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'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare was written in 1959. It is set in Athens, Greece in the 12th century and follows three differing storylines that intertwine. The part I am focusing on is the story of the lovers which follows Helena, Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius. It also includes Oberon the fairy king and Puck the fairy. 

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'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare was written in 1959. It is set in Athens, Greece in the 12th century and follows three differing storylines that intertwine. The part I am focusing on is the story of the lovers which follows Helena, Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius. It also includes Oberon the fairy king and Puck the fairy. 

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-Who am I?
My name is Helena, I am an upper class citizen of Athens. I am in love with Demetrius whom the father of my best friend, Hermia wishes to wed his daughter. I am extremely jealous of this as Hermia is beautiful and has the attention of the man I love despite her having another love. I am a very emotional and sarcastic person with differing loyalties.
-What time is it?
It is late afternoon, approaching evening time.
-Where am I?
I find myself in the woods in Athens, Greece.
-What surrounds me?
I am surrounded by trees and various other forms of shrubbery, it is a dry evening. I'm also surrounded by Hermia, Demetrius and Lysander somewhere in the woods.
-What are my given circumstances?
I am in the woods because I informed my love Demetrius that Hermia (my best friend and his love), that she is running away with her love Lysander to elope. I'm hoping that once he realises that she loves someone else to the point of running away with him that his affections will turn back to me as they once were.
What are my relationships?-
My best friend is Hermia who is running away with her love, Lysander. I am in love with Demetrius however he is running after Hermia whom he has feelings for. Lysander has been acting rather strange of recent as he awoke and started to show affection to me which is very confusing. Demetrius has also been acting affection which is unusual so I feel that they are mocking my affection.
-What do I want?
I want Demetrius to love me however I do not like how he and Lysander are acting so I want them to stop.
- What is in my way?
Currently Hermia is in my way of getting the man I love. I am also stopped by their cruelty towards me by fighting over my affection.
What do I do to get what I want?
I told Demetrius about Helena running away with Lysander to get him to realise that she doesn't reciprocate his feelings so that he will come back to me and be my love once again. This is combatted by the hysteria I face as he and Lysander mock me and I push them away to prevent them from continuing this cruelty towards me.

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Friendship - There are clear themes of friendship within the play, most notably between Helena and Hermia; 'I evermore did love you Hermia.' (Shakespeare, 1596, 3 2:336.) It is not just about their closeness but also their argumentative stature when it comes to the men in their life which can imitate naturalism and the complexities of real human relationships, especially those between two women; 'Will you rent our ancient love asunder, to join with men in scorning your poor friend.' (Shakespeare, 1596, 3 2:231.)

The Complexities of Love - Another theme found within this scene is the tension between true love, unrequited love, spell love and the complexities that those types of feelings have. Helena has been pining over Demetrius for a very long time and there is a lot of unrequited love from Helena towards Demetrius; 'I am your spaniel, and, Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you,' (Shakespeare, 1596, 2 1:223) however when they are in the woods, Demetrius is put under a spell where he falls in love with Helena but now she feels that he is only tricking her and so despite her love for him, she doesn't reciprocate those feelings. Hermia and Lysander are in love; 'Thy love ne'er alter till thy sweet end,' (Shakespeare, 1596, 1 2:64), they are the entire reason that everyone is in the woods as they are running away together. This is a very strong symbolic gesture of love so when the love juice is put into his eyes and he falls in love Helena, Hermia's best friend, it is a very drastic betrayal of love and trust.

Magic - Another theme found throughout the performance is that of magic. The fairies play tricks in all three of the storylines, with Titannia being spelled to love Bottom and the four lovers in the woods. Oberon and Puck are the main culprits; 'My mistress with a monster is in love.' ( Shakespeare, 1596 3 2:7). The magic is mainly found through the love juice that Puck and Oberon put in the eyes of their victims.

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Act 1: Scene 1 -
I am aware that Hermia, my best friend, is in love with Lysander however her father wishes for her to marry my love, Demetrius. I express to Hermia how I love Demetrius no matter how much cruelty he sends my way. Hermia tells me of her plan to elope with Lysander so I tell Demetrius with the intention of him having the realisation that Hermia will run away with Lysander so that he realises she isn't in love with him and I would be a much better fit for him.

Act 2: Scene 1 -
I have gone with Demetrius into the woods to follow Lysander and Hermia, he has continued to belittle me and my love for him with threats and insults.

Act 2: Scene 2 -
Lysander has been telling me that he loves me and I am unsure as to why. He follows me around declaring that he has feelings for me, even when I ask him about Hermia, he still insists that he has feelings for me.

Act 3: Scene 2-
Lysander and Demetrius have been declaring their love for me and now it seems that Hermia has joined with them to mock my feelings for Demetrius. I do not know why my best friend would do this to me but she continues this charade vigorously.

