The play opens with Theseus (the Duke of Athens) and Hippolyta (his Amazonian queen and bride-to-be) discussing their wedding, until Egeus drags in his daughter (Hermia), his daughter’s boyfriend (Lysander), and his preferred suitor for Hermia (Demetrius). Egeus demands that legal action is taken to force Hermia to either marry Demetrius or die. Theseus doesn’t like this plan (and obviously neither does Hermia) so he offers her a different choice – she can either marry Demetrius or become a nun and never date men again (which frankly isn’t much better). Hermia and Lysander decide to elope, but before they leave, Helena (Hermia’s best friend) interrupts them. She’s sad because – here comes the love triangle – she loves Demetrius but he loves Hermia. Hermia tells Helena of her plan to elope and then leaves. Helena decides to tell Demetrius of Hermia’s plan in the naive hope that it’ll make him so upset that he will turn to Helena.
