Original: O spite! O hell! I see you all are bent
Modern: Oh, this is cruel! This is terrible! I can see you’re all determined

Original: To set against me for your merriment:
Modern: To gang up on me just for your entertainment.

Original: If you were civil and knew courtesy,
Modern: If you had any manners or knew how to be polite,

Original: You would not do me thus much injury.
Modern: You wouldn’t hurt me this badly.

Original: Can you not hate me, as I know you do,
Modern: Can’t you just hate me, like I know you already do,

Original: But you must join in souls to mock me too?
Modern: Without also teaming up together to make fun of me?

Original: If you were men, as men you are in show,
Modern: If you were real men, instead of just looking like men,

Original: You would not use a gentle lady so;
Modern: You wouldn’t treat a kind woman this way.

Original: To vow, and swear, and superpraise my parts,
Modern: Making promises, swearing oaths, and praising my qualities way too much,

Original: When I am sure you hate me with your hearts.
Modern: When I know for certain that you hate me deep down.

Original: You both are rivals, and love Hermia;
Modern: You’re both competing for Hermia’s love,

Original: And now both rivals, to mock Helena:
Modern: And now you’re both working together to make fun of Helena.

Original: A trim exploit, a manly enterprise,
Modern: What a clever trick, what a brave thing to do—

Original: To conjure tears up in a poor maid’s eyes
Modern: To make a poor girl cry

Original: With your derision! none of noble sort
Modern: With your cruel jokes! No one who’s truly noble

Original: Would so offend a virgin, and extort
Modern: Would insult an innocent girl like this, and force

Original: A poor soul’s patience, all to make you sport.
Modern: A helpless person to endure this, all just for your fun.

In Act III, Scene 2 of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Oberon discovers that Puck has mistakenly applied the love potion to the wrong Athenian man. When Oberon witnesses Demetrius cruelly rejecting Hermia, who is desperately searching for Lysander, he realizes that Puck has enchanted Lysander instead of Demetrius. Hermia accuses Demetrius of potentially harming or killing Lysander, and after she exits, the exhausted Demetrius falls asleep. Oberon then properly applies the love potion to Demetrius’s eyes and sends Puck to fetch Helena.

When Helena arrives, still being pursued by the now love-struck Lysander, Demetrius awakens and immediately falls in love with her due to the potion’s effects. This creates a chaotic situation where both Athenian men now profess their love to Helena, who believes they are both mocking her. The scene escalates when Hermia enters and finds Lysander declaring his hatred for her and his newfound love for Helena. Hermia suspects Helena of stealing Lysander’s affections, leading to a heated confrontation between the two women. The four lovers become increasingly agitated, with the men nearly coming to blows and the women exchanging bitter insults, while Oberon and Puck observe the mounting confusion caused by the fairy magic.

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.