CHARACTER MAP

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

THE FAIRIES
Puck
Puck is a mischievous fairy who likes to prank
mortals. He works for the fairy king Oberon, and
it’s Puck’s actions in the name of Oberon that set
up most the conflicts in the play. Those conflicts
being as follows: giving the love potion to
Lysander instead of Demetrious, this leads to
Lysander falling for Helena and leaving his
intended, Hermia. He does eventually give the
love potion to Demetrious; this causes chaos
between the four lovers. He also gives the potion
to Titania, with orders from Oberon. This causes
Titania to fall in love with a man with the head of
a donkey – which was also Puck’s doing.
Oberon
Oberon is the king of the fairies. And at the
beginning of the play, he is in quarrels with his
wife, Titania. Oberon wants the young Indian
Prince that Titania is raising for himself, to
become his knight. Titania refuses his request,
and so Oberon is looking for revenge. Oberon
orders Puck to find a flower that will be turned
into a love potion to give to Titania whilst she
sleeps – to make her fall in love with the first
thing she sets her eyes upon when she awakes. He
also orders puck to give the love potion to
Demetrious after he watches Demetrious reject
Helena’s affections.
Titania
Titania is the queen of the fairies. She refuses her
husband’s (Oberon’s) attempts to take the child
she’s raising – whose mother was her close friend
who died in childbirth. While she’s sleeping, Puck
gives her a love potion at the orders of Oberon.
Titania then wakes to the sound of Bottom singing
through the forest, and once she sets eyes on him,
she falls in love – because of the love potion.
The Fairies
There are three main fairies within the play that
play important roles. The fairies reside in the
forest near Athens – the one that the lovers flee to.
When the fairy queen Titania falls in love (whilst
under the influence of a love potion) with Bottom,
who at that point in the play has the head of an
ass, and when Titania proudly presents her new
love to the fairies, the fairies are required by their
queen to treat him well.
THE MORTALS
Lysander
Lysander is a young man from Athens who is in
love with Hermia. But their love is forbidden by
Hermia’s father, Egeus – who wills her to marry
Demetrious. Lysander and Hermia then run away
into the forest and away from Hermia’s father and
Demetrious, so that they may be free to love.
But Lysander falls victim to Puck’s mistake. Puck
gives the love potion to Lysander instead of
Demetrious. And when he woke, he fell in love
with Helena.
Demetrious
Demetrious is a young man from Athens, who, initially, is in
love with Hermia. After finding out about Hermia and
Lysander’s plans to run away into the forest, he decides to
go after them in hopes of getting Hermia back. On his
journey he is followed by Helena, who is madly in love with
him, though he does not feel the same. After finally loosing
Helena and finding Hermia, they go off to find Lysander
and Helena. Eventually, he gets the love potion that was
meant for him and falls in love with Helena. With Lysander
also being in love with Helena (because of the love potion)
they end up fighting until it is all put right. Well, almost.
Demetrious is still under the influence of the love potion
and marries Helena at the end of the play.
Hermia
Hermia, Egeus’s daughter, is a young women from Athens.
Hermia is in love with Lysander, but she’s given an
ultimatum by her father and Theseus (the … ) that she must
marry Demetrious, as her father wishes, or must face death.
But Hermia is so in love with Lysander, that the two of them
decide to run away, through the forest, in search of a new
life, one where they may be together.
Hermia and Helena have been best friends since childhood,
and so, she informs Helena of her plans of running away
with Lysander.
In the woods, whilst Hermia and Lysander are sleeping,
Lysander is given a love potion from Puck by mistake. But
by morning, everything is turned right, and Lysander’s love
for Hermia is restored, and at the end of the play, they
marry.
Helena
Helena is a young women from Athens, who is madly in
love with Demetrious. But Demetrious has fallen for
Helena’s childhood best friend, Hermia. When Hermia runs
away with her love, Lysander, into the forest, Helena tells
Demetrious, thinking he’d be hers. But that plan didn’t go
as she hopes, Demetrious went to the forest after them, and
Helena went into the forest after him.
In the forest, Helena comes across a sleeping Lysander, who
when he wakes, appears to have fallen madly in love with
her. Demetrious following suit not long after. Because of
Puck’s mishaps, Helena thinks the men are mocking her.
But by morning, Lysander’s love for Hermia is restored and
with Demetrious still under the influence of the love spell,
him and Helena are happy, and are married.
Theseus
Theseus is the Duke of Athens, and is engaged to
Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Theseus is a
powerful man and symbolises order. At the
beginning of the play, he is dealing with a
complaint by Egeus, whose daughter refuses to
marry the man he has given permission to
(Demetrious), because she’s in love with another
(Lysander). Being the face of order in Athens, he
sides with the law and tells Hermia that she must
obey her father’s wishes or be held accountable.
Hippolyta
Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazona and is
engages the Theseus, Duke of Athens. And like
Theseus’s character, she symbolises order.
Egeus
At the beginning of the play, Egeus brings a
complaint to Theseus about his daughter, Hermia.
Egeus, has given Demetrious permission to marry
his daughter, but Hermia is in love with another –
Lysander. Egeus wants her to be compliant with
his wishes or be held accountable by the law of
Athens. Which means follow her father’s wishes,
or death.
Philostrate
Philostrate is Theseus’s Master of Revels. Which
means he’s in charge of organizing the
entertainment for Theseus’s upcoming marriage to
Hippolyta.
 THE
MECHANICALS
The Mechanicals
The mechanicals are a group of six amateur actors
from Athens, that in the play, compose and
perform their play of Pyramus and Thisbe for the
Duke’s wedding celebrations.
Nick Bottom
Nick Bottom is a weaver by trade and was chosen to play
Pyramus in the play the craftsmen’s are creating for the
marriage celebration of Theseus and Hippolyta.
Nick Bottom is never shy to voice his opinion. He’s very
confident in himself, but makes silly mistakes.
When Puck turns his head into a donkey’s head, he’s
unaware which adds to his foolish arrogance. No too long
after his transformation, he receives the love the queen of
the fairies, Titania – who is under the influence of the love
potion Puck gave to her.
In the end, he’s restored to his normal self and is as eager as
ever to perform the play at the Duke’s wedding celebration
at the end of the play.