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

by William Shakespeare (Author) "1.1 Theseus, duke of Athens, is planning the festivities for his upcoming wedding to the newly captured Amazon, Hippolyta..." (more)
Key Phrases: fairy queen, good monsieur, Midsummer Night's Dream, Robin Goodfellow, Peter Quince (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Each edition includes:

• Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play

• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

• Scene-by-scene plot summaries

• A key to famous lines and phrases

• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

• An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

Essay by Catherine Belsey

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.

About the Author
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit www.folger.edu.

Barbara A. Mowat is Director of Academic Programs at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Editor of Shakespeare Quarterly, Chair of the Folger Institute, and author of The Dramaturgy of Shakespeare's Romances and of essays on Shakespeare's plays and on the editing of the plays.

Paul Werstine is Professor of English at King's College and the Graduate School of the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is the author of many papers and articles on the printing and editing of Shakespeare's plays and was Associate Editor of the annual Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England from 1980 to 1989.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743477545
• ISBN-13: 978-0743477543
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,581 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Midsummer Night's Dream, January 14, 2005

By	Nightsky "wild soul" (Finland) - See all my reviews

Ah, the Bard...how I love Shakespeare! A playwright like no other, this is my all time favorite of his. A Midsummer Night's Dream is poetic, sassy, and sultry...just love it. I think I've read it near thirty times by now. But, indeed, how does one leave alone a play with such great poetry?

Hermia, a fair maid of Athens, is in love with Lysander. However, her father wants her to marry Demetrius, a youth who, until looking upon Hermia, loved Helena, even wooed her. Now he swears to love only Hermia, though Helena passionately begs him to come back to her. Egeus (Hermia's father) goes to Theseus, Duke of Athens, asking permission to dispose of Hermia unless she consents to marry Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plot to fly from Athens, meeting in a grove that very night, and tell Helena of their plan. Helena, however, seeking to win Demetrius' love again, tells him of the plan. This beautiful tale of four lovers is interwoven with the story of commoner actors and magical fairies and their meeting in the same grove that night.

Brilliantly done. I cannot think of enough praise for this amazing play...it transports you to a different world completely.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The dream of romance is lighthearted laughter , January 23, 2006

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

The spirit of one of Shakespeare's richest plays is lighthearted laughter. The great impressario of the proceedings is Puck who in giving the 'love potion' to the wrong person, sets up the chaos of both Demetrius and Lysander loving Helena. There are numerous networks of parallel and contrast through the work , between the worlds of the royal humans, the fairies, and the craftsmen. The motif of dreaming and imagination play a strong part in the play. And the resolution in all the couples finding themselves in love and harmony at last is a supreme happy ending.
This is one of Shakespeare's most delightful and amusing works, one of the richest comically in all the world of theater.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a Dream, December 8, 2004

By	Kristan (Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

A Midsummer Nights Dream is a play that shows Shakespeare's perspective on love and romance. This lay also is quite humorous and has a magical twist. I enjoyed the perspective that Shakespeare provided on how foolish and sappy love can be. However I also thought that having fairies involved with the storyline was creative and made the entirety of the play interesting.
The play unravels with the engaged Hippolyta and Theseus who were at first enemies but now madly in love. Theseus is the duke and is called to resolve a conflict of love. Lysander, a young handsome man, is determined to marry Euges's daughter Hermia, who also returns his love. The problem that arose and the one which the Duke was to solve was that Eugus has promised Demetrius for Hermia's hand in marriage, Demetrius had tried desperately to pursued Hermia to love him but it was no use, she truly did love Lysander. Hearing all this the Duke announces Hermia shall marry Demetrius or become a nun. Another factor is played into the play though when a young woman, Helena swears she is desperately in love with Demetrius. Helena hears of Lysander and Hermia's plan to meet in the woods so she tells Demetrius, hoping to win his favoritism.
Unknown to all humans, there in the woods are other ones living, the fairies. Oberon, King of the Fairies, sees the scene and is amused. Helena followed Demetrius into the woods telling him how much she loved him. Frustrated Demetrius runs off losing poor Helena. Oberon feels pity on poor Helena, and orders Puck, his messenger, to put a very special flower on Demetrius's eyes. The flower was a cupids flower and when applied to anyone's eye then the first object you see is the one you will fall instantly fall in love with. Puck then spies a human, not Demetrius, but Lysander who is asleep with Hermia, he applies it to Lysander's eye instead. Helena then runs in and wakes up Lysander, not knowing about the flower and its juices. Immediately, Lysander swears his love to Helena. but confused she runs off, with Demetrius following. After a long chase, the two couples collapse from exhaustion, and Puck comes to make amends from his first mistake. In the end they all fall in love, Hermia to Lysander and Demetrius to Helena. Throughout the entire play you can see how the fairies manipulate the lives and especially the love lives of the humans.
I believe that Shakespeare's purpose on writing this humorous, yet sometimes confusing, play was to show certain aspects on love. One way on looking at it is Shakespeare shows that at times love is foolish and can be shifted easily when it isn't based on the things that are long lasting but on petty things of looks and money. He demonstrates that love isn't just a feeling of butterflies in your stomach but it's a choice and hard work. The second aspect is that when you are in love to enjoy every moment of it and not to let it be unappreciated or wasted. Lysander and Hermia showed both angles. in the beginning they acted very much in love, but it only seemed as if it was a physical attraction not a heartfelt choice. The other kind of love I think they showed is that they did cherish every moment. They didn't exactly have their whole entire life planned out or how it would work out but just enjoyed the fact that they loved each other and that's how it would always be.
I have learned personally that when you are in love that it is a special and should be treated specially with care and respect. To disregard the joy of being in love would be to ignore something that is priceless. I also have learned that one day when you are in love to enjoy those magical moments that may never come again. I also think that you should take those moments to heart but to understand that its much more deeper that those moments go. Love isn't about how you feel but it is an act of growing up and being mature. Most of all I have learned how important and special it is to have love that never changes; Love that won't ever let us down or stop because of the circumstance. Love is hard to find and feels like it's even harder to give at times. God shows us the perfect love. The love of not changing when your tired, or don't feel like sacrificing but the sort of love that will last through anything. That's the kind of love that is worth cherishing.
I would definitely recommend this play. It is enjoyable to read and have laughs about. I think the story is very interesting and I had a lot of fun tagging along to find a world of magical love.