One of Shakespeare's most frequently performed plays and regarded as maybe his best comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is the story of the events surrounding the wedding of Theseus, Duke and Athens, and the Amazonian queen Hippolyta. At the outset of the play we find Hermia, who is in love with Lysander but is betrothed by her father's arrangement to Demetrius. Meanwhile Helena laments her unrequited love of Demetrius. Several parallel and interconnecting plot lines complicate the narrative. One of which is the planning of ...
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One of Shakespeare's most frequently performed plays and regarded as maybe his best comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is the story of the events surrounding the wedding of Theseus, Duke and Athens, and the Amazonian queen Hippolyta. At the outset of the play we find Hermia, who is in love with Lysander but is betrothed by her father's arrangement to Demetrius. Meanwhile Helena laments her unrequited love of Demetrius. Several parallel and interconnecting plot lines complicate the narrative. One of which is the planning of a play, "Pyramus and Thisbe", to be performed at the wedding. Secondly an element of fantasy is introduced through the story of Oberon, King of the fairies, and his Queen, Titania, whom he conspires against through the use of a magical love potion. The use of this love potion alters the varying affections of the characters of the play resulting in a series of comedic mishaps. Unlike many of Shakespeare's works "A Midsummer Night's Dream" does not drawn upon any historical or previous literary work, making it one of his most original compositions. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper, includes a preface and annotations by Henry N. Hudson, and an introduction by Charles H. Herford.
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This copy has activities and discussion questions on the left for every page of text on the right. It also includes pictures of costuming and sets for production ideas and a full section in the back to supplement with extension activities.
Shirley4157
Mar 17, 2011
The book is really old, but at least no page is missing
Selina
Oct 12, 2007
A comedy
I didn't find this play very funny. This tale of lovers placed under a spell was just a mass to read. Shakespeare writes some awesome plays, but this is not his best work. The characters are irritating and while the fairies are interesting they cannot support the entire play.
