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There are unfamiliar words that were created by the author or have a different meaning today.

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William Shakespeare is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language. His plays were performed in the greatest theaters in front of many people and have several themes in common. Major themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream like love, illusion v.s reality, supernatural powers and theater appear in other Shakespeare plays.

For further information about Shakespear's life visit The Folger Shakespear Library's website: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-life/

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William Shakespeare: A biography

Since William Shakespeare lived more than 400 years ago, and many records from that time are lost or never existed in the first place, we don't know everything about Shakespeare's life. For example, we know that he was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, 100 miles northwest of London, on April 26, 1564. But we don't know his exact birthdate, which must have been a few days earlier.

We do know that Shakespeare's life revolved around two locations: Stratford and London. He grew up, had a family, and bought property in Stratford, but he worked in London, the center of English theater. As an actor, a playwright, and a partner in a leading acting company, he became both prosperous and well-known. Even without knowing everything about his life, fans of Shakespeare have imagined and reimagined him according to their own tastes.

Looking for more in-depth information? Need something you can cite? Read an essay about Shakespeare's life from the Folger Shakespeare Editions. Read essay

Early life: Birth and childhood

William Shakespeare was probably born on about April 23, 1564, the date that is traditionally given for his birth. He was John and Mary Shakespeare's oldest surviving child; their first two children, both girls, did not live beyond infancy. Growing up as the big brother of the family, William had three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, and two younger sisters: Anne, who died at seven, and Joan.

Their father, John Shakespeare, was a leatherworker who specialized in the soft white leather used for gloves and similar items. A prosperous businessman, he married Mary Arden, of the prominent Arden family. John rose through local offices in Stratford, becoming an alderman and eventually, when William was five, the town bailiff-much like a mayor. Not long after that, however, John Shakespeare stepped back from public life; we don't know why.

Shakespeare, as the son of a leading Stratford citizen, almost certainly attended Stratford's grammar school. Like all such schools, its curriculum consisted of an intense emphasis on the Latin classics, including memorization, writing, and acting classic Latin plays. Shakespeare most likely attended until about age 15.

A horn book in the Folger collection, similar to one that Shakespeare might have learned to read from

Marriage (to Anne Hathaway) and children

A few years after he left school, in late 1582, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. She was already expecting their first-born child, Susanna, which was a fairly common situation at the time. When they married, Anne was 26 and William was 18. Anne grew up just outside Stratford in the village of Shottery. After marrying, she spent the rest of her life in Stratford.

In early 1585, the couple had twins, Judith and Hamnet, completing the family. In the years ahead, Anne and the children lived in Stratford while Shakespeare worked in London, although we don't know when he moved there. Some later observers have suggested that this separation, and the couple's relatively few children, were signs of a strained marriage, but we do not know that, either. Someone pursuing a theater career had no choice but to work in London, and many branches of the Shakespeares had small families.

Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet, died in 1596 at the age of 11. His older daughter Susanna later married a well-to-do Stratford doctor, John Hall. Their daughter Elizabeth, Shakespeare's first grandchild, was born in 1608. In 1616, just months before his death, Shakespeare's daughter Judith married Thomas Quiney, a Stratford vintner. The family subsequently died out, leaving no direct descendants of Shakespeare.

London theater

For several years after the birth of Judith and Hamnet in 1585, nothing is known for certain of Shakespeare's activities: how he earned a living, when he moved from Stratford, or how he got his start in the theater.

Following this gap in the record, the first definite mention of Shakespeare is in 1592 as an established London actor and playwright, mocked by a contemporary as a "Shake-scene." The same writer alludes to one of Shakespeare's earliest history plays, Henry VI, Part 3, which must already have been performed. The next year, in 1593, Shakespeare published a long poem, Venus and Adonis. The first quarto editions of his early plays appeared in 1594.

For more than two decades, Shakespeare had multiple roles in the London theater as an actor, playwright, and, in time, a business partner in a major acting company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (renamed the King's Men in 1603). Over the years, he became steadily more famous in the London theater world; his name, which was not even listed on the first quartos of his plays, became a regular feature-clearly a selling point-on later title pages.

Final years and death

Shakespeare prospered financially from his partnership in the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men), as well as from his writing and acting. He invested much of his wealth in real-estate purchases in Stratford and bought the second-largest house in town, New Place, in 1597.

