Summary:
In this act Robin Goodfellow (Puck) is introduced. In the woods, in Athens Puck meets and greets a fairy who is one of the Fairy Queen, Titania's attendants. This fairy describes the life and work of other fairies to Puck. This fairy is in a hurry because she needs to collect some dewdrops because her boss, the queen (Titania) is on her way along with the elves. Puck announces that the king, Oberon is having a party in the forest that same night and to make sure that Titania goes nowhere near him considering he is fuming with her. The queen has stolen a boy from an Indian king and Oberon is absolutely jealous because he wants the boy for himself so that the boy can accompany him on his wanderings through the wild forest (errand boy). The queen refuses to give him the boy causing many heated arguments. The fairy recognizes Puck as being the mischievous spirit that pulls the many pranks. Puck known for bragging, brags that Oberon loves his pranks and goes into stories about his successful pranks. Just then, Titania and Oberon both enter from different sides and right away are at each others throats with both of them accusing each other of doing things like Titania loving Theseus or Oberon loving Hippolyta. The king and queens arguments have caused chaos in the earth. Oberon still tries to convince Titania to give up the boy, but she wants to raise the boy as a favor of his mother who was a friend to her. Once Titania leaves, Oberon tells a story to Puck about the night he saw the mermaid on the dolphins back and on that same night he saw Cupid strike an arrow at a beautiful virgin, but the arrow missed instead and hit a flower. The juice of the flower when squeezed on someones eyelids while they are asleep has the ability to make them fall in love with the first person/thing they lie eyes upon. Oberon wants Puck to put the juice on Titania so she can fall in love and give him the boy. Then Demetrius enters with Helena hot on his trail to find Lysander and Hermia, but Helena is bickering with him trying to convince him of her love for him. Oberon was watching this scene in disgust and orders Puck to squeeze some love juice on Demetrius' eyes to make him fall for Helena. His orders were to find the couple in the Athenian clothing. Titania is asleep and Lysander and Hermia enter tired so they too fall asleep; they don't sleep together. Puck thinking that Lysander was Demetrius puts the flower juice on his eyes and when he wakes up (by Helena tripping over him) he has fallen in love with Helena. Helena isn't having it though, she thinks he is mocking her; he is supposed to be in love with Hermia. Lysander is so head over heels for Helena that he deserts Hermia where she is jolted awake by a terrible nightmare of a snake eating her heart. She realizes that he is nowhere to be seen.
In this act Robin Goodfellow (Puck) is introduced. In the woods, in Athens Puck meets and greets a fairy who is one of the Fairy Queen, Titania's attendants. This fairy describes the life and work of other fairies to Puck. This fairy is in a hurry because she needs to collect some dewdrops because her boss, the queen (Titania) is on her way along with the elves. Puck announces that the king, Oberon is having a party in the forest that same night and to make sure that Titania goes nowhere near him considering he is fuming with her. The queen has stolen a boy from an Indian king and Oberon is absolutely jealous because he wants the boy for himself so that the boy can accompany him on his wanderings through the wild forest (errand boy). The queen refuses to give him the boy causing many heated arguments. The fairy recognizes Puck as being the mischievous spirit that pulls the many pranks. Puck known for bragging, brags that Oberon loves his pranks and goes into stories about his successful pranks. Just then, Titania and Oberon both enter from different sides and right away are at each others throats with both of them accusing each other of doing things like Titania loving Theseus or Oberon loving Hippolyta. The king and queens arguments have caused chaos in the earth. Oberon still tries to convince Titania to give up the boy, but she wants to raise the boy as a favor of his mother who was a friend to her. Once Titania leaves, Oberon tells a story to Puck about the night he saw the mermaid on the dolphins back and on that same night he saw Cupid strike an arrow at a beautiful virgin, but the arrow missed instead and hit a flower. The juice of the flower when squeezed on someones eyelids while they are asleep has the ability to make them fall in love with the first person/thing they lie eyes upon. Oberon wants Puck to put the juice on Titania so she can fall in love and give him the boy. Then Demetrius enters with Helena hot on his trail to find Lysander and Hermia, but Helena is bickering with him trying to convince him of her love for him. Oberon was watching this scene in disgust and orders Puck to squeeze some love juice on Demetrius' eyes to make him fall for Helena. His orders were to find the couple in the Athenian clothing. Titania is asleep and Lysander and Hermia enter tired so they too fall asleep; they don't sleep together. Puck thinking that Lysander was Demetrius puts the flower juice on his eyes and when he wakes up (by Helena tripping over him) he has fallen in love with Helena. Helena isn't having it though, she thinks he is mocking her; he is supposed to be in love with Hermia. Lysander is so head over heels for Helena that he deserts Hermia where she is jolted awake by a terrible nightmare of a snake eating her heart. She realizes that he is nowhere to be seen.