A Midsummer Night's Dream: Act Two Scene One/ Act Two Scene Two

In English Class, we were asked to translate and summarize Act Two Scene One and Act Two Scene Two of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Act Two Scene One:
Act Two Scene One is full of twists and turns. At the start, Robin Goodfellow, or "Puck" is introduced as a meddler who is mischievous and conniving. Soon after, Oberon and Titania (the fairy King and Queen) argue about who should gain custody of an Indian boy. Oberon is in need of a "henchmen" who can aid him in his work. Titania, on the other hand, feels obliged to care for the young boy. As the argument progresses, Titania and Oberon acknowledge that they have both been unfaithful to one another. As a result of their rocky relationship, the relationships of mortals have started to crumble. In a fluster, Titania announces to Oberon that they must get their act together. Near the end of the fight, Titania exits the room. Oberon then calls Puck into the room. A plan is devised: Oberon will take Titania's focus away from the boy. He will do this by painting Titania's eyelids with the nectar of a flower that makes people fall in love with the next creature that they see. With Titania's attention focus on another creature, Oberon will be able to snatch the little boy. Proud of his plan, Oberon sends Puck on a journey to find the love-flower.

After Puck leaves, Demetrius and Helena enter the forest. Oberon conceals his identity by hiding nearby. Extremely annoyed, Demetrius tries to get rid of Helena. Helena, however, is madly in love and refuses to leave. Hurtful words and comments are thrown at Helena like a million razor-sharp darts. Helena pleads for Demetrius's love, but Demetrius only soots back with more hateful words. Finally, Demetrius storms out of the forest and Helena follows him. Now in the company of nobody but himself, Oberon makes himself visible once again. Puck then returns to Oberon with the love-flower. Oberon sympathetically breaks the flower into two pieces. He tells Puck to search the forest and find a young man and woman (Demetrius and Helena) in Athenian clothing. After this, Puck is ordered to spread the nectar over the man's eyes so that he will fall in love with the young woman. Puck follows his orders and heads out into the forest.

Act Two Scene Two:

In Act Two Scene Two, a so-called method of "love geometry" has been established in the love department. Titania orders her fellow fairies to sing her to sleep. Once asleep, Oberon sneaks into Titania's room and drips the love-nectar into her eyes. Oberon anxiously awaits the time when Titania will wake, and wishes her to fall in love with a beastly creature. At the same time, Hermia and Lysander sleepily enter the forest. They both find a place on the ground to lay their heads down. Opposed to the closeness of Lysander to her body, Hermia requests that Lysander lay farther away. Lysander obeys and both people are soon sound asleep.

After scouring the forest, Puck finally finds what he believes to be the man and woman that Oberon described. However, the couple are not Helena and Demetrius. In fact, the people are Lysander and Hermia. Puck then anoints Lysander's eyes with the love potion. Shortly after, Helena and Demetrius come running back into the forest. Helena, however, stops at the sight of Lysander. She shouts at Lysander to wake up. Lysander awakes to the sight of Helena and falls madly in love with her. He professes his love to Helena in speech. Helena takes Lysander's love speech and interprets it as a form of mockery. Offended, she runs away from Lysander and exits the forest. Lysander, however, follows Helena and exits as well. After this, Hermia wakes from a nightmare screaming for help. Lysander does not answer, and Hermia soon realizes that she has been abandoned. Emotionally shaken, Hermia heads out in search of Lysander.