Among the last plays that Shakespeare worked on was The Two Noble Kinsmen, which he wrote with a frequent collaborator, John Fletcher, most likely in 1613. He died on April 23, 1616-the traditional date of his birthday, though his precise birthdate is unknown. We also do not know the cause of his death. His brother-in-law had died a week earlier, which could imply infectious disease, but Shakespeare's health may have had a longer decline.

The memorial bust of Shakespeare at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford is considered one of two authentic likenesses, because it was approved by people who knew him. The other such likeness is the engraving by Martin Droeshout in the 1623 First Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays, produced seven years after his death by his friends and colleagues from the King's Men.

Timeline

View a timeline of Shakespeare's life with links to key supporting documents on Shakespeare Documented.
View timeline

The bust of Shakespeare in the Folger Reading Room is a copy of the statue at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.

Frequently asked questions

Why did Shakespeare leave his wife his "second best bed"?

William Shakespeare wrote in his last will and testament, dated March 25, 1616, "Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture" (furniture is used to refer to the curtains and bedcover which formed part of the complete bed).

This was not an unusual bequest, nor was it likely to have been intended as a snub. The best bed was usually regarded as an heirloom piece, to be passed to the heir rather than the spouse. It is also probable that the best bed would have been reserved for guests, meaning the "second best" was the bed that William and Anne shared.

What did Shakespeare's son die of?

We don't really know how Shakespeare's young son Hamnet died. He had a twin sister named Judith, who lived to adulthood and married, but Hamnet died at the age of 11 and a half. Child mortality was high in the 16th century; there were no antibiotics and many childhood diseases might therefore prove fatal, such as scarlet fever, whooping cough, diphtheria, and even measles. He was buried on August 11, 1596.

What is the inscription on Shakespeare's grave?

GOOD FREND FOR JESUS SAKE FORBEARE,
TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE:
BLESTE BE Ye [the] MAN Yt [that] SPARES THES STONES,
AND CURST BE HE Yt [that] MOVES MY BONES.

Did Shakespeare have a coat of arms?

Yes, William's father, John Shakespeare, was granted a coat of arms in 1596. It was disputed in 1602 by York Herald, Ralph Brooke, saying that the arms were too similar to existing coats of arms, and that the family was unworthy. However, the challenge was unsuccessful, as the Shakespeare coat of arms appears in later heraldic collections and on William Shakespeare's funeral monument in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Does Shakespeare have descendants?

William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway had three children. The eldest, Susanna, was baptized on May 26, 1583, and married John Hall in 1607. They had one child, Elizabeth, in 1608. Elizabeth was married twice, to Thomas Nash in 1626, and to John Bernard in 1649. However, she had no children by either husband.

William and Anne also had twins, Judith and Hamnet, who were baptized on February 2, 1585. Hamnet died at age 11 and a half. Judith married Thomas Quiney in 1616, and the couple had three sons: Shakespeare Quiney, who died in infancy, and Richard and Thomas, who both died in 1639 within a month of each other. Since neither of the boys married, there is no possibility of any legitimate descendants from Shakespeare's line.

It is possible, however, to claim a relationship to Shakespeare through his sister, Joan. She married William Hart some time before 1600, and there are many descendants of this marriage alive today, in both the male and female lines.

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Shakespeare's life | Folger Shakespeare Library

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Learn about Shakespeare's life and family: birth in Stratford-upon-Avon, marriage to Anne Hathaway and their children, work in London theaters, and death.

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The craftsmen’s play within A Midsummer Night’s Dream humorously uses the art of acting to portray the feelings of the craftsmen. In Hamlet, the play-within-a-play is used to reveal the truth.

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Shakespeare frequently shifts his sentences from the normal structure to create the rhythm he seeks or to emphasize a word. For example, we sometimes find the verb before the subject or the object before the subject: “goes he” instead of “ he goes” or “him I hit” instead of “I hit him”.

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Alina Abreu Conservatory of Dance. A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2024 

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Though Demetrius’s love of Helena is a by-product of the magic potion rather than an expression of his natural feelings, love has been put into balance, allowing for a traditional marriage ending. As is often the case with Shakespeare, the dramatic situation is closely tied to the circumstances of the external environment; just as the conflict is ending and a semblance of order is restored among the characters, the sun comes up.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act IV: Scene i Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes. (n.d.). SparkNotes. https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/msnd/section7/

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Also, there is implied stage action. When reading Shakespeare’s plays we must remember that what we’re reading is a performance of a script so not all the movement the actors make is explicitly written as stage directions.

