Midsummer Night's Dream
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''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
play written by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of
Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...
and
Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...
. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is one of Shakespeare's most popular and widely performed plays.


Characters

The Athenians: *
Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...
– Duke of Athens *
Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...
– Queen of the Amazons and Theseus' fianceé *
Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysan ...
– in love with Lysander *
Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...
– in love with Demetrius *
Lysander Lysander (; ; 454 BC – 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He then played ...
– in love with Hermia *
Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...
– suitor to Hermia *
Egeus Egeus is a character in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', the comedy by William Shakespeare. He is an Athenian who tries to keep his daughter, Hermia, from marrying Lysander (the man she loves). In original performances, the actor for his role pr ...
– Hermia's father * Philostrate – Theseus'
Master of Revels The Master of the Revels was the holder of a position within the English, and later the British, royal household, heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels". The Master of the Revels was an executive officer under the Lord Chamberlai ...
The Mechanicals: *
Peter Quince Peter Quince is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He is one of the six mechanicals of Athens who perform the play which Quince himself authored, "The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and This ...
– a carpenter, their director and speaks the prologue *
Nick Bottom Nick Bottom is a character in Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' who provides comic relief throughout the play. A weaver by trade, he is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of a donkey by the elusive Puck. Bott ...
– a weaver, plays 'Pyramus' *
Francis Flute Francis Flute is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. His occupation is a bellows-mender. He is forced to play the female role of Thisbe in " Pyramus and Thisbe", a play-within-the-play which is performed for Thes ...
– a bellows-mender, plays 'Thisbe' * Snug – a joiner, plays 'Lion' *
Tom Snout Tom Snout is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He is a tinker, and one of the " mechanicals" of Athens, amateur players in '' Pyramus and Thisbe'', a play within the play. In the play-within-a-play, Snout plays ...
– a tinker, plays 'Wall' * Robin Starveling – a tailor, plays 'Moonshine' The Fairies: *
Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...
– King of the Fairies * Titania – Queen of the Fairies * Puck – Oberon's knavish sprite * A Fairy, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed – servants to Titania * Indian changeling (unseen) – a ward of Titania


Plot

The play consists of several interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke
Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...
of
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
and the
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
queen
Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...
. Most of the action occurs in the woodland realm of
Fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...
land, under the light of the moon.


Act 1


Act 1 Scene 1

The play opens with
Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...
and
Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...
who are 4 days away from their wedding. Theseus is unhappy about how long he has to wait while Hippolyta thinks it will pass by like a dream. Theseus is confronted by
Egeus Egeus is a character in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', the comedy by William Shakespeare. He is an Athenian who tries to keep his daughter, Hermia, from marrying Lysander (the man she loves). In original performances, the actor for his role pr ...
and his daughter
Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysan ...
, who is in love with
Lysander Lysander (; ; 454 BC – 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He then played ...
, and resistant to her father's demand that she marry Demetrius, whom he has arranged for her to marry. Enraged, Egeus invokes an ancient Athenian
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
before Duke Theseus, whereby a daughter needs to marry a suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong
chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains from sexual activity that is considered immoral or from any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for exampl ...
as a
nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...
worshipping the goddess
Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...
, but the two lovers both deny his choice and make a secret plan to escape into the forest for Lysander's aunt's house, to run away from Theseus. Hermia tells their plans to
Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...
, her best friend, who pines unrequitedly for Demetrius, who broke up with her to be with Hermia. Desperate to reclaim Demetrius's love, Helena tells Demetrius about the plan and he follows them in hopes of finding Hermia.


Act 1 Scene 2

The mechanicals,
Peter Quince Peter Quince is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He is one of the six mechanicals of Athens who perform the play which Quince himself authored, "The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and This ...
and fellow players
Nick Bottom Nick Bottom is a character in Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' who provides comic relief throughout the play. A weaver by trade, he is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of a donkey by the elusive Puck. Bott ...
,
Francis Flute Francis Flute is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. His occupation is a bellows-mender. He is forced to play the female role of Thisbe in " Pyramus and Thisbe", a play-within-the-play which is performed for Thes ...
, Robin Starveling,
Tom Snout Tom Snout is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He is a tinker, and one of the " mechanicals" of Athens, amateur players in '' Pyramus and Thisbe'', a play within the play. In the play-within-a-play, Snout plays ...
and Snug plan to put on a play for the wedding of the Duke and the Queen, "the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of
Pyramus and Thisbe In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe () are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem ''Metamorphoses''. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, drive ...
". Quince reads the names of characters and bestows them on the players. Nick Bottom, who is playing the main role of Pyramus, is over-enthusiastic and wants to dominate others by suggesting himself for the characters of Thisbe, the Lion, and Pyramus at the same time. Quince insists that Bottom can only play the role of Pyramus. Bottom would also rather play a tyrant and recites some lines of Ercles. Bottom is told by Quince that he would play the Lion so terribly as to frighten the duchess and other ladies so much that the Duke and Lords would have the players
hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
. Snug remarks that he needs Lion's part because he is "slow of study". Quince assures Snug that the role of the lion is "nothing but roaring." Quince then ends the meeting by telling his actors "At the Duke's oak we meet".


Act 2


Act 2 Scene 1

In a parallel plot line,
Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...
, king of the fairies, and Titania, his queen, have come to the forest outside Athens. Titania tells Oberon that she plans to stay there until she has attended Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding. Oberon and Titania are estranged because Titania refuses to give her Indian
changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...
to Oberon for use as his "knight" or "henchman" since the child's mother was one of Titania's worshippers. Oberon seeks to punish Titania. He calls upon Robin " Puck" Goodfellow, his "shrewd and knavish sprite", to help him concoct a magical juice derived from a flower called " love-in-idleness", which turns from white to purple when struck by Cupid's arrow. When the concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person, upon waking, falls in love with the first living thing they perceive. He instructs Puck to retrieve the flower with the hope that he might make Titania fall in love with an animal of the forest and thereby shame her into giving up the little Indian boy. He says, "And ere I take this charm from off her sight, / As I can take it with another herb, / I'll make her render up her page to me." Helena and Demetrius enter, with her continuously making advances towards Demetrius, promising to love him more than Hermia. However, he rebuffs her with cruel insults. Observing this, Oberon orders Puck to spread some of the magical juice from the flower on the eyelids of the young Athenian man.


Act 2 Scene 2

As Titania is lulled to sleep by her fairies, Oberon sneaks up and places the flower juice on her eyes, exiting the stage afterwards. Lysander and Hermia enter, lost and exhausted from the journey. Hermia rejects Lysander's advances to sleep together, and the two lie down on different corners. Puck enters and mistakes Lysander for Demetrius, not having seen either before, and administers the juice to the sleeping Lysander. Helena, coming across him, wakes him while attempting to determine whether he is dead or asleep. Upon this happening, Lysander immediately falls in love with Helena. Helena, thinking Lysander is mocking her, runs away. Lysander follows her. When Hermia wakes up after dreaming a snake ate her heart, she sees that Lysander is gone and goes out in the woods to find him.


Act 3


Act 3 Scene 1

Meanwhile, Quince and his band of five labourers ("rude mechanicals", as Puck describes them) have arranged to perform their play about
Pyramus and Thisbe In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe () are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem ''Metamorphoses''. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, drive ...
for Theseus's wedding and venture into the forest, near Titania's bower, for their rehearsal. Quince leads the actors in their rehearsal of the play. Bottom is spotted by Puck, who (taking his name to be another word for a jackass) transforms his head into that of a
donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...
. When Bottom returns for his next lines, the other workmen run screaming in terror: They claim that they are haunted, much to Bottom's confusion. Determined to await his friends, he begins to sing to himself. Titania, having received the love potion, is awakened by Bottom's singing and immediately falls in love with him. (In the words of the play, "Titania waked, and straightway loved an ass.") She lavishes him with the attention of her and her fairies, and while she is in this state of devotion, Oberon takes the
changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...
boy.


Act 3 Scene 2

Oberon sees Demetrius still following Hermia. When Demetrius goes to sleep, Oberon condemns Puck's mistake and sends him to get Helena while he charms Demetrius's eyes. Upon waking, he sees Helena arguing with Lysander, and instantly falls in love with her. Now under the spell, the two men are both in love with her. However, Helena is convinced that her two suitors are mocking her, as neither loved her originally. Hermia finds Lysander and asks why he left her, but Lysander claims he never loved Hermia, instead loving Helena. This soon turns into a quarrel between the two ladies, with Helena chiding Hermia for joining in the mockery session, followed by the latter furiously charging at her for stealing her true love's heart and blaming her for the supposed 'mockery'. Oberon and Puck decide that they must resolve this conflict, and by the morning, none of them will have any memory of what happened, as if it were a dream. Oberon arranges everything so Helena, Hermia, Demetrius, and Lysander will all believe they have been dreaming when they awaken. Puck distracts Lysander and Demetrius from fighting over Helena's love by mimicking their voices and leading them apart. Eventually, all four find themselves separately falling asleep in the glade. Once they fall asleep, Puck administers the antidote to Lysander, returning his love to Hermia again, and cast another spell over the four Athenian lovers, claiming all will be well in the morning. Once they awaken, the lovers assume that whatever happened was a dream and not reality.


Act 4


Act 4 Scene 1

Having achieved his goals, Oberon releases Titania and orders Puck to remove the donkey's head from Bottom. The fairies then disappear, and Theseus and Hippolyta arrive on the scene, during an early morning hunt. They find the lovers still sleeping in the glade. They wake up the lovers and, since Demetrius no longer loves Hermia, Theseus over-rules Egeus's demands and arranges a group wedding. The lovers at first believe they are still in a dream and cannot recall what has happened. The lovers decide that the night's events must have been a dream, as they walk back to Athens.


