“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Characters

Theseus duke of Athens; at start of play, recently returned from conquering the Amazons and is about to marry their queen, Hippolyta; projects confidence, authority, and benevolent power
Hippolyta queen of the Amazons; engaged to marry Theseus; does not act like an unwilling bride; Theseus is very cordial towards her, and she is unfailingly differential toward him
Egeus respected nobleman in Theseus’ court; complains that his daughter Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, his choice for her; asks Theseus to impose the death penalty on her if she refuses to marry Demetrius
Hermia Egeus’ daughter; beautiful young woman of Athens; both Demetrius and Lysander are in love with her; defies her father’s wish that she marry Demetrius because she loves Lysander; strong-willed and independent; resolves to elope with Lysander; childhood friend of Helena
Lysander a young nobleman of Athens; in love with Hermia; believes that love must conquer all obstacles, and persuades Hermia to run away from her home and family with him to the forest to elope
Demetrius a young nobleman of Athens; previously loved Helena but favor shifted to Hermia; is emboldened by Egeus’ approval of him, and is undeterred by the fact that Hermia doesn’t want him
Helena a young woman of Athens in love with Demetrius; has been rejected and abandoned by Demetrius, who claimed to love her until he met her best friend, Hermia; often speaks in self-pitying tone; puts herself in dangerous and humiliating situations; throws herself at Demetrius, who now wants nothing to do with her
Puck real name is Robin Goodfellow; delights in pranking mortals; Oberon’s jester; sprinkles the flower juice on the eyes of various characters to change who they love, and much of the play’s confusion arises from this
Oberon king of the fairies; begins the play at odds with his wife, Titania, because she refuses to relinquish control of a young Indian prince whom she kidnapped, but whom Oberon wants for a knight; revenge leads him to send Puck to get the love-potion flower, starting the debacles in the play
Titania queen of the fairies; resists the attempts of her husband, Oberon, to make a knight of the young Indian prince whom she has taken; sworn to avoid his company and his bed until Oberon gives up his quest; upset that Oberon has been disrupting her and her followers’ magic fairy dances
Nick Bottom overconfident weaver chosen to play Pyramus in a play that a group of craftsmen decide to put on tor Theseus’ wedding celebration; full of advice and confidence but makes silly mistakes and misuses language; his nonchalance about Titania’s sudden love for him and unawareness of the fact that Puck transforms his head into that of a donkey’s are the pinnacle of arrogance
Peter Quince carpenter and the nominal leader of the craftsmen’s attempt to put on a play for Theseus’ marriage celebration; often shoved aside by Bottom’s overconfidence; in the craftsmen’s play, plays the Prologue
Francis Flute bellows-mender chosen to play Thisbe in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’ marriage celebration; forced to play a young girl in love, and so determines to speak his lines in a high, squeaky voice
Robin Starveling tailor chosen to play Thisbe’s mother in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’ wedding celebration; ends up playing the part of Moonshine
Tom Snout tinker chosen to play Pyramus in the craftsmen’s play for Theseus’ wedding celebration; ends up laying the Wall that divides two lovers
Philostrate Theseus’ Master of the Revels; responsible for organizing the entertainment for the duke’s marriage celebration
Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, and Mustardseed the fairies whom Titania orders to wait on Bottom after she falls in love with him (via the love potion flower)