Titania () is a character in
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 ...
's 1595–1596 play ''
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 the play, she is the
Queen of the fairies and wife of the Fairy King, Oberon. The pair are depicted as powerful natural spirits who together guarantee the fertility or health of the human and natural worlds. Yet their falling out has severely disrupted both worlds, as Titania explains at length in Act 1 Scene 2, ending "And this same progeny of evils comes From our debate, from our dissension."
Origins
The names Titania and Oberon may both sound vaguely classical, but neither is a figure from classical mythology. Survivals of homegrown English paganism were sometimes denounced as
witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...
; but Shakespeare folds his pagan fairies into the more accepted mythology of Greco-Roman literature, associating Titania and Oberon with the legend of Theseus.
Shakespeare likely took the name Titania from
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 ...
'', where it is an appellation given to the daughters of
Titans
In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...
.
In traditional folklore, the fairy queen has no name. Due to Shakespeare's influence, later fiction has often used the name Titania for fairy-queen characters.
Role in the play
Shakespeare's Titania has a major role to play in one of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream's'' subplots.
Titania is a very proud creature and as much of a force to contend with as her husband,
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 ...
. She and Oberon are engaged in a marital quarrel over which of them should have the keeping of an 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. ...
boy. It is this quarrel which drives the plot, creating the mix-ups and confusion of the other characters in the play.
Due to an enchantment cast by Oberon's servant
Puck, Titania magically falls in love with a "rude mechanical" (a labourer),
Nick Bottom the weaver, who has been given the head of a donkey by Puck, who feels it is better suited to his character. While under the spell, Titania loses the powerful attributes she previously held and becomes fawning instead.
After Oberon and Puck have had enough of watching Titania make a fool of herself to woo "a monster", Oberon reverses the spell and the two reunite after Titania pronounces "what visions have I seen! Methought I was enamour'd of an ass." At the play's conclusion, Titania and Oberon lead a fairy blessing of the marriages of the play's protagonists.
Analysis
Paul A. Olson argues that Titania falling in love with Bottom is an inversion of the ancient
Circe
In Greek mythology, Circe (; ) is an enchantress, sometimes considered a goddess or a nymph. In most accounts, Circe is described as the daughter of the sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perse (mythology), Perse. Circe was renowned for her vast kn ...
story 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 ...
. In this case, the tables are turned on the character and rather than the sorceress turning her lovers into animals, she is made to love a donkey after Bottom has been transformed.
Legacy
Titania has appeared in many other paintings, poems, plays and other works. In perhaps the earliest citation,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
included the figures from Shakespeare's work in ''
Faust I
''Faust: A Tragedy'' (, , or aust. The tragedy's first part is the first part of the Tragedy, tragic Play (theatre), play ''Goethe's Faust, Faust'' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and is considered by many as the greatest work of German liter ...
'' in the 1770s, where she and her husband are celebrating their
golden wedding anniversary.
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
then used the characters of Titania, Oberon and Puck in his opera with spoken dialogue composed in 1825–26, ''
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 ...
'', but this time set during the reign of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...
's 1892 play ''
The Foresters'', a
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
story, includes a brief segment with Titania, Queen of the Fairies.
Titania, one of
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...
's moons, was named after Shakespeare's character. All of its moons (including
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 ...
) are named for characters from the works of William Shakespeare or
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
.
Titania also appears in the cartoon ''
Gargoyles'', produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, which originally aired from October 24, 1994, to February 15, 1997. Oberon and Titania have been divorced for 1,001 years, but remarry during the course of the series. She is also revealed to be the true identity of Anastasia Renard, mother of the recurring antagonist
Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
. Titania/Anastasia is voiced by
Kate Mulgrew.
In the
1999 film adaptation of the play, Titania is played by
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( ; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She was one of the most bankable stars in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood during the 1980s and 1990s, and her List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, performances ...
.
In 2016 Titania was added to the
free-to-play
"Free-to-play" ("F2P" or "FtP") video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content for free. The term "free-to-play business model" or simply, "free-to-play model", refers collectively to business models tha ...
action role-playing
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing game genres.
Definition
Action role-playing games emphasize real-time combat wh ...
third-person shooter
Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...
online game ''
Warframe
''Warframe'' is a free-to-play action role-playing third-person shooter multiplayer online game developed and published by Digital Extremes. First released for Windows personal computers in March 2013, it was later ported to PlayStation 4 ...
'' as the namesake of one of the titular Warframes, featuring razor-butterflies and assorted fairy-themed abilities.
In the manga and anime ''
The Ancient Magus' Bride (魔法使いの嫁 Mahō Tsukai no Yome),'' which aired from October 2017 to March 2018, the Queen of the Fairies is named Titania. Her husband is also named Oberon.
In the manga and anime ''
Fairy Tail
''Fairy Tail'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from August 2006 to July 2017, with the individual chapters collect ...
'', which was serialised from August 2006 to July 2017 and broadcast as a series from 2009 to 2019, the character
Erza Scarlet carries the title of "Titania, Queen of the Fairies" because of her status as one of the most powerful of the female wizards in the Fairy Tail guild.
In the light novel and anime ''
Sword Art Online
is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the 2020s and focuses on protagonists Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual re ...
,''
Asuna is forced to assume the role of "Fairy Queen Titania" in the series' "Fairy Dance" arc.
In the 2016 BBC adaptation for television, Titania is played by
Maxine Peak. The version became known for the kiss between Titania and Hippolyta.
Titania is one of the bases for one of the bosses in ''
Mega Man Zero 4'', a video game which was created in 2005. The character is called Sol Titanion, alongside a
butterfly
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
.
Titania is the Queen of the Summer Court of fairies in
Jim Butcher
Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary Fantasy literature, fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and ''Cinder Spires'' book series.
Personal life
Butcher was born in Independence, M ...
's ''
The Dresden Files
''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/Mystery fiction, mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, ''Storm Front (The Dresden Files), Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was p ...
'' series, the first instalment of which was published in 2005.
In ''
Dark Princess'' by
W. E. B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist.
Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...
, the author dedicates the book: "To Her High Loveliness Titania XXVII By Her Own Grace Queen of Faerie."
In ''
Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers'', released on July 2, 2019, Titania appears as an opponent during the course of the story. In the fiction, the name "Titania" is actually a title held by the ruler of the faeries rather than being an individual name in and of itself.
Titania also appears in the
''Shin Megami Tensei'' series of video games as a recruitable Demon alongside her spouse Oberon.
In a production by the
Bridge Theatre, Titania, played by
Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Christie (born 28 October 1978) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019), and the First Order (Star Wars), First Order Stormtrooper (Star War ...
, switches roles with Oberon. For example, Titania is the one who places the love spell instead onto Oberon, who falls in love with Puck.
In the action game ''Rusted Moss'', the player character Fern is tasked with reuniting the pieces of the fairy queen Titania, who also is referred to with other various names such as Queen Mab, King Oberon, and Nicnevin .
References
External links
*
All lines spoken by Titania Folger Shakespeare Library
The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materia ...
{{Authority control
Characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream
Fairy Queens
Female Shakespearean characters
Fictional queens
Literary characters introduced in 1596