In this article we will talk about the famous comedy “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. William Shakespeare is a recognized master of drama, an equal to which has still not been found in literature. His creations, written in the distant 16th century, have not lost their relevance even today.
About the work
The play consists of 5 acts, the date of writing is 1596. It is believed that the author composed it specially for the wedding day of some aristocrat close to Elizabeth I.
The main idea of the comedy: the whole world is a game. And how it ends will depend only on the decision and mood of the players themselves. But one should not look for a particularly deep philosophical subtext in this work, since it was created mainly for the entertainment of viewers.
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream: Summary. Venue and Heroes
The play unfolds in ancient Greek Athens. The city is ruled by a king, called Theseus, with whom many ancient legends are associated, the main one tells of the conquest of the Amazon tribe by him, after which he married their queen Ippolita, who also participates in the play.
In addition to human characters, in the comedy there are magical creations - these are elves and fairies. In particular, the king and queen of these peoples are Oberon and Titania.
Tie
The wedding comedy Comedy “A Midsummer Night's Dream” begins (we will present a summary in this article). Under the crown is going to the Duke of Theseus and Queen Hippolytus. The celebration is scheduled for the full moon night.
An enraged Aegeus, the father of young Hermia, bursts into the palace. He pounced on Lysander with accusations - the young man enchanted his daughter and forced him to love himself, but meanwhile the girl was already promised to Demetrius. Germia appears, she says that she loves Lysander. The duke intervenes in the conflict and announces that according to the laws of Athens, the daughter is obliged to fulfill the will of the parent. Theseus gives the willful girl time to think, but on the first day of the new moon she will have to decide "to die ... or marry the one chosen by her father ... or to make ... a vow of celibacy."
Germany and Lysander decide to flee Athens and agree to meet the next night at the nearest forest. Lovers open their plan to Elena. The girl has long and hopelessly in love with Demetrius, hoping to win the favor of her beloved, she tells him about the plans of Hermia and Lysander.
Sideshow
Shakespeare, as always, anticipates the development of literary devices. For example, we see the production of the play in the comedy “A Midsummer Night's Dream” itself (a brief summary is proof of this). Thus, the author builds the game, in this case theatrical, in absolute. And this is a favorite technique of postmodernism, which will appear only at the end of the 20th century.
So, the company of artisans decides to put an interlude in honor of Theseus’s wedding. The director is elected carpenter Peter Pigwa, who chooses the "comedic comedy" "A very cruel death of Pyram and Fisba." Weaver Nick Osnova is called to fulfill the role of Pyram; he is generally ready to take on several characters at once. The role of Fisba goes to Dudka, a repairman of inflatable bellows. Let this not surprise you, during the time of Shakespeare, women could not participate in performances, and all roles were performed by men. The tailor Robin Zmorysh became the mother of Fisba; Pyram's father - Tom Rylo, the coppersmith; The lion is the carpenter Milyaga. Pigwa tells everyone to learn their roles by tomorrow.
Kingdom of the fairies
Uses images of the mythical characters of Shakespeare in his play. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" draws this from an English tale.
The action is transferred to the forest. The ruler of the elves and fairies Oberon quarrels with his wife Titania over the baby whom the queen adopted. The king wants to take the child from his wife to make him his page. Titania refuses to her husband and retires with the elves.
Then Oberon orders the elf Pack to bring a flower into which Cupid's arrow accidentally fell. If you lubricate the sleeping eyelids with the juice of this plant, then he will love the first person he sees. The king hopes that his wife will fall in love with some animal, and forget about the child.
The invisible Oberon remains to wait for Pack. At this time, Elena and Demetrius appear, who is looking for Hermia and rejects the one that loves him. When a servant brings a flower, Oberon tells Demetrius to lubricate his eyelids, so that he fell in love with Helen. The king of the elves himself applies the remaining juice to the eyelids of Titania.
