A Midsummer Night's Dream (Cliffs Notes) [Paperback]

Karin Jacobson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764586726 | ISBN-13: 978-0764586729 | Publication Date: November 30, 2000 | Edition: 1

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer a look into critical elements and ideas within classic works of literature.

In CliffsNotes on A Midsummer Night's Dream, you dig into Shakespeare's entertaining story of young lovers as they're toyed with by mischievous forest sprites.

Shakespeare claimed to have written this romantic comedy to show that "love hath no law but its own." This study guide follows the action from scene to scene with commentaries that bring sense to the entertaining play, which is neither realistic nor tragic. Other features that help you figure out this important work include

• Life and background of the author
• Introduction to and synopsis of the play
• Analyses of all the characters and a character map
• Summaries of each of the five acts
• A review section that tests your knowledge and suggests essay topics

Classic literature or modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

More New and Revised Titles. The Best Just Got Better! Plus Glossary from Webster's New World^™ Dictionary 0Anthem Atlas Shrugged Beowulf Brave New World The Canterbury Tales The Catcher in the Rye The Contender The Crucible The Fountainhead Frankenstein The Grapes of Wrath Great Expectations The Great Gatsby Hamlet Heart of Darkness & The Secret Sharer Huckleberry Finn The Iliad Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Inherit the Wind Jane Eyre Julius Caesar The Killer Angels King Lear The Lord of the Flies Macbeth 1984 The Odyssey Oedipus Trilogy The Once and Future King Othello The Outsiders Pride and Prejudice The Red Badge of Courage Romeo and Juliet The Scarlet Letter A Separate Peace A Tale of Two Cities To Kill a Mockingbird Wuthering Heights See inside for the complete line-up of available CliffsNotes! Check Out the All-New CliffsNotes Guides To AOL^®, iMac^™, eBay^™, Windows^® 98, Investing, Creating Web Pages, and more! More Than Notes! CliffsComplete^™ CliffsTestPrep^™ CliffsQuickReview^™ CliffsAP^™ Over 300 CliffsNotes Available @ cliffsnotes.com Downloadable 24 hours a day Free daily e-mail newsletters Free tips, tricks, and trivia Free online CliffsNotes catalog Free self-assessment tools Freeware and shareware downloads

About the Author

Karin Jacobson received her Ph.D. in English from Ohio State University and is currently an Assistant Professor of English and Composition at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Cliffs Notes; 1 edition (November 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764586726
• ISBN-13: 978-0764586729
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Education > Book Notes

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare for the timid!!!, July 8, 2004

By 

"tapgirlmom" (Chesaning, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Cliffs Complete) (Paperback)

I have tried to read the traditional versions of the play and only got confussed. The print of this is easy to read and it features definitions for words that maybe confussing. This is a complete version of the play with infomation added along. You WILL understand the play when you are done with this book!!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight!, April 15, 2008

By 

N. Peterson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Cliffs Complete) (Paperback)

Oh if all problems could be resolved with a bit of magic! A nice play for a younger person or novice just dipping their toes into the works of the Bard. It's lighthearted tone is nice for seasoned fans as well. It is delightful.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CliffsComplete A Midsummer Night's Dream, February 7, 2011

By 

jessiemarie1701 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Cliffs Complete) (Paperback)

Great book. Nicely done. Love how it has a little guide for you and has a section for your own notes.