Customer Reviews

A Midsummer Night's Dream

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A Midsummer Night's Dream is a great play. It was my first time reading Shakespeare and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are a few sets of characters in this, and that makes it a little hard to understand at first. There is

There are the Athenians: Theseus, Philostrate, Hippolytta, Egeus, Demetrius, Helena, Hermia, and Lysander.

The Artisans or Actors: Quince, Snout, Snug, Flute, Starveling, and Bottom (Not named Bottom for just any reason)

The Fairies: Oberon, Titania, Robin Goodfellow (Puck), Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mustardseed, and Mote.

These characters are brought together all by one character, Robin Goodfellow. He is the servant of Oberon and he is ordered to complete some tasks, but he messes up. All of the characters are than linked by him. I won't tell you what happens because that is the good part of the book. I really liked the book because it was funny and it kept me on the edge, something that I didn't think would happen in this play. I read this in 7th grade and had a little trouble understanding it. Our class was told to buy the New Folger kind, because it helped explain the story. The book is a little hard to understand so is what Folger has done is put the synopsis of the scene at the beginning of each scene on the left hand page. Also on the left page are vocabulary words to help you further understand the book. The play is than written on the right hand side of the page. This makes life much easier. The plot is great and I didn't give it away so I expect you to buy the book at this cheap price and read the great play, A Midsummer Night's Dream!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a different time or place? Just pick up a copy of this comedy by William Shakespeare. It is a book that mixes four plots interchangeably, thus blurring the line between what is real and what is not. It is a book about Fairies, Royalty, and Struggling Actors. A timeless classic, that, once begun, is almost impossible to put down. Those who read through it's magical pages will never forget the content therein.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play in Five Acts, and revolves around several major characters, each of which can be classified into selective groups.

The Athenians (and lovers): Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, Philostrate (completely unimportant to the plot), Demetrius, Hermia, Lysander, and Helena.

The Actors: Peter Quince, Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Tom Snout, Snug, and Robin Starveling

The Fairies: Oberon, Titania, Puck, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed

The play successfully intertwines multiple plots, which, I believe is absolutely astounding. The play is brought together by one single event: The marriage of Theseus (The Duke of Athens) and Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons). This event brings all the characters together to form what would become A Midsummer Night's Dream.

What's most interesting about the play though, are the various interpretations of it. Some feel that the reason the lovers went into the forest was to escape from the harshness of Athenian law and enter into the realm of the natural world. Some people feel that the end is the affirmation of the status quo. That is, with the ruling class men showing their superiority over the working class actors. But isn't this the very thing that is so great about Shakespeare? Shakespeare leaves each and every play open to many, many interpretations.

I was a restless ninth-grader, having just plowed through Dickens' Great Expectations under duress from a crotchety English-teaching schoolmarm, when the next assignment came down: A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare. All hope for excitement in life seemed lost. But as I did my duty and read this book, it grabbed hold of me. It was actually good. By the end of the story, it had become a defining moment in my literary life. I was astounded that some crusty old guy from England four hundred years ago could write such a funny, entertaining, and insightful tale. I've been a book lover ever since.

The story is a unique mix of romantic comedy and fantasy. Young couples are caught in a swirl of complicated love triangles. Theseus and Hippolyta are to be married. Lysander loves Hermia, whose father, Egius, prefers she marry Demetrius. And Helena, friend of Hermia, loves Lysander. So it goes.

When all the parties visit the forest on a midsummer night--along with a troupe of actors practicing their performance for Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding--a group of fairies led by Oberon, Titania, and Puck further complicate matters by introducing a magical love potion. What follows is one of the most hilarious and sophisticated tales ever written. It is truly genius, and deserving of its stature as a timeless classic. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a superb play. It is easy to follow and funny. The play is about four people who get lost in the woods and, through an accident, become the victims of a fairy's love potion. Chaos ensues. I highly reccomend it (and, once again, let me reccomend the New Folger Library for understandability and ease).

