Original: Now, until the break of day,
Modern: Now, until dawn arrives,

Original: Through this house each fairy stray.
Modern: Let every fairy wander through this house.

Original: To the best bride-bed will we,
Modern: We will go to the finest wedding bed,

Original: Which by us shall blessed be;
Modern: Which we will bless with our magic;

Original: And the issue there create
Modern: And the children born there

Original: Ever shall be fortunate.
Modern: Will always be lucky and happy.

Original: So shall all the couples three
Modern: And all three couples here

Original: Ever true in loving be;
Modern: Will always be faithful in their love;

Original: And the blots of Nature’s hand
Modern: And nature’s imperfections

Original: Shall not in their issue stand;
Modern: Will not appear in their children;

Original: Never mole, hare lip, nor scar,
Modern: No birthmarks, cleft lips, or scars,

Original: Nor mark prodigious, such as are
Modern: No strange marks that people

Original: Despised in nativity,
Modern: Look down upon at birth,

Original: Shall upon their children be.
Modern: Will be found on their babies.

Original: With this field-dew consecrate,
Modern: With this holy morning dew,

Original: Every fairy take his gait;
Modern: Let every fairy go on their way;

Original: And each several chamber bless,
Modern: And bless each individual room,

Original: Through this palace, with sweet peace;
Modern: Throughout this palace, with gentle peace;

Original: And the owner of it blest
Modern: And may the owner be blessed

Original: Ever shall in safety rest.
Modern: To always rest in safety.

Original: Trip away; make no stay;
Modern: Dance away; don’t linger here;

Original: Meet me all by break of day.
Modern: All of you meet me when dawn comes.

Act V, Scene i of A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes place at the palace of Theseus in Athens, where the Duke and his new bride Hippolyta, along with the young lovers Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena, gather to celebrate the weddings that have taken place. Theseus calls for entertainment to fill the hours before midnight, and Philostrate, the Master of Revels, presents him with a list of options. Theseus selects the play performed by Bottom and his company of mechanicals, titled The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe, despite Philostrate’s warnings that the performance is clumsy and poorly executed. Hippolyta expresses reluctance, but Theseus insists, arguing that the goodwill of the performers matters more than the quality of their work.

The mechanicals then perform their play, with Peter Quince delivering a comically mangled Prologue, and the various craftsmen taking on their roles — Snout as Wall, Starveling as Moonshine, and Bottom as Pyramus, with Flute playing Thisbe. The noble audience members punctuate the performance with witty commentary and jokes at the expense of the players, while the mechanicals earnestly press on through their awkward production. Bottom, as Pyramus, delivers an overwrought death scene, followed by Flute’s equally dramatic demise as Thisbe. After the play concludes, Bottom offers an epilogue, which Theseus declines in favor of a bergomask dance performed by the mechanicals. As midnight arrives, the court retires to bed, and Puck, Oberon, Titania, and the fairies enter to bless the house and the marriages before Puck delivers the closing epilogue 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.