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A member of a legendary race of female warriors believed by the ancient Greeks

Source: amazon. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amazon

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In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, love is unpredictable, irrational, and often manipulated by external forces. Similarly, in Romeo and Juliet, love is passionate but also chaotic and doomed by fate.

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“The course of true love never did run smooth.” (Act 1, Scene 1) – Lysander

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Most Shakespeare plays include some kind of supernatural element. A Midsummer Night’s Dream features fairies and magical interference. In Macbeth, for example, witches influence fate and human actions.

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Most of Shakespeare's plays include some allusion to Greek myths, whether in characters, settings, or themes. A Midsummer Night's is no exception, as it features teh marrige of Theseus and Hippolyta, acient greek charcters. Another clear influence is seen in Macbeth, where the Three Witches resemble the Greek Fates (Moirae), who control human destiny.

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The play starts with Theseus (duke of Athens) and Hippolyta (Amazon) talking about their wedding when Egeus arrives with his daughter (Hermia) and the two men that pursue her (Demetrius and Lysander). Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius but Hermia is in love with Lysander. Egeus thinks that Theseus should follow the ancient Athenian law and force Hermia to obey her father or die. Insead Theseus decided that Hermia could either obey her father or become a nun. Hermia loves Lysander so they make a plan to run away to a cabin outside of Athens. Then Helena enters and monologues about how she’s in love with Demetrius but he doesn’t like her back. Hermia and Lysander tell Helena their plan to flee and she decides she will tell Demetrius about it. Here we have a love triangle between Hermia, Lysander and Demtrius.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare | Act 1, Scene 1

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Egeus, Theseus, Hippolyta, Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, Helena

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Athens: represents the social order and rationality. There also seems to be a patriarchal order since Hermia is demanded to obey her father or die.

The woods: is where most of the story takes place and represents the magical elements of the play since in the woods the lines between the fairy world and the mortal world blur.

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A young man of Athens is in love with Hermia but her father disapproves of their love. Lysander is the victim of a spell that makes him fall in love with Helena.

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A young man of Athens, initially in love with Hermia. Hermia’s father approves of Demetrius. Demetrius gets involved in a spell that makes him fall in love with Helena

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Egeus’s daughter, a young woman of Athens. Hermia is in love with Lysander and is a childhood friend of Helena.

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A young woman of Athens, in love with Demetrius. Demetrius and Helena were once betrothed, but when Demetrius met Helena’s friend Hermia, he fell in love with her and abandoned Helena.

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Hermia’s father, who brings a complaint against his daughter to Theseus

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The heroic duke of Athens, engaged to Hippolyta. Theseus represents power and order throughout the play.

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The legendary queen of the Amazons, engaged to Theseus. Like Theseus, she symbolizes order.

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In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare weaves together three interconnected worlds and parallel stories that mix love, magic and a little comedy to perfectly illustrate the power of desire. The play centers around three groups: the lovers, the fairies, and the craftsmen. The first story begins in Athens with the marriage of two wonderful figures from classical mythology. Within Athens, four lovers run away to the forest where they experience several misadventures. The second storyline takes place in the fairy world, where a conflict between the king and queen of the fairies unfolds. Finally, the third story brings the mortal and fairy worlds together when a craftsman from a theater group falls victim of a spell that causes the fairy queen to fall for him. All these narratives explore the fragility of love, portraying it as a powerful emotion driven not by the recipient but by the passion of the giver.

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Bottom is a weaver and part of a theater group. Puck turns Bottom's head into that of a Donkey. Bottom is basically a walking pun.

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Quince (carpenter), Snug (joiner), Flute (the bellows-mender), Snout (tinker), Sterveling(the tailor)

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The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe is similar to Romeo and Juliette story.

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In another part of athens, a group of common laborers meets at the house of Peter Quince to rehearse a play that the men hope to perform for the grand celebration preceding the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Quince, a carpenter, tries to conduct the meeting, but the talkative weaver Nick Bottom continually interrupts him with advice and direction. Quince tells the group what play they are to perform: The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe. As Quince doles out the parts, Bottom often interrupts, announcing that he should be the one to play the assigned part. He says that his ability to speak in a woman’s voice would make him a wonderful Thisbe and that his ability to roar would make him a wonderful lion. Quince eventually convinces him that Pyramus is the part for him, by virtue of the fact that Pyramus is supposed to be very handsome. Snug worries that he will be unable to learn the lion’s part, but Quince reassures him that it will be very easy to learn, since the lion speaks no words and only growls and roars. This worries the craftsmen, who reason that if the lion frightens any of the noble ladies in the audience, they will all be executed; since they are only common laborers, they do not want to risk upsetting powerful people. Bottom says that he could roar as sweetly as a nightingale so as not to frighten anyone, but Quince again convinces him that he can only play Pyramus. The group disperses, agreeing to meet in the woods the following night to rehearse their play in the forest.

