Characters

The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream

The people who make A Midsummer Night's Dream move — what they want, who they love, who they hate, and how each one fits the story. Tap any name to read more.

Athenian aristocracys

Demetrius

Young Athenian nobleman caught between law, magic, and desire · Young man

daughter of Nedars

Helena

Lovesick Athenian; the object of sudden, magical affection · young woman

Daughter of Egeus

Hermia

Young Athenian woman caught between filial duty and romantic desire · Almost fourteen

Amazon warrior lineages

Hippolyta

Queen of the Amazons; bride-to-be of Theseus · Adult (warrior maturity)

Father of Hermias

Egeus

Hermia's father; enforcer of Athenian law

Athenian citizen; no parents nameds

Lysander

Young Athenian lover; catalyst for the forest's chaos · sixteen-or-so

Titania (estranged queen)s

Oberon

King of the Fairies; master of magic and desire · Ageless; immortal

Engaged to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons

Theseus

Duke of Athens; enforcer of law and reason · Mature adult; newly betrothed

Fairy royalty; spouse of Oberons

Titania

Queen of the Fairies; enchanted into love with a mortal · Immortal

Other characters

Nick Bottom

Weaver and amateur actor; the play's wisest fool

Peter Quince

Carpenter and director of the mechanicals' amateur play

Puck (Robin Goodfellow)

Mischievous fairy spirit; agent of magical chaos and transformation

Pyramus

A young lover in the mechanicals' tragic play-within-the-play

Francis Flute

A bellows-mender; reluctant actor cast as Thisbe in the mechanicals' play

Thisbe

Young lover in the mechanicals' tragic play-within-the-play

Tom Snout

Tinker and amateur actor; plays Pyramus' father and the Wall

Philostrate

Master of Revels to Duke Theseus; keeper of entertainments