Act 4 Scene 2

After they exit, Bottom awakes, and he too decides that he must have experienced a dream "past the wit of man". At Quince's house, Quince and his team of actors worry that Bottom has gone missing. Quince laments that Bottom is the only man who can take on the lead role of Pyramus. Bottom returns and the actors get ready to put on "Pyramus and Thisbe".


Act 5

In the final scene of the play, Theseus, Hippolyta and the lovers watch the six workmen perform ''Pyramus and Thisbe'' in Athens. The mechanicals are so terrible at playing their roles that the guests laugh as if it were meant to be a comedy, and everyone retires to bed. Afterwards, Oberon, Titania, Puck, and other fairies enter, and bless the house and its occupants with good fortune. After all the other characters leave, Puck "restores amends" and suggests that what the
audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
experienced might just be a dream.


Sources

It is unknown exactly when ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' was written or first performed, but on the basis of topical references and an allusion to
Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...
's ''
Epithalamion An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' " nuptial chamber") is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This f ...
'', it is usually dated 1595 or early 1596. Some have theorised that the play might have been written for an aristocratic wedding (for example that of Thomas Berkeley and Elizabeth Carey), while others suggest that it was written for the Queen to celebrate the
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
of St. John, but no evidence exists to support this theory. In any case, it would have been performed at
The Theatre The Theatre was an Elizabethan playhouse in Shoreditch (in Curtain Road, part of the modern London Borough of Hackney), just outside the City of London. Built in 1576, after the Red Lion, it was the first permanent theatre built exclusiv ...
and, later, The Globe. Though it is not a translation or adaptation of an earlier work, various sources such as
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
's ''
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...
'' and
Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...
's "
The Knight's Tale "The Knight's Tale" () is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. The Knight is described by Chaucer in the " General Prologue" as the person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims, though his manners and c ...
" served as inspiration.
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...
' classical Greek comedy '' The Birds'' (also set in the countryside near Athens) has been proposed as a source due to the fact that both Procne and Titania are awakened by male characters (Hoopoe and Bottom the Weaver) who have animal heads and who sing two-stanza songs about birds. According to John Twyning, the play's plot of four lovers undergoing a trial in the woods was intended as a "riff" on '' Der Busant'', a
Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...
poem. According to Dorothea Kehler, the writing period can be placed between 1594 and 1596, which means that Shakespeare had probably already completed ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' and was still in contemplation of ''
The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...
''. The play belongs to the author's early-middle period, a time when Shakespeare devoted primary attention to the
lyricism Lyricism is a term used to describe a piece of art considered to have deep emotions. Its origin is found in the word ''lyric'', derived via Latin ' from the Greek ('), the adjectival form of ''lyre''. It is often employed to relate to the capab ...
of his works.


Date and text

The play was entered into the
Register Register or registration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), ...
of the
Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in 1 ...
on 8 October 1600 by the bookseller Thomas Fisher, who published the
first quarto First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
edition later that year. A
second quarto The earliest texts of William Shakespeare's works were published during the 16th and 17th centuries in quarto or folio format. Folios are large, tall volumes; quartos are smaller, roughly half the size. The publications of the latter are usually a ...
was printed in 1619 by
William Jaggard William Jaggard ( – November 1623) was an Elizabethan era, Elizabethan and Jacobean era, Jacobean printer and publisher, best known for his connection with the texts of William Shakespeare, most notably the First Folio of Shakespeare's pl ...
, as part of his so-called
False Folio False Folio is the term that Shakespeare scholars and bibliographers have applied to William Jaggard's printing of ten Shakespearean and pseudo-Shakespearean plays together in 1619, the first attempt to collect Shakespeare's work in a single v ...
. The play next appeared in print in the
First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...
of 1623. The title page of Q1 states that the play was "sundry times publickely acted" prior to 1600. According to Sukanta Chaudhuri, editor of the 2017 Arden edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream, "The only firm evidence for the date of Dream is its mention in Francis Meres's Palladis Tamia, which appeared in 1598" (p. 283). Chaudhuri's exhaustive investigation of its original date of performance points to 1595 or 1596 (likely for the wedding of either William Stanley, sixth Earl of Derby to Elizabeth de Vere, or Thomas Berkeley, son of Henry Lord Berkeley, to Elizabeth Carey) (p. 284-5). Further consolidations of this late Elizabethan date are provided by "Oberon's unmissable compliment to Queen Elizabeth (2.1.155-164)" (Chaudhuri), and Titania's description of flooded fields and failed crops which occurred through England in the years 1594-1597/8 (2.1.84-121). The first court performance known with certainty occurred at
Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...
on 1 January 1604, as a prelude to ''
The Masque of Indian and China Knights ''The Masque of Indian and China Knights'' was performed at Hampton Court in Richmond, London, Richmond, England on 1 January 1604. The masque was not published, and no text survives. It was described in a letter written by Dudley Carleton, 1st ...
''.


Themes


Lovers' bliss

In
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...
, long before the creation of the Christian celebrations of St. John's Day, the summer solstice was marked by
Adonia The Adonia (Greek: ) was a festival celebrated annually by women in ancient Greece to mourn the death of Adonis, the consort of Aphrodite. It is best attested in classical Athens, though other sources provide evidence for the ritual mourning of ...
, a festival to mourn the death of
Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...
, the devoted mortal lover of the goddess
Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
. According to
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
's ''
Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...
'', Aphrodite took the orphaned infant Adonis to the
underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
to be raised by
Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...
. He grew to be a beautiful young man, and when Aphrodite returned to retrieve him, Persephone did not want to let him go. Zeus settled the dispute by giving Adonis one-third of the year with Persephone, one-third of the year with Aphrodite, and the remaining third where he chose. Adonis chose to spend two-thirds of the year with his paramour, Aphrodite. He bled to death in his lover's arms after being gored by a boar. Mythology has various stories attributing the colour of certain flowers to staining by the blood of Adonis or Aphrodite. The story of Venus and Adonis was well known to the Elizabethans and inspired many works, including Shakespeare's own hugely popular narrative poem, '' Venus and Adonis'', written while London's theatres were closed because of plague. It was published in 1593. The wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta and the mistaken and waylaid lovers, Titania and Bottom, even the erstwhile acting troupe, model various aspects (and forms) of love.


Carnivalesque

Both David Wiles of the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
and
Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world". Af ...
of
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
have strongly endorsed the reading of this play under the themes of
Carnivalesque The Carnivalesque is a literary mode that subverts and liberates the assumptions of the dominant style or atmosphere through humor and chaos. It originated as "carnival" in Mikhail Bakhtin's ''Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics'' and was further dev ...
,
Bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in R ...
, and
Saturnalia Saturnalia is an Roman festivals, ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the List of Roman deities, god Saturn (mythology), Saturn, held on 17 December in the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities until 19 December. By t ...
. Writing in 1998, David Wiles stated that: "The starting point for my own analysis will be the proposition that although we encounter ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as a text, it was historically part of an aristocratic carnival. It was written for a wedding, and part of the festive structure of the wedding night. The audience who saw the play in the public theatre in the months that followed became vicarious participants in an aristocratic festival from which they were physically excluded. My purpose will be to demonstrate how closely the play is integrated with a historically specific upper-class celebration." Wiles argued in 1993 that the play was written to celebrate the Carey-Berkeley wedding. The date of the wedding was fixed to coincide with a conjunction of Venus and the new moon, highly propitious for conceiving an heir.


Love

David Bevington David Martin Bevington (May 13, 1931 – August 2, 2019) was an American literary scholar. He was the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and in English Language & Literature, Comparative Literature, and ...
argues that the play represents the dark side of love. He writes that the fairies make light of love by mistaking the lovers and by applying a love potion to Queen Titania's eyes, forcing her to fall in love with an ass. In the forest, both couples are beset by problems. Hermia and Lysander are both met by Puck, who provides some comic relief in the play by confounding the four lovers in the forest. However, the play also alludes to serious themes. At the end of the play, Hippolyta and Theseus, happily married, watch the play about the unfortunate lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, and are able to enjoy and laugh at it. Helena and Demetrius are both oblivious to the dark side of their love, totally unaware of what may have come of the events in the forest.


Problem with time

There is a dispute over the scenario of the play as it is cited at first by Theseus that "four happy days bring in another moon". The wood episode then takes place at a night of no Moon, but Lysander asserts that "there will be so much light in the very night they will escape that dew on the grass will be shining like liquid pearls." Also, in the next scene, Quince states that they will rehearse in moonlight, which creates a real confusion. It is possible that the Moon set during the night allowing Lysander to escape in the moonlight and for the actors to rehearse, then for the wood episode to occur without moonlight. Theseus's statement can also be interpreted to mean "four days until the next month". Another possibility is that, since each month there are roughly four consecutive nights that the Moon is not seen due to its closeness to the Sun in the sky (the two nights before the moment of new moon, followed by the two following it), it may in this fashion indicate a liminal "dark of the moon" period full of magical possibilities. This is further supported by Hippolyta's opening lines exclaiming "And then the moon, like to a silver bow New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night of our solemnities."; the thin crescent-shaped moon being the hallmark of the new moon's return to the skies each month. The play also intertwines the Midsummer Eve of the title with
May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...
, furthering the idea of a confusion of time and the seasons. This is evidenced by Theseus commenting on some slumbering youths, that they "observe The rite of May".


