A Midsummer Night's Dream

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

1514

Title

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Shakespeare's enchanting comedy explores love, magic, and identity in Athens. As Duke Theseus prepares for his wedding, rival lovers and mischievous fairies collide in a wood where reality bends. With witty clowns and supernatural interference, the play balances romantic confusion with profound insight into human nature, offering timeless entertainment and emotional depth.

Summary up to 500 words

Set in Athens, William Shakespeare's *A Midsummer Night's Dream* opens with Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta preparing for their wedding. Tension arises when Egeus demands his daughter Hermia marry Demetrius, rejecting her choice of Lysander. Faced with exile or death for disobedience, Hermia and Lysander plan to flee to a nearby forest. They are joined by Helena, who loves Demetrius but faces his rejection. In the woods, the fairy king Oberon and queen Titania are embroiled in a dispute; Titania refuses to return a changeling boy to Oberon and falls under a spell to love Bottom, a weaver transformed into an ass by the mischievous Puck. The fairies intervene in the lovers' confusion, using love-juice to manipulate affections, leading to chaotic mix-ups where Demetrius chases Helena while Lysander and Hermia reunite. Meanwhile, a group of amateur actors, the Mechanicals, perform a clumsy play within the play, adding comic relief. As the night progresses, the fairies restore order, curing the spells and resolving the lovers' entanglements. The play concludes with Theseus and Hippolyta celebrating their marriage, while the Mechanicals present their farcical tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe. Ultimately, the drama celebrates the triumph of love and imagination over chaos, blending romantic comedy with supernatural whimsy and theatrical satire.

LLM editorial rating

4.8/5

Download URL

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1514.epub.noimages

Local file path

data/epubs/pg1514.epub

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Downloaded at

2026-06-30 00:43 UTC

Categories

• Classics
• Romance
• Drama
• Comedy
• Fairy Tales