Titania () is a character in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 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 natio ...

's 1595–1596 play ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...

''. In the play, she is the

Queen of the fairies In folklore and literature, the Fairy Queen or Queen of the Fairies is a female ruler of the fairies, sometimes but not always paired with a king. Depending on the work, she may be named or unnamed; Titania and Mab are two frequently used names ...

and wife of the Fairy King, Oberon. Due to Shakespeare's influence, later fiction has often used the name "Titania" for fairy queen characters.

Origins

In traditional folklore, the fairy queen has no name. As such, Shakespeare took the name "Titania" from

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

'', where it is an appellation given to the daughters of

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

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 fairies in 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, Queen of the Fair ...

. 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 in folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This in ...

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 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. Bot ...

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 Circe (; grc, , ) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. She is either a daughter of the Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeëtes. Circe was renowned for her vast kno ...

story from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

. 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 poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

included the figures from Shakespeare's work in '' Faust I'' in the 1770s, where she and her husband are celebrating their golden wedding anniversary.

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

then used the characters of Titania, Oberon and Puck in his opera with spoken dialogue composed in 1825–26, ''

'', but this time set during the reign of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...

. Alfred Lord Tennyson's play '' The Foresters'', which is a

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...

story, from 1892 includes a brief segment with Titania, Queen of the Fairies. Titania, one of

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars), grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter) and father of Cronu ...

's moons, was named after Shakespeare's character. All of its moons (including

) are named for characters from the works of William Shakespeare or

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

. 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 (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

. Titania/Anastasia is voiced by Kate Mulgrew. In the 1999 film adaptation of the play, Titania is played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Titania appears in the free-to-play

action role-playing An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing video game, role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize Real-time ...

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 ...

online game '' Warframe'' as the namesake of one of the titular Warframes, featuring razor-butterflies and assorted fairy-themed abilities. The game was released for Windows personal computers in March 2013, it was ported to the PlayStation 4 in November 2013, the Xbox One in September 2014, the Nintendo Switch in November 2018, the PlayStation 5 in November 2020 and the Xbox Series X/S in April 2021. 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'', which was serialised from August 2006 to July 2017 and broadcast as a series from 2014 to 2019, the character Erza Scarlet carries the title of "Titania, Queen of the Fairies" because of her status as the most powerful of the female wizards in the Fairy Tail guild. 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 the 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 an

Atlas moth ''Attacus atlas'', the Atlas moth, is a large saturniid moth endemic to the forests of Asia. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Description The Atlas moth is one of the largest ...

. 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 '' The Dresden Files'', '' Codex Alera'', and '' Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1971 ...

's ''

The Dresden Files ''The Dresden Files'' is a series of contemporary fantasy/ mystery novels written by American author Jim Butcher. The first novel, '' Storm Front''—which was also Butcher's writing debut—was published in 2000 by Roc Books. The books are ...

'' series, the first installment of which was published in 2005. In ''

Dark Princess ''Dark Princess'', written by sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois in 1928, is one of his five historical novels. One of Du Bois's favorite works, the novel explores the beauty of people of color around the world. This was part of Du Bois' use of f ...

'' by

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

, 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 Vertigo Comics' '' The Sandman'', which ran for 75 issues from January 1989 to March 1996, Titania rules Faerie with her mate Auberon and is a rumored one-time lover of the titular Lord of Dreams. One issue recounts that William Shakespeare created ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as a commission piece for Dream—who presents it to Titania as a gift to Faerie, so that the fey folk should not be forgotten in the Waking World. File:The Song of Los copy B, object 5 by William Blake.jpg, One of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

's illustration to his '' The Song of Los''. Scholars have traditionally identified the figures as Titania and

, though not all new scholarship does. This copy, currently held by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

, was printed and painted in 1795. File:Sir Joseph Noel Paton - The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania - Google Art Project 2.jpg, ''The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania'', by Joseph Noel Paton, c. 1849

References

{{Authority control Characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream Fairy Queens Female Shakespearean characters Fictional queens Literary characters introduced in 1596