A Midsummer Night's Dream facts for kids
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a famous play written by William Shakespeare. People think he wrote it around 1595 or 1596. It was first printed in 1600. Later, in 1623, it was part of the First Folio. This was a big book that collected all of Shakespeare's plays.
Shakespeare got ideas for this play from many older stories. He used parts from writers like Plutarch, Apuleius, and Ovid. He also found ideas in works by Geoffrey Chaucer and Edmund Spenser. For example, he learned about the character Puck from a book called The Discoverie of Witchcraft. Many believe the play was first performed for a special wedding party. This might have been for Elizabeth Vere in 1595 or Elizabeth Carey in 1596.
The play tells the story of four young people who are confused about love. There's also a group of funny, clumsy workers. We also meet the royal court of Duke Theseus and the magical fairy court. The fairy king is Oberon and the queen is Titania. Most of the play happens at night in a forest near Athens, Greece.
A Midsummer Night's Dream has been made into many movies. One movie even stars Mickey Rooney as the fairy Puck. Benjamin Britten turned the play into an opera. Famous dancers like George Balanchine and Frederick Ashton created ballets from it. The composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote beautiful music for the play. This music includes a well-known "Wedding March".
Contents
Characters
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The Court in Athens:
The Young Lovers:
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The Fairies:
The Workers (Rustics):
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Story
Egeus wants his daughter, Hermia, to marry Demetrius. But Hermia does not want to marry him. She is in love with another man named Lysander. So, Hermia and Lysander decide to run away together. Demetrius follows them into the woods. Helena, who is Hermia's best friend, is in love with Demetrius. She follows him too. All four young people get lost in the forest near Athens.
Meanwhile, the fairy king Oberon and queen Titania are having a big fight. Oberon decides to teach Titania a lesson. He puts a special love potion into her eyes while she is sleeping. This magic potion will make her fall in love with the first thing she sees when she wakes up.
Oberon finds Helena and Demetrius in the woods. He tells Puck to put some love potion in Demetrius's eyes. This way, Demetrius will fall in love with Helena. But Puck makes a mistake! He puts the potion in Lysander's eyes instead. When Lysander wakes up, he falls in love with Helena, not his true love Hermia!
At the same time, a group of local workmen are practicing a play in the woods. They want to perform it for the upcoming wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Puck decides to play a trick on one of the workmen, Nick Bottom. Puck gives him donkey ears! The other actors get scared and run away. Bottom then falls asleep. He is sleeping very close to Titania. She wakes up and sees him. Because of the potion, she falls deeply in love with Bottom, who still has donkey ears!
Oberon soon realizes that everything is a mess. He gives some of the love potion to Demetrius. Now, both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with Helena. The young lovers are sad and confused. They all fall asleep. Finally, Puck fixes all the mistakes. He makes Lysander love Hermia again. He also makes Demetrius love Helena. Everyone is happy once more.
After the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, the workmen perform their play. Oberon has also stopped Titania from being in love with Bottom. Oberon and Titania are happy with each other again. The fairies use their magic to bless all the lovers.
Images for kids
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Hermia and Helena by Washington Allston, 1818
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A drawing of Puck, Titania and Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream from Act III, Scene II by Charles Buchel, 1905
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Midsummer Eve by Edward Robert Hughes c. 1908
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Vince Cardinale as Puck from the Carmel Shakespeare Festival production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, September 2000
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Performance by Saratov Puppet Theatre "Teremok" A Midsummer Night's Dream based on the play by William Shakespeare (2007)
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A 2010 production of the play at The Doon School, India
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Puck by Joshua Reynolds, 1789
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Titania and Bottom by John Anster Fitzgerald
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The Marriage of Oberon and Titania by John Anster Fitzgerald
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Henry Meynell Rheam: Titania welcoming her fairy brethren
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A Midsummer Night's Dream by John Simmons, 1873
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Thomas Stothard – Oberon and Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act IV, Scene I
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An animatronic depicts the character Oberon, King of the Elves in the Dutch fairytale theme park Efteling, designed by Ton van de Ven.
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See also
In Spanish: El sueño de una noche de verano para niños
