A Midsummer Night's Dream

There is a kind of symbolic differentiation between the court and the forest. Theseus is in charge in the court, and Oberon is in charge of the forest. Although both visit the other's domain, it is clear that they are visitors. It is possible to think of the court as representing rationality, control, and social stability, and the forest as representing irrationality, magic, and licentiousness.

Titania is a fictional character in the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, written by William Shakespeare. In the play, Titania is the queen of the fairies. She was the partner of Oberon, king of the fairies.

Puck changes Bottom's head to that of what they refer to as an "ass". No, this doesn't mean a butt. It's the Elizabethan word for "donkey". However, it is ironic that Bottom gets an ass's (donkey's) head because 1) He's been acting like an ass. 2) His name is Bottom, as in the polite term for butt.

A Midsummer Night's Dream begins in Athens, at the court of Duke Theseus.

The name of Hermia's father is Egeus. He is the rock that starts the avalanche of the play. Although the only scenes he is mentioned in are the first scene and then the play within a play.

Helena does indeed want Demetrius to love her, but at the same time she doesn't believe that he will. Remember how she called herself "as ugly as a bear"? So when, thanks to the love potion, Demetrius starts to say he loves her, she thinks he cannot be serious, and that Demetrius is just doing it to make fun of her.

Actors in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" typically deliver their lines with a mix of comedy, romance, and fantasy. They often use exaggerated gestures, physicality, and vocal inflections to bring out the humor and whimsical nature of the play. The characters in the play are often portrayed with a sense of playfulness and mischief, adding to the overall light-hearted and magical atmosphere of the performance.

In Act 1 Scene 2, Bottom says he will wear a "French crown coloured beard, a perfect yellow." Quince replies with one of Shakespeare's favourite puns: "Some of your French crowns have no hair at all, and then you will play barefaced. A crown was a French gold coin; that is one meaning of "French crown". But a crown is also the top of one's head, and people who were suffering from syphilis (known at the time as "the French disease") often went bald, hence the head of someone who was suffering from the French disease was also a "French crown", a bald head resulting from syphilis. Hence the pun. Shakespeare apparently didn't mind making bald jokes even though he himself suffered from male pattern baldness and went bald at a fairly young age.

If "A Midsummer Night's Dream" were told in a play format, the audience would experience a more active and visually engaging presentation. The use of stage sets, props, and costumes would enhance the magical and fantastical elements of the story. Additionally, the actors' physical performances would bring out the humor and emotions of the characters in a more immediate and immersive way.

The characters in Act I Scene 2 are collectively known as the "rude mechanicals" (that's a quotation from the play) and consist of Peter Quince, Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Snug, Snout and Starveling. They are planning to get up an amateur play to entertain Theseus on his wedding day.

There is nothing serious but Hermia attacks Helena ("I am not yet so low that my nails cannot reach unto thine eyes.") in Act III Scene 2 and later in the same scene Demetrius and Lysander decide to fight to determine who gets Helena. However, nobody gets hurt. Helena runs off ("My legs are longer, though, to run away.") and Puck separates the young men and puts them to sleep before any blows are exchanged.

The only one we hear about is Bottom: "I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks I have a great desire to a bottle of hay: good hay, sweet hay, hath no fellow. . . . I had rather have a handful or two of dried pease." Of course he was about 50% donkey at the time.

1. "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind." This metaphor from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" suggests that true love is not based solely on physical appearance but on deeper connections and understanding.
2. "The course of true love never did run smooth." This metaphor highlights the idea that relationships often face challenges and obstacles, emphasizing the unpredictable and complex nature of love.

Nobody says this or anything like it. The word "lady" is used 11 times in the play, and "unhappy" never, and there is nothing close to "don't worry, you poor unhappy lady".

This was not an uncommon thing in Elizabethan theatre. Shakespeare himself does it in Romeo and Juliet. Indeed the Peter Quince production of Pyramus and Thisbe is like a comic parody of Romeo and Juliet.

