Egeus brings his daughter Hermia before Duke Theseus, demanding she be punished for refusing to marry Demetrius.

Theseus warns Hermia she faces death or life as a nun unless she obeys her father's wishes.

Hermia and Lysander secretly plan to elope to his aunt's house beyond the reach of Athenian law.

The laborers gather at Peter Quince's home and plan to rehearse a play for the Duke's wedding.

Oberon and Titania clash bitterly in the forest over a young Indian prince in Titania's service.

Oberon sends Puck to find the magical love-in-idleness flower to use against the defiant Titania.

Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and applies the love potion to the wrong sleeping man's eyes.

Puck secretly transforms Bottom's head into that of a donkey during the laborers' forest rehearsal.

Titania wakes from sleep and falls instantly in love with the bewildered, donkey-headed Bottom.

Oberon applies the love potion to sleeping Demetrius so he will fall in love with Helena.

Both Lysander and Demetrius declare passionate love for Helena, who believes they are cruelly mocking her.

Oberon lifts Titania's enchantment after she agrees to surrender the Indian prince to his service.

Theseus's hunting party discovers the four young lovers asleep in the forest clearing at dawn.

The laborers perform their disastrous production of Pyramus and Thisbe before the assembled nobles at court.

Puck delivers the closing epilogue, suggesting the entire play may have been nothing more than a dream.

Egeus's demand that Hermia marry Demetrius sets the story in motion, forcing her and Lysander to flee Athens for the enchanted forest. There, Oberon and Titania's quarrel over an Indian prince leads Oberon to deploy a magical love potion, which Puck uses with disastrous results on the wrong man. Puck also transforms Bottom's head into a donkey's, and Titania wakes under the spell to fall absurdly in love with the bewildered laborer. Both Lysander and Demetrius end up pursuing Helena while Hermia is left alone and confused in the dark forest. Order is slowly restored as Oberon claims the Indian prince, lifts Titania's enchantment, and Theseus discovers the four lovers at dawn. The play closes with the laborers' comic performance of Pyramus and Thisbe and Puck's epilogue dissolving the line between dreams and reality.

The headline events that drive A Midsummer Night's Dream from conflict to resolution.

Theseus orders his master of revels Philostrate to arrange entertainment for the upcoming wedding celebrations.

Lysander reveals to Theseus that Demetrius was formerly engaged to Helena before abandoning her to pursue Hermia.

Helena decides to tell Demetrius about Hermia's elopement plan, hoping the information will win back his affection.

Quince assigns roles to the laborers while Bottom repeatedly interrupts, insisting he should play every part himself.

Two fairy servants meet by chance in the forest and discuss the ongoing quarrel between Oberon and Titania.

Oberon secretly watches as Demetrius cruelly insults and abandons the lovesick Helena alone in the dark forest.

Puck returns to Oberon with the magical flower and receives instructions to help a lovelorn Athenian woman.

Oberon sneaks to Titania's riverbank bower and drips the love potion onto her sleeping eyes.

Lysander and Hermia enter the forest but quickly become lost and cannot find the route to his aunt's house.

Hermia wakes to find herself alone in the forest and ventures deeper into the woods searching for Lysander.

Hermia confronts Demetrius in the forest, furiously accusing him of having murdered Lysander.

Puck mimics the voices of Lysander and Demetrius to confuse them and prevent their threatened duel.

Bottom wakes alone in the forest, marveling at what he describes as a most rare and wonderful dream.

Theseus overrules Egeus and declares that all four young lovers may marry according to their own wishes.

Oberon and Titania arrive at the palace together and bestow a blessing on the newlyweds and their children.

Behind the main conflict, smaller but essential events shape the night's chaos — from Theseus commissioning entertainment to Helena's fateful decision to betray Hermia's secret to Demetrius. The fairy servants' gossip reveals the depth of Oberon and Titania's quarrel before the rulers themselves appear, while Oberon covertly watches Demetrius's cruelty toward Helena and resolves to intervene. As the young lovers enter the forest and the love potion spreads its confusion, Hermia wakes alone and confronts Demetrius in distress, while Puck is forced to mimic voices to prevent a dangerous duel. The night ends with Bottom marveling at his strange experience and Theseus taking decisive action to allow all four lovers to marry freely. The fairies complete the resolution by arriving at the palace and bestowing a blessing on the newlyweds.

The supporting moments that fill in and enrich the play's central storyline.

Theseus gives Hermia a firm deadline, ordering her to declare her decision on marriage by his own wedding day.

Hermia confides her elopement plan to Helena, trusting her closest friend with a secret that sets the night in motion.

The laborers decide to add a lengthy prologue assuring audiences their play is not real, fearing noble women will be frightened.

Titania refuses to release the Indian prince to Oberon, explaining that the boy's devoted mother was her close companion.

Lysander and Hermia become lost in the forest and choose to sleep a distance apart out of propriety.

Helena accidentally wakes the potion-dosed Lysander, who immediately abandons Hermia and declares his love for Helena instead.

Puck realizes he applied the love potion to the wrong Athenian man and confesses the mistake to Oberon.

Titania calls on her fairy attendants to serve every wish of the enchanted, donkey-headed Bottom.

Hermia arrives in the forest clearing and discovers that Lysander has turned violently against her in favor of Helena.

Helena accuses Hermia of conspiring with both men in a cruel scheme to mock and humiliate her.

The four exhausted lovers all lie down and fall asleep together in the forest clearing.

Puck carefully applies a corrective antidote to Lysander's eyes to restore his true love for Hermia.

The laborers gather in despair at Quince's house, convinced that the donkey-headed creature they fled has killed Bottom.

Theseus dismisses Philostrate's warnings and selects the laborers' play of Pyramus and Thisbe as the evening's entertainment.

Hippolyta argues that all four lovers telling the same story independently suggests something truly extraordinary happened in the forest.

Each pivotal moment in A Midsummer Night's Dream hinges on a choice or revelation that changes everything that follows, beginning with Theseus's deadline for Hermia and Hermia's decision to confide in Helena. Titania's explanation of her devotion to the Indian prince reveals the emotional depth beneath her defiance of Oberon, while the lovers choosing to sleep apart in the forest sets up the night's central mistake. The crisis deepens when Helena accidentally triggers the love potion by waking Lysander, and Puck must confess his error to Oberon and work quickly to correct it. The emotional breaking point arrives when Hermia discovers Lysander's betrayal and Helena accuses her friend of joining the humiliation, nearly destroying their friendship entirely. The resolution unfolds quietly as Puck applies the corrective antidote, the laborers mourn their friend's apparent death, and Hippolyta and Theseus debate whether the lovers' identical accounts point to something truly magical.