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A Midsummer Night's Dream

Chapter 2: Dramatis Personæ
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About This Book

A comic drama interweaves several strands: two young lovers flee an imposed marriage and hide in a nearby wood where fairy politics and a mischievous sprite meddle in human affection, causing mistaken pairings and chaos; a troupe of amateur actors prepares a ludicrous tragedy and one performer is magically altered; by morning enchantments are corrected, the lovers are paired rightly, and the players stage their bungled entertainment at a ducal wedding. The piece examines the unpredictability of desire, the porous boundary between wakefulness and dream, and the theatrical shaping of identity.

Contents

ACT I
Scene I. Athens. A room in the Palace of Theseus
Scene II. The Same. A Room in a Cottage

ACT II
Scene I. A wood near Athens
Scene II. Another part of the wood

ACT III
Scene I. The Wood.
Scene II. Another part of the wood

ACT IV
Scene I. The Wood
Scene II. Athens. A Room in Quince’s House

ACT V
Scene I. Athens. An Apartment in the Palace of Theseus

Dramatis Personæ

THESEUS, Duke of Athens
HIPPOLYTA, Queen of the Amazons, bethrothed to Theseus
EGEUS, Father to Hermia
HERMIA, daughter to Egeus, in love with Lysander
HELENA, in love with Demetrius
LYSANDER, in love with Hermia
DEMETRIUS, in love with Hermia
PHILOSTRATE, Master of the Revels to Theseus

QUINCE, the Carpenter
SNUG, the Joiner
BOTTOM, the Weaver
FLUTE, the Bellows-mender
SNOUT, the Tinker
STARVELING, the Tailor

OBERON, King of the Fairies
TITANIA, Queen of the Fairies
PUCK, or ROBIN GOODFELLOW, a Fairy
PEASEBLOSSOM, Fairy
COBWEB, Fairy
MOTH, Fairy
MUSTARDSEED, Fairy

PYRAMUS, THISBE, WALL, MOONSHINE, LION; Characters in the Interlude performed by the Clowns

Other Fairies attending their King and Queen
Attendants on Theseus and Hippolyta

SCENE: Athens, and a wood not far from it