Original: Set your heart at rest:
Modern: Put your mind at ease:

Original: The fairy land buys not the child of me.
Modern: The fairy kingdom cannot buy this child from me.

Original: His mother was a votaress of my order:
Modern: His mother was a devoted follower of mine:

Original: And, in the spiced Indian air, by night,
Modern: And in the fragrant Indian evening air,

Original: Full often hath she gossip’d by my side,
Modern: She often chatted and shared stories with me,

Original: And sat with me on Neptune’s yellow sands,
Modern: And sat with me on the golden ocean shores,

Original: Marking the embarked traders on the flood,
Modern: Watching the merchant ships sailing on the water,

Original: When we have laugh’d to see the sails conceive
Modern: When we laughed to see the sails fill up

Original: And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind;
Modern: And swell out round with the playful wind;

Original: Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait
Modern: She would copy this with her graceful, gliding walk

Original: Following,.her womb then rich with my young squire,–
Modern: Following me, while she was pregnant with this boy,

Original: Would imitate, and sail upon the land,
Modern: She would mimic the ships and glide across the ground,

Original: To fetch me trifles, and return again,
Modern: To bring me little gifts, and come back to me,

Original: As from a voyage, rich with merchandise.
Modern: As if returning from a journey loaded with treasures.

Original: But she, being mortal, of that boy did die;
Modern: But since she was human, she died giving birth to that boy;

Original: And for her sake do I rear up her boy,
Modern: And in her memory, I’m raising her son,

Original: And for her sake I will not part with him.
Modern: And because I loved her, I will never give him up.

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 a fairy who serves Titania, the Fairy Queen. The fairy describes Titania’s court and her duties, while Puck introduces himself and recounts his mischievous nature, describing the pranks he plays on mortals. Soon, Oberon, King of the Fairies, and Titania arrive with their respective retinues, and immediately begin quarreling over possession of a changeling boy that Titania has taken under her protection. Their argument reveals a deep rift in their relationship that has been causing disorder in the natural world.

The dispute between Oberon and Titania escalates as Titania refuses to give up the changeling child, explaining that the boy’s mother was her devoted follower who died in childbirth. After Titania departs with her train, Oberon summons Puck and instructs him to fetch a magical flower called “love-in-idleness,” whose juice, when applied to sleeping eyes, causes the person to fall desperately in love with the first creature they see upon waking. Oberon plans to use this potion on Titania to distract her while he takes the changeling boy. During Puck’s absence, Oberon observes Demetrius chasing Helena through the forest, with Helena desperately pursuing the man who spurns her love for Hermia. Moved by Helena’s plight, Oberon decides to also use the love potion to make Demetrius fall in love with Helena.

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.