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    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    Ebook116 pages1 hour

    A Midsummer Night's Dream

    By William Shakespeare

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    About this ebook

    Witness the stages of love, marriage and jealousy as well as all of the mysterious images of romantic desire in this beautiful edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

    A Midsummer Night's Dream, a romantic comedy play by William Shakespeare, is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works for the stage and is widely performed throughout the world.

    Theseus and Hippolyta, wonderful figures from classical mythology, are about to marry. In the woods outside Athens, two young men and two young women finally sort themselves out into couples after first forming one love triangle, and then another. By presenting them as almost interchangeable, Shakespeare probes the mystery of how lovers find compelling, life-shaping differences where there seem to be only likenesses.

    In the same woods, controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest, we find yet other images of desire in Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of Fairyland, and Bottom, an Athenian weaver who had been magically transformed into an ass-headed monster by Oberon’s helper, hobgoblin Robin Goodfellow. King Oberon who is engaged in a near epic battle with Queen Titania over the custody of an orphan boy, uses magic to make the queen fall in love with Bottom, who had come into the woods with his companions - six amateur actors - to rehearse a play for the king’s wedding. This “Beauty and the Beast” story adds another dimension as it brings in the power of infatuation to transform the image of the beloved in the lover’s eyes.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherG&D Media
    Release dateJun 5, 2020
    ISBN9781722524043
    Author

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright the world has seen. He produced an astonishing amount of work; 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 5 poems. He died on 23rd April 1616, aged 52, and was buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.

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    Reviews for A Midsummer Night's Dream

    4/5

    3,923 ratings51 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Great romantic comedy.
    • 4/5
      One of my favorite Shakespeare tales that give me a new laugh every time. I've re-read it and love the characters of Helena and Hermia more every time.
    • 4/5
      You have to give it to the greatest playwright who ever lived to write a complicated comedy on true love. In this play, Shakespeare intertwines the lives of four sets of characters in four plots. In begins with Theseus, the Duke of Athens complaining to his bethrothed Hippolyta how four days is a long time to wait for his wedding to her, the Queen of the Amazons. He wounded and defeated her in battle, but wooed her in captivity. Then enters the second set of characters: Egeus, who asks that Theseus explains the Athenian law to Hermia, his daughter, who either follows her father's wishes and marry Demetrius or be condemned to a life of virginity in a nunnery. This consequence is considered worse than death at that time. Hermia loves Lysander instead and the couple plan to meet in the woods to elope. Helena, on the other hand, is in love with Demetrius, tells him about the plan, and goes with him to the woods. The third set of characters is a group of local laborers led by Nick Bottom, a weaver, also a "pompous ass". They come to the woods to rehearse "Pyramus and Thisbe" for Theseus' wedding celebration. The play is about a love affair that ends in a tragedy. The fourth set of characters are Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the fairies and their attendant sprites led by Puck, a mischievous one. Oberon and Titania meet in the woods and jealously argue over their mortal loves. The main characters fall asleep in the woods and Oberon sets Puck's mischiefs rolling when he orders him to squeeze the "love-at-first-sight" juice of the pansy, "love-in-idleness" on Titania's eyes while sleeping to teach her a lesson. Puck also was to apply it on Demetrius eyes so he reciprocates Helena's affections. Titania wakes up and falls in love with Bottom, whose head Puck turns into that of an ass. He mistakes Lysander for Demetrius; squeezes juice on Lysander's eyes; gets reprimanded by Oberon; squeezes juice on Demetrius' eyes. Now both knaves are in love with Helena who thinks they are mocking her and leaves a puzzled Hermia. It is up to Puck to mend his mischiefs. The 16th century language and the script format of the play makes it a difficult reading. Reading it out loud and playing the part helps in understanding. I eventually got the subtle pun after reading it several times. I had a good glimpse of how a genius' mind works after comprehending this play.
    • 4/5
      Having taken a Shakespeare class in college, I've read, studied and analyzed a number of the bard's plays. This was a sleeper as it turned out to be my favorite. If a book this old can make me laugh, that says something, especially when most television shows today can't make me smirk.
    • 5/5
      This is a more narrative version of Shakepeare's play. The story is told like any other story not in play form. Shakespeare's stories are meant to be seen not read, so the illustrations in this book help the story come alive. This is one of Shakespeare's most lighthearted tales, and I think the illustrations do it justice.
    • 5/5
      Read it in high school. Loved it, it was funny
    • 4/5
      One of my favourite Shakespeare plays, very witty and funny.
    • 5/5
      I was a stagehand for this. Incredibly fun.
    • 5/5
      Every read of this classic reveals another tongue in cheek pun. This humorous comedy of errors deals with love, romance, fairies in an enchanted forest, a traveling actors' troupe that passes itself as professional, but offers comic relief, mistaken identity, and of course parents at the crux who will not let true love have its way. Just a simple, straightforward Shakespearean tale. Enjoy!
    • 4/5
      I like teaching A Midsummer Night's Dream to the 8th graders because a lot of it is written in prose (plain language instead of poetry) so it's easy to read. It also keeps the students' attention because it is full of love spells and people falling in love with the wrong people. It's kind of like a soap opera... and it's FUNNY!!
    • 5/5
      I consider this my first Shakespeare: this is the play that made me fall in love with the master. It's a supremely delightful work that never wears thin with time. It's that immortal "O lord, what fools these mortals be" that does me in every time. Humorous and splendidly human despite the fairies dancing across the words.
    • 4/5
      Lyrical and mesmerizing! I got a dramatized audio copy of this book. It really brings this story to life!