Act 4: Scene 1-
Demetrius and I awoke from a stranger dream, my feelings for him reciprocated by him towards me. Beside us was Lysander and Hermia, both as in love as ever. The four of us go to the duke and proclaim our groupings and wish for marriage between myself and Demetrius alongside Hermia and Lysander.

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https://padlet.com/jessicaanneblum20/2ilx8d9i1dpq4ba4

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https://nescol-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/30081099_nescol_ac_uk/ES7oTScugx5CpZd4WmP3gCsB51zsBfX_IaSodX-6skE8Og

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Page 5-
Lysander - “I had no judgement when to her I swore”
Helena - “Nor none in my mind, now you give her o’er.”
• The beginning of Helena’s confusion stemming from Lydander’s proclamation of love.

Page 6 -
Helena - “Never did lockers waste more idle breath”
•Both men are mocking me and it’s a waste of time, I find it cruel and therefore an enraged.

Page 7-
Hermia - “You speak not as you think: it cannot be.”
Helena - “Lo, she is one of this conspiracy!”
Hermia is stating that she is confused by Helena’s words.

Page 8-
Helena - “Oh excellent!”
•By using sarcasm she is showing the displease and confusion in her voice.

Page 9-
Demetrius - “I love thee more that he can do”
Lysander - “if thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too”
•Clear demonstration of the confirmation that the two men are rivals for the same woman.

Page 10-
Helen - “Because she is something lower than myself,”
•Very snarky comment to motivate Hermia’s angery hair grab and to watch Helena’s spite to the end.

Part 11-
Helena - “A foolish heart that I leave here behind”
Hermia - “what, with Lysander?”
Helena - “with Demetrius.”
• Helena is in love with Demetrius no matter how awful he treats her and follows her around for Hermia to accuse her of checking that it was him between him and Lysander.

Page 12-
Helena - “My legs are longer though to run away.”
•Again pushing height to mock/insult her friend Hermia

Page 16-
Helena - “And sleep that sometimes shuts up sorrows eye,”
I will rest my head as I’m too tired to go on

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https://www.bl.uk/treasures/shakespeare/midsummer.html#:~:text=A%20Midsummer%20Night's%20Dream%20was,VI%20of%20Scotland%2C%20in%201594.
https://www.shmoop.com/midsummer-nights-dream/act-3-scene-2-translation.html

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Early performances

The title-page of the first quarto of A Midsummer Night's Dream, published 1600, states that the play 'hath been sundry times publickley acted' by the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Its first public performances were probably at the Theatre. However, it is generally agreed that the play was created to celebrate a wedding in a noble household.

There are two such occasions appropriate for this first performance. One is the wedding in 1595 of Elizabeth Vere, Lord Burghley's granddaughter, to William Earl of Derby at Greenwich Palace. The other, considered more likely, is the wedding in 1596 of Elizabeth Carey to Thomas, son of Lord Berkeley at the Blackfriars house of the bride's father, Sir George Carey. Elizabeth Carey was the granddaughter of Henry, Lord Hunsdon, Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth. Lord Hunsdon was the patron of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, Shakespeare's company. A Midsummer Night's Dream was probably performed at court on 1 January 1604.

Publication in quarto and folio

A Midsummer Night's Dream appeared in four editions before 1642.

First quarto, 1600. Thought to have been printed from the final state (rather than a fair copy) of Shakespeare's foul papers.

Second quarto, dated 1600 on the title-page but published in 1619. Printed from the first quarto.

First Folio, 1623. Printed from the second quarto, apparently annotated from a promptbook.

Second Folio, 1632. Printed from the first folio.

A Midsummer Night's Dream was entered on the Stationers' Register by Thomas Fisher on 8 October 1600. It was printed for him by Richard Bradock that same year. The second quarto appeared with the imprint 'printed by Iames Roberts' dated 1600. It was, in fact, one of a group of ten plays printed by William Jaggard for Thomas Pavier in 1619. These were apparently intended to form a collection of plays attributed to Shakespeare. The King's Men may have protested against Pavier's intentions, for the Lord Chamberlain subsequently wrote to the Stationers' Company demanding that no more plays belonging to them should be printed except with their consent.

British Library copies of A Midsummer Night's Dream contains detailed bibliographic descriptions of all the quarto copies of the play.

Shakespeare's sources

There are no specific sources for A Midsummer Night's Dream, but Shakespeare did draw on several works for various aspects of the play.

Plutarch, translated by Sir Thomas North, Theseus, Duke of Athens, Plutarch, The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romanes (1579). Shakespeare took both Theseus and Hippolyta from this translation of Plutarch.

The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romanes, 1579. British Library, C.38.k.24, p.1 Larger image

Geoffrey Chaucer, 'The Knight's Tale' from the Canterbury Tales, in The Workes of Geffrey Chaucer (1561). Shakespeare drew on Chaucer for some of his language, as well as the characters of Theseus and Hippolyta.

