Act 5, Scene 1 Summary

Theseus and Hippolyta discuss the strange dreamlike story the four Athenians have narrated to them. They are in a room in the palace. Hippolyta wonders how all of them could have had the same dream, and Theseus is convinced that love has tricked their minds. Just then, Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia, and Helena enter. Theseus asks them what they would prefer for entertainment. The production of the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” appeals to Theseus the most, even though Hippolyta and Philostrate are concerned that the play is staged by amateur actors. Theseus thinks that the amateurs can present an “innocent” performance, which he argues might be more heartfelt than a performance staged by seasoned actors.

The artisans begin the play, but the tragic play soon becomes farcical; it features many errors and incorrect references. The nobles for whom the play is staged criticize the actors’ performance, with Hippolyta calling the play silly. Only Theseus defends the amateur actors by commending them for their use of imagination. When the play ends, Bottom and Flute, who are both supposedly dead, get up and offer to perform the epilogue and a bergamask dance. However, Theseus intervenes and asks them to only perform the dance and skip the epilogue. When the couples retire for the night, Puck breaks into a monologue. He states that fairies only emerge during the night and that not even a mouse can disturb them. Oberon and Titania enter to bless the place where all the married couples are sleeping. They perform a dance and exit. Finally, at the end of the play, Puck begs the audience for forgiveness if he has offended them. He says, “If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended: That you have but slumbered here, While these visions did appear.” He asks the audience to consider this fantastical play as a dream.

Act 5, Scene 1 Analysis

In this scene, Shakespeare reveals his thoughts on imagination through the conversation between Theseus and Hippolyta. Theseus’s words, “The lunatic, the lover, and the poet/Are of imagination all compact,” hints at the powerful imagination the characters possess. Although their power of imagination is in contrast to the “cool reason” and order of Theseus and Hippolyta, Theseus nonetheless celebrates imagination in his speech. Even when Hippolyta criticizes the mindlessness of the play staged by the artisans, Theseus defends the artists: “The best in this kind are but shadows; and the worst are no worse, if imagination amend them.”

Shakespeare’s use of the “play within a play” technique is not just entertaining but also serves as a comment on theatre. “Pyramus and Thisbe,” originally a tragedy, becomes an entertaining comedy. Similarly, Shakespeare’s use of satire in this play does not give it an air of seriousness; it makes the play more entertaining. This reminds the audience that in the absence of fantastical elements in the real world, theatre can serve as an escape from reality.

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet around the same time as A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Interestingly, he chose to use the story of Pyramus and Thisbe in both these plays. In fact, Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy, clearly mirrors the story of Pyramus and Thisbe.

Toward the end of the play, the mischievous Puck delivers a monologue, which adds a final touch of magic. He is the only character in the play who has closely interacted with both worlds. Now, he directly addresses the audience. His apology to the audience takes us to the Prologue of the artisans’ play: “If we offend, it is with our good will./That you should think, we come not to offend,/But with good will.” Puck’s monologue is especially notable for its poetic brilliance.