elves play and dance for the bewitched Bobbin, while Puck quietly takes the Indian boy away from Titania. Titania and the bewitched Bobbin fall asleep, and Oberon sees the queen sleeping, hugging the donkey.
Demetrius and Hermia run in. The girl believes that Demetrius killed Lysander out of jealousy. Demetrius hotly objects to her, and Hermia runs away in search of her beloved. Exhausted, Demetrius falls asleep. Oberon realizes that Puck has messed everything up. Trying to correct the problem, he bewitches the sleeping Demetrius, and sends Puck for Elena. A new confusion arises: now both young men are in love with Elena. Hermia curses her treacherous friend. Elena believes that everyone has conspired to mock her; The rivals are preparing for a fight, the girls are also throwing themselves at each other.
Oberon angrily reproaches Puck for the ridiculous joke he played. Finally, after fruitlessly searching for each other in the dark, the tired young people fall asleep. Oberon removes the spell from Lysander. Now he is calm about the future of the two young couples.
In the quiet night forest, only the song of the little elves sounds.
Act 3. The same forest. Oberon and Puck stand over the sleeping Titania. The trick was a success, Oberon took the boy from his wife, and now he can remove the spell from her. The awakened queen of the elves sees in horror that a donkey is lying on her bed. Then Puck casts a spell on the sleeping Bobbin.
The magic is over. Oberon and Titania wish the lovers happiness and disappear along with their retinue.
Dawn. Now people are awakening. Lysander loves Hermia again, and Demetrius loves Helen. All four remember with surprise the strange dreams of that night. But they brought them happiness. Full of joy and love, both couples head home.
Yawning, rubbing his eyes, Bobbin remembers his amazing dream. He calls his fellow actors. And here they are, grieving for the missing Bobbin: without him they could not have performed the play and earned sixpence from the Duke.
The wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta is celebrated in the ducal palace. Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius appear: they came to ask for justice, and Theseus, touched by their love, allows them to marry at the behest of their hearts.
Craftsmen come to the wedding. Finally, their dream of showing their performance to the Duke came true.
Midnight strikes, and elves appear in the garden near the palace. Near Oberon and Titania is the nimble Puck. The elves bless the three newlywed couples, who won their happiness with fidelity and courage, and wish them eternal joy in love. And Puck?...The mischievous Puck is true to himself - he addresses the audience:
If you are unhappy with the play,
You are free to forget about her.
And consider that we are all
You only dreamed about it in a dream.
Just don't scold us
We'll please you another time.
If it's not so, I'm a deceiver,
Good night to you, friends.
Still, going home
Don't forget to clap for us.
Toropunka and Shpynka
The comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written by William Shakespeare in 1590. The play consists of five acts. He wrote this work in honor of the wedding of a famous aristocrat.
The events of the play take place in Athens. Duke Theseus is preparing for his own wedding. His bride is the Amazon queen Hippolyta.
The beautiful Hermia is madly in love with Lysander, who reciprocates her feelings. However, he is not the only one who shows interest in the girl, there is another admirer of hers, Demetrius. Aegeus, Hermia's father, supports Demetrius.
Since Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, Aegeus turns to Theseus. If Hermia refuses, then she will face the death penalty, since according to the laws of those times, the father has the right to control the body and fate. The Duke of Athens gives Hermia the right to choose: marriage, execution or vow of celibacy.
Lysander tries to persuade Theseus to reverse this decision. He is trying to prove to the Duke that he is no worse than Demetrius. Lysander has the same wealth as Demetrius, the feelings of Lysander and Hermia are mutual, unlike his rival.
Lysander invites the girl to secretly get married with his aunt, not far from Athens. They tell Elena about their plan, who is not indifferent to Demetrius. Elena, taking advantage of the moment, told her lover everything in order to receive at least a drop of gratitude.
Preparations for Theseus's wedding continue. The masters decided to make a gift for the newlyweds, to stage a comedy about Thisbe and Pyramus. The play is directed by Peter Pigva.
Not far from Athens, the elf Peck meets a fairy. Oberon and Titania prevented them. She proves to Oberon that the disruption of the seasons is due to their quarrel, and this adversely affects people. To avoid further quarreling, the spouses go in different directions.
