Appunti esame Letteratura inglese, prof. Deandrea, libro consigliato A midsummer night's dream, Shakespeare

Act I

This act opens with the announcement of Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding. He is the Duke of Athens and he defeated her, so he deprived Hippolyta of her realm. So their marriage is based on violence.

Egeus, a nobleman, wants her daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius, but she's in love with Lysander. Egeus says that "she can dispose of her" because he's her father, so if she doesn't want to marry Demetrius, she will be sentenced to death. Hermia has 3 possibilities: she may marry Demetrius, she may die, or she may become a nun. She doesn't change her idea!

Both Lysander and Demetrius love Hermia. Demetrius courted another lady called Helena, but now he doesn't want her anymore, while Helena loves him. Lysander suggests Hermia running away in order to live their love; he wants to marry Hermia away from Athens, where an aunt of him lives. Hermia accepts and will meet the next night. They inform Helena of their plan, and she will tell it to Demetrius.

because she wants to annoy him.

Meanwhile, the group of the mechanicals present the play that they are going to perform during the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, which is based on the story of Pyramus and Thisbe.

Act 2

Oberon is jealous of Titania because she has an Indian page that she does not want to give to him. Oberon wants revenge, so he asks Puck (his helper) to get him a flower, whose juice, poured on the eyelids of the person who sleeps, will make the person fall in love with the first creature he/she sees when he/she awakens.

Meanwhile, Elena follows Demetrius in the woods. Demetrius continues to despise her, repeating that he does not love her. Oberon, who is invisible, observes the scene. Later, he asks Puck to pour some juice on the eyelids of "a young Athenian that he will find in the woods", but Puck makes a mistake because he pours it on Lysander's eyelids, who was sleeping in the woods next to Hermia. Elena walks alone through the wood and wakes up Lysander,

believing he's dead. He opens his eyes and falls in love with her, but Elena thinks it's a joke. Meanwhile, Oberon pours the juice on Titania's eyelids.

Act 3

The mechanicals are rehearsing, and Bottom is afraid that the ladies may get scared if they see Pyramus trying to kill himself, so he proposes to write a prologue in which he explains that Pyramus does not kill himself for real and that he is not "the real Pyramus", but Bottom. The mechanicals continue to rehearse and, meanwhile, Puck observes them (he is invisible). Puck makes a joke to Bottom, that is, he puts a donkey's head on him, but Bottom does not notice it. His companions run away because they are scared, and Bottom thinks they are making fun of him. Meanwhile, Titania wakes up; the first creature she sees is Bottom and she falls in love with him. Oberon realizes that Puck has made a mistake because he poured the juice on the wrong person's eyes (Lysander instead of Demetrius), so he tries to remedy.

and he pour the juice on Demetrius' eyes. Helena and Lysander walk in the woods, meanwhile Demetrius wakes up, sees Helena and falls in love with her. Lysander refuses Hermia. Helena gets angry because she thinks that Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia are making fun of her. Oberon asks Puck to pour an antidote on Lysander's eyes, whose juice will erase every mistake.