Loss of individual identity

Maurice Hunt, former Chair of the English Department at
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
, writes of the blurring of the identities of fantasy and reality in the play that make possible "that pleasing, narcotic dreaminess associated with the fairies of the play". By emphasising this theme, even in the setting of the play, Shakespeare prepares the reader's mind to accept the fantastic reality of the fairy world and its happenings. This also seems to be the axis around which the plot conflicts in the play occur. Hunt suggests that it is the breaking down of individual identities that leads to the central conflict in the story. It is the brawl between Oberon and Titania, based on a lack of recognition for the other in the relationship, that drives the rest of the drama in the story and makes it dangerous for any of the other lovers to come together due to the disturbance of Nature caused by a fairy dispute. Similarly, this failure to identify and to distinguish is what leads Puck to mistake one set of lovers for another in the forest, placing the flower's juice on Lysander's eyes instead of Demetrius'. Victor Kiernan, a Marxist scholar and historian, writes that it is for the greater sake of love that this loss of identity takes place and that individual characters are made to suffer accordingly: "It was the more extravagant cult of love that struck sensible people as irrational, and likely to have dubious effects on its acolytes." He believes that identities in the play are not so much lost as they are blended together to create a type of haze through which distinction becomes nearly impossible. It is driven by a desire for new and more practical ties between characters as a means of coping with the strange world within the forest, even in relationships as diverse and seemingly unrealistic as the brief love between Titania and Bottom: "It was the tidal force of this social need that lent energy to relationships." The aesthetics scholar David Marshall draws out this theme even further by noting that the loss of identity reaches its fullness in the description of the mechanicals and their assumption of other identities. In describing the occupations of the acting troupe, he writes "Two construct or put together, two mend and repair, one weaves and one sews. All join together what is apart or mend what has been rent, broken, or sundered." In Marshall's opinion, this loss of individual identity not only blurs specificities, it creates new identities found in community, which Marshall points out may lead to some understanding of Shakespeare's opinions on love and marriage. Further, the mechanicals understand this theme as they take on their individual parts for a corporate performance of Pyramus and Thisbe. Marshall remarks that "To be an actor is to double and divide oneself, to discover oneself in two parts: both oneself and not oneself, both the part and not the part." He claims that the mechanicals understand this and that each character, particularly among the lovers, has a sense of laying down individual identity for the greater benefit of the group or pairing. It seems that a desire to lose one's individuality and find identity in the love of another is what quietly moves the events of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. As the primary sense of motivation, this desire is reflected even in the scenery depictions and the story's overall mood.


Ambiguous sexuality

In his essay "Preposterous Pleasures: Queer Theories and ''A Midsummer Night's Dream",'' Douglas E. Green explores possible interpretations of alternative sexuality that he finds within the text of the play, in juxtaposition to the proscribed social mores of the culture at the time the play was written. He writes that his essay "does not (seek to) rewrite ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as a gay play but rather explores some of its 'homoerotic significations' ... moments of 'queer' disruption and eruption in this Shakespearean comedy." Green does not consider Shakespeare to have been a "sexual radical", but that the play represented a "topsy-turvy world" or "temporary holiday" that mediates or negotiates the "discontents of civilisation", which while resolved neatly in the story's conclusion, do not resolve so neatly in real life. Green writes that the "sodomitical elements", "
homoeroticism Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, including both male–male and female–female attraction. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be tempor ...
", "lesbianism", and even "compulsory heterosexuality"—the first hint of which may be Oberon's obsession with Titania's changeling ward—in the story must be considered in the context of the "culture of early modern England" as a commentary on the "aesthetic rigidities of comic form and political ideologies of the prevailing order".


Gender roles

Male dominance is one thematic element found in the play. In ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Lysander and Hermia escape into the woods for a night where they do not fall under the laws of Theseus or Egeus. Upon their arrival in Athens, the couples are married. Marriage is seen as the ultimate social achievement for women while men can go on to do many other great things and gain social recognition. In ''The Imperial Votaress'', Louis Montrose draws attention to male and female gender roles and norms present in the comedy in connection with Elizabethan culture. In reference to the triple wedding, he says, "The festive conclusion in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' depends upon the success of a process by which the feminine pride and power manifested in Amazon warriors, possessive mothers, unruly wives, and wilful daughters are brought under the control of lords and husbands." He says that the consummation of marriage is how power over a woman changes hands from father to husband. A connection is drawn between flowers and sexuality. Montrose sees the juice employed by Oberon as symbolising menstrual blood as well as the "sexual blood shed by 'virgins'". While blood as a result of menstruation is representative of a woman's power, blood as a result of a first sexual encounter represents man's power over women. There are points in the play, however, when there is an absence of patriarchal control. In his book ''Power on Display'', Leonard Tennenhouse says the problem in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is the problem of "authority gone archaic". The Athenian law requiring a daughter to die if she does not do her father's will is outdated. Tennenhouse contrasts the patriarchal rule of Theseus in Athens with that of Oberon in the carnivalistic Faerie world. The disorder in the land of the fairies completely opposes the world of Athens. He states that during times of carnival and festival, male power is broken down. For example, what happens to the four lovers in the woods as well as Bottom's dream represents chaos that contrasts with Theseus' political order. However, Theseus does not punish the lovers for their disobedience. According to Tennenhouse, by forgiving the lovers, he has made a distinction between the law of the patriarch (Egeus) and that of the monarch (Theseus), creating two different voices of authority. This can be compared to the time of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
, in which monarchs were seen as having two bodies: the body natural and the body politic. Tennenhouse says that Elizabeth's succession itself represented both the voice of a patriarch and the voice of a monarch: (1) her father's will, which stated that the crown should pass to her and (2) the fact that she was the daughter of a king.


Criticism and interpretation


Critical history


17th century

Dorothea Kehler has attempted to trace the criticism of the work through the centuries. The earliest such piece of criticism that she found was a 1662 entry in the diary of
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
. He found the play to be "the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life". He did, however, admit that it had "some good dancing and some handsome women, which was all my pleasure". The next critic known to comment on the play was
John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
, writing ''The Authors Apology for Heroique Poetry; and Poetique Licence'' in 1677. He was preoccupied with the question of whether
fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...
should be depicted in theatrical plays, since they did not exist. He concluded that poets should be allowed to depict things which do not exist but derive from
popular belief Popular beliefs are studied as a sub-field of social sciences, like history and anthropology, which examines spiritual beliefs that develop not independently from religion, but still outside of established religious institutions. Aspects of popula ...
. And fairies are of this sort, as are
pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a po ...
and the extraordinary effects of
magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...
. Based on this reasoning, Dryden defended the merits of three fantasy plays: ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''
The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...
'', and
Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...
's ''
The Masque of Queens ''The Masque of Queens, Celebrated From the House of Fame'' is one of the earlier works in the series of masques that Ben Jonson composed for the House of Stuart in the early 17th century. Performed at Whitehall Palace on 2 February 1609, it mar ...
''.


18th century

Charles Gildon Charles Gildon (c. 1665 – 1 January 1724), was an English hack writer and translator. He produced biographies, essays, plays, poetry, fictional letters, fables, short stories, and criticism. He is remembered best as a target of Alexander Pope ...
in the early 18th century recommended this play for its beautiful reflections, descriptions, similes, and topics. Gildon thought that Shakespeare drew inspiration from the works of
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
and
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
, and that he could read them in the original
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and not in later translations. William Duff, writing in the 1770s, also recommended this play. He felt the depiction of the supernatural was among Shakespeare's strengths, not weaknesses. He especially praised the poetry and wit of the fairies, and the quality of the verse involved. His contemporary Francis Gentleman, an admirer of Shakespeare, was much less appreciative of this play. He felt that the poetry, the characterisation, and the originality of the play were its strengths, but that its major weaknesses were a "puerile" plot and that it consists of an odd mixture of incidents. The connection of the incidents to each other seemed rather forced to Gentleman.
Edmond Malone Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish barrister, Shakespearean scholar and Literary editor, editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his ...
, a Shakespearean scholar and critic of the late 18th century, found another supposed flaw in this particular play, its lack of a proper
decorum Decorum (from the Latin: "right, proper") was a principle of classical rhetoric, poetry, and theatrical theory concerning the fitness or otherwise of a style to a theatrical subject. The concept of ''decorum'' is also applied to prescribed lim ...
. He found that the "more exalted characters" (the aristocrats of Athens) are subservient to the interests of those beneath them. In other words, the lower-class characters play larger roles than their betters and overshadow them. He found this to be a grave error of the writer. Malone thought that this play had to be an early and immature work of Shakespeare and, by implication, that an older writer would know better. Malone's main argument seems to derive from the
classism Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...
of his era. He assumes that the
aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...
had to receive more attention in the narrative and to be more important, more distinguished, and better than the lower class.