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Nick Bottom an dthe craftsmen form A Midsummer Night's Dream

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A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare | Act 1, Scene 2

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Quince. Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, Straveling

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The craftsmen are supposed to be the comedic relief side story, like in Phineas and Ferb, when they switch to Perry the Platypus and Dr. Doofenshmirtz fight scenes for comedic relief.

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Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, quarrel over possessing a young Indian boy they took from the indian king after battle. Oberon orders Robin Goodfellow, a hobgoblin or "puck," to obtain a special flower that makes people fall in love with the next creature they see. Oberon wants to make Titania fall in love with a beast and use her infatuation to get the Indian boy from her. Demetrius enters, pursued by Helena, whom he tries to drive off. When Robin returns, Oberon, who sympathizes with Helena's love, orders him to find Demetrius and apply some of the flower's magic nectar to his eyes.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare | Act 2, Scene 1

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Fariy, Puck, Oberon, Titania, Demetrius, Helena

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Puck, in medieval English folklore, is a malicious fairy or demon. In Old and Middle English, the word meant “demon.” In Elizabethan lore, he was a mischievous, brownie-like fairy also called Robin Goodfellow or Hobgoblin.

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Well, personally, I am already familiar with the work because I danced the ballet based on the book. I think it is a very entertaining story that teaches us about love and how reckless and chaotic it can be. When I analyze this story, I can’t help but compare the love that Shakespear talks about with the love that God talks about. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, love is impulsive, unpredictable, and sometimes foolish. The Bible, however, teaches that true love is patient, kind, and not based on fleeting emotions or physical attraction (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). The chaos in A Midsummer Night’s Dream demonstrates how love driven by desire can lead to confusion and hurt.

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Titania is the queen of the fairies and she is with Oberon the king of the fairies. She has an Indian Boy that Oberon wants so he sends Puck to make her fall in love with Bottom.

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Oberon is the king of the fairies he is jealous of Titania because he wants the Indian Boy. He sends Puck to look for a magic flower.

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Robin Goodfellow is a Puck or mischievous spirit at the service of Oberon. Puck is known for doing pranks and tricks on humans

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Oberon puts the magic nectar over Titania's eyes when she's asleep. Lysander and Hermia enter and fall asleep nearby. Puck thinks he found the Athenian man and puts the love potion on Lysander's eyes instead of Demetrius'. Demetrius is rude to Helena. Lysander wakes up falls in love with Helena and leaves Hermia behind. Helena thinks Lysander is mocking her and tries to run away.

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This complicates the situation since Puck gets confused. It wasn't entirely Puck's fault since it was dark and Oberon didn't specify much. Puck saw Athenian clothes so he assumed Lysander was the Atheian man Demetrius was talking about.

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Puck, Lysander, Helena, Titania, Fairies, Hermia, Demetrius

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The theater group meets in the woods to rehearse. The puck bumps into them and turns Bottom's head into that of an ass. His friends become afraid of him and leave him alone. Bottom sings and his voice awakens Titania, who falls in love with him due to the flower's power.

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It's funny how girls fall for Donkeys in real life, usually without the help of a magic flower.

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Oberon and Titania's Conflict over the boy

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Oberon and Titania's Conflict over the boy

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Oberon is angry at Titania because she has an Indian boy stolen from an Indian King and Oberon wants him for himself. The quarrel between the king and queen is making the weather change. Oberon wants the boy to be his henchman but Titatina refuses to part from the boy because he's the son of one of her servants that died.

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Oberon commanded his servant Robin Goodfellow to look for a flower that was hit by Cupid's arrow and that its nectar makes anyone fall in love with the first thing they see. Once he has the flower he'll wait for Titania to sleep and use the flower's magic to make her fall in love with a beast and use her infatuation to take the boy.

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The flower is the symbolic representation of love and its power to make anyone fall in love with anything represents how chaotic and irrational love an be

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If there's one thing that's particularly noticeable in this story, and that helps us understand the era in which it was written, it's the gender roles. The idea that the man is in command and the woman should only obey is present in both mortal and non-human couples. Theseus wins the war and now decides Hippolyta's fate, and although she doesn't seem against it, she's not thrilled either. Egeus prefers the death of his daughter to her defying her father's wishes. And finally, we see these ideas in Oberon and Titania. Oberon isn't angry because she, being his inferior, refuses to give him what he wants.

