The basic plot of the play follows a three-part structure: 1) events go wrong; 2) there are ridiculous complications; 3) events come right.

The play acknowledges the presence of the audience in soliloquies such as Helena’s explanation of her thoughts at the end of Act I Scene 1.

Images of the moon are repeated, suggesting mystery, fertility and madness. Images of eyes also prevail, emphasising the blur of appearance and reality. The magic juice is applied to the eyes.

Most characters speak in blank verse with rhyming couplets marking key moments, though the craftsmen speak in prose and the fairies’ song-like spells use rhyme.

Egeus lists love tokens. Oberon lists beasts with which Titania might fall in love. Hermia and Lysander list obstacles to love.