19th century

According to Kehler, significant 19th-century criticism began in 1808 with
August Wilhelm Schlegel August Wilhelm von Schlegel (Schlegel until 1812; ; ; 8 September 176712 May 1845) was a German Indologist, poet, translator and critic. With his brother Friedrich Schlegel, he was a leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His translations o ...
. Schlegel perceived unity in the multiple plot lines. He noted that the donkey's head is not a random transformation, but reflects Bottom's true nature. He identified the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe as a
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
of the Athenian lovers. In 1817,
William Hazlitt William Hazlitt (10 April 177818 September 1830) was an English essayist, drama and literary criticism, literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history ...
found the play to be better as a written work than a staged production. He found the work to be "a delightful fiction" but when staged, it is reduced to a dull
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
. He concluded that poetry and the stage do not fit together. Kehler finds the comment to be more of an indication of the quality of the theatrical productions available to Hazlitt, rather than a true indication of the play's supposed unsuitability to the stage. She notes that prior to the 1840s, all stage productions of this play were adaptations unfaithful to the original text. In 1811–1812,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...
made two points of criticism about this play. The first was that the entire play should be seen as a
dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
. Second, that Helena is guilty of "ungrateful treachery" to Hermia. He thought that this was a reflection of the lack of
principle A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. They provide a guide for behavior or evaluation. A principle can make values explicit, so t ...
s in women, who are more likely to follow their own passions and inclinations than men. Women, in his view, feel less abhorrence for moral
evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...
, though they are concerned with its outward consequences. Coleridge was probably the earliest critic to introduce
gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
issues to the analysis of this play. Kehler dismisses his views on Helena as indications of Coleridge's own
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...
, rather than genuine reflections of Helena's morality. In 1837,
William Maginn William Maginn (10 July 1794 – 21 August 1842) was an Irish journalist and writer. About Born at Cork he became a contributor to ''Blackwood's Magazine'', and after moving to London in 1824 became for a few months in 1826 the Paris correspond ...
produced essays on the play. He turned his attention to Theseus' speech about "the lunatic, the lover, and the poet" and to Hippolyta's response to it. He regarded Theseus as the voice of Shakespeare himself and the speech as a call for imaginative audiences. He also viewed Bottom as a lucky man on whom
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
showered favours beyond measure. He was particularly amused by the way Bottom reacts to the love of the fairy queen: completely unfazed. Maginn argued that "Theseus would have bent in reverent awe before Titania. Bottom treats her as carelessly as if she were the wench of the next-door tapster." Finally, Maginn thought that Oberon should not be blamed for Titania's humiliation, which is the result of an accident. He viewed Oberon as angry with the "caprices" of his queen, but unable to anticipate that her charmed affections would be reserved for a weaver with a donkey's head. In 1839, the philosopher
Hermann Ulrici Hermann Ulrici (; 23 March 180611 January 1884) was a German philosopher. He was co-editor (with I. H. Fichte) of the philosophical journal '' Zeitschrift für Philosophie und philosophische Kritik''. He also wrote under the pseudonym of Ulrich ...
wrote that the play and its depiction of human life reflected the views of
Platonism Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary Platonists do not necessarily accept all doctrines of Plato. Platonism has had a profound effect on Western thought. At the most fundam ...
. In his view, Shakespeare implied that human life is nothing but a dream, suggesting influence from
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
and his followers who thought human reality is deprived of all genuine existence. Ulrici noted the way Theseus and Hippolyta behave here, like ordinary people. He agreed with Malone that this did not fit their stations in life, but viewed this behaviour as an indication of
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
about class differences.
James Halliwell-Phillipps James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (born James Orchard Halliwell; 21 June 1820 – 3 January 1889) was an English writer, Shakespearean scholar, antiquarian, and a collector of English nursery rhymes and fairy tales. Life The son of Thomas H ...
, writing in the 1840s, found that there were many inconsistencies in the play, but considered it the most beautiful poetical drama ever written. In 1849, Charles Knight also wrote about the play and its apparent lack of proper
social stratification Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political ...
. He thought that this play indicated Shakespeare's maturity as a playwright, and that its "Thesean harmony" reflects proper decorum of character. He also viewed Bottom as the best-drawn character, with his self-confidence, authority, and self-love. He argued that Bottom stands as a representative of the whole human race. Like Hazlitt he felt that the work is best appreciated when read as a text, rather than acted on stage. He found the writing to be "subtle and ethereal", and standing above
literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...
and its reductive reasoning. Also in 1849,
Georg Gottfried Gervinus Georg Gottfried Gervinus (20 May 1805 – 18 March 1871) was a German literary and political historian. Biography Gervinus was born in Darmstadt. He was educated at the gymnasium of the town, and intended for a commercial career, but in 1825 he b ...
wrote extensively about the play. He denied the theory that this play should be seen as a dream. He argued that it should be seen as an ethical construct and an
allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...
. He thought that it was an allegorical depiction of the errors of sensual love, which is likened to a dream. In his view, Hermia lacks in filial obedience and acts as if devoid of conscience when she runs away with Lysander. Lysander is also guilty for disobeying and mocking his prospective father-in-law. Pyramus and Thisbe also lack in filial obedience, since they "woo by moonlight" behind their parents' backs. The fairies, in his view, should be seen as "personified dream gods". They represent the caprices of superficial love, and they lack in intellect, feeling, and ethics. Gervinus also wrote on where the
fairyland Fairyland (Early Modern English: ''Faerie''; ( Scottish mythology; cf. (Norse mythology)) in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of ...
of the play is located. Not in
Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...
, but in the
Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found i ...
. His views on the Indies seem to Kehler to be influenced by
Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
. He speaks of the Indies as scented with the
aroma An odor (American English) or odour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is a smell or a scent caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds generally found in low concentrations that humans and many animals can perceive v ...
of flowers, and as the place where mortals live in the state of a half-dream. Gervinus denies and devalues the loyalty of Titania to her friend. He views this supposed friendship as not grounded in spiritual association. Titania merely "delight in her beauty, her 'swimming gait,' and her powers of imitation". Gervinus further views Titania as an immoral character for not trying to reconcile with her husband. In her resentment, Titania seeks separation from him, for which Gervinus blames her. Gervinus wrote with elitist disdain about the mechanicals of the play and their acting aspirations. He described them as homely creatures with "hard hands and thick heads". They are, in his view, ignorant men who compose and act in plays merely for financial reward. They are not real artists. Gervinus reserves his praise and respect only for Theseus, who he thinks represents the intellectual man. Like several of his predecessors, Gervinus thought that this work should be read as a text and not acted on stage. In 1863,
Charles Cowden Clarke Charles Cowden Clarke (15 December 1787 – 13 March 1877) was an English author who was best known for his books on Shakespeare. He was also known for his compilation of poems as well as his edition of ''The Canterbury Tales'', which was rende ...
also wrote on this play. Kehler notes he was the husband of famous Shakespearean scholar
Mary Cowden Clarke Mary Victoria Cowden Clarke (née Novello; pen names, M. H. and Harry Wandsworth Shortfellow; 22 June 1809 – 12 January 1898) was an English author, and compiler of a concordance to Shakespeare. Early life and education Mary Victoria Novell ...
. Charles was more appreciative of the lower-class mechanicals of the play. He commented favourably on their individualisation and their collective richness of character. He thought that Bottom was conceited but good natured, and shows a considerable store of imagination in his interaction with the representatives of the fairy world. He also argued that Bottom's conceit was a quality inseparable from his secondary profession, that of an actor. In 1872, Henry N. Hudson, an American clergyman and editor of Shakespeare, also wrote comments on this play. Kehler pays little attention to his writings, as they were largely derivative of previous works. She notes, however, that Hudson too believed that the play should be viewed as a dream. He cited the lightness of the characterisation as supporting of his view. In 1881,
Edward Dowden Edward Dowden (; 3 May 18434 April 1913) was an Irish critic, professor, and poet. Biography He was the son of John Wheeler Dowden, a merchant and landowner, and was born at Cork, three years after his brother John, who became Bishop of Edi ...
argued that Theseus and his reflections on art are central to the play. He also argued that Theseus was one of the "heroic men of action" so central to Shakespeare's theatrical works. Both
Horace Howard Furness Horace Howard Furness (November 2, 1833 – August 13, 1912) was an American Shakespearean scholar of the 19th century. Life and career Horace Furness was the son of the Unitarian minister and abolitionist William Henry Furness (1802–1896), ...
and Henry Austin Clapp were more concerned with the problem of the play's duration, though they held opposing views. Clapp, writing in 1885, commented on the inconsistency of the time depicted in the play, as it should take place in four days and nights and seems to last less than two, and felt that this added to the unrealistic quality of the play. Furness, defending the play in 1895, felt that the apparent inconsistency did not detract from the play's quality. In 1887, Denton Jacques Snider argued that the play should be read as a
dialectic Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...
, either between understanding and imagination or between prose and poetry. He also viewed the play as representing three phases or movements. The first is the Real World of the play, which represents reason. The second is the Fairy World, an ideal world which represents imagination and the supernatural. The third is their representation in art, where the action is self-reflective. Snider viewed Titania and her caprice as solely to blame for her marital strife with Oberon. She therefore deserves punishment, and Oberon is a dutiful husband who provides her with one. For failing to live in peace with Oberon and her kind, Titania is sentenced to fall in love with a human. And this human, unlike Oberon is a "horrid brute". Towards the end of the 19th century,
Georg Brandes Georg Morris Cohen Brandes (4 February 1842 – 19 February 1927) was a Danish critic and scholar who greatly influenced Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind ...
(1895–6) and Frederick S. Boas (1896) were the last major additions to ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' criticism. Brandes' approach anticipates later psychological readings, seeing Oberon's magic as symbolic and "typifying the sorcery of the erotic imagination". Brandes felt that in the play, Shakespeare looks inward at the "domain of the unconscious". Boas eschews the play as ethical treatise or psychological study and instead takes a more historicist and literal approach. To Boas the play is, despite its fantastical and exotic trappings, "essentially English and Elizabethan". He sees Theseus as a Tudor noble; Helena a mere plot device to "concentrate the four lovers on a single spot"; and the ''Pyramus and Thisbe'' play-within-the-play a parody of a prominent ''
topos In mathematics, a topos (, ; plural topoi or , or toposes) is a category that behaves like the category of sheaves of sets on a topological space (or more generally, on a site). Topoi behave much like the category of sets and possess a notio ...
'' of contemporary plays. Summing up their contributions, Kehler writes: "This is recognizably modern criticism."