      A very different love story for the ages. Couplings, love triangles, love quads, and love chases. It is all here. Thank you fantasy forest for all this wonderful chaos. Some parts a whimsical, others near tragic, some comedy. You never know what the next scene will hold.

      When just listening to this, it can take a bit to follow the story at first. I had no idea who anyone was and names are not mentioned enough to quickly catch on. The only indication to the setting is the sounds you here. It really is just like listening to a play. They even have a full cast for the audio so each character is voiced by someone new. While it makes it far more enjoyable it just made things take a little longer.

      I finally got to learn where several famous quotes and expressions came from. Hearing certain lines brought a smile to my face. Now I just need to read the print version of this book so I can be sure I didn't miss anything. I now have a mental soundtrack to go with it.
    • 5/5
      A great story of romance with enough trickery to make it fantastical. He loves her but she loves him, and nothing is ever clear when you're in the middle of it all!

      This is an easy-to-read for anyone who is new to Shakespeare, play formats, or both. I highly recommend this for a fun look into romance and the drama that naturally ensues. It seems that we all have our own Fae dictating the rules of our hearts, sometimes.
    • 4/5
      Hermia's father brings her before Theseus to be judged, as Hermia refuses to marry her father's choice, Demetrius. Instead she loves Lysander, who loves her back. With the threat of death if Hermia doesn't follow her father's wishes, the couple run into the woods, but are pursued by Demetrius and the girl who loves him, Helena. Also in the woods are the King and Queen of the Fairies and their followers. When the King attempts to smooth love's way for the mortals, he makes things much worse.Not one of my favorites from Shakespeare, but I can see where it would be a great choice for the stage. Romance in the forest and fairies would be difficult to resist
    • 5/5
      This will always be my favorite Shakespeare play. I love all the fairies, Puck especially, and I'll never get over the four lovers' quarrels when half of them are under spells. Plus, how can anyone not enjoy Pyramus and Thisby?
    • 3/5
      I've been meaning to catch up on various Shakespeare plays that "everyone" has read, and after finishing a book and having no immediate plans for what to read next, A Midsummer Night's Dream was conveniently waiting for me on my Kindle.In short, I didn't really like reading it much. I can see how it would probably work much better on stage, but read as a book it didn't really do much for me.If I ever get the opportunity to see it on stage I probably will, and I'll be prepared to be pleasantly surprised at how well it can work as a play.That said, I do enjoy poems, and I found the lyrical nature of the dialogue, the rhythm and the rhyme, to be quite fun. But as a story I just didn't really appreciate it as much as I had expected.
    • 4/5
      A Midsummer Night's Deam is the story of four couples. Theseus and Hippolyta are about to get married, after Theseus captures the Queen of the Amazons (and presumably some sort of courtship, since she seems to be amenable to getting married). Hermia wants to marry Lysander, despite her father's objections. Helena wants to marry Demetrius, if only he weren't in love with Hermia. And Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, are having a tiff about household help. After an evening wandering around the woods, with a little enchantment, humor and chaos, they get it all sorted out.The only happy ending I dislike is Oberon and Titania. Oberon gets his way by making his wife ridiculous, about which she doesn't seem the slightest bit upset. I doubt Queen Elizabeth would have put up with that kind of treatment.
    • 5/5
      Nothing is funnier than the reversal of social degrees, is it?

