Despite the promise of the opening lines of the play—Theseus’s “Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour / Draws on apace. Four happy days bring in / Another moon”— the timeline of the play appears to span three days (1.1.1-3). On the first day of the play’s action, Theseus makes his aforementioned declaration, and Lysander mentions that he and Hermia will “steal forth thy father’s house tomorrow night” (1.1.166). Presumably, the mechanicals also decide to meet “tomorrow night” on the first day (1.2.87). Therefore, the second day of action begins with Act II, Scene 1, proceeding with the events of the woods, through the lover’s confusion in Act III, Scene 2. Theseus finds the lovers in the forest in the morning of the third day of action, and the wedding proceeds just after that, summing up the total action of Dream to three days. This inconsistency may be chalked up to one of Shakespeare’s many with time; it may also be rendered invisible with the performance of theatre, creating a sense of “fairy time” with the magic of the woods that engulfs the middle of the story.

Alternatively, one may pay attention instead to the sleeping patterns of the lovers, where the use of love spells tracks the time of passing nights and shows that five days have been accounted for. First, Lysander receives the juice of the “love-in-idleness” flowers; second, Demetrius receives the juice of the “love-in-idleness” flower; and third, Lysander receives the magic antidote to restore his love. In such a case, the middle three day blend together into what is perceived as an endless night, the experience surreal to the disoriented humans who inhabit the realm of the fairies, nighttime.

Some sources have also attempted to date Dream within the calendar year. One source asserts that, with the play following the structure of the Midsummer festival, with the pagan celebrations happening on the night before the Christian recentering of order in St. John’s Day; thus, Dream may be dated to taking place during June 23 and June 24. Alternatively, another source considers Theseus’s, “No doubt they rose up early to observe / The rite of May,” as indicating that Act IV, Scene 1 takes place on May 1 (4.1.137-138). (For more information on Midsummer and May Day, please refer to the section, The Natural World → Midsummer & May Day.)