Customer Reviews

A Midsummer Night's Dream (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JMLOJU/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img

A piece of magic on the stage or screen--or on the electronic paper!

This is probably Shakespeare's most delightful comedy, and I'm glad I have read it in several editions and seen various versions of the play on large screen, small screen, and stage. I wish schools would teach this instead of trying to get the kids to understand Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. Even if they don't understand this one, they can tell that it's fun and somewhat vulgar, with Bottom running around in an ass's head and the Queen of the Fairies falling in temporary love with him. "Fairy" might not yet have had its most recent meaning, but Bottom in an ass's head suggested exactly the same thing then that it suggests now

While I was getting my doctorate in English, my Shakespeare teacher worshiped Shakespeare instead of enjoying it for what it was worth. She almost went ballistic when somebody pointed out vulgarities and slapstick in the plays, because we too were supposed to worship Shakespeare instead of analyzing him. Sorry, but I was right and she was wrong. Shakespeare was a very bawdy writer, and he enjoyed being bawdy.

DO NOT see the movie Dead Poet's Society without reading or watching this play first.

i read this, and i just fell in love with it. i think this has become my favorite book or whatever it's concidered as of all time! i love how it's set up on this; it makes it very pleasing to read with a simple layout for it. some of his other plays on the kindle are set up in a more confusing way, but this one is jsut right. i cannot wait until we do julius caeser in my english class!

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.

Nota Bene: Once purchased, my Kindle download page contained this note near the download button: "This title has complex layouts and has been optimized for reading on Kindle DX's larger screen, but can still be viewed on other Kindle devices." This message disappeared after a few minutes.

Regardless, the formatting on my Kindle 2 looks good. I use the smallest font available. There is no Table of Contents and no jogability.

This is a delightful book. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most magical, romantic and comedic plays. It has been written very well and is a funny story. It revolves around 3 different and enjoyable plots all woven together.

This story is actually quite a confusing one - the twists and turns, and the presence of two couples chasing one another around in the misty dark of a forest outside of athens is a challenging read for younger children. However as a start to reading and understanding Shakespeare then this is an excellent place to start.

Bruce Coville does a really good job in untangling some of the complexity of the story without losing the good humour and interesting subcharacters - and there are especially appealing ones for younger children down to about the age of six.

Dennis Nolan's illustrations are WONDERFUL! There is a misty, dream like quality to them allowing the magical side of the story to be enhanced for children (of all ages!)

The story is classic Shakespeare - two couples run away - one couple arrange to meet in the forest outside Athens as they have been forbidden to marry. The man she is escaping from - her fiance approved by her father - chases after her, and a second woman, who loves the fiance pursues him. So two couples roam the forest, but magic is about. In the forest the King and queen of the fairies are fighting - Oberon and Titania are at odds - however when Oberon sees and hears the laments of the couples he tries to intervene to make things right - unfortunately he sends puck to do his work - and Puck mixes things up making matters worse.

It is all resolved - and of course the star of the show, for young children anyway - is Bottom - the oaf who is given a donkey's head as a prank for Queen Titania to fall in love with. In another version, the Nesbitt re-telling of this story, Bottom is not given his name - after all it was a bit crude for teh times. HOwever the name is so appealing with kids they want this story over and over. The Fairies called to assist Titania are also appealing, cobweb, Peaseblossom and Mustard seed.

Very very nice story - highly recommended

It's neither the best nor worst of Shakespeare's many comedies, but "A Midsummer Night's Dream" definitely holds one honor -- it's the most fantastical of his works. This airy little comedy is filled with fairies, spells, love potions and romantic mixups, with only the bland human lovers making things a little confusing (who's in love with whom again?).

As Athens prepares for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, the fusty Egeus is demanding that his daughter Hermia marry the man he's chosen for her, Demetrius. Her only other options are death or nunhood.

Since she's in love with a young man named Lysander (no, we never learn why her dad hates Lysander), Hermia refuses, and the two of them plot to escape Athens and marry elsewhere. But Helena, a girl who has been kicked to the curb by Demetrius, tips him off about their plans; he chases Hermia and Lysander into the woods, with Helena following him all the way. Are you confused yet?

