PLOT SUMMARY 
By Earl Liao
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     Theseus, ruler of Chang-an (ªø¦w) in Tang, China (­ðc. 8th Century, legendary in the play), is about to marry Hippolyta, a barbarian princess and woman warrior whose heart he conquered on the battle fields during his conquest.  Into the court, Egeus, one of Theseus¡¦ beloved ministers, comes in fury with a complaint against his daughter Hermia.  While it is the father¡¦s will to have the daughter marry Demetrius, the daughter is deeply in love with Lysander.  Egeus requests to exercise his power of a father endowed by the ancient law of Tang.  He demands to have Hermia either obey the father¡¦s will and marry Demetrius or choose between death and endure the life of a nun.  Desperate, Lysander and Hermia decide to meet secretly in the woods and then elope together to avoid the sharp law of Tang.  Helena, who is suffering from her passion for Demetrius, happens to meet the lovers and is told the secret elopement plan.  Eager to please Demetrius, Helena decides to tell him the secret, hoping to win his favor. 

     At the same time, Quince, Snug, Bottom, Snout, Starveling, and Flute meet to discuss a play they are to present for Theseus¡¦ wedding.  They decide to meet in the woods to rehearse. 

     In the woods, Oberon and Titania, king and queen of fairyland, have quarreled over who will keep an orphaned Indian boy.  To avenge Titania¡¦s disrespect for her husband¡¦s will, Oberon sends Puck(s), his swiftest twin jesters, to find love-in-idleness, a magic flower whose juice, applied to a sleeper¡¦s eyes, will make the person madly dote upon the next living creature s/he sees.  Pucks bring the flower, and Oberon applies its magic juice to the eyes of sleeping Titania.  Taking pity upon Helena, he also tells Pucks to apply the magic juice to the eyes of Demetrius, so that when Demetrius wakes and sees Helena, he will love her instead.
 Fatigued and lost in the woods, Hermia and Lysander fall asleep, with Lysander honoring Hermia¡¦s request to sleep a short distance away.  Pucks mistake Lysander for Demetrius and put the love juice in his eyes.  Weary of chasing Demetrius, Helena wanders aimlessly in the woods and sees Lysander on the ground.  Wondering if he is hurt, she wakes him and upon seeing her, Lysander madly falls in love with her. 

     The players meet to rehearse in the woods.  Bottom roams off, and Pucks turn him into an ass, thus creating a mess among them, and scare them all away from Bottom.  Left alone in the woods, Bottom decides to sing so as to show that he is not afraid.  And Titania happens to be awakened by his song and instantly dotes upon this ass-headed creature.  Fond of Bottom, she detains him in the woods and commands her fairies to wait upon him.  Pucks report to Oberon about what has happened to Titania and while Oberon is pleased by his revenge, he sees that the lovers are entrapped in a confusing love net due to Pucks¡¦ mistake. 

     Hermia, awake, cannot find Lysander.  Suspecting that Demetrius has killed her lover, she quarrels with him and wanders away in pursuit of Lysander.  Oberon applies the love juice to the eyes of sleeping Demetrius and commands Pucks to get Helena.  Lysander runs after Helena, who is very annoyed with him by now.  Demetrius awakens and is immediately consumed by his passion for her.  Amazed by the sudden change of both men, Helena thinks that they have conspired to tease her for fun.  Drawn by their loud quarrels, Hermia approaches Lysander with joy, only to find that he no longer loves her.  Helena thinks that she is in on the joke, too, while Hermia believes that Helena has stolen Lysander¡¦s heart.  Unable to find a way out, the four lovers engage themselves in growing violence and fighting.  Oberon, who is dissatisfied with his twin jesters for the way things have turned out, tells them to resolve the situation. 

     Meanwhile, somewhere else in the woods, Titania is trying her best to please Bottom, her love object.  Having had his revenge and gotten the Indian boy from Titania, Oberon gives Titania the antidote and releases her from her blind passion.  Titania awakens and tells Oberon about her weird dream.  The fairy king and queen make up with each other and harmony is again found in the woods. 

     What is left is triple joy of triple couples in a triple wedding, plus a comedy. And there is always Oberon and Titania¡¦s joint blessing and the celebration of the fairies.