Original: My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth,
Modern: My lord, beautiful Helena told me about their secret plan,

Original: Of this their purpose hither to this wood;
Modern: About why they came here to this forest;

Original: And I in fury hither follow’d them,
Modern: And I angrily followed them here,

Original: Fair Helena in fancy following me.
Modern: With beautiful Helena chasing after me out of love.

Original: But, my good lord, I wot not by what power,
Modern: But, my good lord, I don’t know by what magic,

Original: But by some power it is, my love to Hermia,
Modern: But by some force, my love for Hermia

Original: Melted as the snow, seems to me now
Modern: Has melted away like snow, and now seems to me

Original: As the remembrance of an idle gaud
Modern: Like the memory of a worthless toy

Original: Which in my childhood I did dote upon;
Modern: That I was obsessed with when I was a child;

Original: And all the faith, the virtue of my heart,
Modern: And all my devotion, the goodness in my heart,

Original: The object and the pleasure of mine eye,
Modern: Everything I focus on and that brings me joy,

Original: Is only Helena. To her, my lord,
Modern: Is only Helena. My lord, I was engaged to her

Original: Was I betroth’d ere I saw Hermia:
Modern: Before I ever met Hermia:

Original: But, like in sickness, did I loathe this food;
Modern: But like when you’re sick, I couldn’t stand this relationship;

Original: But, as in health, come to my natural taste,
Modern: But now that I’m healthy again, my natural feelings have returned,

Original: Now I do wish it, love it, long for it,
Modern: Now I want it, love it, yearn for it,

Original: And will for evermore be true to it.
Modern: And will be faithful to it forever.

In Act IV, Scene 1 of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the scene opens in the forest where Bottom, still bearing an ass’s head from Puck’s transformation, lies sleeping beside the fairy queen Titania, who remains under the love potion’s influence. Titania lavishes affection upon Bottom, commanding her fairy attendants Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed to tend to his every need. She offers him delicacies and entertainment, while Bottom, oblivious to his transformed state, makes crude requests and falls asleep in her arms. Oberon enters and observes the scene with Puck, revealing that he has successfully obtained the changeling boy from Titania and now feels pity for her enchanted state.

Oberon decides to reverse the magic, instructing Puck to remove Bottom’s ass head while he applies an antidote to Titania’s eyes. Upon awakening, Titania is horrified by her recent infatuation and reconciles with Oberon, and together they bless the coming dawn with music and dance before departing. Bottom awakens alone and confused, believing his extraordinary experience was merely a dream, and resolves to have Peter Quince write a ballad about his vision. Meanwhile, Duke Theseus arrives with Hippolyta, Egeus, and their hunting party, discovering the four young lovers—Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena—sleeping in the forest, setting up the resolution of their romantic entanglements.

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.