84 pages 2 hours read

William Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1595

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Act IVChapter Summaries & Analyses

Act IV, Scene 1 Summary

Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius lie asleep in the forest clearing. Titania and Bottom arrive. Bottom still has the head of a donkey, a retinue of fairies, and Titania’s affections. Titania sits down and invites Bottom to lay his transfigured head in her lap; she wants to place roses in his hair and sing to him about his ears. Bottom dispatches his fairy assistants on a few chores and admits to Titania that he feels a strange desire to eat hay or dried peas. Now very tired, he falls asleep in Titania’s arms while the fairies go to fetch him food. Titania stares at Bottom and declares her love for him.

Oberon and Puck enter the clearing. They discuss the success of Oberon’s plan. Oberon is particularly pleased that Titania has fallen in love with the man with a donkey’s head. When he saw Titania earlier in the day, he mocked her for her devotion to Bottom. He promised to remove the spell in exchange for the Indian prince. Titania agreed to pay this price.