Peck, by order of Oberon, must bring the magic flower “Love in Idleness,” which Cupid accidentally hit with an arrow. The fact is that the juice of the plant is unusual, it is endowed with magical qualities: if the substance touches the eyelids of a sleeping person, he will fall in love with the first person he sees when he wakes up. Oberon wanted to use this miraculous plant for his wife in order to take away from her the child she had stolen from the Sultan. Seeing Demetrius and Helena, he turns invisible.
Titania is quietly dozing on the lawn. The rehearsal takes place in the same place. Pak is present during the actors' rehearsal. The base plays the role of Pyramus, he goes into the bushes and returns to the site with a donkey's head. All the actors are shocked by what is happening and run away. Because of the noise, Titania wakes up and sees the Base first. She confesses her love to him.
Lysander compliments Elena, but she thinks that he is mocking her. Hermia demands an explanation from her beloved, but he humiliates her; she understands that he simply hated her. Hermia and Helena quarrel and start a fight.
Now two heroes are fighting for Elena's heart. Peck is happy about what is happening. On Oberon's orders, Peck smears Lizard's eyelids with an ointment that removes the magic.
Two rivals and two ladies of their hearts fell asleep side by side in the forest.
Having received what he wanted from his wife, Oberon removes the magic from her. He makes peace with his wife and they fly away.
Early in the morning, Theseus, together with Hippolyta and Aegeus, go into the forest. There they find Lizard, Demetrius, Helena and Hermia sleeping. They explain everything to the Duke. Demetrius says that he has always loved Elena and only wants to be with her, and Hermia was just a passing hobby.
The Duke invites everyone to the temple to marry three loving couples.
Theseus watches the artisans' performance with the guests. After watching the play, everyone gets ready for bed.
Peck appears at this place, he cleans up and prepares a place for the elves. Titania and Oberon and their retinue sing and have fun.
Picture or drawing A Midsummer Night's Dream
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The action takes place in Athens. The ruler of Athens bears the name of Theseus, one of the most popular heroes of ancient legends about the conquest by the Greeks of the warlike tribe of women - the Amazons. Theseus marries the queen of this tribe, Hippolyta. The play was apparently created for a performance on the occasion of the wedding of some high-ranking officials.
Preparations are underway for the wedding of Duke Theseus and the Amazon queen Hippolyta, which is to take place on the night of the full moon. An angry Aegeus, Hermia's father, appears at the duke's palace, accusing Lysander of bewitching his daughter and cunningly forcing her to love him, while she had already been promised to Demetrius. Hermia confesses her love for Lysander. The Duke announces that according to Athenian law, she must submit to her father's will. He gives the girl a reprieve, but on the day of the new moon she will have to “either die / For violating her father’s will, / Or marry the one he chose, / Or take forever at the altar of Diana / A vow of celibacy and a harsh life.” The lovers agree to flee Athens together and meet the next night in a nearby forest. They reveal their plan to Hermia's friend Helena, who was once Demetrius' lover and still loves him passionately. Hoping for his gratitude, she is going to tell Demetrius about the plans of the lovers. Meanwhile, a group of rustic artisans are preparing to stage a sideshow on the occasion of the Duke's wedding. The director, carpenter Peter Pigwa, chose a suitable work: “A pitiful comedy and the very cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” Weaver Nick Osnova agrees to play the role of Pyramus, as well as most other roles. Bellows repairman Francis Dudke is given the role of Thisbe (in Shakespeare's time women were not allowed on stage). The tailor Robin Hungry will be Thisbe's mother, and the coppersmith Tom Snout will be the father of Pyramus. The role of Leo is assigned to the carpenter Milaga: he “has a memory for learning,” and for this role you only need to roar. Pigva asks everyone to memorize the roles and tomorrow evening come to the forest to the ducal oak tree for a rehearsal.