But on this same night, the fairy king Oberon and his queen Titania are feuding over a little Indian boy. Oberon decides to use a magical "love juice" from a flower to cause some trouble for Titania by making her fall in love with some random weaver named Nick Bottom (whom his henchman Puck has turned into a donkey-headed man). He also decides to have Puck iron out the four lovers' romantic troubles with the same potion. But of course, hijinks ensue.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is another one of Shakespeare's plays that REALLY needs to be seen before it's read. Not only is it meant to be seen rather than read, but the tangle of romantic problems and hijinks are a little difficult to follow... okay, scratch that. They can be VERY difficult to follow, especially if you need to keep the four lovers straight.

But despite those small flaws, Shakespeare is in rare form here -- the story floats along in an enchanted haze of fairy magic, forest groves, and a love square that twists in on itself. And Shakespeare's lush, haunting poetry is absolutely lovely here ("With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine/There sleeps Titania sometime of the night/Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight...").

But he also packs it with plenty of hilarity -- not only is it funny to read about the haughty fairy queen fawning over a guy with a donkey head (Nick Bottom = "ass's head", get it?), but there's plenty of funny moments in the dialogue ("Thisby, the flowers of odious savours sweet...").

The four main lovers are relatively bland and interchangeable, and we never find out much about them except that Helena is kind of stalkerish and not too bright (she tips off the guy she likes that the girl HE likes is eloping so he can stop her?). The real draws are the fairy creatures -- Titania and Oberon are proud alien creatures filled with both cruelty and kindness, and Puck is delightfully mischievous and.... puckish.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a shimmering little concoction of magic, romantic mayhem and fairy squabbling. Absolutely stunning.

My daughter is five and loves all of the fantasy farytales ... cinderella, sleeping beauty, etc ... I am getting a little bored with these. When we encountered this book, she was captivated. It was refreshing for me. She loves the illustrations and will look at them on her own. It's a little bit over her head. However, it is a well done adaptation for kids. So, we will be reading this book for years

This play is so fantastic to me because of two things. Thanks to my mom I am a huge fan of romantic comedies. You can poke fun if you wish but they are the best plays (or movies) out there. And the other reason I loved this play is because there where fairies in it. Who doesn't love fairies? I always enjoy a good fairy tale. And trust me this is a great fairy tale.
I have read a few little stories written by Shakespeare in books and things. This is the first real Shakespeare play I've read. I must say I was completely taken by this play. It takes you away from our world and brings you into a completely different where love is everywhere and anywhere, fairies float about happily and things sort of fall into place.
I think Shakespeare really shows different the aspects of love. He shows how strong it is. Lysander was willing to do absolutely anything for his dear Hermia. It was also shown when Helena refused to give up on her love for Demetrius. In the end love conquered all. They all got what they wanted except Hermia's father, who of course got the short straw. His daughter married the man he hated and the man he did like married someone else.
He also shows how fickle it is. When Puck squirted the flower juice on Lysander's eyes everything changed for him and Hermia. In (literally) the blink of an eye his love changed between to girls. It's so funny to me how Lysander speaks so romantically to Hermia then not 5 minutes later he is trying to hit on Helena.
I've learned a few things from different characters. I've learned from Helena to never give up. She didn't give up on Demetrius and she was rewarded for her diligence. She got the man she wanted and she lived happily ever after.
The thing I've learned from Demetrius is to be kind. I should be kind to everyone, but especially girls. Because the person I'm being mean to could became my best friend or my brother-in-law. I should be REALLY nice to girls because I could end up marrying her or one of her friends. And we all know how girls tell each other everything.
From Puck I've learned to be very careful. I have to be careful what I do and say around certain people. Because if I don't I might screw my life or more importantly someone else's reputation.
And from Lysander I've learned to just hold on because love is a roller coaster. Love is like the wind. One minute it's strong enough to knock you off your feet. But the next minute you can't even feel it. So just be prepared for the craziness of love.

By far one of my favorite Shakespeare works. I still can't believe how many free books i can get for my kindle!!