Ovid, translated by Arthur Golding, The .XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis (1567). This includes the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, and was also a source for the hunting scene in act 4.

The Boke of Duke Huon of Burdeuxe (1534), translated by John Bourchier, Lord Berners. Shakespeare's Oberon was influenced by this source.

Apuleius, translated by William Adlington, The. XI. Bookes of the Golden Asse (1566). This provided Shakespeare with some aspects of Bottom's transformation with an Ass's head, and Titania's infatuation with him.

Reginald Scot, Robin Goodfellow, or Puck. Reginald Scot, The Discouerie of Witchcraft (1584). The source for Shakespeare's Puck, and some aspects of Bottom's transformation.

The Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584. British Library, C.123.c.10, p. 85. Larger image

Edmund Spenser, The Shepheardes Calender (1579). Spenser's work influenced Shakespeare's language and his depiction of the friendly (rather than evil) fairies.

Seneca His Tenne Tragedies (1581), edited by Thomas Newton. Shakespeare used Seneca's plays Medea and Hippolytus in particular for aspects of the Helena and Demetrius love-plot.

Story of the play
Note: the links below will take you to the page in the quarto where each act begins, according to standard modern editions. (The quartos themselves have no act divisions.) The quarto shown for each play is always the earliest in the Library's collection - unless it is a 'bad' quarto in which case it is the earliest 'good' quarto.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is set in Athens and the surrounding woods.

( Act 1) In Athens, Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, look forward to celebrating their marriage. Theseus decrees that Hermia must marry Demetrius, although she is in love with Lysander. Hermia and Lysander agree to run away together in secret. Helena loves Demetrius, although he is in love with Hermia. She learns of the plans of Hermia and Lysander and decides to tell Demetrius. Bottom the weaver and his fellow craftsmen rehearse the play about Pyramus and Thisbe that they hope to present during the marriage celebrations.

( Act 2) In the woods outside Athens, night falls. The King and Queen of the Fairies have quarrelled. Oberon sends Puck for a love-potion, with which he can take revenge on Titania. He sees Helena unhappily pursuing Demetrius, and instructs Puck to use the love-potion on him. While Titania sleeps, Oberon uses the love-potion on her so that she will fall in love with the first creature she sees on waking. Hermia and Lysander are lost in the woods. Tired, they sleep and Puck uses the love-potion on Lysander by mistake. He awakes, sees Helena and instantly falls in love with her.

John Gielgud as Oberon, 'I know a bank where the wild thyme blows',
Listen A Midsummer Night's Dream. Act 2, Scene 1. British Library Sound Archive, 1931

( Act 3) Bottom and his fellows meet for another rehearsal. Puck transforms Bottom with an ass's head, and the others run away in fear. Titania awakes to see Bottom and is immediately enamoured. Oberon and Puck see Demetrius pursuing Hermia and discover Puck's error. Hermia flees and the tired Demetrius lies down to sleep. Oberon uses the love-potion on Demetrius just as Helena arrives, pursued by Lysander. Demetrius awakes, and falls in love with Helena. Hermia enters to find Demetrius and Lysander quarrelling over Helena. She and Helena quarrel as well. Oberon commands Puck to put things right. Puck leads the lovers through the woods until all are tired, once he has Hermia alongside Lysander and Helena alongside Demetrius, he lets them settle down to sleep. Puck uses an antidote to the love-potion on Lysander.

John Gielgud as Puck, 'My mistress with a monster is in love',
Listen A Midsummer Night's Dream. Act 3, Scene 2. British Library Sound Archive, 1931

John Gielgud as Oberon, 'Thou see'st these lovers seek a place to fight',
Listen A Midsummer Night's Dream. Act 3, Scene 2. British Library Sound Archive, 1931

( Act 4) Titania dallies with Bottom, still wearing his ass's head. They fall asleep together. Oberon uses the antidote to the love-potion on Titania. She awakes and is repelled by Bottom. Oberon and Titania are reconciled. Day breaks as Theseus and Hippolyta arrive with a hunting party. They discover and awake the sleeping pairs of lovers. Theseus decrees that Hermia will marry Lysander, and Helena will marry Demetrius. Bottom, restored by Puck to his natural appearance, awakes. He is convinced that his amorous adventures with Titania were a dream.

( Act 5) Back in Athens, the three couples, Theseus and Hippolyta, Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius have each been married. Bottom and his fellow craftsmen play the story of Pyramus and Thisbe before the newly-weds. The three couples leave to enjoy their wedding-nights. Oberon, Titania, and Puck come to bless the house and all its occupants.

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The title-page of the first quarto of A Midsummer Night's Dream, published 1600, states that the play 'hath been sundry times publickley acted' by the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Its first public performances were probably at the Theatre. However, it is generally agreed that the play was created to celebrate a wedding in a noble household.