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Oberon's desition to intervene with Helena's problem intertwines the Fairy and the mortal world

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Hermia dreams about a snake eating her heart. This dream foreshadows the betrayal she will soon experience.

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The craftsmen believe that their performance is going to be so good that certain scenes in the play need to have a disclaimer so that they don't frighten the ladies in the crowd.

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In this scene when Bottom is given an ass' head by a puck he turns into a walking pun. A guy named Bottom with an ass' head. Also, when he meets the fairies he makes puns about their names.

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Titania, The theater group, fairies, Bottom, Puck

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A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare | Act 3, Scene 1

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Robin Goodfellow reports to Oberon about Titania and Bottom. When Demetrius enters wooing Hermia, Oberon discovers that Robin has anointed the eyes of the wrong Athenian. Oberon then orders Robin to fetch Helena while he anoints the eyes of the sleeping Demetrius. Helena enters pursued by Lysander vowing his love. Demetrius awakes, falls in love with Helena, and also begins to woo her. Helena believes both men are mocking her. When Hermia arrives and learns that Lysander has abandoned her for Helena, she threatens Helena, who thinks that Hermia is part of the conspiracy. Lysander and Demetrius prepare to duel to prove their right to Helena. At Oberon's command, Robin impersonates each of the two men in turn to lead the other astray until both, exhausted, fall asleep. Helena and Hermia also fall asleep. Robin applies nectar to Lysander's eyes to undo the spell that has drawn him

to Helena.

Source: A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Act 3, scene 2 | Folger Shakespeare Library. (n.d.). Folger.

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Helena and Hermia fight over men.

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Hermia questions Demetrius about Lysander’s whereabouts, fearing that he is dead. Still, Demetrius does not know where Lysander has gone, and he is bitter and reproachful that Hermia would rather be with Lysander than with him.

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In this scene Mortals and Fairies share the stage without seeing each other.

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"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

Puck

(3.2.115)

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Lysander and Demetrius try to have a duel. I think this shows how chaotic the love magic of the flower is. When Hermia was at the apex of the love triangle, Demetrius and Lysander discussed it rationally, but now that they're in love with Helena, thanks to the flower, they display a much more passionate and intense love.

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I wonder if God ever intervenes in our lives trying to help us like Oberon. Would God use his power to get me a boyfriend?

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Frog Prince Papiere (n.d.). [Image of a cat sitting on a windowsill] [Photograph]. Pinterest. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/58/51/08/5851085fb11f225442664d2a6cf8c928.jpg

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Titania and her attendants care for Bottom, who falls asleep beside her. Oberon, watching them, tells Puck that Titania has given him the Indian boy and thus they can now remove the spells from Titania and Bottom. Theseus and Hippolyta, accompanied by Egeus and others, have come to the woods to celebrate May Day. They discover the four lovers asleep and wake them. Lysander now loves Hermia again, and Demetrius loves Helena. When Lysander reveals how he and Hermia fleed Athens, Egeus begs Theseus to punish him. But when Demetrius announces that he is now in love with Helena, Theseus overrides Egeus and decrees that Lysander will marry Hermia and Demetrius will marry Helena when Theseus himself marries Hippolyta. As the lovers leave, Bottom tries to recall what happened, which to him feels like a dream. (4.1, 120)

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Act 4 is fast-paced and lead to the happy ending that'll happen in Act 5.

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There is no real climax in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; rather, as soon as the scenario has progressed to a suitable degree of complication and hilarity, Shakespeare simply invokes the fairies’ magic to dispel all conflict. As the sun comes up, the reappearance of Theseus and Hippolyta, who symbolize the power and structure of the outside world, begins to dispel the magical dream of the play.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act IV, Scene I: Summary and Analysis | SparkNotes. (n.d.). SparkNotes. https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/msnd/section7/

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Theseus overrules Egeus's wishes because he sees that Hermia and Lysander are genuinely in love and that Demetrius has fallen for Helena, so he decrees that all four lovers can marry, essentially prioritizing love and free will over societal expectations. This was unexpected because, throughout the play, we see the voices of men dictate the rules.

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The tradesmen regret, for their sakes and for Bottom's, the loss of their opportunity to perform the play, since Bottom is irreplaceable. Bottom arrives and announces that their play has been chosen by Theseus for performance that night.