20th century

The 20th century brought new insights into the play. In 1961, Elizabeth Sewell argued that Shakespeare aligns himself not with the aristocrats of the play, but with Bottom and the
artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...
s. It is their task to produce a wedding entertainment, precisely the purpose of the writer on working in this play. Also in 1961,
Frank Kermode Sir John Frank Kermode, FBA (29 November 1919 – 17 August 2010) was a British literary critic best known for his 1967 work '' The Sense of an Ending: Studies in the Theory of Fiction'' and for his extensive book-reviewing and editing. He wa ...
wrote on the themes of the play and their literary sources. He counted among them fantasy, blind love, and divine love. He traced these themes to the works of
Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
,
Apuleius Apuleius ( ), also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (c. 124 – after 170), was a Numidians, Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He was born in the Roman Empire, Roman Numidia (Roman province), province ...
, and
Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno ( , ; ; born Filippo Bruno; January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, poet, alchemist, astrologer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which concep ...
. Bottom also briefly alludes to a passage from the
First Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church i ...
by
Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
, dealing with divine love. In 1964, R.W. Dent argued against theories that the exemplary model of love in the play is the rational love of Theseus and Hippolyta. He argued that in this work, love is inexplicable. It is the offspring of imagination, not reason. However the exemplary love of the play is one of an imagination controlled and restrained, and avoids the excesses of "dotage". Genuine love is contrasted with the
unrequited love Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep affection, or may consciously reject it knowing that the admirer admires them. Me ...
(and dotage) of Demetrius for Hermia, and with the supposed love (and dotage) of Titania for an unworthy object. Dent also denied the rationality and wisdom typically attributed to Theseus. He reminded his readers that this is the character of
Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...
from
Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
, a creation himself of "antique fable". Theseus' views on art are far from rational or wise. He cannot tell the difference between an actual play and its interlude. The interlude of the play's acting troop is less about the art and more of an expression of the mechanicals' distrust of their own audience. They fear the audience reactions will be either excessive or inadequate, and say so on stage. Theseus fails to get the message. Also in 1964,
Jan Kott Jan Kott (October 27, 1914 – December 22, 2001) was a Polish political activist, critic and theoretician of the theatre. A leading proponent of Stalinism in Poland for nearly a decade after the Soviet takeover, Kott renounced his Communist ...
offered his own views on the play. He saw the main themes of the play as being violence and "unrepressed animalistic sexuality". Both Lysander and Demetrius are, in his view, verbally brutal lovers, whose love interests are exchangeable and objectified. The
changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...
that Oberon desires is his new "sexual toy". The aristocrats of the play, both mortal and immortal, are
promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
. As for the Athenian lovers following their night in the forest, they are ashamed to talk about it because that night liberated them from themselves and social norms, and allowed them to reveal their real selves. Kott's views were controversial, and contemporary critics wrote either in favour of or against his ideas, but few ignored them. In 1967, John A. Allen theorised that Bottom is a symbol of the animalistic aspect of humanity. He also thought Bottom was redeemed through the maternal tenderness of Titania, which allowed him to understand the love and self-sacrifice of Pyramus and Thisbe. In 1968, Stephen Fender offered his own views on the play. He emphasised the "terrifying power" of the fairies and argued that they control the play's events. They are the most powerful figures featured, not Theseus as often thought. He also emphasised the ethically ambivalent characters of the play. Finally, Fender noted a layer of complexity in the play. Theseus, Hippolyta, and Bottom have contradictory reactions to the events of the night, and each has partly valid reasons for their reactions, implying that the puzzles offered to the play's audience can have no singular answer or meaning. In 1969, Michael Taylor argued that previous critics offered a too cheerful view of what the play depicts. He emphasised the less pleasant aspects of the otherwise appealing fairies and the nastiness of the mortal Demetrius prior to his enchantment. He argued that the overall themes are the often painful aspects of love and the pettiness of people, which here include the fairies. In 1970, R. A. Zimbardo viewed the play as full of symbols. The Moon and its phases alluded to in the play, in his view, stand for permanence in mutability. The play uses the principle of '' discordia concors'' in several of its key scenes. Theseus and Hippolyta represent marriage and, symbolically, the reconciliation of the natural seasons or the phases of time. Hippolyta's story arc is that she must submit to Theseus and become a matron. Titania has to give up her motherly obsession with the changeling boy and passes through a symbolic death, and Oberon has to once again woo and win his wife. Kehler notes that Zimbardo took for granted the female subordination within the obligatory marriage, social views that were already challenged in the 1960s. In 1971, James L. Calderwood offered a new view on the role of Oberon. He viewed the king as specialising in the arts of
illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may ...
. Oberon, in his view, is the interior dramatist of the play, orchestrating events. He is responsible for the play's happy ending, when he influences Theseus to overrule Egeus and allow the lovers to marry. Oberon and Theseus bring harmony out of discord. He also suggested that the lovers' identities, which are blurred and lost in the forest, recall the unstable identities of the actors who constantly change roles. In fact the failure of the artisans' play is based on their chief flaw as actors: they can not lose their own identities to even temporarily replace them with those of their fictional roles. Also in 1971, Andrew D. Weiner argued that the play's actual theme is unity. The poet's imagination creates unity by giving form to diverse elements, and the writer is addressing the spectator's own imagination which also creates and perceives unity. Weiner connected this unity to the concept of uniformity, and in turn viewed this as Shakespeare's allusion to the "eternal truths" of
Platonism Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary Platonists do not necessarily accept all doctrines of Plato. Platonism has had a profound effect on Western thought. At the most fundam ...
and Christianity. Also writing in 1971, Hugh M. Richmond offered an entirely new view of the play's love story lines. He argued that what passes for love in this play is actually a
self-destructive Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful towards the person who engages in the behavior. Self-destructive behaviors are considered to be on a continuum, with one extreme end of the scale being suicide. S ...
expression of
passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...
. He argued that the play's significant characters are all affected by passion and by a
sadomasochistic Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...
type of sexuality. This passion prevents the lovers from genuinely communicating with each other. At the same time it protects them from the disenchantment with the love interest that communication inevitably brings. The exception to the rule is Bottom, who is chiefly devoted to himself. His own
egotism Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and Importance#Value of importance and desire to be important, importance distinguished by a ...
protects him from feeling passion for anyone else. Richmond also noted that there are parallels between the tale of
Pyramus and Thisbe In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe () are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem ''Metamorphoses''. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, drive ...
, featured in this play, and that of Shakespeare's ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
''. In 1971, Neil Taylor argued that there was a double time-scheme in the play, making it seem to last a minimum of four nights but to also be timeless. In 1972, Ralph Berry argued that Shakespeare was chiefly concerned with
epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...
in this play. The lovers declare illusion to be reality, the actors declare reality to be illusion. The play ultimately reconciles the seemingly opposing views and vindicates imagination. Also in 1972, Thomas McFarland argued that the play is dominated by a mood of happiness and that it is one of the happiest literary creations ever produced. The mood is so lovely that the audience never feels fear or worry about the fate of the characters. In 1974,
Marjorie Garber Marjorie Garber (born June 11, 1944) is an American professor at Harvard University and the author of a wide variety of books, most notably ones about William Shakespeare and aspects of popular culture including Human sexuality, sexuality. Biog ...
argued that metamorphosis is both the major subject of the play and the model of its structure. She noted that in this play, the entry in the woods is a dream-like change in perception, a change which affects both the characters and the audience. Dreams here take priority over reason, and are truer than the reality they seek to interpret and transform. Also in 1974, Alexander Leggatt offered his own reading of the play. He was certain that there are grimmer elements in the play, but they are overlooked because the audience focuses on the story of the sympathetic young lovers. He viewed the characters as separated into four groups which interact in various ways. Among the four, the fairies stand as the most sophisticated and unconstrained. The contrasts between the interacting groups produce the play's comic perspective. In 1975, Ronald F. Miller expresses his view that the play is a study in the epistemology of imagination. He focused on the role of the fairies, who have a mysterious aura of evanescence and ambiguity. Also in 1975,
David Bevington David Martin Bevington (May 13, 1931 – August 2, 2019) was an American literary scholar. He was the Phyllis Fay Horton Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and in English Language & Literature, Comparative Literature, and ...
offered his own reading of the play. He in part refuted the ideas of Jan Kott concerning the sexuality of Oberon and the fairies. He pointed that Oberon may be
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
and his desire for the changeling boy may be sexual in nature, as Kott suggested. But there is little textual evidence to support this, as the writer left ambiguous clues concerning the idea of love among the fairies. He concluded that therefore their love life is "unknowable and incomprehensible". According to Bevington, the main theme of the play is the conflict between sexual desire and rational restraint, an essential tension reflected throughout the play. It is the tension between the dark and benevolent sides of love, which are reconciled in the end. In 1977, Anne Paolucci argued that the play lasts five days. In 1979, M. E. Lamb suggested that the play may have borrowed an aspect of the ancient myth of Theseus: the Athenian's entry into the
Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
of the
Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...
. The woods of the play serve as a metaphorical labyrinth, and for Elizabethans the woods were often an allegory of sexual sin. The lovers in the woods conquer irrational passion and find their way back. Bottom with his animal head becomes a comical version of the Minotaur. Bottom also becomes
Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...
's thread which guides the lovers. In having the new Minotaur rescue rather than threaten the lovers, the classical myth is comically inverted. Theseus himself is the bridegroom of the play who has left the labyrinth and promiscuity behind, having conquered his passion. The artisans may stand in for the master craftsman of the myth, and builder of the Labyrinth,
Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin language, Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. H ...
. Even Theseus' best known speech in the play, which connects the poet with the lunatic and the lover may be another metaphor of the lover. It is a challenge for the poet to confront the irrationality he shares with lovers and lunatics, accepting the risks of entering the labyrinth. Also in 1979, Harold F. Brooks agreed that the main theme of the play, its very heart, is desire and its culmination in marriage. All other subjects are of lesser importance, including that of imagination and that of appearance and reality. In 1980, Florence Falk offered a view of the play based on theories of
cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The term ...
. She argued that the play is about traditional
rites of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...
, which trigger development within the individual and society. Theseus has detached himself from imagination and rules Athens harshly. The lovers flee from the structure of his society to the ''
communitas ''Communitas'' is a Latin noun commonly referring either to an unstructured community in which people are equal, or to the very spirit of community. It also has special significance as a loanword in cultural anthropology and the social sciences. ...
'' of the woods. The woods serve here as the ''communitas'', a temporary aggregate for persons whose asocial desires require accommodation to preserve the health of society. This is the rite of passage where the asocial can be contained. Falk identified this ''communitas'' with the woods, with the unconscious, with the dream space. She argued that the lovers experience release into self-knowledge and then return to the renewed Athens. This is "''societas''", the resolution of the dialectic between the dualism of ''communitas'' and structure. Also in 1980, Christian critic R. Chris Hassel, Jr. offered a Christian view of the play. The experience of the lovers and that of Bottom (as expressed in his awakening speech) teach them "a new humility, a healthy sense of folly". They realise that there are things that are true despite the fact that they can not be seen or understood. They just learned a lesson of faith. Hassel also thought that Theseus' speech on the lunatic, the lover, and the poet is an applause to imagination. But it is also a laughing rejection of futile attempts to perceive, categorise, or express it. Some of the interpretations of the play have been based on
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
and its diverse theories. In 1972, Alex Aronson argued that Theseus represents the
conscious mind Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
and Puck represents the
unconscious mind In psychoanalysis and other psychological theories, the unconscious mind (or the unconscious) is the part of the psyche that is not available to introspection. Although these processes exist beneath the surface of conscious awareness, they are t ...
. Puck, in this view, is a guise of the unconscious as a
trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherw ...
, while remaining subservient to Oberon. Aronson thought that the play explores unauthorised desire and linked it to the concept of
fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...
. He viewed the donkey and the trees as fertility symbols. The lovers' sexual desires are symbolised in their forest encounters. In 1973, Melvin Goldstein argued that the lovers can not simply return to Athens and wed. First, they have to pass through stages of madness (multiple disguises), and discover their "authentic sexual selves". In 1979, Norman N. Holland applied psychoanalytic literary criticism to the play. He interpreted the dream of Hermia as if it was a real dream. In his view, the dream uncovers the phases of Hermia's sexual development. Her search for options is her
defence mechanism In psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are Unconscious mind, unconscious psychological processes that protect the self from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and external stressors. According to this ...
. She both desires Lysander and wants to retain her virginity. In 1981, Mordecai Marcus argued for a new meaning of
Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...
(Love) and
Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; , ''Thánatos'', pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the Personifications of death, personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referre ...
(Death) in this play. In his view, Shakespeare suggests that love requires the risk of death. Love achieves force and direction from the interweaving of the life impulse with the deathward-release of
sexual tension Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two individuals interact and one or both feel sexual attraction, but the consummation is postponed or never happens. A common scenario is where the two individuals function in proximity, such ...
. He also viewed the play as suggesting that the healing force of love is connected to the acceptance of death, and vice versa. In 1987, Jan Lawson Hinely argued that this play has a therapeutic value. Shakespeare in many ways explores the sexual fears of the characters, releases them, and transforms them. And the happy ending is the reestablishment of social harmony.
Patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
itself is also challenged and transformed, as the men offer their women a loving equality, one founded on respect and trust. She even viewed Titania's loving acceptance of the donkey-headed Bottom as a metaphor for basic trust. This trust is what enables the warring and uncertain lovers to achieve their sexual maturity. In 1988, Allen Dunn argued that the play is an exploration of the characters' fears and desires, and that its structure is based on a series of sexual clashes. In 1991, Barbara Freedman argued that the play justifies the ideological formation of absolute monarchy, and makes visible for examination the maintenance process of
hegemonic Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' ...
order.