In a forest near Athens, the king of fairies and elves Oberon and his wife Queen Titania quarrel over a child whom Titania adopted, and Oberon wants to take for himself to make him a page. Titania refuses to submit to her husband's will and leaves with the elves. Oberon asks the mischievous elf Puck (Good Little Robin) to bring him a small flower on which Cupid's arrow fell after he missed "the Vestal reigning in the West" (an allusion to Queen Elizabeth). If the eyelids of a sleeping person are smeared with the juice of this flower, then when he wakes up, he will fall in love with the first living creature he sees. Oberon wants to make Titania fall in love with some wild animal and forget about the boy. Peck flies off in search of the flower, and Oberon becomes an invisible witness to the conversation between Helen and Demetrius, who is looking for Hermia and Lysander in the forest and rejects his former lover with contempt. When Peck returns with the flower, Oberon instructs him to find Demetrius, whom he describes as an “arrogant rake” in Athenian robes, and anoint his eyes, but so that when he awakens, the beauty in love with him will be next to him. Finding Titania sleeping, Oberon squeezes the juice of the flower onto her eyelids. Lysander and Hermia got lost in the forest and also lay down to rest, at Hermia’s request - away from each other, because “for a young man and a girl, human shame / Does not allow intimacy...”. Peck, mistaking Lysander for Demetrius, drips juice onto his eyes. Elena appears, from whom Demetrius ran away, and stopping to rest, wakes up Lysander, who immediately falls in love with her. Elena believes that he is mocking her and runs away, and Lysander, abandoning Hermia, rushes after Elena.
Near the place where Titania sleeps, a company of artisans gathered for a rehearsal. At the suggestion of Osnova, who is very concerned that, God forbid, he should not scare the female spectators, two prologues are written for the play - the first that Pyramus does not kill himself at all and that he is not really Pyramus, but a weaver Osnova, and the second - that Lev is not a lion at all, but a carpenter, Milag. Naughty Peck, who is watching the rehearsal with interest, casts a spell on the Foundation: now the weaver has a donkey's head. The friends, mistaking the Base for a werewolf, run away in fear. At this time, Titania wakes up and, looking at the Base, says: “Your image captivates the eye […] I love you. Follow me!” Titania summons four elves - Mustard Seed, Sweet Pea, Gossamer and Moth - and orders them to serve "her darling." Oberon is delighted to listen to Peck's story about how Titania fell in love with the monster, but is very dissatisfied when he learns that the elf sprinkled magic juice into the eyes of Lysander, and not Demetrius. Oberon puts Demetrius to sleep and corrects the mistake of Peck, who, on the orders of his master, lures Helen closer to the sleeping Demetrius. As soon as he wakes up, Demetrius begins to swear his love to the one he recently rejected with contempt. Elena is convinced that both young men, Lysander and Demetrius, are mocking her: “There is no strength to listen to empty ridicule!” In addition, she believes that Hermia is at one with them, and bitterly reproaches her friend for her deceit. Shocked by Lysander's crude insults, Hermia accuses Helen of being a deceiver and a thief who stole Lysander's heart from her. Word for word - and she is already trying to scratch out Elena’s eyes. The young people - now rivals seeking Elena's love - retire to decide in a duel which of them has more rights. Peck is delighted with all this confusion, but Oberon orders him to lead both duelists deeper into the forest, imitating their voices, and lead them astray, “so that they will never find each other.” When Lysander collapses exhausted and falls asleep, Peck squeezes the juice of a plant on his eyelids - an antidote to the love flower. Elena and Demetrius were also euthanized not far from each other.
Seeing Titania asleep next to the Base, Oberon, who by this time had already acquired the child he liked, takes pity on her and touches her eyes with an antidote flower. The fairy queen wakes up with the words: “My Oberon! What can we dream about! / I dreamed that I fell in love with a donkey!” Peck, on Oberon's orders, returns his own head to the Base. The Elf Lords fly away. Theseus, Hippolyta and Aegeus appear hunting in the forest. They find sleeping young people and wake them up. Already free from the effects of the love potion, but still stunned, Lysander explains that he and Hermia fled into the forest from the severity of Athenian laws, while Demetrius admits that “Passion, purpose and joy of the eyes are now / Not Hermia, but dear Helen.” Theseus announces that two more couples will be married today with them and Hippolyta, after which he leaves with his retinue. The awakened Base goes to Pigwa's house, where his friends are eagerly awaiting him. He gives the actors the last instructions: “Let Thisbe put on clean underwear,” and let Lev not try to cut his nails - they should look out from under the skin like claws.