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Theseus dismisses as imaginary the lovers' account of their night's experience and then chooses "Pyramus and Thisbe" for the night's entertainment. The play is so ridiculous and the performance so bad that the courtly audience finds pleasure in mocking them. When the play is over and the newly married couples have retired to bed, the fairies enter, led by Titania and Oberon, to bless the three marriages. Puck asks the audience to think of the play as if it were a dream.

Floger's Sheakerpear Library version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, 5.1

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Shakespeare wanted to finish with a comedic scene. After all the drama and chaos between the lovers and the faries, the story ends with a ridiculous interpretation of the play of Pyramus and Thisbe. The lovers acknowledge this as they make jokes and sarcastic comments throughout the play, and Theseus tells Bottom that they will NOT like to hear the epilogue or continue with the show.

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A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare | Act 5, Scene 1

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Puck tells the audience to pretend this was all a dream as a way to minimize the damage his previous mistakes made.

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"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear;
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend."(5.1, 440-447)

As many of the characters believe that the magical events of the play’s action were merely a dream, Puck tells the crowd that if the play has offended them, they too should remember it simply as a dream.

A Midsummer Night’s dream: Famous quotes explained | SparkNotes. (n.d.). SparkNotes. https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/msnd/quotes/page/5/

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I'm glad we got a happy ending. The only thing that bothers me is Demetrius and Helena's relationship; it seems unfair that they continue a relationship that isn't genuine.

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I chose Titania because she brings a magical contribution to the story and represents the feminine elements of society in the play. I also find it hilarious how she falls in love with a man with a donkey's head and showers him with flowers and fairies as if to cleanse him of his "mortal grossness".

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Titania is the Queen of the Fairies and the wife of King Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is proud, graceful, and assertive, showing a strong sense of independence as she stands her ground and refuses to hand over the Indian boy to Oberon. This conflict reveals her maternal instincts and moral conviction, as she honors her promise to the boy’s late mother. Titania’s refusal also shows that she is not easily controlled, even by her powerful husband.

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Though magical and ethereal, Titania is not above engaging in power struggles or emotional games. Like Oberon, she takes part in manipulating the mortal world, suggesting that she is powerful too. However, when Oberon uses a love potion to humiliate her, Titania becomes a symbol of how powerful women can be undermined by male dominance.

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Alina Abreu Conservatory if Dance, Sueño de una Noche de Verano

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When the spell is broken, Titania immediately reconciles with Oberon without expressing anger or bitterness. This moment can be interpreted in different ways: as forgiveness, as a return to harmony, or as a quiet acceptance of male control. In any case, this leaves a lasting impression of a woman who, while magical, still faces the realities of patriarchal power.

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I think the ending for Titania is bittersweet. I mean, in the end, she ended up dancing with Oberon and the fairies as if nothing had happened, but she was forced to give in to Oberon's desires. I think Titania must have fought Oberon for the kid even after the spell was reversed because in the end, Oberon got what he wanted, and she didn’t do anything.

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Throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titania, Queen of the Fairies, begins as a strong-willed and independent character who refuses to give in to her husband Oberon’s demands. Their conflict causes chaos in the natural world, leading Oberon to enchant her as punishment. Under the spell, she falls in love with the ridiculous Bottom, showcasing how her power can be undermined. Once the spell is lifted, she forgives Oberon and reconciles with him, restoring harmony.

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I was already familiar with the play's ending, so it didn't surprise me when I read it. It was a happy ending, but it still felt quite inconclusive. Technically, the lovers all get their happy ending, but it bothers me that Demetrius remains under the flower’s spell.  It’s not just about whether his love for Helena is genuine; it’s also a question of consent. In the end, he’s committed to something he didn’t freely choose. It almost feels like getting someone drunk so they'll agree to something they already said no to.  While Demetrius's spell wasn't cast with malice and seemed aimed at making Helena (someone with whom Demetrius had already been involved) happy, it doesn’t seem fair that he had to sacrifice his free will for the sake of a clean resolution. That said, since Demetrius will never realize he’s under a spell, I guess it counts as a happy ending for him, too.

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Overall, I liked the story. I thought it was truly magical and dreamlike. I get the name if the play now that I read Puck's soliloquy at the end; the events were so bizarre that the characters could believe they were real. I'm very happy I git to read this play and see this humorous facet of Shakespeare.

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There's also the issue of the Indian Boy, which was completely ignored at the end of the play. Titania didn't complain to Oberon or try to get the child back. I know that was Oberon's plan all along, but it still frustrates me that it worked so easily.