Performance history


17th and 18th centuries

During the years of the
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
when the theatres were closed (1642–1660), the comic subplot of Bottom and his compatriots was performed as a
droll A droll is a short comical sketch of a type that originated during the Puritan Interregnum in England. With the closure of the theatres, actors were left without any way of plying their art. Borrowing scenes from well-known plays of the Elizabe ...
. Drolls were comical playlets, often adapted from the subplots of Shakespearean and other plays, that could be attached to the acts of acrobats and jugglers and other allowed performances, thus circumventing the ban against drama. When the theatres re-opened in 1660, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' was acted in adapted form, like many other Shakespearean plays.
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
saw it on 29 September 1662 and thought it "''the most insipid, ridiculous play that ever I saw ...''" After the Jacobean / Caroline era, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' was never performed in its entirety until the 1840s. Instead, it was heavily adapted in forms like
Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...
's musical masque/play '' The Fairy Queen'' (1692), which had a successful run at the
Dorset Garden Theatre The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the Du ...
, but was not revived.
Richard Leveridge Richard Leveridge (or Leueridge) (19 July 1670 – 22 March 1758) was an English bass singer of the London stage and a composer of baroque music, including many popular songs. Life Richard Leveridge was born in the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fiel ...
turned the Pyramus and Thisbe scenes into an Italian opera burlesque, acted at
Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a ...
in 1716.
John Frederick Lampe John Frederick Lampe (born Johann Friedrich Lampe; probably 1703 – 25 July 1751) was a musician and composer. Life Lampe was born in Saxony, Germany but came to England in 1724 and played the bassoon in opera houses. In 1730, he was hired by ...
elaborated upon Leveridge's version in 1745. Charles Johnson had used the Pyramus and Thisbe material in the finale of ''
Love in a Forest ''Love in a Forest'' is a 1723 comedy play by Charles Johnson. It is a substantial reworking of Shakespeare's '' As You Like It'' cutting out characters and passages, while borrowing from other Shakespeare plays amongst other things.Lynch p.127 ...
'', his 1723 adaptation of ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...
''. In 1755,
David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...
did the opposite of what had been done a century earlier: he extracted Bottom and his companions and acted the rest, in an adaptation called ''The Fairies.'' Frederic Reynolds produced an operatic version in 1816.


The Victorian stage

In 1840, Madame Vestris at
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
returned the play to the stage with a relatively full text, adding musical sequences and balletic dances. Vestris took the role of Oberon, and for the next seventy years, Oberon and Puck would always be played by women. After the success of Madame Vestris' production,
19th-century theatre A wide range of movements existed in the theatrical culture of Europe and the United States in the 19th century. In the West, they include Romanticism, melodrama, the well-made plays of Scribe and Sardou, the farces of Feydeau, the problem pl ...
continued to stage the ''Dream'' as a spectacle, often with a cast numbering nearly one hundred. Detailed sets were created for the palace and the forest, and the fairies were portrayed as gossamer-winged ballerinas. The
overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...
by
Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...
was always used throughout this period.
Augustin Daly John Augustin Daly (July 20, 1838 – June 7, 1899) was one of the most influential men in American theatre during his lifetime. Drama critic, theatre manager, playwright, and adapter, he became the first recognized stage director in America. He ...
's production opened in 1895 in London and ran for 21 performances.


20th and 21st centuries

In 1905
Oscar Asche John Stange(r) Heiss Oscar Asche (24 January 1871 – 23 March 1936) was an Australian actor, director, and writer, best known for having written, directed, and acted in the record-breaking musical '' Chu Chin Chow'', both on stage and fil ...
staged a production at the
Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...
in London with himself as Bottom and Beatrice Ferrar as Puck.
Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End theatre, West End, winning ...
staged a 1911 production which featured "mechanical birds twittering in beech trees, a simulated stream, fairies wearing battery-operated lighting, and live rabbits following trails of food across the stage."
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
staged ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' thirteen times between 1905 and 1934, introducing a revolving set. After he fled Germany he devised a more spectacular outdoor version at the
Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...
in September 1934. The shell was removed and replaced by a forest planted in tons of dirt hauled in especially for the event, and a trestle was constructed from the hills to the stage. The wedding procession inserted between Acts IV and V crossed the trestle with torches down the hillside. The cast included
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...
,
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
,
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
,
Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer Ni ...
, and a corps of dancers that included
Butterfly McQueen Butterfly McQueen (born Thelma McQueen; January 8, 1911December 22, 1995) was an American actress. Originally a dancer, McQueen first appeared in films as Prissy in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939). She also appeared in the films '' Cabin in the Sky ...
. The play was accompanied by Mendelssohn's music. On the strength of this production,
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
signed Reinhardt to direct a filmed version, Hollywood's first Shakespeare movie since Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and
Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...
's ''
Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a Frame story, framing device, often referred to as the Induction (play), inducti ...
'' in 1929. Jory (Oberon), Rooney (Puck) and De Havilland (Hermia) reprised their roles from the Hollywood Bowl cast.
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...
starred, in his only Shakespearean role, as Bottom. Other actors in the film who played Shakespearean roles just this once included Joe E. Brown and
Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility and successfully transform ...
.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (; May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was an Austrian composer and conductor, who fled Europe in the mid-1930s and later adopted US nationality. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential comp ...
was brought from Austria to arrange Mendelssohn's music for the film. He used not only the ''
Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
'' music but also several other pieces by Mendelssohn. Korngold went on to make a legendary career in Hollywood, remaining in the United States after
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
annexed Austria. Director
Harley Granville-Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directing a ...
introduced in 1914 a less spectacular way of staging the ''Dream'': he reduced the size of the cast and used Elizabethan folk music instead of Mendelssohn. He replaced large, complex sets with a simple system of patterned curtains. He portrayed the fairies as golden robotic insectoid creatures based on Cambodian idols. His simpler, sparer staging significantly influenced subsequent productions. In 1970,
Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...
staged the play for the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
in a blank white box, in which masculine fairies engaged in
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
tricks such as
trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...
artistry. Brook also introduced the subsequently common notion of doubling Theseus/Oberon and Hippolyta/Titania, as if to suggest that the world of the fairies is a mirror version of the world of the mortals. British actors who played roles in Brook's production included
Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...
,
Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...
, John Kane (Puck) and
Frances de la Tour Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is a British actress. A Tony Award winner and three-time Olivier Award winner, she is also known for her roles in the television sitcom ''Rising Damp'' and in ''Harr ...
(Helena). Recordings documenting this production survive. ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' has been produced many times in New York, including a production by the
Theatre for a New Audience The Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is a non-profit theater in New York City focused on producing William Shakespeare, Shakespeare and other classic dramas. Its off-Broadway productions have toured in the U.S. and internationally. History Thea ...
, produced by
Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...
at the
Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: A ...
, and also several stagings by the
New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...
at the
Delacorte Theatre The Delacorte Theater is a 1,800-seat open-air theater in Central Park, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is home to the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park productions. As of September 2023, it has been closed for reno ...
in Central Park. In 1978, the
Riverside Shakespeare Company The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional (AEA) theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski. Focusing on Shakespeare plays and other classical ...
staged an outdoor production starring Eric Hoffmann as Puck, with Karen Hurley as Titania and Eric Conger as Oberon, directed by company founder Gloria Skurski. There have been several variations since then, including some set in the 1980s. The Maryland Shakespeare Players at
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
staged a queer production in 2015 in which the lovers were same-sex couples and the mechanicals were drag queens. The
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
's
Nichols Arboretum Nichols Arboretum, locally known as the Arb, is an arboretum on the campus of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Arb is located adjacent to the Huron River, and features over 400 species, including 110 species of trees, in a ...
's programme Shakespeare in the Arb has presented a play every summer since 2001. Shakespeare in the Arb has produced ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' three times. These performances take place in a natural setting, with lush woods, a flowing river, and steep hills. The performance takes place in several places, with actors and audience moving together to each setting. "As one critic commented, 'The actors used the vastness of its Arb retumstage to full advantage, making entrances from behind trees, appearing over rises and vanishing into the woods.'" Artistic director
Emma Rice Emma Juliet Rice (born August 1967) is a British actor, director and writer. Described as a fearless director, Rice's work includes theatrical adaptations of ''Brief Encounter'', '' The Red Shoes'' and ''Wise Children''. In 2022, Rice was named ...
's first production at
Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...
in 2016 was a version of the play. While not "a production to please the purists", it received praise. A contemporary reworking, it included gender-switched characters and
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
influences.