Theseus marvels at the strange story of the lovers. “Madmen, lovers, poets - / All created from fantasies alone,” he says. The entertainment manager, Philostratus, presents him with a list of entertainments. The Duke chooses the artisans' play: "It can never be too bad, / Which devotion humbly offers." Pigva reads the prologue to the audience's ironic comments. Snout explains that he is the Wall through which Pyramus and Thisbe are talking, and therefore is smeared with lime. When the Pyramus Base looks for a crack in the Wall to look at his beloved, Snout helpfully spreads his fingers. Lev appears and explains in verse that he is not real. “What a meek animal,” Theseus admires, “and what a reasonable one!” Amateur actors shamelessly distort the text and say a lot of nonsense, which greatly amuses their noble audience. Finally the play is over. Everyone leaves - it’s already midnight, a magical hour for lovers. Peck appears, he and the rest of the elves first sing and dance, and then, by order of Oberon and Titania, scatter around the palace to bless the beds of the newlyweds. Pak addresses the audience: “If I couldn’t amuse you, / It will be easy for you to fix everything: / Imagine that you fell asleep / And dreams flashed before you.”
Scene 1
Athens, Ducal Palace. Theseus can't wait to get closer to his wedding day with the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. He orders the entertainment manager, Philostratus, to organize a holiday for the Athenian youth.
Aegeus complains to Theseus about his daughter, who is in love with Lysander. He wants to give Hermia as his wife to Demetrius and, if the girl does not agree to this, then, in accordance with Athenian laws, put her to death. Theseus explains to Hermia that her father has the right to control her body and destiny. He gives her four days (until the New Moon - the day of her wedding) for her to decide what she will choose: marriage with Demetrius, death or a vow of celibacy given at the altar of Diana. Lysander tries to convince Theseus of his rights: he is equal to Demetrius in wealth and superior to him by birth, he is loved by Hermia and loves himself, while his rival is fickle (he once fell in love with the beautiful Helen, and then abandoned him).
Lysander consoles the pale Hermia, explaining that the path of true love is never easy. He suggests going to his widowed aunt, who lives seven miles from Athens, to get married there. Hermia agrees to meet him at night in the forest three miles from the city.
Elena asks her friend how she bewitched Demetrius? Hermia explains that she was always strict with him, but this only attracted the young man to her even more. Lysander shares his escape plan with Helen. Elena decides to tell Demetrius everything in order to get at least a drop of gratitude from him.
Scene 2
Carpenter Peter Pigva announces the list of actors selected for the production of the sideshow “The Piteous Comedy and the Very Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” Weaver Nick Osnova has been cast as Pyramus, bellows blower repairman Francis Dudka has been cast as Thisbe, tailor Robin Zamorysh has been cast as Thisbe's mother, and coppersmith Thomas Rylo has been cast as Pyramus' father. Peter Pigva himself is going to play Thisbe's father. Carpenter Milaga gets the role of Leo. The cast is eager to replay all possible roles, even those that are not in the play. Pigva gives the townspeople the texts and schedules a rehearsal for the next night in the palace forest, one mile from Athens.
Act II
Scene 1
In a forest near Athens, the little elf Peck asks the fairy where she is going? The airy creature explains that he serves the fairy queen, who will soon appear at the place of their conversation. Peck warns the fairy that his king “will have fun here at night,” and since Oberon is angry with Titania because of the child she cares for, kidnapped from the Indian Sultan, it would be better for the latter not to show herself here. The fairy recognizes Peck as the Good Little Robin, the jester Oberon, who frightens the village needlewomen. The conversation of the spirits is interrupted by the appearance of Oberon and Titania - each with his own retinue.
Titania reproaches her husband for cheating with Phyllida and Hippolyta. Oberon reminds his wife of her passion for Theseus. Titania denies cheating. She explains to Oberon that because of their quarrel, the seasons have become confused, which is not good for mortals. Oberon says that Titania has the power to change everything - it’s enough just to give him a boy born to a priestess and friend of the fairy queen as a page. Titania refuses to do this and leaves so as not to quarrel with her husband even more.
Oberon orders Peck to bring from the West a small scarlet flower - “Love in Idleness”, which was once hit by Cupid’s arrow. He explains that the juice of the plant has magical properties: if you smear it on the eyelids of a sleeping person, the first person he sees when he opens his eyes will become his favorite. Thus, Oberon plans to intoxicate Titania in order to take the child away from her. Seeing Demetrius with Elena, he becomes invisible and overhears a conversation in which the girl confesses her love to the young man, and he drives her away. Oberon decides to help Helen and, when Peck brings a magic flower, orders him to make the arrogant rake in Athenian robes fall in love with the beauty who is in love with him.
