A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(William Shakespeare’s)

Theseus (Fi-se-us)

Theseus is the Duke of Athens. Theseus himself may be based on the famous Greek God, who was the mythical King who founded Athens, and the total hero of the Athenian people. He is generally fair and just, because he overrides Egeus' wishes to force his daughter to marry Demetrius once the four lovers have sorted their problems out. He is also a man of law and society; he follows the rules of warfare in that he marries Hippolyta, and grants Egeus his initial request to force Hermia to decide between Demetrius and becoming a nun. However, he is also another example of the power that man has over woman in Midsummer, for he has not won Hippolyta's heart and hand in marriage honourably, but in the battlefield.

Hippolyta (Hip-pol-li-ta)

Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, is due to marry Theseus after she and her army were defeated in battle. We don't see or hear much from her, probably due to her subserviency to Theseus after she has lost the war, but what we do find out is that she is mildly protective of the common man. This could be because she feels uncomfortable around them. She comments that she doesn't want to watch the play if they're going to mock the actors for their own entertainment. This could be Shakespeare's way of using the female presence as a place of sympathy, but it could also be due to her empathy as someone who has been trapped.

Lysander (Li-san-der)

Lysander is in love with Hermia and will not stand down despite the threats to his safety made by Demetrius and Hermia's father, Egeus. It can be assumed that Lysander is quite romantic, as he not only discusses numerous forbidden loves, but also wants to steal Hermia away into the night to elope with her. Lysander seems used to using his soft and gentle manner to persuade people into giving him what he wants, as he tries this with Hermia when they lie down together in the wood. When he is threatened by Demetrius, however, his masculine nature appears once more, suggesting that masculinity is the stronger of the sexes.

Demetrius (De-me-trius)

Demetrius is a bit of a scoundrel: he fell in love with Helena, and then changed his mind and decided he wanted Hermia instead. He threatens Helena in the woods after she chases him with not only rape, but also death. He leaves her alone in the woods to fend for herself because he wants to find Hermia, and yet through all this Helena sticks by him. He also joins in with the criticisms of the play with Theseus, so it can be assumed—although we don't see much evidence of it—that he is always looking for the Duke's approval. Either that, or Demetrius just majorly enjoys being nasty.

Helena (Hel-ena)

An Athenian lady. It would be an understatement to say that Helena suffers from low self esteem; she constantly puts herself down because of her physical attributes, and for her personality. She claims she cries too much and blames this on her poor features. She grew up with Hermia and has probably been in quiet competition with her since they met, as her fears and insecurities appear unusually deep seated. Helena is extremely love-sick for Demetrius, who she was engaged to before he fell in love with Hermia. Even though her loyalty to Demetrius can be seen as a sign of weakness, especially when he threatens to rape her, she shows her cleverness in the plan to get him back through giving him information, and in her refusal to believe Lysander loves her.

Hermia (Her-mia)

The second of the Athenian ladies, Hermia is well loved by all. She is called beautiful, so we can assume that she has had many suitors, from which Demetrius has been chosen for her. She's forthright in her belief that she should be able to marry for love, and is brave enough to take what would be a terrifying step away from her father and everything she knows for love.

Titania

The Queen of the Fairies, Titania starts off as a strong ruler who will not bow to her husband's wishes due to her morality. She will not give up the Indian Boy just because he wants him, and has made a vow to her friend and the boy's mother. And yet, after Titania is made a fool of, and she is tricked into handing back the Indian Boy, she takes Oberon back without much any argument. From then on, she takes his orders, dances with him and is generally amenable. Although it could be argued that this is evidence of male dominance, it could also represent Titania's nurturing side. She refuses to follow Oberon's orders because her maternal instincts tell her not to, and once she no longer has to worry for the boy; she can forgive Oberon easily.

Robin (Puck)

Robin, or Puck as he is often known, is a complete mischief maker and the trickster personified. He is a servant to Oberon and is sent to fetch flowers, run errands and smear the flower juice across the Athenian youth's eyes. Robin, in essence, gets many of the events of the play rolling and is quite a prominent character for this reason. Some historians have even pinpointed Robin as the protagonist of Midsummer as the play is without a clear lead. Although he plays cruel tricks on Bottom by giving him a donkey's head, he is generally a kindhearted character and will admit to mistakes he has made. Robin is a fairy, but he is not as gentle and sweet as Titania's servants; instead, he is a little more rough around the edges.

Oberon

The King of the Fairies. He, like Theseus and Egeus, believe that they can and should be able to control their wives, and is gobsmacked that his wife, Titania, continues to refuse him. He does not take delight in mischief that is not specifically designed by him or goes against true love; for example, Robin pours the flower juice on the wrong person's eyes. If the mischief is advantageous to him-for example when getting the Indian Boy back-he delights in it as long as they follow the rules of their world.,

Egeus (Eh-gee-us)

Hermia's father, and an Athenian courtier. He wants to control his daughter as per societal law to force her to marry the person he has chosen for her. He looks to Theseus a lot for help in these matters, but concedes to his rule once he is told Hermia will marry the person she loves.

The Mechanicals

Nick Bottom

Bottom is a well respected man among his peers, even if those peers are not to be well respected by the audience of Midsummer. They believe he is the smartest and best looking among them, which of course means he will end up with the lead in the play. Bottom interrupts Quince constantly to preen and prattle on about his abilities as a speaker or dramatist, which doesn't lend him much respect from the reader. We're meant to laugh at him. When Robin watches him rehearse Pyramus' role, he is called a strange and stupid actor; Robin's immediate thought is to give him a donkey's head, an animal which is often used to represent foolishness. Despite his ignorance, Bottom does mean well, and the rest of the group do look to him for help, which he is always there to provide.

Peter Quince

Quince is the real leader of the drama group, and a carpenter by trade. He knows how to deal with Bottom's constant interruptions and attempts to take over direction either by changing the subject, asking Bottom directly for his advice or by refusing his suggestion wholly through compliments. For instance, Quince tells Bottom he is the only one who could play Pyramus, and so he couldn't possibly play other characters. A terrifically skilled manipulator! Beyond this, not much else is known about his character.

Francis Flute

Flute is a bellows-mender and plays Thisbe in the play at the end. He is reluctant to play a female character and claims this is because he has a beard coming (1.2.40-41) and doesn't want to shave it off. Quince waves him off and tells him that he'll wear a mask over his face, and that's that. Flute doesn't argue much, and when he does speak it is usually to worry or compliment someone. He appears to be quite a nervous person.

Snug

Snug, the joiner, plays the Lion and is excited by the prospect. He is, however, afraid of frightening the ladies in the audience, which shows his gentleness and sensitivity. Snug can be seen as another foolish character, as he is initially worried he won't be able to learn his lines—which are at the time all roars! He is the only minor character of the Mechanicals not given a first name.

Tom Snout

Snout, the tinker, plays the Wall in the play. Initially he is meant to play Pyramus' father, but the play's need for a Wall ended up being greater. He, like his friends and fellow actors, is terrified by the prospect of Bottom being transformed, but is one of only two to return and approach Bottom for a short while. Snout's bravery is short lived, however, as once he has pointed out Bottom's transformation, he flees to safety.