Adaptations and cultural references


Plays

''Absurda Comica, oder Herr Peter Squentz'' by
Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius (; 2 October 161616 July 1664) was a German poet and playwright. With his eloquent sonnets, which contains "The Suffering, Frailty of Life and the World", he is considered one of the most important Baroque poets of the Germanos ...
, which was probably written between 1648 and 1650 and was published in 1657, is evidently based on the comic episode of
Pyramus In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe () are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem ''Metamorphoses''. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, drive ...
and
Thisbe In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe () are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem ''Metamorphoses''. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, driv ...
in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.
Ken Ludwig Ken Ludwig is an American playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had eight productions in London's West End and six productions on Broadway, and his 34 ...
's 2003 comic play, ''Shakespeare in Hollywood'', is set during the production of the 1935 film. Oberon and Puck appear on the scene, and find themselves cast as themselves.


Literary

The play was translated into
Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
( constructed
international auxiliary language An international auxiliary language (sometimes acronymized as IAL or contracted as auxlang) is a language meant for communication between people from different nations, who do not share a common first language. An auxiliary language is primarily a ...
) by
Louise Briggs Amy Louise Briggs (c. 1870 – 8 January 1945) was an English teacher and Esperanto translator. Biography Briggs taught music and languages at the private institution Northcote Girls School in Leeds. Alongside teaching, she was a member of t ...
in 1920.
W. Stanley Moss Ivan William Stanley Moss Military Cross, MC (15 June 1921 – 9 August 1965), commonly known as W. Stanley Moss or Billy Moss, was a British army officer in World War II, and later a successful writer, broadcaster, journalist, and traveller. ...
used the quotation "Ill met by moonlight" as the title of his '' Ill Met by Moonlight'' (1950), a non-fiction book about the
kidnap of General Kreipe The kidnapping of Heinrich Kreipe was an operation executed jointly by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and local resistance members in Crete in German-occupied Greece during the Second World War. The operation was launched on ...
during WWII. The book was adapted into a film with the same name in 1957.
Botho Strauß Botho Strauss (; written as Botho Strauß) (born 2 December 1944) is a German playwright, novelist, and essayist. Early life His father was a chemist. After finishing his secondary education, Strauss studied German, History of the Theatre a ...
's play '' The Park'' (1983) is based on characters and motifs from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...
's comic series '' The Sandman'' uses the play in the 1990 issue "
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
". In this story, Shakespeare and his company perform the play for the real Oberon and Titania and an audience of fairies. The play is heavily quoted in the comic, and Shakespeare's son Hamnet appears in the play as the Indian boy. This issue was the first and only comic to win the
World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...
, in 1991.
Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
's book '' Lords and Ladies'' (1992) is a
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of the play.
Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also writ ...
's novel ''Fools and Mortals'' (2017) is about the creation and first performance of the play, as seen by the young actor, Richard Shakespeare, brother of the playwright.


Musical versions

''The Fairy-Queen'' is an opera from 1692 by
Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...
, based on the play. In 1826,
Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...
composed a concert overture, inspired by the play, that was first performed in 1827. In 1842, partly because of the fame of the overture, and partly because his employer Frederick William IV of Prussia, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia liked the incidental music that Mendelssohn had written for other plays that had been staged at the palace in German translation, Mendelssohn was commissioned to write incidental music for a production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' that was to be staged in 1843 in Potsdam. He incorporated the existing Overture into the incidental music, which was used in most stage versions through the 19th century. The best known of the pieces from the incidental music is the famous ''Wedding March (Mendelssohn), Wedding March'', frequently used as a Recessional hymn, recessional in weddings. Between 1917 and 1939 Carl Orff also wrote incidental music for a German version of the play, ''Ein Sommernachtstraum'' (performed in 1939). Given that Mendelssohn's parents had been Jews (and despite the fact that they converted to Lutheranism), his music had been banned by the Nazi regime, and the Nazi cultural officials put out a call for new music for the play: Orff was one of the musicians who responded. He later reworked the music for a final version, completed in 1964. In 1949, a three-act opera by Marcel Delannoy entitled ''Puck (opera), Puck'' was premiered in Strasbourg. "Over Hill, Over Dale", from Act 2, is the third of the ''Three Shakespeare Songs'' set to music by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. He wrote the pieces for a cappella SATB choir in 1951 for the British Federation of Music Festivals, and they remain a popular part of British choral repertoire today. The A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera), play was adapted into an opera, with music by Benjamin Britten and libretto by Britten and Peter Pears. This was first performed on 11 June 1960 at Aldeburgh. In 1964, a musical adaptation debuted on Broadway as ''Babes in the Wood (musical), Babes in The Wood''. Progressive rock guitarist Steve Hackett, best known for his work with Genesis (band), Genesis, made a classical adaptation of the play in 1997. Hans Werner Henze's Symphony No. 8 (Henze), Eighth Symphony, written in 1993, is also inspired by sequences from the play. The theatre company Moonwork put on a production of ''Midsummer'' in 1999. It was conceived by Mason Pettit, Gregory Sherman and Gregory Wolfe (who directed it). The show featured a rock-opera version of the play within a play, Pyramus & Thisbe, with music written by Rusty Magee. The music for the rest of the show was written by Andrew Sherman. ''The Donkey Show (musical), The Donkey Show'' is a disco-era experience based on ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', that first appeared off Broadway in 1999. In 2011, Opera Memphis, Playhouse on the Square, and contemporary a cappella groups DeltaCappella and Riva, premiered Michael Ching's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream: Opera A Cappella''. In 2015, the plot of ''Be More Chill (musical), Be More Chill'' included a version of the play called ''A Midsummer Nightmare (About Zombies)''.


Ballets

* Marius Petipa made a ballet adaptation for the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg with additional music and adaptations to Mendelssohn's score by Ludwig Minkus, Léon Minkus. The revival premiered 14 July 1876. * George Balanchine's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet), A Midsummer Night's Dream'', his first original full-length ballet, was premiered by the New York City Ballet on 17 January 1962. It was chosen to open the NYCB's first season at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center in 1964. Balanchine interpolated further music by Mendelssohn into his ''Dream'', including the overture from ''Athalie''. A film version of the ballet was released in 1966. * Frederick Ashton created ''The Dream'', a short (not full-length) ballet set exclusively to the famous music by Félix Mendelssohn, arranged by John Lanchbery, in 1964. It was created on England's Royal Ballet and has since entered the repertoire of other companies, notably The Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. * John Neumeier created his full-length ballet ''Ein Sommernachtstraum'' for his company at the Hamburg State Opera (Hamburgische Staatsoper) in 1977. Longer than Ashton's or Balanchine's earlier versions, Neumeier's version includes other music by Mendelssohn along with the ''Midsummer Night's Dream'' music, as well as music from the modern composer György Ligeti, and jaunty barrel organ music. Neumeier devotes the three sharply differing musical styles to the three character groups, with the aristocrats and nobles dancing to Mendelssohn, the fairies to Ligeti, and the rustics or mechanicals to the barrel organ. * Elvis Costello composed the music for a full-length ballet ''Il Sogno'', based on ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. The music was subsequently released as a classical album by Deutsche Grammophon in 2004.