Scene 2
In another part of the forest, Titania gives instructions to her servants, after which she orders them to lull her to sleep. When the queen falls asleep, the elves fly off to their own affairs. Oberon squeezes a flower onto his wife's eyes. Hermia and Lysander, having lost their way, fall asleep far from each other so as not to compromise the former’s maiden honor. Peck squeezes the juice of the flower onto Lysander's eyes. Demetrius runs away from Helena, who stumbles upon Hermia's lover, wakes him up and receives a flurry of love confessions. The girl, offended in her best feelings, hides in the forest. Lysander follows her. Hermia wakes up from a bad dream, does not find her groom next to her and goes into the forest to look for him.
Act III
Scene 1
Actors appear on the green lawn where Titania sleeps. The Foundation is worried that the suicide of Pyramus and Leo may frighten the ladies at the Duke's court. He doesn’t want everyone to be hanged for this, so he proposes to write an additional Prologue to the play, explaining that everything that happens is fiction. At the same time, each of the actors could introduce themselves so that the audience understands that they are people just like everyone else. Instead of moonlight, Pigva suggests using a man with a bush and a lantern; the role of the wall, according to Osnova, can also be played by one of the actors.
Peck watches the rehearsal. The base in the role of Pyramus goes into the bushes, after which it returns to the clearing with a donkey's head. The actors run away in horror. Peck leads them in circles through the forest. Every now and then each of them returns to the clearing to the Base. The latter takes what is happening for a prank. He begins to sing loudly, which awakens Titania. The fairy queen tells the Foundation that she loves him, and summons four elves - Mustard Seed, Sweet Pea, Cobweb and Moth, whom she orders to fulfill all the weaver's whims. The base speaks politely to the elves and finds a kind word for everyone.
Scene 2
Peck tells Oberon about the rehearsal of the Athenian mob, Pyramus’s donkey’s head and Titania who fell in love with him. Hermia accuses Demetrius of killing Lysander. Peck does not recognize Demetrius as a young man bewitched by a flower. Oberon orders the elf to bring Helen from Athens, while he himself enchants the sleeping Demetrius.
Lysander swears his love to Helen. The girl thinks that he is laughing at her. The awakened Demetri showers Elena with compliments and asks permission to kiss. Elena perceives everything that is happening as a cruel prank. Lysander argues with Demetrius for the girl's heart. Hermia, who finds them, is horrified by her lover’s words. Elena believes that her friend is at one with the young people. Hermia, on the contrary, is sure that it is Elena who is mocking her.
Elena wants to stop the joke by leaving the forest. Demetrius and Lysander argue over who loves her more. Hermia tries to find out from her beloved what is going on, but he insults her and drives her away. Realizing that she is hated, Hermia calls Helen a thief who stole Lysander's heart. Elena accuses her ex-friend of hypocrisy and compares her to a doll. Hermia is offended by the indication of her short stature and is eager to claw out Elena’s eyes. The latter asks for protection from Lysander and Demetrius. She says that she is tired of everything that is happening. Hermia invites Helen to return to Athens.
Demetrius and Lysander go into the forest to fight for Helen's heart. The latter runs away from Hermia. Satisfied Pak laughs. Oberon orders him to darken the night, separate the young people from each other, put them to sleep, and then smear Lysander’s eyelids with an herb that removes flower love spells. Peck carries out the order exactly. Next to the sleeping Lysander and Demetrius, Elena also falls asleep.
Act IV
Scene 1
Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius are sleeping in the forest. Titania caresses the donkey's head. Weaver orders Gossamer to kill the red-legged bumblebee and bring him a honey bag. He asks Mustard Seed to join Sweet Pea in order to properly scratch his overgrown head. Titania invites the Base to listen to music and eat. The weaver expresses a desire to eat “dry sheep” or “sweet hay.” Tired of the worries of the night, he falls asleep.
Oberon, having received a child from Titania, removes the love dope from his wife. The fairy queen makes peace with her husband. They fly off along the globe following the darkness of the night.
With the ringing of larks and the sound of horns, Theseus, Hippolyta, Aegeus and the ducal retinue appear in the forest. Theseus plans to show off to his bride “the music of the hounds.” Hippolyta remembers hunting with Hercules and Cadmus in Crete.
