The narrative begins in Athens, where Egeus demands that his daughter Hermia marry Demetrius, though she loves Lysander. Faced with execution or a life of celibacy under Athenian law, Hermia and Lysander plan to elope into the nearby woods, accompanied by Helena, who desperately pursues the disdainful Demetrius. Once inside the forest, the human storylines intersect with a bitter domestic dispute between Oberon, King of the Fairies, and Titania, Queen of the Fairies, over an Indian changeling boy.
Seeking to punish Titania and help the wretched Helena, Oberon commands the mischievous sprite Puck to apply a magical flower juice to the sleeping fairy queen's eyelids, as well as the eyes of the Athenian man in designated clothing. This initiates a sequence of profound errors. Puck inadvertently anoints Lysander instead of Demetrius, causing Lysander to instantly abandon Hermia and declare passionate love for Helena. Meanwhile, Titania wakes and falls absurdly in love with Nick Bottom, a weaver whose head Puck has transformed into that of an ass.
At the same time, a group of Athenian craftsmen has gathered in the woods to rehearse a theatrical tragedy intended for the forthcoming royal wedding of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta. Bottom's transformation scatters his terrified peers through the brush, leaving him alone to be pampered by Titania's fairy retinue. The romantic confusion reaches its peak when both Lysander and Demetrius pursue Helena simultaneously, while an enraged Hermia accuses her former friend of stealing her lovers. The two young men prepare to duel over Helena, and the women descend into bitter rivalry and insults.
Recognizing the disaster, Oberon orders Puck to shroud the forest in thick fog, mimic the voices of the rivals to lead them in separate directions, and exhaust them until they drop into deep sleep. Once the sleeping youths are neutralized, Puck applies a corrective herb to restore their proper sights and affections. Oberon similarly releases Titania from her enchantment after securing the changeling boy from her.
As dawn breaks, Theseus and Hippolyta discover the sleeping lovers in the woods, where their mutual animosities have vanished. Demetrius confesses that his love for Hermia has dissolved like snow, leaving him entirely devoted to Helena. Overruling Egeus, Theseus orders a triple wedding at the palace.
The final movement centers on the performance of the craftsmen's play, a clumsy and literal-minded rendition of Pyramus and Thisbe, which the court watches with amused indulgence. After the mechanicals finish their clumsy entertainment and depart, the fairies return to bless the palace and its newly wedded couples, leaving the audience with the suggestion that these extraordinary events may have been nothing more than a passing dream.
