Set in Athens, the play follows the trials, heartaches and eventual happiness of two Athenian couples and the entertaining antics of meddling, magical fairies. The main plot involves two sets of couples—Hermia and Lysander and Helena and Demetrius—whose romances are complicated by the whims of Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, and their servant, Puck.
Shakespeare's lighthearted play explores the capricious, dreamlike and sometimes ridiculous nature of love. It highlights more humor with its play-within-a-play format in which a group of Athenian craftsmen, known as the mechanicals, celebrate the upcoming marriage of Duke Theseus and the Amazonian Queen Hippolyta by putting on an amateur version of a play.
The story concludes with the fairies blessing the couples and Puck speaking directly to the audience, hoping they have not been offended by the play. He suggests that if the play has offended, it may be nothing more than a dream.