Hunters wake up the sleeping ones. Theseus asks how it happened that rivals who hated each other ended up next to each other on a sleepy bed? Lysander tries to remember what happened the day before and begins his story with an escape. Demetrius tells his part of the story and renounces Hermia, saying that he was once engaged to Helen, and that night he realized that he loved her, and not the daughter of Aegeus.
Theseus believes that the latter needs to come to terms with the current situation, and invites young people to the temple to arrange a triple marriage. When everyone leaves, the Base wakes up. It seems to him that he is still rehearsing the play. The basis takes the night incident for a dream.
Scene 2
Craftsmen engaged in performances gather in Pigva's house. The owner asks if the Basis has been found? Gentleman brings news of the Duke's wedding. The Basis, who appears, does not tell anything about his adventures, but says that Theseus has already dined and is waiting for the start of the promised play.
Act V
Scene 1
Theseus does not believe the lovers' story, believing that in the revelry of their imagination they are like madmen. What happened seems strange to Hippolyta, but she feels that “in the events of this night there is more than one play of the imagination.” Theseus asks Philostratus what he can do to brighten up the hours from dinner to bedtime. The entertainment manager hands him a list. The Duke chooses a play by Athenian artisans. Philostratus dissuades Theseus from viewing the production, calling it ridiculous. The Duke decides to show attention to the devotion of his subjects. Hippolyta doubts that the idea will be successful. The Duke asks her to be patient.
Philostratus invites Prologue. Pigva reads the text, regardless of punctuation marks. Then he calls the actors onto the stage, introduces them and tells in detail the plot of the upcoming tragedy. The wall talks about who is playing her and why she is in the play. Pyramus, who did not see Thisbe through the crack, accuses her of treason. Theseus thinks the Wall should be scared. Pyramus explains to him why this is not happening. He whispers to Thisbe and makes an appointment with her at Ninya's tomb.
Leo appears on the scene. He asks the ladies not to be scared, since we are actually not an animal, but an ordinary carpenter. Moonlight explains why he came out with a lantern. The audience makes fun of the actors, but watches the play patiently. The lion tears off Thisbe's cloak. Pyramus finds him and, thinking that the girl is dead, stabs himself with a blade. Thisbe stumbles upon her dead lover and kills herself with a sword. The base asks the Duke if the audience wants to watch the Bergamo dance or the epilogue? Theseus chooses to dance. The actors are dancing. At twelve everyone goes to bed.
The comedy in five acts was written in the mid-1590s. It is believed that Shakespeare wrote his work in honor of the Day of St. John the Baptist or for the wedding celebration of a famous aristocrat.
The play consists of several storylines, one way or another intertwined with each other. Theseus, Duke of Athens, prepares for his wedding to the Amazon queen Hippolyta. The celebrations should take place on a full moon night. A young girl named Hermia is in love with the young man Lysander, who also loves her. However, Demetrius is also courting Hermia. Aegeus, the girl's father, gives preference to the second suitor.
Since Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, the father turns to the Duke of Athens, claiming that Lysander has bewitched her daughter. The Duke demands obedience to his father's will. Lysander and Hermia decided to flee the city. The girl shared her secret with her friend Elena. Since Elena was once Demetrius's lover and still continues to love him, the insidious woman is driven by the desire to regain the favor of her ex-fiancé. Elena reveals her friend's secret to Demetrius.
Meanwhile, preparations for the Duke's wedding continue. Several city masters decided to stage a comedy about Pyramus and Thisbe in honor of the newlyweds. The production is directed by carpenter Peter Pigva. The role of Thisbe will be played by bellows repairman Francis Dudka. The mother of the main character will be tailor Robin Zamorysh. The carpenter Gentle will be a Leo. Weaver Nick Basis will be Pyramus, and his father will be played by coppersmith Tom Snout. The masters agree to meet in the forest the next day to rehearse the performance. In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed on stage. That is why it might not seem strange to the audience that all the roles in the play are played by men alone.
Not far from Athens, a couple lives in the forest - Oberon, the elven leader, and his wife Queen Titania. The wife took the boy into custody. Oberon wants to take him away to make him a servant. Titania disagrees. As a result, the husband and wife quarreled. The husband wants to cast a love spell on the queen, so that love will make her forget about her adopted son.