Hermia and Lysander, wandering through the forest, were tired and lay down to rest. Baek takes the young man for Demetrius and lubricates the juice of his eyelids. Waking up, Lysander sees Elena, falls in love with her and confesses his feelings. The girl decides that he taunts her and runs away. The young man, having abandoned sleeping Hermia, pursues a new lover.
Awakening of Titania
More and more implausible events take place in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. The summary tells us about pranks, and not always harmless, elves and fairies.
Artisans gather for rehearsal in the forest. The basis suggests, in order not to frighten the spectators, to compile two prologues to the play. The first will say that Pyram does not kill himself at all, and in general it is not Pyram, but the Foundation. In the second, to warn the audience that Leo is also not really a terrible beast, but a carpenter.
The rehearsal is being watched by Baek. The prankster decides to cast a spell on the Foundation, turning his head into a donkey. Artisans take a friend for a werewolf and flee from him in fear. At this moment, Titania wakes up, sleeping not far from this place. First she sees the Foundation, falls in love and calls him with her. The tsarina immediately summoned four elves and ordered them to serve the new "my lord."
Duel
The events of the piece “A Midsummer Night's Dream” continue to develop. Peck reports to Oberon about how the queen fell in love with the monster. The king is delighted with the news. However, after learning that instead of Demetrius the magic juice fell on Lysander, he begins to scold.
Oberon is looking for Demetrius, wanting to correct the oversight of the servant. At this time, Paek lures Elena to sleeping Demetrius. The young man wakes up and immediately begins to swear on the eternal love of the one he has just rejected. Elena concludes that Lysander and Demetrios conspired to mock her. She also decided that Germany was involved in all of this. Upon hearing the accusations against her, Germany pounced on her friend with accusations that she had seduced Lysander.
Young people who are now rivals decide with a duel to decide who will get Elena. Baek is delighted with what is happening. However, Oberon orders the servant to lead the duelists deep into the forest, and then to separate and drive in circles so that they could not meet. When emaciated heroes fall asleep, Peck lubricates Lysander's eyelids with an antidote for love juice.
Awakening
It has a clear entertainment focus on “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. Theater in the years of Shakespeare served only for the amusement of the public. Nevertheless, the great playwright, even in comedy, the lowest genre, was believed to be able to invest a bit of sense.
Oberon, already having a baby, accidentally sees Titania sleeping next to the Base. The king becomes sorry for her, and he lubricates her eyelids with an antidote. The queen wakes up and exclaims: "I dreamed ... I fell in love with a donkey!" Oberon orders Pack to return to the Foundation the former head. Fairies fly away.
Aegeus, Hippolytus and Theseus come to the forest for hunting. They accidentally find asleep young people. Waking up, Lysander announces that he and Hermia fled here from the harsh laws of Athens. Demetrius, under the influence of the potion, admits that he loves Elena and wants her to become his wife. Theseus proclaims that two more couples will marry tonight, besides them with Hippolyta.
The Foundation wakes up, he goes to Pigwe. Here, the director gives the actors instructions for the performance.
A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Summary. Denouement
Preparations for the celebration begin. The lovers tell Theseus about everything that happened to them in the forest. The Duke marvels at their adventures.
Philostratus, the entertainer, comes. It provides Theseus with a list of recreational activities from which the ruler must choose what he likes. The Duke opts for sideshow artisans.
The performance begins. Pigwa reads the prologue, and viewers make vicious remarks. Snout comes out, he explains that he is smeared with lime, because he depicts the wall through which Fisba and Piram should talk. The main action begins. Leo rises to the stage, who in verse explains to everyone that he is not real. At this time Theseus admires: “What a reasonable and meek animal!” Actors say nonsense, shamelessly distort the text and amend the plot. This is all very fun for the audience.
At midnight, the play ends. Guests disperse. Elves appear, led by Pack. They sing, dance and have fun. Then Oberon and his wife order them to go to the castle and bless the newlyweds' beds.
This concludes the play “A Midsummer Night's Dream” (a summary of which we presented above).