Original: The king doth keep his revels here to-night:
Modern: The king is having his wild party here tonight.

Original: Take heed the queen come not within his sight;
Modern: Be careful that the queen doesn’t come where he can see her.

Original: For Oberon is passing fell and wrath,
Modern: Because Oberon is extremely angry and fierce,

Original: Because that she as her attendant hath
Modern: Because she has as her servant

Original: A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king;
Modern: A beautiful boy, taken from an Indian king.

Original: She never had so sweet a changeling;
Modern: She’s never had such a wonderful fairy child before.

Original: And jealous Oberon would have the child
Modern: And jealous Oberon wants the boy

Original: Knight of his train, to trace the forests wild;
Modern: To be one of his followers, to roam through the wild forests.

Original: But she perforce withholds the loved boy,
Modern: But she stubbornly keeps the beloved boy for herself,

Original: Crowns him with flowers and makes him all her joy:
Modern: Puts flower crowns on his head and makes him her greatest happiness.

Original: And now they never meet in grove or green,
Modern: And now they can never meet in the woods or meadows,

Original: By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen,
Modern: By clear springs, or under the sparkling starlight,

Original: But, they do square, that all their elves for fear
Modern: Without getting into a fight, so that all their fairy servants become so scared

Original: Creep into acorn-cups and hide them there.
Modern: They crawl into acorn shells and hide inside them.

In Act II, Scene 1 of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the scene opens in the woods near Athens where Puck (also called Robin Goodfellow) encounters one of Titania’s fairies. The fairy describes the enchanted forest as Titania’s domain, while Puck identifies himself as the mischievous sprite who serves Oberon, the fairy king. Their conversation reveals the ongoing conflict between Oberon and Titania over possession of a changeling boy, a dispute that has caused chaos in the natural world, affecting weather patterns and disrupting the seasons.

When Oberon and Titania arrive with their respective entourages, their confrontation intensifies as Titania refuses to surrender the Indian changeling boy, explaining that his mother was her devoted follower who died in childbirth. After Titania departs with her fairies, Oberon instructs Puck to fetch a magical flower called “love-in-idleness,” whose juice, when applied to sleeping eyelids, causes the person to fall in love with the first creature they see upon waking. Oberon plans to use this potion on Titania to distract her so he can obtain the changeling boy. The scene concludes as Oberon observes Demetrius entering the woods, pursued by the lovesick Helena, and decides to have Puck also use the love potion to help Helena win Demetrius’s affection.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream follows multiple interconnected plots that unfold over the course of a single midsummer night in Athens and the nearby enchanted forest. The play opens with Duke Theseus of Athens preparing to marry Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Meanwhile, Egeus brings his daughter Hermia before Theseus, demanding she marry Demetrius according to his wishes. Hermia refuses because she loves Lysander, and Theseus gives her until his wedding day to decide between marrying Demetrius, becoming a nun, or facing death. Hermia and Lysander plan to elope by meeting in the forest, and they confide in Hermia’s friend Helena, who is desperately in love with Demetrius despite his rejection of her.

In the forest, the fairy king Oberon and queen Titania are feuding over custody of a changeling boy. Oberon instructs his mischievous servant Puck to fetch a magical flower whose juice, when applied to sleeping eyes, makes the person fall in love with the first creature they see upon waking. Oberon plans to use this on Titania to humiliate her into giving up the boy, and he also orders Puck to help Helena by making Demetrius fall in love with her. However, Puck mistakenly applies the juice to Lysander’s eyes instead, causing him to fall in love with Helena when he awakens. Meanwhile, a group of Athenian craftsmen rehearsing a play in the forest becomes entangled in the magical chaos when Puck transforms their leader Bottom’s head into that of a donkey, and the enchanted Titania falls in love with him.

The romantic confusion deepens when Oberon discovers Puck’s error and applies the love juice to Demetrius’s eyes as well, causing both young men to pursue Helena, who believes they are mocking her. Hermia becomes confused and angry when Lysander rejects her for Helena. Oberon orders Puck to separate the four lovers and fix the situation. After obtaining the changeling boy from the distracted Titania, Oberon releases her from the spell and restores Bottom to his normal form. Puck leads the exhausted lovers through the forest until they fall asleep, then applies an antidote to Lysander’s eyes so he will love Hermia again upon waking. Theseus discovers the four lovers in the forest the next morning, and since Demetrius now truly loves Helena, the duke overrules Egeus and declares a triple wedding. The play concludes with the three couples’ wedding celebration, where the craftsmen perform their comically inept play, followed by the fairies blessing the palace and its inhabitants.