Film adaptations

''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' has been adapted as a film many times. The following are the best known. * A 1925 German silent film ''Wood Love'' directed by Hans Neumann. * A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film), A 1935 film version was directed by
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
and William Dieterle. The cast included
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...
as Nick Bottom, Bottom,
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
as Puck,
Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her tim ...
as Hermia (role), Hermia, Joe E. Brown (comedian), Joe E. Brown as
Francis Flute Francis Flute is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. His occupation is a bellows-mender. He is forced to play the female role of Thisbe in " Pyramus and Thisbe", a play-within-the-play which is performed for Thes ...
,
Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility and successfully transform ...
as Lysander, Anita Louise as Titania and
Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer Ni ...
as Oberon (Fairy King), Oberon. * A 1947 TV film version was directed by I. Orr-Ewing. The cast included Iris Baker as Helena, Peter Bell as Demetrius, Vivienne Bennett as Titania, John Byron as
Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...
, Andrew Faulds as Lysander, Patricia Hicks as
Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysan ...
, Mary Honer as Puck, Desmond Llewelyn as
Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...
, Hugh Manning as Bottem, Peter Sallis as Quince, Angela Shafto as
Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...
. * (1959) directed by Czech animator Jiří Trnka is a Stop motion, stop-motion puppet film that follows Shakespeare's story simply with a narrator. The English-language version was narrated by Richard Burton. * A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968 film), A 1968 film version was directed by Peter Hall (theatre director), Peter Hall. The cast included Paul Rogers (actor), Paul Rogers as Bottom, Ian Holm as Puck, Diana Rigg as Helena, Helen Mirren as Hermia, Ian Richardson as Oberon, Judi Dench as Titania, and Sebastian Shaw (actor), Sebastian Shaw as Quince. This film stars the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
, and is directed by Peter Hall (theatre director), Peter Hall. * A Midsummer Night's Dream (1969 French film), A 1969 film version was directed by Jean-Christophe Averty. The cast included Jean-Claude Drouot as Oberon, Claude Jade as Helena, Christine Delaroche as Hermia, Marie Versini as Hippolyta, Michel Modo as Flute, Guy Grosso as Quinze. * ''A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy'' (1982) was written and directed by Woody Allen. The plot is loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', with some elements from Shakespeare's play. * ''Bottom's Dream'' (1983) was an animated short directed by John Canemaker, showing events of the play from the point of view of Bottom. The film uses selections of Mendelssohn's music, lines from the play, and surreal imagery to convey Bottom's experience. * ''Dead Poets Society'' features the play as a production for which Neil Perry tries out and wins the role of Puck, in spite of his father's disapproval of his acting aspirations. * A 1996 adaptation directed by Adrian Noble. The cast included Desmond Barrit as Bottom, Finbar Lynch as Puck, Alex Jennings as Oberon/Theseus, and Lindsay Duncan as Titania/Hippolyta. This film is based on Noble's
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...
production. Its art design is eccentric, featuring a forest of floating light bulbs and a giant umbrella for Titania's bower. * A 1996 French film, ''The Apartment (1996 film), The Apartment'' (), directed by Gilles Mimouni, has many references to the play. * A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 film), A 1999 film version was written and directed by Michael Hoffman (director), Michael Hoffman. The cast includes Kevin Kline as Nick Bottom, Bottom, Rupert Everett as Oberon (Fairy King), Oberon, Michelle Pfeiffer as Titania, Stanley Tucci as Puck, Sophie Marceau as
Hippolyta In Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; ''Hippolytē''), was a daughter of Ares and Otrera,Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word foun ...
, Christian Bale as Demetrius, Dominic West as Lysander, Anna Friel as
Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysan ...
and Calista Flockhart as
Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...
. This adaptation relocates the play's action from
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
to a fictional "Monte Athena", located in Tuscany, Italy, although all textual mentions of Athens are retained. * A 1999 version was written and directed by James Kerwin. The cast included Travis Schuldt as Demetrius. It set the story against a surreal backdrop of techno clubs and ancient symbols. * ''Get Over It (film), Get Over It'' is a 2001 teen comedy directed by Tommy O'Haver and starring Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster (actor), Ben Foster, Shane West, Martin Short, Colin Hanks, Mila Kunis, and Sisqo. In the film, students prepare for a high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream as their own lives echo the play's plot. * ''The Children's Midsummer Night's Dream'' (2002), directed by Christine Edzard, was produced by Sands Films at their studio in Rotherhithe, London, using 350 school children from Southwark, between the ages of eight and eleven, all theatrically untrained. The sets and costumes were designed to scale and made on site. * ''A Midsummer Night's Rave'' (2002) directed by Gil Cates Jr. changes the setting to a modern rave. Puck is a drug dealer, the magic flower called love-in-idleness is replaced with magic ecstasy, and the King and Queen of Fairies are the host of the rave and the DJ. * ''Were the World Mine'' (2008) features a modern interpretation of the play put on in a private high school in a small town. * ''10ml Love'' (2012) by Sharat Katariya reimagines the play in modern-day India. * A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018 film), A 2018 American independent film relocates the story to modern-day Los Angeles. * A Midsummer Night's Dream (2019 film), A 2019 UK film version shot in Austria is set in an alternative near future. Directed by Sacha Bennett, it features Robert Lindsay (actor), Robert Lindsay as Oberon, Juliet Aubrey as Titania, Lee Boardman as Bottom, Harry Jarvis as Lysander, Tamzin Merchant as Helena, Holly Earl as Hermia, Tyger Drew-Honey as Demetrius and Florence Kasumba as Hippolyta.


TV productions

* The "play within a play" from Act V, Scene I, ''Pyramus and Thisbe'', was performed by members of The Beatles on 28 April 1964 for a British television special, ''Around The Beatles''. Paul McCartney appeared as Pyramus, John Lennon as Thisbe, George Harrison as Moonshine, and Ringo Starr as Lion. The performance, before a live audience, was done with great comic intent and included a number of intentional hecklers. This was broadcast in the UK on ITV (TV network), ITV on 6 May, and in the US on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on 15 November. * The 1981 BBC Television Shakespeare production was produced by Jonathan Miller and directed by Elijah Moshinsky. It starred Helen Mirren as Titania, Peter McEnery as Oberon, Phil Daniels as Puck, Robert Lindsay (actor), Robert Lindsay as Lysander, Geoffrey Palmer (actor), Geoffrey Palmer as Quince and Brian Glover as Bottom. * An abbreviated version of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' was made into an animated short (with the same title) by Disney Television Animation, Walt Disney Television Animation in 1999 as part of the ''Mickey Mouse Works'' series. It was featured in a 2002 episode of ''House of Mouse'' ("House of Scrooge", Season 3, Episode 34). The star-crossed lovers are played by Mickey Mouse (Lysander), Minnie Mouse (
Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysan ...
), Donald Duck (Demetrius), and Daisy Duck (
Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...
). The character based on Theseus is played by Ludwig Von Drake, and the character based on Egeus by Scrooge McDuck. Goofy appears as an accident-prone Puck. The story ends with the revelation that it was a dream experienced by Mickey Mouse while sleeping at a picnic hosted by Minnie. * In 2005 ''ShakespeaRe-Told'', the BBC TV series, aired an updated of the play. It was written by Peter Bowker. The cast includes Johnny Vegas as Bottom, Dean Lennox Kelly as Puck, Bill Paterson (actor), Bill Paterson as Theo (a conflation of Theseus and Egeus), and Imelda Staunton as his wife Polly (Hippolyta). Lennie James plays Oberon and Sharon Small is Titania. Zoe Tapper and Michelle Bonnard play Hermia and Helena. * In 2006, ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' released an episode called "A Midsummer's Nightmare" where the children are preparing to perform Shakespeare's popular work for a school play. This episode was #22 in season two of the show. * A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016 film), BBC One's 2016 production was a 90-minute TV film adaptation by Russell T Davies directed by David Kerr (director), David Kerr starring Matt Lucas as Bottom, Maxine Peake as Titania, and with a diverse cast including Nonso Anozie as Oberon, Prisca Bakare as Hermia and Hiran Abeysekera as Puck.


Role-playing games

Two of the archfeys in ''Forgotten Realms, The Forgotten Realms'' adventure setting for ''Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons'' are called Oberon and Titania.


Astronomy

In 1787, British astronomer William Herschel discovered two new moons of Uranus. In 1852 his son John Herschel named them after characters in the play: Oberon (moon), Oberon, and Titania (moon), Titania. Another Uranian moon, discovered in 1985 by the ''Voyager 2'' spacecraft, has been named Puck (moon), Puck.


Gallery

File:Reynolds-Puck.JPG, ''Puck'' by Joshua Reynolds, 1789 File:Johann Heinrich Füssli - Titania liebkost den eselköpfigen Bottom.jpg, ''Titania and Bottom'' by Johann Heinrich Füssli 1793–94 File:Titania and Bottom John Anster Fitzgerald.JPG, ''Titania and Bottom'' by John Anster Fitzgerald File:Joseph Noel Paton - The Reconciliation of Titania and Oberon.jpg, Joseph Noel Paton: ''The Reconciliation of Titania and Oberon'' File:Fitzgerald, John Anster - The Marriage of Oberon and Titania.jpg, ''The Marriage of Oberon and Titania'' by John Anster Fitzgerald File:Henry Meynell Rheam - Titania.jpg, Henry Meynell Rheam: ''Titania welcoming her fairy brethren'' File:Scene from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by John Simmons, 1873, watercolor.jpg, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' by John Simmons (painter), John Simmons, 1873 File:Thomas Stothard - Oberon and Titania from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Act IV, Scene i - Google Art Project.jpg, Thomas Stothard – Oberon and Titania from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Act IV, Scene I File:Droomvlucht5.JPG, An animatronic depicts the character Oberon, King of the Elves in the Dutch fairytale theme park Efteling, designed by Ton van de Ven.


See also

* Brag (folklore) * Púca *
Pyramus and Thisbe In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe () are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem ''Metamorphoses''. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, drive ...
* Summer solstice


Notes and references

All references to ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', unless otherwise specified, are taken from the Arden Shakespeare 2nd series edition. Under their referencing system, which uses roman numerals, III.i.55 means act 3 (Roman numerals in upper case), scene 1 (Roman numerals lower case), line 55.


Notes


References


Sources


Editions of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''

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Secondary sources

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Further reading

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External links

*
''A Midsummer Night's Dream''
at the British Library *
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' Navigator
: annotated, searchable text (HTML) with scene summaries.
Formatted text (HTML) of the play

''No Fear Shakespeare'' parallel edition
: original language alongside a modern translation
Clear Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''
a word-by-word audio guide through the play
''A Midsummer Night's Dream 2016''
Internet Movie Database
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' – 90-Minute abridgement by Gerald P Murphy

''A Thirty Minute Dream''
Abridgement by Bill Tordoff, Shakespeare's text reduced to the length of a school lesson. *
''A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018)''
An unabridged production by the University of Iowa's Department of Theatre Arts. {{DEFAULTSORT:Midsummer Night's Dream, A A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1590s plays Plays set in Athens British plays adapted into films Cultural depictions of Theseus English Renaissance plays Plays about fairies Metafictional plays Plays adapted into operas Plays set in ancient Greece Shakespearean comedies Fiction about shapeshifting Works based on classical literature Plays based on Metamorphoses Plays set in forests Plays about queens Plays about kings