A Midsummer Night's Dream (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

by William Shakespeare (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Among the most popular of all Shakespeare’s comedies, this play humorously celebrates the vagaries of love. With its several pairs of lovers, on-again, off-again romances, magic spells, fairies, and a bumbling troupe of would-be actors, the play continues to enchant audiences. Unabridged reprint of an authoritative British edition, complete with explanatory footnotes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (February 21, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 048627067X
• ISBN-13: 978-0486270678
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,263 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh out loud funny!, September 11, 1999

By A Customer

Okay, so maybe I'm not the world's greatest living expert on Shakespeare, considering the fact that, other than this, I have only read Romeo and Juliet. But hey, I thought it was great. Characters like Bottom and Robin Goodfellow were hilarious. Shakespeare seems to know how to make a tangled mess of everyone's lives very well. It amazes me his power to make that seem funny at times and then seem incredibly sad at others. I have to say, I really enjoyed this comedy better than his tragedy. I'm reading The Taming of The Shrew next. I don't know if I can handle Hamlet or Othello right now. By the way, if you're like me and you need someone to explain Shakespeare's language to you, I highly recommend the New Folger Library Copy with explanations on the opposite page.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short but sweet, July 20, 2003

By A Customer

This is a fabulous edition for anyone who just wants to get to the meat of the story. It's small, very portable, cheap, and doesn't waste a whole lot of time on introductions. The story itself is fairly well known. I would reccomend _Much Ado About Nothing_ for those who enjoy _Midsummer_'s light-hearted comedy and are willing to explore some of the themes a bit more deeply and seriously.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A magical and comic read!, July 24, 2001

By	Riku Sunshine =) (Arecibo, P.R.) - See all my reviews

I won't tell the whole plot of the play, for then I'll be destroying the mystery. I'll just say a tiny bit of the story so one will get the idea:

1. Hermia and Lysander elope to get married, Demetrius follows them because he desperately loves Hermia and Helena follows Demetrius because he's the man of her dreams. All end up in a forrest.

2. King Oberon and Queen Titania have a fight over a child, and Oberon wants revenge. Plus, he decides to help a certain couple he saw in the forrest.

3. Peter Quince and his play fellows, along with the arrogant and conceited Bottom, are going to perform a play, and they chose to practice in the same forrest.

Bottom line: Puck, Oberon's servant, messes everything up.

What happens? What is the connection made between these 3 groups? Like I said, I'll not tell. ;> All I'm going to tell is that the play is worth a read. Magic, confusion, love, hate, revenge, mischance, proudness, friendship, joy, sadness, everything are all rolled into one (typical by Shakespeare).

So, looking for a good and comic read by Shakespeare? Read this one and enjoy.