Original: That very time I saw, but thou couldst not,
Modern: At that exact moment I saw something, but you couldn’t see it,

Original: Flying between the cold moon and the earth,
Modern: Flying through the air between the cold moon and the earth,

Original: Cupid all arm’d: a certain aim he took
Modern: Cupid fully armed with his bow: he took careful aim

Original: At a fair vestal throned by the west,
Modern: At a beautiful virgin queen seated in the west,

Original: And loosed his love-shaft smartly from his bow,
Modern: And shot his love-arrow sharply from his bow,

Original: As it should pierce a hundred thousand hearts;
Modern: As if it could pierce a hundred thousand hearts;

Original: But I might see young Cupid’s fiery shaft
Modern: But I was able to see young Cupid’s flaming arrow

Original: Quench’d in the chaste beams of the watery moon,
Modern: Put out by the pure rays of the moon,

Original: And the imperial votaress passed on,
Modern: And the royal virgin continued on her way,

Original: In maiden meditation, fancy-free.
Modern: Lost in pure thoughts, completely free from love.

Original: Yet mark’d I where the bolt of Cupid fell:
Modern: But I noticed where Cupid’s arrow fell:

Original: It fell upon a little western flower,
Modern: It fell on a small flower in the west,

Original: Before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound,
Modern: Once pure white, now turned purple from love’s injury,

Original: And maidens call it love-in-idleness.
Modern: And young girls call it “love-in-idleness.”

Original: Fetch me that flower; the herb I shew’d thee once:
Modern: Go get me that flower; the plant I showed you before:

Original: The juice of it on sleeping eye-lids laid
Modern: Its juice placed on someone’s eyelids while they sleep

Original: Will make or man or woman madly dote
Modern: Will make any man or woman fall madly in love

Original: Upon the next live creature that it sees.
Modern: With the first living thing they see when they wake up.

Original: Fetch me this herb; and be thou here again
Modern: Go get me this plant; and be back here

Original: Ere the leviathan can swim a league.
Modern: Before a whale can swim three miles.

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. The fairy describes the activities of the fairy court, explaining how they attend to Titania, the fairy queen, and perform various magical duties throughout the natural world. Puck introduces himself and recounts his mischievous nature, describing the pranks he plays on mortals - from misleading travelers to transforming into various objects to startle village women. The fairy recognizes Puck as Oberon’s jester and the sprite responsible for various tricks and magical mischief.

The scene continues as Oberon, king of the fairies, enters from one side while Titania, queen of the fairies, approaches from the other with their respective retinues. The royal couple immediately begins quarreling over their ongoing dispute about a changeling boy that Titania has taken under her protection. Oberon demands the child to serve as his page, but Titania refuses, explaining that the boy’s mother was her devoted follower who died in childbirth. Their argument reveals how their discord has disrupted the natural world, causing unseasonable weather, failed crops, and general chaos in nature. Titania departs angrily after refusing Oberon’s demands, leaving the fairy king to plot his revenge with Puck’s assistance.

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.