OBERON         Then crush this herb into Lysander’s eye,

Whose liquor hath this virtuous property

To take from thence all error with his might,

And make his eyeballs roll with wonted sight.

When they next wake, all this derision

Shall seem a dream and fruitless vision,

And back to Athens shall the lovers wend

With league whose date till death shall never end.

Whiles I in this affair do thee employ,

I’ll to my queen and beg her Indian boy;

And then I will her charmed eye release

From monster’s view, and all things shall be peace.          (3.2.366-377)

Oberon has switched into rhyming couplets, making it more magical? artificial? Once Lysander and Demetrius are soundly asleep, Puck has another crucial job to do: then crush this herb into Lysander’s eye—yes, Lysander, are we clear on which one of these idiots is Lysander? good—whose liquor hath this virtuous property to take from thence all error with his might, and make his eyeballs roll with wonted sight. Fortunately, I happen to have an antidote prepared: THIS magic plant will undo all the previous magic and make him love Hermia again, just as he used to! Yes, I know I’m good. (Don’t touch Demetrius! Don’t mention Demetrius! Don’t remind the audience that Demetrius is going to remain in his drugged state for the foreseeable future!) When they next wake, all this derision shall seem a dream and fruitless vision—if they remember anything at all about this MAD night, it’ll be like a dream, fleeting, partial, patchy, not adding up to anything, not TRUE—and back to Athens shall the lovers wend with league whose date till death shall never end. They’ll be FINE! They’ll get married and live happily ever after! We’ve gone the long way round, but we’ll get there in the end. (What could possibly go wrong? Puck’s expression may be suggesting.)

But there’s another aspect to this story which has long been sidelined, because Oberon has been playing a long game and all of this chaos has just been an entertaining sideshow. (Puck might not agree. Neither might Hermia and Helena.) Whiles I in this affair do thee employ—while you’re sorting all this out—I’ll to my queen and beg her Indian boy. Because that’s what I’ve been planning all along, that’s what all of this has been for, and my motivations are still unclear; a sinister note. And then I will her charmed eye release from monster’s view—I’ll disenchant her too, that whole ass’s head thing, fun while it lasted though?—and all things shall be peace. Peace. At least for now.