A MID
SUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM
仲夏夜之夢
Name of the Actors
THESEUS, Duke of Athens
HIPPOLYTA, Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus
PHILOSTRATE, Theseus’ Master of the Revels
EHEUS, Father to Hermia
HERMIA, Maiden, in love with Lysander
HELENA, Hermia’s friend, in love with Demetrius
LYSANDER, Suitor to Hermia, beloved by her
DEMETRIUS, Suitor to Hermia, endorsed by her Father
OBERON, King of the Fairies
TITANIA, Queen of the Fairies
PUCK, or ROBIN GOODFELLOW, Sprite in Oberon’s service
A FAIRY, Fairies in Titania’s service
PEASEBLOSSOM, Fairies in Titania’s service
COBWEB, Fairies in Titania’s service
MOTH, Fairies in Titania’s service
MUSTARDSEED, Fairies in Titania’s service
PETER QUINCE, a Carpenter; Prologue in the Interlude
NICK BOTTOM, a Weaver; Pyramus in the Interlude
FRANCIS FLUTE, a Bellows-Mender; Thisby in the Interlude
TOM SNOUT, a Tinker; Wall in the Interlude
SNUG, a Joiner; Lion in the Interlude
ROBIN STARVELING, a Tailor; Moonshine in the Interlude
LORDS AND ATTENDANTS to Theseus and Hippolyta
Plot
Summery
故事大綱
1(1)
In his palace, Theseus, Duke of Athens, talks to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, about their impending marriage. It is to be held in four days’ time, when there will be a new moon. Egeus enters with his daughter, Hermia, and two young men, Lysander and Demetrius. Egeus asks Theseus for his help. He wants his daughter to marry Demetrius, but she refuses, having fallen in love with Lysander. Theseus explains to Hermia that by Athenian law, if she refuses to comply with her father’s wishes in this matter, she will either by put to death or must vow to become a nun. She must give Theseus her decision on his wedding day.
Lysander refuses Demetrius’ and Egeus’ requests to give up Hermia’s love, pointing out that Demetrius once courted Helena, who still loves him.
Left alone, Lysander and Hermia plan to elope to elope on the next night. They arrange to meet in the wood outside Athens, from where they will travel to the house of Lysander’s aunt. There they can marry, safe from Athenian law.
Helena, a friend of Hermia, enters, unhappy because of Demetrius’ love for Hermia. Hermia and Lysander comfort her by telling her their plan, and then they depart. Helena decides to tell Demetrius of the elopement, hoping this will endear her to him.
1(2)
In Athens, a group of craftsmen meets to organise a production of the story of Pyramus and Thisby, which they hope to perform before Theseus and Hippolyta on their wedding night. The parts are given out and a secret rehearsal arranged for the following night in the wood outside Athens.
2(1)
On the next night, in the wood, Puck, a sprite who serves Oberon, the King of the Fairies, meets a fairy who serves Titania, the Queen of the Fairies. He warns the fairy to keep Titania away from where they are, because Oberon, who is angry with Titania for her refusal to give him a changeling boy she has as her attendant, intends to spend the night here.
Oberon and Titania arrive at the same moment. Titania again refuses to give Oberon the changeling boy and then leaves. Oberon sends Puck to fetch a flower, intending to pour its juice onto Titania’s eyes when she is asleep. This will make her fall in love with the first thing she sees upon waking. He will release her from this charm only when she has agreed to give him the changeling boy.
While Oberon stands by invisible, Demetrius enters, looking for Lysander and Hermia. Helena is following him, and he tries unsuccessfully to persuade her to leave him alone.
After they leaves together, Puck returns with the flower. Oberon departs to pour the flower’s juice onto Titania’s eyes, having commanded Puck to do the same to the young Athenian man so that he will come to love the lady he was refusing.
2(2)
Elsewhere in the woods, Titania is sung to sleep by her fairies. When they have left, Oberon enters, squeezes the flower’s juice onto her eyes, and leaves. Lysander and Hermia appear, tired from their journey. They go to sleep a modest distance apart from one another. Puck arrives, and seeing the lovers’ Athenian clothes presumes they are the couple about which Oberon talked. He pours the flower’s juice onto Lysander’s eyes and leaves.
