Scholars believe Shakespeare authored "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" between 1594 and 1596. Seventeen major characters and six minor characters, primarily fairies, appear throughout the play, which combines three interconnected plots across five acts. The play's settings are a magical fairyland and the woods of Athens. Its major characters include the powerful Theseus and his future wife Hippolyta; a quartet of young Athenian lovers: Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena; Peter Quince, a craftsman; Nick Bottom, an arrogant weaver; fairy king Oberon and his beautiful fairy queen wife Titania; and Oberon's right-hand fairy Puck, or Robin Goodfellow.
Act I begins the night before the wedding of Theseus, the duke of Athens, and future Duchess Hippolyta. An Athenian named Egeus wishes for his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius, who is in love with her, but Hermia is in love with another man, Lysander. Egeus begs Theseus to enforce the Athens law that a daughter must marry the man her father chooses or commit to a lifetime as a celibate nun. Hermia and Lysander plot to elope. Helena remains on the outskirts of this triangle. She hopes to prove to Demetrius that she will love him more than Hermia will.
Craftsman Peter Quince attempts to corral a group of actors to present a special play for Theseus and Hermia at their wedding. The play will be called "Pyramus and Thisbe." A particularly annoying actor, Bottom, wishes to play both title characters in the play. This ruffles the cast and its director, Quince. Later, Bottom is spotted by the head fairy Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow. Puck mistakes Bottom's name for jackass and turns his head into that of a donkey’s.
Oberon, the King of Fairies, comes to the forest with Queen Titania. He enlists help from his most trusted servant, Puck, to solve their marital quarrel; Titania refuses to give Oberon control of her Indian orphan boy. Oberon instructs Puck to charm Titania with a flower potion to cause her to fall in love with the very first thing she sees upon waking. She awakens from a nap to see Bottom, transformed into a donkey. While Titania dotes upon Bottom, Oberon steals her servant lad.
Puck intervenes to correct Helena’s misfortune. First, he applies a flower juice charm to Lysander and Demetrius’ eyelids to cause them both to fall in love with Helena. The men plan to engage in a duel for Helena’s affections. Oberon beseeches Puck to reverse this. Puck removes the love potion from Lysander’s eyes only and so regains his love for Hermia. Demetrius remains madly in love with Helena and all is solved among the couples.
The play’s title references a “dream” because the fairies convince the royals and romantics that they have envisioned most of the night’s events in their dreams. By Act V in the morning, Theseus and Hippolyta and Hermia and Lysander all marry. As part of the festivities, the wedding party and guests laugh at the clumsy, hastily arranged "Pyramus and Thisbe" play.