Original: Now I but chide; but I should use thee worse,
Modern: Right now I’m only scolding you, but I should treat you much worse,

Original: If thou hast slain Lysander in his sleep,
Modern: If you have killed Lysander while he was sleeping,

Original: Being o’er shoes in blood, plunge in the deep,
Modern: Since you’re already ankle-deep in blood, you might as well go all the way,

Original: And kill me too.
Modern: And kill me too.

Original: The sun was not so true unto the day
Modern: The sun is not as faithful to the day

Original: As he to me: would he have stolen away
Modern: As he was to me: would he have snuck away

Original: From sleeping Hermia? I’ll believe as soon
Modern: From me while I was sleeping? I’d sooner believe

Original: This whole earth may be bored and that the moon
Modern: That this whole earth could be drilled through and that the moon

Original: May through the centre creep and so displease
Modern: Could crawl through the center and upset

Original: Her brother’s noontide with Antipodes.
Modern: The sun’s bright noon by appearing on the other side of the world.

Original: It cannot be but thou hast murder’d him;
Modern: It can only mean that you have murdered him;

Original: So should a murderer look, so dead, so grim.
Modern: This is exactly how a murderer should look—so lifeless and grim.

Original: What’s this to my Lysander? where is he?
Modern: What does this have to do with my Lysander? Where is he?

Original: Ah, good Demetrius, wilt thou give him me?
Modern: Oh, good Demetrius, will you bring him back to me?

Original: Out, dog! out, cur! thou drivest me past the bounds
Modern: Get away, you dog! You push me beyond the limits

Original: Of maiden’s patience. Hast thou slain him, then?
Modern: Of what a young woman can endure. Have you killed him then?

Original: Henceforth be never number’d among men!
Modern: From now on, don’t ever count yourself as a real man!

Original: O, once tell true, tell true, even for my sake!
Modern: Oh, just tell the truth once, tell the truth, at least for my sake!

Original: Durst thou have look’d upon him being awake,
Modern: Would you have dared to face him when he was awake,

Original: And hast thou kill’d him sleeping? O brave touch!
Modern: But instead you killed him while he slept? Oh, how brave of you!

Original: Could not a worm, an adder, do so much?
Modern: Couldn’t a snake or viper do just as much damage?

Original: An adder did it; for with doubler tongue
Modern: A snake did kill him; because with a more deceptive tongue

Original: Than thine, thou serpent, never adder stung.
Modern: Than yours, you snake, no viper ever struck so cruelly.

In Act III, Scene 2 of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Puck reports to Oberon about his successful application of the love potion to the sleeping Athenian’s eyes, believing he has corrected the romantic confusion as commanded. However, when Demetrius enters pursuing Hermia, who angrily rejects his advances and accuses him of harming Lysander, Oberon realizes that Puck has enchanted the wrong Athenian man. Hermia exits in distress, and Demetrius, exhausted from chasing her, lies down to sleep. Oberon scolds Puck for the error and instructs him to find Helena while he applies the love potion to Demetrius’s eyes so that he will fall in love with her upon waking.

Puck returns with Helena, who is being pursued by the now love-struck Lysander. When Demetrius awakens and sees Helena, the magic takes effect immediately, and he begins declaring passionate love for her alongside Lysander. Helena, bewildered and hurt, believes both men are mocking her and refuses to accept their sudden affections. The situation becomes increasingly chaotic when Hermia enters, confused by Lysander’s apparent abandonment of her. The four young Athenians become embroiled in heated arguments and accusations, with both men now competing for Helena’s love while rejecting Hermia, leading to a bitter confrontation between the two women who had once been close friends.

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.