New Folger's Shakespeare plays have a section of each page that defines and has pictures of archaic words and phrases, which aids in understanding of complicated plays like this one, which weaves together 3 sets of stories:

Fairies:
characters:
-Titania, queen of fairies, and her entourage: Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed
-Oberon, queen of fairies, and his sidekick, the troublemaking Puck(a.k.a. Robin Goodfellow)
plot(s): Oberon and Titania are one of those couples that really should get divorced, but don't, so their marriage is one of tensions and revenge. Their latest fight is over a young boy given to Titania. Oberon wants the boy, but Titania refuses to give the boy to him. Oberon, wanting revenge, sends Puck to find a magical flower that, rubbed into a person's eyes, can make that person fall in love with the first thing/person they see. After using the flower to cause some trouble among the humans(Athenians), Puck rubs the flower on Titania's eyes. Puck makes sure the first thing she sees upon waking is Bottom, a human(actor), whose head Puck has turned into a ass's head(the donkey kind, not the kind synonymous to Bottom's name)...much hilarity ensues

Humans(Athenians):
-Theseus, king
-Hippolyta, Amazon queen, betrothed to Theseus
-Egeus, Hermia's father
-Philostrate, Theseus's master of revels(in charge of entertainment)
-Hermia, spoiled brat
-Helena, Hermia's friend
-Lysander, loves Hermia
-Demetrius, loves Hermia
plot(s): At the beginning, both Lysander and Demetrius love Hermia, but Egeus wants Hermia to wed Demetrius(her options are to wed Demetrius, die by her father's hand according to Athenian law, or join a nunnery). Hermia elopes with Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius but he doesn't love her back, so she tells her about Hermia and Lysander eloping, hoping that Demetrius will like her for it. They all end up in the forest, and Demetrius entreats Hermia to give him another chance; Demetrius continues to shun Helena. Oberon, king of the fairies, seeing how Demetrius acts towards Helena, tells Puck to use the flower's love potion on Demetrius. Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius, and, in an attempt to remedy his mistake, both Lysander and Demetrius end up in love with HELENA=no one is in love with Hermia. They almost all begin fighting, but Puck lures them away, puts them to sleep, and corrects the mistake.

Last but not least, humans(actors):
Quince, Bottom, Flute(these are their last names), and others who I don't really remember.
plot(s): the actors are really simple manual laborers that have been ordered to put on a play for Theseus's wedding to Hippolyta. They decide to act out "Pyramus and Thisbe"(Romeo and Juliet, respectively), but the actors are all guys. The only option is to cast a guy, Flute, as Thisbe, causing problems, since overenthusiastic Bottom is Pyramus. Titania, queen of the fairies, under a spell, falls in love with Bottom.

This play is, like typical Shakespeare, full of ridiculous characters and fun. It is very confusing to read, but really, really, really funny.

I read this book in English class (6th grade) this year and it was amazing. I had always thought of Shakespeare as some old, hard to understand sort of guy. Well he is. This book has two parts, one side being the play itself, and the other, the explanation of what is happening. If it had not been for the explanations, I would have been totally lost and probaly would have failed the class. After I could understand it, the story really got interesting. Mainly, the book was about four lovers with alot of problems. One girls father doesn't want her to marry the man she loves, but both men love her. No one loves the other girl. At least, in the begining. Everything gets mixed up in a night of confusion including the unforgetable "Puck." Everyone has problems, from a queen of the Amazons to a law obiding citizen of athens to the fairy king. In the end everything works out to form an incredible story that after hundreds of years connects with us today. I aced the test and played Hipolyta in our class play. I loved it. Five stars.

