On the evening of the same day, David is putting up the shutters for the night on Hans Sachs' shop, which stands just across the street from Pogner's house. Other apprentices are similarly employed near by and are singing happily, when Magdalena appears and questions David as to the outcome of the trial. He informs her that the young knight was " outsung and outdone " and she, angered at the information, refuses to give him the goodies she had brought him in her basket and hurries back into the house. The apprentices, who have watched this meeting, make fun of David and a quarrel is imminent, when Sachs appears and orders the boy into the shop and to bed. Sachs himself enters and prepares for work. Pogner and Eva come slowly up the street, both rather thoughtful, for the father begins to doubt the advisability of the course he has taken in prom ising his daughter's hand, while the girl is eager to know the results of the singing-test. They sit down for a few moments in an arbor beneath a lime-tree in front of the door but Magdalena soon appears and the two women speedily manage to get the father into the house. Then the nurse tells Eva what David has had to report concern ing Walter's failure.
Sachs appears at the door of his shop as the women go into their house. He wishes to work but the memory of the song Walter sung still lingers in his mind and spirit. He feels its power yet he cannot classify or analyze it. He knows that it is good but cannot tell why. The poet in him responds to the utterance of genius, strange though that utterance may be. Eva comes and tries by skilful question ing to learn the details of the afternoon. Sachs quickly sees the trend of her inquiries and teases her and amuses himself by disparaging Walter's work and worth. She leaves in anger, going to Magdalena, who informs her that Beck messer is coming that evening to sing as a serenade before her (Eva's) window the song he is to use in the contest tomorrow. Eva says that Magdalena shall sit by the win dow and receive the serenader when he arrives. Just then Walter comes down the street and Eva runs to him with frank confession of her love for him. They plan to elope but the night-watchman passes just as they start and Sachs, who from the partly closed window of his shop has been noting what has been passing, throws wide the shutters and floods the street with light so that they cannot pass without being seen. They are about to make a dash for it, when Beckmesser appears and begins tuning his lute prepara tory for his serenade. Sachs commences a lusty song and a vigorous pounding on his last as the singing starts and, when Beckmesser pleads with him to be silent, he replies that as the honorable town clerk complained of the delay in receiving his shoes the cobbler must of necessity work at night and get them finished for the morrow. Beckmesser finally agrees to Sachs' proposal that while the serenade is being sung he shall act as " marker " and by driving a peg into the shoe every time a mistake is made in the song, they both will be able to accomplish what they wish to do.
Beckmesser begins and Sachs indulges in such frequent marking of errors that he has his shoes completed before the serenade is ended. The noise rouses the neighbors and, David looking out of his lattice window, sees Magdalena at her window, receiving Beckmesser's serenade. He quickly descends to the street and begins to belabor the honorable town clerk. Others join in and a veritable melee ensues. Eva and Walter, hidden in the arbor, attempt to make their escape in the confusion but Sachs rushes forward and, pushing the half fainting girl into the arms of Magda lens, who just then appears at the door, seizes Walter by the arm and drags him into the shop. The night-watch man's horn is heard and the people scurry into their houses, leaving the sleepy and not over-courageous guardian of the night to announce that it is eleven o'clock and that all is well.
The next morning, Sachs sits in the sunshine in his living-room, reading in an old folio. David comes and finds him so engrossed that he notices nothing. Finally, when aroused, the master has his 'prentice sing the song that has been learned for the day and then bids him go prepare for the festival. Sachs falls to meditating on the possible reasons and causes for the disturbance of the night before, but can reach no conclusion. Suddenly, Walter appears at the door of the room wherein he has slept since midnight. He greets Sachs heartily and tells him that he has had a wonderful dream. He is asked to relate it and, as he does so, Sachs writes it down, skilfully guiding the recital so that the song, as far as it goes, is formally satis factory. It is not completed, however, for Walter's inspira tion seems to lag and both he and Sachs leave to dress foi the festival.
Beckmesser peeps in at the window, then slowly enters and peering about finally discovers on the table the manu script of the poem Sachs just has noted down. He con cludes at once that it is designed for the contest and that the cobbler-poet will use it. Sachs surprises him as he is examining it and, when Beckmesser suggests that it is to be sung at the contest, Sachs laughingly presents the manu script to him with full permission to use it as he may see fit. Beckmesser is delighted and now is sure of winning Eva's hand. He has scarcely gone when Eva comes, ready for the festivities. She offers as an excuse that one of her new shoes pinches her but Sachs quickly sees that to learn the whereabouts of Walter is the true object of her visit. Walter appears and the cobbler suggests that a little music would lighten the labor of correcting the shortcoming in Eva's shoe. The enamored young knight sings to his love and thus adds the needed third part to the dream-song. When both singing and shoe are simultaneously finished, Sachs hails the melody and poem as a master-song and declares that it must be christened. David is called in and Magdalena arriving at the same time, the five sing about the song and what it shall accomplish at the contest.