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A Midsummer Night's Dream The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Know-the-Show Guide A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare Know-the-Show Audience Guide researched and written by the Education Department of Artwork by Scott McKowen The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Know-the-Show Guide In This Guide – The Life of William Shakespeare ............................................................................................... 2 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream: An Introduction ......................................................................... 3 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Synopsis ................................................................................. 4 – Who’s Who in the Play ............................................................................................................. 6 – Sources and History .................................................................................................................. 7 – Aspects of Midsummer ............................................................................................................. 8 – Midsummer Tidbits ................................................................................................................. 10 – Commentary & Criticism ........................................................................................................ 11 – Theatre in Shakespeare’s Day .................................................................................................. 12 – In this Production ................................................................................................................... 13 – Explore Online ....................................................................................................................... 14 – Sources & Further Reading ...................................................................................................... 15 – Additional Opportunties for Kids and Adults ........................................................................... 16 1 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Know-the-Show Guide The Life playwright. He wrote approximately 38 plays, two epic poems, and over 150 sonnets. His work was immensely popular, appealing William to members of all social spheres including Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare King James I. While the plays were well-liked, Shakespeare’s work was not considered by his educated contemporaries to be of exceptional. By 1608, Shakespeare’s involvement with theatre William Shakespeare, widely began to dwindle, and he spent more time at his country home in recognized as the greatest English Stratford. He died in 1616. dramatist, was born on April 23, 1564. He was the third of eight Most of Shakespeare’s plays found children born to John Shakespeare their first major publication and Mary Arden of Stratford- in 1623, seven years after upon-Avon in Warwickshire, Shakespeare’s death, when England. Shakespeare’s father was two of his fellow actors put a prominent local merchant, and the plays together in the First Shakespeare’s childhood, though Folio. Other early printings National Portrait Gallery, London little is known about it for certain, of Shakespeare’s plays were appears to have been quite normal. called quartos, a printer’s In fact, it seems that the young term referring to the format in Shakespeare was allowed considerable leisure time because his which the publication was laid writing contains extensive knowledge of hunting and hawking. out. These quartos and the First In 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer. Folio texts are the sources of all She was eight years his senior, and the match was considered modern printings of Shakespeare’s unconventional. plays. The Shakespeare Family Coat of Arms It is believed that Shakespeare left Stratford-upon-Avon and went to London around 1588. By 1592, he was a successful actor and 2 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Know-the-Show Guide Like in many of Shakespeare’s plays, there is a movement from chaos, conflict and danger to a restoration of harmony in the human and natural A Midsummer worlds. At the opening of the play, Hermia is given a choice between marrying a man she does not love, being put to death, or living a life Night’s Dream of chastity in a convent. Helena is desperately in love with a man who An Introduction now refuses her. On a more cosmic scale, the feud between Titania and Oberon over the custody of a human child has turned the weather topsy- Considered Shakespeare’s most successful and popular comedy, A turvy. When the fairies begin to intervene in the dilemmas of the humans, Midsummer Night’s Dream has something for everyone. From the this already-troubled world falls further into chaos and disarray. The regal elegance of the Athenian court to the lowbrow antics of the delusions of love are compounded by the illusions of magic. “rude mechanicals,” from the passion-filled plights of the lovers to the mischievous magic of the fairies, Midsummer is sure to please almost But just as the chaos reaches its peak, Shakespeare magically resolves the any audience. It is the most frequently produced of all Shakespeare’s dilemmas of humans and fairies alike, and returns the world to a state of plays. Some say, it is in performance somewhere in the world every day blissful, primordial harmony. As Puck puts it: of the year. Jack shall have Jill; Nought shall go ill; In creating this hilarious, silly, and sometimes deeply moving play, The man shall have his mare again, Shakespeare pulled situations and ideas from many diverse sources and all shall be well. — merging Greek myth, European folklore and his own firsthand knowledge of English country life into a tightly-woven rollercoaster ride MIDSUMMER’S EVE of a play. Midsummer Eve, the Vigil of St. John the Baptist, June 23, was At the heart of the play, as in most Elizabethan comedies, are issues traditionally a time of magic, when spirits supposedly walked of love and marriage. “Midsummer madness” was a colloquial phrase abroad and played their tricks upon mortals. It was a time for to refer to someone sick with love, and the play can be seen as a certain traditional rites, such as the burning of bonfires, which celebration of love’s magic (and madness) in many stages: adolescent go back to the fertility celebrations of pre-Christian Britain. love, as exemplified by the two pairs of young Athenians; adult love, By using certain magical charms, it was believed maidens on as seen with Theseus and his captive bride-to-be, the Amazon queen Midsummer Eve might have dreams of who their true loves Hippolyta; and from the perspective of a long-married couple struggling were to be. In general, the season was associated with love and with their less-than-perfect relationship, Oberon and Titania. marriage, and it is appropriate that Shakespeare would choose such a title for a marriage play. 3 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Know-the-Show Guide the alternate choice of becoming a A Midsummer nun. Lysander and Hermia decide to run away and to marry far from Night’s Dream Athens. Before they leave, they see A Synopsis Helena, Hermia’s best friend, and tell her of their plans. Helena is in Please note: Below is a full summary of the play. If you prefer not love with Demetrius and, in hopes to spoil to plot, consider skipping this section. of proving her loyalty to him, tells him of Hermia’s escape. As Lysander A Midsummer Night’s Dream The story of may be best explained The Mechanicals flee from the and Hermia travel through the woods by dividing it into its three basic units: the Royals and Lovers, the transformed Nick Bottom. the following night, Demetrius attempts Mechanicals, and the Fairies. to track them down with the love-sick Helena close in tow. While in the woods, fairies play tricks on the young lovers. Through magic, THE ROYALS AND THE LOVERS: Demetrius and Lysander both suddenly fall madly in love with Helena. As Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta prepare for their This confusion leads to a quarrel, which Oberon, King of the Fairies, wedding, Egeus, a nobleman of the town, comes before them to seek stops. Oberon then has his henchman restore the relationships to their assistance with his disobedient rightful state: Demetrius is in love with Helena, and Lysander is in love daughter, Hermia. Egeus wants with Hermia. When they wake the next morning, the Duke overrides her to marry Demetrius, but the law, and decides to allow Lysander and Hermia to marry. Demetrius, she wants to marry Lysander. transformed by the evening in the woods, proclaims his renewed love According to the law of Athens, for Helena. They joyously return to Athens and are married alongside she must marry the man her Theseus and Hippolyta. father chooses or die. Theseus acknowledges that Egeus has the THE MECHANICALS: law on his side, but offers Hermia Several of the workers of Athens have decided to perform a play for the Theseus and Hippolyta from a Duke on his wedding day. Peter Quince, a local carpenter, gathers the sketch by Edwin Austin Abbey, five craftsmen thought best skilled to perform the play; Nick Bottom, 1893. 4 The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM: Know-the-Show Guide Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, and Snug. Bottom, a weaver him. Before releasing her with great aspirations to be an actor, is cast as Pyramus, a noble young from his spell, Oberon CRITIC’S CORNER
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