The Folger Library edition of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream has the best documentation, so this is what New Leadership Charter School (Springfield, MA) used in its recent Shakespeare Festival. The Cambridge School Edition is easier to read (larger print), has good documentation, and makes interpretive analytic points that the Folger edition does not have, but it costs more. Teachers should note the book edited by Peggy O’Brien, Shakespeare Set Free, which has a good 24-item curriculum on teaching a unit on Midsummer Night’s Dream. (The book also treats Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth.) This is an excellent resource. Another good resource for teachers is the CD-ROM, “LitPlans on CD: A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” It has good vocabulary drills, class activities (e.g., Scrambled Names), crossword puzzles, and so forth. At an interpretive level (say, for a college-level class), consider Readings on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, edited by Stephen P. Thompson, a part of the Greenhaven Press Literary Companion series. I found several chapters very useful, e.g., the play’s festive spirit, the depiction of female power, dreams and the play’s structure, reason and imagination, and so forth. Less helpful was Bloom’s Notes on the play (Harold Bloom, editor), which had basic thematic and structural analysis, but critical views were simply reprints and abstracts of ancient articles from English journals. This is one of Shakespeare’s delightful and lyric comedies, and kids from the 6th grade up can understand elements of this play. Give the Folger Library edition a whirl; you will not be disappointed.

This was the first Shakespeare book that I have read but I really enjoyed it. I always thought that Shakespeare was boring but it isn't. I think it is very well written and if this is the first Shakespeare book you are going to read, read this one!

A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps one of Shakespeare's greatest comedic works. It is intricate and at the same time simple, engaging, lighthearted, and funny.

The characters include:

The Fairies - Oberon, Titania, Puck, Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed

The Athenians - Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, Philostrate, Lysander, Demetrius, Helena, and Hermia

The Actors/Common Men - Nick Bottom, Peter Quince, Tom Snout, Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, and Snug

This is a play in five acts, with many dynamic characters and various different story lines - there is even a play within the play. This might sound confusing, but Shakespeare masterfully ties it all together through a key event introduced in the beginning of the play, which is followed through at the end. This event is the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta.

Basically, four headstong teenagers (Lysander, Demetrius, Helena, and Hermia) become entangled in a love triangle of sorts - a triangle that is made even more complex by the meddlings of the fairies. Pure confusion results, which accounts for most of the comedic interest of the play. Through the four lover's story we slip in and out of the dream-like fairy world.

An argument between the King and Queen of the fairies (Oberon and Titania) creates another story line that is also intertwined with the actors/common men.(in particular, Nick Bottom)

Standing on the outskirts of all this confusion is the knowledge that Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding is about to take place, giving a time frame, structure, and "method" to Shakespeare's "madness". As I stated before, it also ties the whole play together.

While it might sound confusing, once read, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a marvelous work to comprehend. There are so many different connections and interpretations to be made about it. I feel that this factor, coupled with the pure fun and fantasy
of the play, makes it a very worthwhile read.

I just cant rave enough about Midsummer Night's Dream. I read this book in eight grade English and I really didn't think I would enjoy it. How wrong I was.

To put it simply, Midsummer Night's Dream is just hilarious. Love tangles and potions, mistaken identities, faeries and gods, and a play with a play can all be found in this tale.

The story revolves around the forest God Oberon and his obsession with Titania, a goddess but most of the story follows the tale of Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena and their crazy and constantly tampered with lovelife. Lysander and Helena flee into the forest in hopes of eloping (Helena's father will not allow the two to marry) and the duo are followed by Demetrius (who loves Helena) and Hermia (who loves Demetrius). This is the start of the love tangle. Thanks to the meddling of Oberon and Puck (a well loved and comedically apt fairy), at one point, each man loves each girl, even so far as a complete reversal where Lysander and Demetrius scorn Helena and court Hermia.

In addition, a play is being put on for the lord of the city from which the four love-wrought teenagers are from's wedding. One member of the cast, Bottom (a pun on the word ass.. you'll see) is turned into a donkey, or an ass. At one point, Titania is madly in love with the ass Bottom.

The stories, while seperate, eventually come together in a pleasing ending.

Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeares greatest comedies. The light hearted, jovial, and mystical story will please any reader and comes highly recommended and perhaps Shakespeares most popular comedy.

On a side note, the Folgers Series edition is excellent. As with all the Shakespearean Folgers books, the side-notes and scene summaries will help the reader understand and enjoy the play much more. This play itself comes highly recommended, even more so with this edition.