Here is the line-by-line paraphrase of Bottom’s monologue from A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

Original: Sweet Moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams;
Modern: Dear Moon, I thank you for your bright light;

Original: I thank thee, Moon, for shining now so bright;
Modern: I thank you, Moon, for shining so brightly right now;

Original: For, by thy gracious, golden, glittering gleams,
Modern: Because with your kind, golden, sparkling light,

Original: I trust to take of truest Thisby sight.
Modern: I hope to catch sight of my beloved Thisbe.

Original: But stay, O spite!
Modern: But wait, how cruel!

Original: But mark, poor knight,
Modern: But look, poor warrior,

Original: What dreadful dole is here!
Modern: What terrible sorrow is here!

Original: Eyes, do you see?
Modern: Eyes, do you see this?

Original: How can it be?
Modern: How can this be?

Original: O dainty duck! O dear!
Modern: Oh my sweet darling! Oh my love!

Original: Thy mantle good,
Modern: Your beautiful cloak,

Original: What, stain’d with blood!
Modern: What, stained with blood!

Original: Approach, ye Furies fell!
Modern: Come here, you deadly goddesses of revenge!

Original: O Fates, come, come,
Modern: Oh goddesses of destiny, come, come,

Original: Cut thread and thrum;
Modern: Cut the thread of life completely;

Original: Quail, crush, conclude, and quell!
Modern: Destroy, crush, end, and kill everything!

Original: O wherefore, Nature, didst thou lions frame?
Modern: Oh why, Nature, did you create lions?

Original: Since lion vile hath here deflower’d my dear:
Modern: Since a vicious lion has here destroyed my beloved:

Original: Which is–no, no–which was the fairest dame
Modern: Who is–no, no–who was the most beautiful woman

Original: That lived, that loved, that liked, that look’d with cheer.
Modern: Who ever lived, who loved, who was happy, who looked with joy.

Original: Come, tears, confound;
Modern: Come, tears, destroy me;

Original: Out, sword, and wound
Modern: Come out, sword, and stab

Original: The pap of Pyramus;
Modern: The chest of Pyramus;

Original: Ay, that left pap,
Modern: Yes, that left side of the chest,

Original: Where heart doth hop:
Modern: Where the heart beats:

Original: Thus die I, thus, thus, thus.
Modern: This is how I die, like this, like this, like this.

Original: Now am I dead,
Modern: Now I am dead,

Original: Now am I fled;
Modern: Now I have departed;

Original: My soul is in the sky:
Modern: My soul is in heaven:

Original: Tongue, lose thy light;
Modern: Tongue, stop speaking;

Original: Moon take thy flight:
Modern: Moon, go away:

Original: Now die, die, die, die, die.
Modern: Now I die, die, die, die, die.

In Act V, Scene 1 of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the court gathers in Athens to celebrate the triple wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia, and Demetrius and Helena. Theseus dismisses Hippolyta’s concerns about the lovers’ strange tale of their night in the forest, declaring that he does not believe in such fantastical stories of fairies and magic. The newlyweds are presented with a list of potential entertainments for the evening, and despite Philostrate’s warnings about its poor quality, Theseus chooses to watch the mechanicals perform their play “Pyramus and Thisbe.”

The mechanicals, led by Peter Quince, present their tragical comedy before the noble audience. Bottom as Pyramus, Flute as Thisbe, Snout as Wall, Starveling as Moonshine, and Snug as Lion deliver their earnest but comically inept performance, complete with awkward dialogue, misplaced emphases, and literal interpretations of dramatic conventions. The nobles comment wittily throughout the performance, mocking the amateur actors’ efforts while maintaining a veneer of courtesy. After Pyramus and Thisbe’s tragic deaths and Bottom’s offer of an epilogue or bergomask dance (which Theseus declines), the court retires to bed. The play concludes with the entrance of the fairy court—Oberon, Titania, and their train—who bless the palace and its inhabitants, followed by Puck’s final soliloquy to the audience.

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.