For this, the king needs a special flower. Oberon accidentally witnesses a conversation between Demetrius and Helena. Hermia and Lysander agreed to meet in the forest, as the girl’s friend knew about. Helena led Demetrius to the same forest. Oberon sends the elf Puck to cast a spell on Demetrius. By mistake, Puck bewitched Lysander. The young man, who was sleeping peacefully, wakes up and falls in love with the first person he managed to see - Elena. He leaves Hermia and runs after his new lover.
The city's craftsmen gathered in the forest to rehearse a play. Puck appeared nearby and bewitched the weaver. The Base grew a donkey's head. At the sight of such a metamorphosis, the other masters fled. Titania, who had already been bewitched by Puck, was sleeping not far from the rehearsal site. Waking up, the queen sees a weaver monster in front of her and falls in love with him.
Oberon is pleased with Puck's actions, but the elf's mistake had to be corrected. The king bewitched the sleeping Demetrius, who, after waking up, fell in love with Elena who was next to him. Having met, the friends begin to quarrel. Hermia accuses Helen of betrayal. Demetrius and Lysander now both love the same woman and challenge each other to a duel. Puck likes the confusion that he himself caused, but Oberon disenchantes Lysander. In addition, he freed his wife from the spell and returned the weaver to the Basis to his former appearance. Oberon has already managed to get his wife’s adopted son as a page and no longer wants to torment her.
Hippolyta, Theseus and Aegeus hunt in the forest and find 2 sleeping couples: Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helen. The awakened Lysander explains that he was forced to flee the city with his beloved so that she would not become the wife of his rival. Demetrius declares that Hermia is no longer interesting to him. He only loves Elena. The weaver also comes to his senses and goes to the city. The play ends with a cheerful wedding, at which Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia, and Demetrius and Helena were married.
Mere mortals
There are neither completely positive nor completely negative characters in the play. Mere mortals behave as people have behaved at all times: they love, they hate, they fight for their right to happiness, selfishly without thinking about this right for another person. During the course of the play, almost every character manifests himself in both positive and negative ways.
It is likely that the author did not want to divide his characters into 2 camps because he wanted to show their helplessness. All heroes, including Duke Theseus, were to appear as puppets. Shakespeare absolves his characters of responsibility for their actions. A person's destiny does not belong to him. It’s all because of evil fate, a predetermined path. Perhaps the author did not believe in the existence of Greek gods, but he fully admitted that there is a force that determines our lives.
Forest gods
According to Greek tradition, the forest gods in Shakespeare's play have anthropomorphic qualities. They are distinguished from people only by their power and supernatural abilities. Otherwise, the king, queen and elves are similar to ordinary Athenians. Oberon quarreled with his wife, like an ordinary mortal. Elf Puck loves pranks, like any boy on the streets of Athens. The gods are also capable of love, envy and intrigue each other.
Gods with a human face
The author has no reverence for the supernatural creatures of the forest. He strives to portray them as comically as possible, to show their grumpiness, vanity and some stupidity. Gods, like people, are not divided into good and bad. Oberon, who started a real intrigue to take away his adopted son from his wife, nevertheless does not show cruelty and helps the lovers unite.
Fatum is often present in Shakespeare's works. Evil fate did not allow Romeo and Juliet to unite. Despite all the tricks, cruel fate doomed the young Veronese to inevitable death.
main idea
The idea of the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream", the summary of which will interest the future viewer or reader, may be controversial, since the main purpose of this work is to entertain the audience. One can only assume that Shakespeare's idea was that human life is just a game. How exactly the game ends depends solely on the mood of the players.
Analysis of the work
When creating his play, the author set himself one single goal - to please the public. The work contains neither moral teachings nor deep philosophy. Viewers who are captivated by the plot do not always notice the lack of authenticity. The ruler of Athens could hardly be called a duke. Urban Greek artisans cannot bear typically English names.
However, Shakespeare's plans did not include authenticity, an excessive desire for which can make the work too boring. At the end of the play, Park, addressing the audience, asks them to imagine that everything they saw was just a dream. Presenting the play as a not entirely logical dream justifies unreliability and inaccuracy, because in dreams everything that was impossible in reality becomes possible.