      C'mon, the mighty Titania falls in love with a working class sod who has the head of an ass! AND his name is Bottom!

      Shakespeare, you cheeky bastard.
    • 5/5
      How do you review Shakespeare? I guess I can say this Play is my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. This has been reviewed by much better reviewers than me so I will just review the audio.I listened to the full cast audiobook with musical interludes and it was really good. Narration is by 20 wonderful cast members from Naxos Audiobooks. I have always said Shakespeare is meant to be read out-loud so this was a treat like listening to a play of it with songs and sound effects.If you get the chance to listen to this on audio you should do it!
    • 5/5
      It's no Twelfth Night (my favorite comedy), but it's still one of Shakespeare's better plays. I especially laughed at the 4 lovers' tendencies to follow each other around like puppydogs. I was interested to notice a difference in the speech between the mechanicals and everyone else (fairies, noblemen/women). In their everyday speech, the mechanicals did not use pentameter, while everyone else did.
    • 4/5
      Some decades ago we couldn't marry fleely.Sometimes we forced to marry who didn't want to marry.I think it is very sad.This book has many characters.So it's story is little complicated.But I felt happy to be all the people became happy at the end of the story.
    • 5/5
      Perfect comedy.
    • 4/5
      “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” follows two interwoven stories, one concerning the marriage of Lysander and Hermia, and the other concerning the transformation of Nick Bottom into a donkey by the queen of fairies.This is one of Shakespeare’s more easily accessible plays for younger audiences, although the plot lines can be confusing at times. This play shows the lighter side of Shakespeare’s works and can be very rewarding for students who are unfamiliar with or daunted by Shakespeare’s works.
    • 4/5
      A Midsummer night’s dream is a incredibly humorous and well drafted play by literatures greatest mind, William Shakespeare. It is comprised of four different stories which are brilliantly styled together. The first part is about a royal wedding for the duke of Athens and his bride Titania, a lady of the Amazon. The second is of a tangle of six lovers who are horribly situated and cannot have who they desire because of certain circumstances. The next story is about a dispute between a king and queen of fairies over a certain Indian or changeling boy. This part of the story intentionally brings the "magic" or more interesting parts of the story. The next and final story is of several tradesmen who have absolutely no business whatsoever with writing plays, yet are attempting to perform a play for the duke and his brides wedding. The main forward running problem in the story was that the lovers’couldn’t love who they longed for, and the story is resolved and in some parts worsened by an effective juice of love, born from the failed arrow shot of cupids shot. This juice can cause a severe love for someone when applied to someone. Its magic untangled and mended the barriers between he lovers, and also created a solution for many other problems in the story.I enjoyed this book, and I don’t usually enjoy books. But I think it makes sense since it is crafted by who people consider to be the greatest literary mind ever known to man. I have never once read or experienced any of the works by Shakespeare, but have only heard of them, mainly his universally known quotes. And for a first time reading one of his creations I thought it was outstanding, and hysterical. What also made this such a fun read was that i got to act most of it out, that made the experience all the more enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      It's Shakespeare. Wonderful story but I prefer his tragedies.
    • 4/5
      I was on a Shkespeare kick!
    • 5/5
      It's Shakespeare, so I'm naturally biased as to its excellence. The play is short, sweet, funny, endearing and my daughter is going to perform in it so I wanted to know the story line prior to watching her on stage. The King of the Fairies and Puck causes all sorts of mischief amongst the humans Lysander, Demetrius, Helen, and Hermia, not to mention the trouble he causes for his wife Titania and Botton, the merchant actor.
    • 4/5
      *gasp* Can I put Shakespeare in my fantasy shelf? :)