The idea is that the more often the audience heard about or saw the drift of the play, the more likely they were to get it. "Dumbshows" (as seen in The Murder of Gonzago in Hamlet and Gorboduc in real life) served the same purpose.

Midsummer eve is a day when for eons when the Celtic people's celebrated at places like Stonehenge. People still continue to go to Stonehenge, hill tops, and other places to pay homage to the old ways and Gods. Bonfires are set, songs sung, and dancing.

The witches had no clear motive. They told Banquo and Macbeth the prophecies but other than that, does nothing to help Macbeth. Nor did they torment him or place him under any harm. Furthermore, they are seen as sinister and evil beings who are not to be trust and should be guarded against, as said by Banquo. The supernatural creatures in Midsummer Night will be the faeries. Quite unlike the witches, who seemed to be watching the whole tragedy of Macbeth unfold from a sideline, the faeries are eager to help the Athenian lovers and they also restore order to the world in the end. The witches do not. Lastly, appearance-wise, the witches are ambiguous - they are seen to be quite feminine, yet they have beards and there is doubt as to whether they belong to earth. Macbeth even addresses them as "What are you" instead of "Who are you" when he first met them. The faeries on the other are seen to be quite divine and shows a hieracy. There is a king, queen, there are the servants and also the henchmen like Puck. Also, they are described to be beautiful and having firm ideas about that they want and what they are going to do.

The idea of having "entertainments" on your wedding day after supper is an indication of a wedding custom one does not see often these days. The behaviour of the audience during the play (constantly interrupting and cracking jokes about the play) shows that audiences in Shakespeare's day were vocal and audience interaction was common.

Bottom's statement that he has a reasonable ear for music "Let's have the tongs and the bones!" indicates that such primitive instruments were still in common use in Shakespeare's day, but were not very highly thought of.

The wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. "Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour draws on apace."

"Dreams" appears twice. In Act 1 Scene 1 Hermia says "as due to love as thoughts and dreams and sighs" and in Act 4 Scene 1 Demetrius says, "And on our way let us recount our dreams." The word "dream" on the other hand, appears 14 times.

Hermia is feisty. She is not afraid to stand up to Theseus himself and demand to know what her options are; she berates Demetrius so he says, "There's no following her in this fierce vein"; she is ready for a toe-to-toe battle with Helena. "She was a vixen when she went to school" is probably true. She is also almost always upbeat. Lysander quickly comforts her after Theseus' sentence and she is soon happy and giving again. It takes forever for Lysander to persuade her than he is no longer interested in her--she just won't believe it. We see her kindness when she shares the news of her intended elopement with Helena.

Helena is another thing altogether. Moping, whining, self-pitying ("I am as ugly as a bear"), her lack of self-esteem leads her to reject not only Lysander's protestations of love, but also Demetrius's because she cannot accept that they would love someone as worthless as she is. She is the classic victim of an abusive relationship. "The more you beat me, I will fawn on you. Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me, only give me leave, unworthy as I am, to follow you." If he treats her this way, she will believe him. She shows her petty nature in disclosing Hermia's plans to Demetrius (not a nice way to treat a friend's confidence), and her cowardice in running from Hermia.

Yes, although Helena is a little cheesed off that Demetrius, the guy she wants, has set his heart on Hermia. Apparently Helena and Hermia have been friends since they were schoolgirls together.

The king of shadows in A Midsummer Night's Dream is Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow. Puck is a mischievous fairy who serves the fairy king Oberon and is known for his pranks and love of causing chaos.

"I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius,

The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.

Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me,

Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave,

Unworthy as I am, to follow you.

What worser place can I beg in your love--

And yet a place of high respect with me--

Than to be used as you use your dog?" (2.1 lines 202-209)

She's one sick puppy.

Snug - A Midsummer Night's Dream - was created in 1596.