In act 2, scene 1 of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Oberon, King of the Fairies, is having a disagreement with Titania, Queen of the Fairies, about a young Indian prince who Titania refuses to share with Oberon.
Oberon decides to take revenge on Titania and tells his fairy servant, Puck (also known as "Robin Goodfellow"), to find a rare purple flower.
OBERON: And maidens call it love-in-idleness.
... The juice of it on sleeping eye-lids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote
Upon the next live creature that it sees. (2.1.171-175)
Oberon hopes to use the juice of the flower to trick Titania into loving the first thing she sees when she wakes up.
OBERON:The next thing then she waking looks upon,
Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull,
On meddling monkey, or on busy ape,
She shall pursue it with the...
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soul of love. (2.1.183-186)
Oberon sends Puck off to find the flower, and while he waits for Puck's return, he sees Helena pursuing Demetrius. Helena is intent on having Demetrius love her and marry her, but Demetrius is adamant about not loving Helena and not wanting to have anything to do with her.
DEMETRIUS: I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
... Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more. (2.1.192-198)
Oberon feels sorry for Helena and makes a promise to himself that Demetrius will love Helena before she leaves the forest.
Puck returns with the flower. Oberon explains to Puck that he's going to put the juice of the flower in Titania's eyes while she's sleeping. He also tells Puck to take some juice of the flower and put it into the eyes of an Athenian man while he's sleeping, so that he'll fall in love with Helena when he wakes up. Oberon goes off to play his trick on Titania, and Puck goes off to do what Oberon has told him to do.
In act 2, scene 2, Hermia and Lysander, who have arranged to elope to a location outside Athens, are wandering through the forest. Tired and lost, they decide to rest. Hermia tells Lysander to lie down a little distance away from her, for the sake of her innocence and modesty, and he walks a few steps from her before he lies down to sleep.
Puck has been searching through the forest for a man in "Athenian garments," and he happens on the sleeping Lysander and Hermia.
PUCK: Weeds [clothing] of Athens he doth wear:
This is he, my master said,
Despised the Athenian maid;
And here the maiden, sleeping sound,
On the dank and dirty ground. (2.2.71-75)
Puck puts the juice of the flower on Lysander's eyes as he was told and hurries back to Oberon, unaware that he put the juice of the flower on the wrong Athenian's eyes.
As Puck leaves the scene, Demetrius comes running on, chased by Helena. Demetrius tells Helena to stop following him,and runs off again. Helena is too tired to chase him. She sees Lysander sleeping on the ground. She can't tell if he is alive or dead and decides to wake him up to find out.
Lysander wakes up, sees Helena, and falls instantly in love with her. He tells her that he's no longer in love with Hermia.
LYSANDER: ... No: I do repent
The tedious minutes I with her have spent.
Not Hermia but Helena I love. (2.2.113-115)
Helena reprimands Lysander for mocking her and rejects his love.
HELENA: Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born?(125)
When at your hands did I deserve this scorn?
... Good troth, you do me wrong, good sooth, you do,
In such disdainful manner me to woo.(2.2.125-132)
Helena angrily stomps away, leaving Lysander to heap disdain on Hermia, after which Lysander runs off after Helena, "to be her knight!" (2.2.146)