      This is just such a delicious treat to read. Do yourself a favor and read it outloud - at least parts of it. It's just so fun.
    • 4/5
      This classic Shakespeare comedic play features two men in love with the same woman who both end up falling for another woman after Puck errs. Shakespeare, who often incorporates elements of fantasy, included faeries in the play. There's even a play within the play in this one. It's not my favorite Shakespeare play, but it's a good one.
    • 4/5
      I honestly feel as though I’ve ruined this play for myself. When I first read it during my last year of middle school, I was immediately taken with nearly everything about it—the quarrelling lovers, the comedy, the supernatural element—so taken that I tried to film a shortened version of it with some of my friends. Obviously, what with reading my own bowdlerized imaginings of the lines over and over again, not to mention listening to all of us trying to recite the Bard, my estimation of it was sullied somewhat.Reading it again, I find that I still enjoy it, and can respect it as a finely-crafted piece of comedy, but I don’t think it will ever again number among my very favorites from Shakespeare. And that is my fault, not his.As for the play itself, what is there to say? The language is wonderful, of course. Every word, every phrase, every sentence is perfectly judged. No one has ever equaled Shakespeare when it comes to using literary devices to bring about specific dramatic effects. The same features that make Oberon’s speeches so lyrically beautiful—alliteration, rhyme, assonance—Shakespeare uses to highlight the ridiculousness of the mechanical’s entertainment. Has there ever been alliteration as funny as this?Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade,He bravely broached his broiling blood breastThe whole of the Pyramus and Thisbe play-within-a-play is inspired; I don’t know whether Midsummer came before or after Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare’s oeuvre, but it’s wonderful to see him touch on the same themes in a comic context. I had to stage that scene with zombies and werewolves for a class this past semester (you see? … this play just won’t let me alone!), and let me tell you, anything that can survive that treatment is pure gold.Some things surprised me while I was rereading this. One was the maturity of the content; Demetrius basically tells Helena that, if she does not stop following him, he will rape her! Shakespeare ain’t for the kiddies, folks.Helena is, I think, my favorite character, after Bottom and Puck. The latter’s closing speech is one of my favorites from Shakespeare, and probably the best of his epilogues, with the possible exception of Prospero’s from The Tempest.In spite of my erratic history with the play, I would recommend it. You can’t go wrong with the Bard.

    Book preview

    A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare

    Act I—Scene I

    Athens. The palace of THESEUS.

    [Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants.]

    THESEUS.

    Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour

    Draws on apace; four happy days bring in

    Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow

    This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires,

    Like to a step-dame or a dowager

    Long withering out a young man revenue.

    HIPPOLYTA.

    Four days will quickly steep themselves in night;

    Four nights will quickly dream away the time;

    And then the moon, like to a silver bow

    New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night

    Of our solemnities.

    THESEUS.

    Go, Philostrate,

    Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments;

    Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth;

    Turn melancholy forth to funerals;

    The pale companion is not for our pomp.

    [Exit PHILOSTRATE.]

