Original: Full of vexation come I, with complaint
Modern: I come here full of anger and frustration to make a complaint

Original: Against my child, my daughter Hermia.
Modern: Against my own child, my daughter Hermia.

Original: Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord,
Modern: Step forward, Demetrius. My noble lord,

Original: This man hath my consent to marry her.
Modern: This man has my permission to marry her.

Original: Stand forth, Lysander: and my gracious duke,
Modern: Step forward, Lysander: and my gracious duke,

Original: This man hath bewitch’d the bosom of my child;
Modern: This man has cast a spell on my daughter’s heart;

Original: Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes,
Modern: You, you, Lysander, you have given her love poems,

Original: And interchanged love-tokens with my child:
Modern: And exchanged love gifts with my daughter:

Original: Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung,
Modern: You have sung at her window by moonlight,

Original: With feigning voice verses of feigning love,
Modern: With a fake voice singing verses of fake love,

Original: And stolen the impression of her fantasy
Modern: And captured her imagination and stolen her fantasies

Original: With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,
Modern: With bracelets made of your hair, rings, showy trinkets, fancy gifts,

Original: Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats, messengers
Modern: Knickknacks, little gifts, bouquets of flowers, candies, messengers

Original: Of strong prevailment in unharden’d youth:
Modern: That have strong influence over inexperienced young people:

Original: With cunning hast thou filch’d my daughter’s heart,
Modern: With trickery you have stolen my daughter’s heart,

Original: Turn’d her obedience, which is due to me,
Modern: Turned her obedience, which she owes to me,

Original: To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke,
Modern: Into stubborn defiance: and, my gracious duke,

Original: Be it so she; will not here before your grace
Modern: If it happens that she will not here before your grace

Original: Consent to marry with Demetrius,
Modern: Agree to marry Demetrius,

Original: I beg the ancient privilege of Athens,
Modern: I request the ancient right of Athens,

Original: As she is mine, I may dispose of her:
Modern: Since she is mine, I may do with her as I wish:

Original: Which shall be either to this gentleman
Modern: Which shall be either to give her to this gentleman

Original: Or to her death, according to our law
Modern: Or to have her put to death, according to our law

Original: Immediately provided in that case.
Modern: Specifically set up for this situation.

In Act I, Scene 1 of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the scene opens in the palace of Theseus, Duke of Athens, as he discusses his upcoming wedding to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, with anticipation for their nuptials in four days. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Egeus, an Athenian citizen, who brings his daughter Hermia before the Duke to seek justice. Egeus complains that while he has chosen Demetrius as a suitable husband for Hermia, she refuses to obey his wishes and instead loves Lysander. He invokes the ancient law of Athens that gives fathers absolute authority over their daughters’ marriages, demanding that Hermia either comply with his choice or face the penalty of death or life in a nunnery.

Theseus upholds the law and gives Hermia until his wedding day to make her decision, warning her of the consequences of disobedience to her father’s will. After Theseus, Egeus, and Demetrius exit, Hermia and Lysander are left alone to lament their situation. Lysander comforts Hermia and reveals his plan for them to escape Athens together, suggesting they flee to his wealthy aunt’s house beyond Athenian jurisdiction where they can marry freely. Helena, Hermia’s childhood friend, enters and reveals her own romantic troubles - she desperately loves Demetrius, who once courted her but now pursues Hermia. Hermia and Lysander confide their escape plan to Helena, hoping to reassure her that Demetrius will no longer be tempted by Hermia once she has fled the city.

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.