Confusions of the heart reign in Athens, where everyone is pining away for the wrong person except Theseus, the Duke and his fiancée, Hippolyta, whose wedding day is fast approaching. Hermia, the Duke's daughter, is intent on marrying Lysander, although her father disapproves and threatens to make her a nun if she refuses to marry his choice for her, Demetrius. However, Helena loves Demetrius, who courted her once, and Lysander and Hermia plan to elope despite the Duke's orders. Hoping that Demetrius will fall for her ...
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Confusions of the heart reign in Athens, where everyone is pining away for the wrong person except Theseus, the Duke and his fiancée, Hippolyta, whose wedding day is fast approaching. Hermia, the Duke's daughter, is intent on marrying Lysander, although her father disapproves and threatens to make her a nun if she refuses to marry his choice for her, Demetrius. However, Helena loves Demetrius, who courted her once, and Lysander and Hermia plan to elope despite the Duke's orders. Hoping that Demetrius will fall for her instead, Helena plans to alert Demetrius that Hermia will shortly be spoken for. Meanwhile, in a subplot, the artisans Quince, Snug, Flute, Snout, Starveling, and Bottom, are rehearsing the play PYRAMUS AND THISBE to be performed at the Duke's wedding. As Hermia and Lysander head into woods to elope, with Helena and Demetrius following, the amateur acting troupe likewise takes cover in the woods to rehearse in privacy. This leads all the players into the realm of fairy magic, where fairies Oberon and Titania are arguing over a changeling. When Oberon decides to play a trick on Titania with the aid of a magic flower that causes people to fall in love with the first person (or beast) they set eyes on, the real trouble starts. The flower is used liberally on both the humans and the fairies by the trouble-making sprite Puck, inspiring many amorous entanglements. There is no known source for Shakespeare's fantastic plot, though the structure is classical, as the events begin in the court, relocate to an uncivilized environment, and return to the court with renewed order, and aspects of the imagery are drawn from classic works, such as Apuleius's THE GOLDEN ASS and Ovid's METAMORPHOSES. Evidence in the play, like Titania's remark about three unusually unpleasant summers in a row--documented elsewhere in England's records--suggest a composition date of 1595 or 1596. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM was listed in a 1598 catalogue of Shakespeare's works, and was published in 1600. Scholarship suggests that it was first performed in honor of a court wedding, though precisely whose remains unsubstantiated.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Ex-Library Former library copy with usual library markings, including card pocket on endpaper & protective, laminated dust jacket. Spine is tight; pgs are unmarked. A nice, sturdy copy.