    Hippolyta, I woo’d thee with my sword,

    And won thy love, doing thee injuries;

    But I will wed thee in another key,

    With pomp, with triumph and with revelling.

    [Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and DEMETRIUS.]

    EGEUS.

    Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke!

    THESEUS.

    Thanks, good Egeus: what’s the news with thee?

    EGEUS.

    Full of vexation come I, with complaint

    Against my child, my daughter Hermia.

    Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord,

    This man hath my consent to marry her.

    Stand forth, Lysander: and my gracious duke,

    This man hath bewitch’d the bosom of my child;

    Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes,

    And interchanged love-tokens with my child:

    Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung,

    With feigning voice verses of feigning love,

    And stolen the impression of her fantasy

    With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,

    Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats, messengers

    Of strong prevailment in unharden’d youth:

    With cunning hast thou filch’d my daughter’s heart,

    Turn’d her obedience, which is due to me,

    To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke,

    Be it so she; will not here before your grace

    Consent to marry with Demetrius,

    I beg the ancient privilege of Athens,

    As she is mine, I may dispose of her:

    Which shall be either to this gentleman

    Or to her death, according to our law

    Immediately provided in that case.

    THESEUS.

    What say you, Hermia? be advised fair maid:

    To you your father should be as a god;

    One that composed your beauties, yea, and one

    To whom you are but as a form in wax

    By him imprinted and within his power

    To leave the figure or disfigure it.

    Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.

    HERMIA.

    So is Lysander.

    THESEUS.

    In himself he is;

    But in this kind, wanting your father’s voice,

    The other must be held the worthier.

    HERMIA.

    I would my father look’d but with my eyes.

    THESEUS.

    Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.

    HERMIA.

    I do entreat your grace to pardon me.

    I know not by what power I am made bold,

    Nor how it may concern my modesty,

    In such a presence here to plead my thoughts;

    But I beseech your grace that I may know

    The worst that may befall me in this case,

    If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

    THESEUS.

    Either to die the death or to abjure

    For ever the society of men.

    Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires;

    Know of your youth, examine well your blood,

    Whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice,

    You can endure the livery of a nun,

    For aye to be in shady cloister mew’d,

    To live a barren sister all your life,

    Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon.

    Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood,

    To undergo such maiden pilgrimage;

    But earthlier happy is the rose distill’d,

    Than that which withering on the virgin thorn

    Grows, lives and dies in single blessedness.

    HERMIA.

    So will I grow, so live, so die, my lord,

    Ere I will my virgin patent up

    Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke

    My soul consents not to give sovereignty.

    THESEUS.

    Take time to pause; and, by the nest new moon—

    The sealing-day betwixt my love and me,

    For everlasting bond of fellowship—

    Upon that day either prepare to die

    For disobedience to your father’s will,

    Or else to wed Demetrius, as he would;

    Or on Diana’s altar to protest

    For aye austerity and single life.

    DEMETRIUS.

    Relent, sweet Hermia: and, Lysander, yield

    Thy crazed title to my certain right.

    LYSANDER.

    You have her father’s love, Demetrius;

    Let me have Hermia’s: do you marry him.

    EGEUS.

    Scornful Lysander! true, he hath my love,

    And what is mine my love shall render him.

    And she is mine, and all my right of her

    I do estate unto Demetrius.

    LYSANDER.

    I am, my lord, as well derived as he,

    As well possess’d; my love is more than his;

    My fortunes every way as fairly rank’d,

    If not with vantage, as Demetrius’;

    And, which is more than all these boasts can be,

    I am beloved of beauteous Hermia:

    Why should not I then prosecute my right?

    Demetrius, I’ll avouch it to his head,

    Made love to Nedar’s daughter, Helena,

    And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes,

    Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,

    Upon this spotted and inconstant man.

    THESEUS.

    I must confess that I have heard so much,

    And with Demetrius thought

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