Comedies • c. 1595
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Modern English Translation & Study Guide
Four Athenian lovers and a troupe of amateur actors wander into an enchanted forest ruled by quarreling fairies and a mischievous Puck.
Read A Midsummer Night's Dream Side by Side
Every scene pairs the public-domain original with a line-matched, original modern-English paraphrase. Choose a scene below to begin reading.
- Act 1, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Athens. The palace of THESEUS.
- Act 1, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Athens. QUINCE'S house.
- Act 2, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. A wood near Athens.
- Act 2, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Another part of the wood.
- Act 3, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. The wood. TITANIA lying asleep.
- Act 3, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Another part of the wood.
- Act 4, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. The same. LYSANDER, DEMETRIUS, HELENA, and HERMIA
- Act 4, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Athens. QUINCE'S house.
- Act 5, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Athens. The palace of THESEUS.
A Midsummer Night's Dream study pathways
Original text source: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, MIT HTML edition. MIT states that its HTML versions of the plays are placed in the public domain.