Demetrius enters running, pursued by Helena. Having asked her to stop following him, Demetrius leaves and Helena, exhausted, remains. Seeing Lysander sleeping she wakes him, and he immediately falls in love with her. Helena does not believe his declarations of love and leaves. Lysander follows, leaving Hermia asleep and alone. Hermia awakes, and sets out to find Lysander.
3(1)
At the Duke’s Oak in the wood, the craftsmen meet to rehearse. They discuss problems of staging. As they begin to run through their lines, Puck comes in. When Bottom the weaver enters in the role of Pyramus, the rest of the cast run off terrified, because Puck has given Bottom the head of as ass. Puck sets off to chase the cast through the wood.
Bottom remains, unaware of his metamorphosis, and sings a song. This awakes Titania, who falls in love with him. With her fairies, she leads Bottom off to her bower.
3(2)
Nearby, Oberon learns from Puck how Titania fell in love with Bottom. Then Hermia and Demetrius enter, he begging her to love him, and she begging him to tell her where her lover, Lysander, is. She leaves enraged, and he, despairing, lies down and goes to sleep.
Oberon realises that Puck has applied the flower’s juice to the wrong young man. He sends Puck to find and bring Helena to him, and then pours juice from the flower into Demetrius’s eyes.
Puck returns with Helena and Lysander, who is still trying to convince Helena of his love. Demetrius awakes, and falls in love with Helena. She does not believe his declarations, believing he and Lysander are mocking her. Hermia arrives, and Lysander tells her he now loves Helena. Helena believes that hermia is party to the men’s joke, Hermia that Helena has stolen Lysander from her; they quarrel. Lysander and Demetrius leave to fight for Helena’s love. Helena runs away from the angry Hermia, who then herself departs.
Oberon sends Puck to ensure that Lysander and Demetrius do not meet, but instead wander through the wood until they fall asleep. Puck is then to pour the liquid from another herb into Lysander’s eye. This herb removes the effects of the flower’s juice. Meanwhile Oberon sets out to find Titania, to ask her again for the changeling boy and, if she grants his request, to undo the effects of the flower’s juice upon her.
Puck carries out Oberon’s orders. One at a time, he brings Lysander and Demetrius to the same spot, where they fall asleep. Afterwards Helena and then Hermia arrive and go to sleep. Puck applies the herb to Lysander’s eyes.
4(1)
Nearby, watched by Oberon, Titania and her fairies entertain Bottom, who goes to sleep in Titania’s arms. She dismisses the fairies, and then sleeps herself.
Puck arrives, and Oberon explains how he had met Titania earlier in the wood, and that she had given him the changeling boy. Oberon, applying the herb to Titania’s eyes, wakes her, and then orders Puck to remove Bottom’s ass’s head. Amidst music Oberon, Titania and Puck leave.
Theseus and Hippolyta enter, with attendants. Having discovered the sleeping lovers, Theseus has them woden. As they explain how they came to be there, it emerges that all are now content, Lysander once more loving Hermia, and Demetrius now loving Helena. Overruling Egeus, Theseus invites the two couples to be married alongside himself and Hippolyta at the Temple. His party leaves for Athens and the two couples follow shortly after.
Bottom then awakes and, half-remembering what has happened to him, sets off home.
4(2)
In Athens, the other craftsmen are worrying over Bottom’s absence, the marriage ceremonies having just finished. Bottom arrives with the news that they must go to Theseus’s palace to present their play.
5(1)
At the palace, Theseus and hippolyta discuss what they have heard of the events of the previous night. The two couples enter, and Theseus, against the advice of Philostrate, his master of revels, decides that they will see the craftsmen’s play.
The craftsmen come on and, after a prologue which explains their intents and the stage business to come, tell the tale of Pyramus and Thisby. Their audience conduct a running commentary. Finally two of the company dance, and then leave. It is past midnight, and Theseus dismisses everyone to their beds, declaring that they will celebrate every night for the next two weeks. Everyone departs.
5(2)
Puck enters, soon followed by Oberon and Titania, with their attendant fairies. As the fairies sing and dance, Oberon orders everyone to wander through the palace until dawn, giving their blessing to the three couples. All but Puck leave to do so. He apologises in case any in the audience have not enjoyed themselves, and then departs.
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