In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare stages the workings of love. Theseus and Hippolyta, about to marry, are figures from mythology. In the woods outside Theseus’ Athens, two young men and two young women sort themselves out into couples–but not before they form first one love triangle, and then another. Also in the woods, the king and queen of fairyland, Oberon and Titania, battle over … battle over custody of an orphan boy; Oberon uses magic to make Titania fall in love with a weaver named Bottom, whose head is temporarily transformed into that of a donkey by a hobgoblin or “puck,” Robin Goodfellow. Finally, Bottom and his companions ineptly stage the tragedy of “Pyramus and Thisbe.”
The authoritative edition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:
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-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
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-An annotated guide to further reading
Essay by Catherine Belsey
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I found this book very boring.
This was under the category: A Play By Shakespeare
This is the story of several people. In Athens – Egeus wants his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius. Or become a nun. Those are her only two choices. But Hermia is in love with another – names Lysander – and makes plans with him to run away and get married away from Athens. In the meantime – Helena is in love with Demetrius, but he not with her. Demetrius loves Hermia. Helena finds out about Hermia and Lysander’s plans, and tells Demetrius.
On the night that Hermia and Lysdander escape to the woods, a fairy king and queen are having a fight over a little boy. To have some fun, the Fairy King decides to put some love potion in the eyes of his queen to make her fall in love with a local weaver named Nick Bottom (confused yet)? The king’s henchman, Puck, is also supposed to put that love potion in Demetrius’ eyes so that he falls in love with Helena and leaves Hermia to be with Lysander. But Puck gets confused, and puts the love potion in Lysander’s eyes, and he falls in love with Helena.
In the end – all is righted with the couples, and the silliness ends
I am sure most people in the world have read Shakespeare at some point in their lives. This is a comedy, and one of my favorites. I have read this play many years ago (I have read them all, so a re-read was my only choice for this category). But I read it only in Shakesperian, and I found a novel that translated it into modern English. That made it much more enjoyable, and I had forgotten a lot about the play, so it helped.
This play has one of my favorite lines, and it hangs in my daughter’s room here at our house: “Though she may be but little, she is fierce”. My youngest is a teeny thing, so it fits her perfectly.
I enjoyed this book. Shakespeare plays are tough reads. Especially if you don’t have some notes, or an easier version to read. Well…..at least for me. But I recommend this one because no one died – which is a nice change.
4 out of 5 stars to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a comedy written in 1595 by William Shakespeare. What a fun read! I first read this in high school and then again in college as part of a course on Shakespeare. Then I watched a few movie versions. It’s full of so much humor and creativity. The plot is essentially the impacts of magic, as some fairy dust causes everyone to fall in love with the first person they see — once the dust falls on them. Imagine the hilarity that ensues in a chain reaction of who loves who. If you want to read a comedy, this would be one of the top 3. It’s got lovable characters, lots of understandable metaphors and a ton of memorable and enjoyable scenes.
A must read