Themes Introduction The Plot Skills of the Text . INDEX . Love Dreams Magic Skills of the Text Loss of Individuality

Introduction Written in occasion of two weddings; Dated 1595, performed at The Globe, published in The First Folio; Inspired by Chaucer and mythological tales; Romantic comedy, in opposition with the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”.

The plot Plot Description Type A Classic B Romantic C Realistic D Marriage between Theseus and Hyppolita Framework Classic B Four Athenian Lovers Romantic C Artisans play Realistic D Fairy world: Oberon, Titania and Puck Magic

Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius She escapes in the wood with her lover Lysander Demetrius follows them, and Helena follows Demetrius.

Oberon and Titania argue. Oberon wants to punish her. He asks for help to Puck to make her fall in love with a vile creature, thanks to his magical juice.

Oberon orders Puck to spread the juice into Demetrius’s eyes. Puck accidentally puts the elisir on Lysander’s eyes. Lysander falls in love with Helena. The four lovers argue.

The artisans go into the wood to rehearse the play for Theseus’s wedding. Puck transforms Bottom’ head in the one of an ass. Titania falls in love with him and forgives Oberon. Puck removes the magic from everyone except for Demetrius.

The fairies disappeared and Theseus and Hyppolita come into the wood. They meet the lovers and wake them. The lovers decide that the night’s event should be a dream. They all get married and the artisans perform their play. Oberon and Titania bless the newlyweds and Puck does a soliloquy.

.Themes. Magic Love Dreams Identity

Love Two types of love: Rational love: represented by the marriage Irrational love: the most important in the play

Magic It’used to create hilarious situations in the play It represents The misuse of magic causes chaos but it also resolves the play’s tensions the supernatural power of love the surreal world of fairies

Dreams The play alternates dreams and reality The characters explain the strange event of the night by believing it was a dream. The author uses the dreams to avoid to explain the innatural. At the end of the play, Puck suggests to the public to consider the play just a dream.

Loss of individual indentity There’s a mess between reality and fairy world: the public can’t understand what is real and what is not. The plot develops around the lack of recognition that brings to the essential action: the transformation of Bottom or the failure of Puck are the principal events.

Skills of the Text The play within the play Text: An animal head

The play within the play The plot includes the staging of a play acted and watched by the actors themselves. The p.w.p. is acted by the craftsmen for the newlyweds. It is a parody of the lovers’ story: they’re obstruct by parents they escape into the wood in the night they’re victim of an illusion

Text: An animal’s head [Enter PUCK, and BOTTOM with an ass's head.] 'If I were fair, Thisby, I were only thine' QUINCE O monstrous! O strange! we are haunted. Pray, masters! fly, masters! Help! [Exeunt ARTISANS.] PUCK I'll follow you; I'll lead you about a round, Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier; Sometime a horse I'll be, sometime a hound, A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire; And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn, Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn. [Exit.] Why do they run away? This is a knavery of them to make me afeard. [Enter SNOUT.] SNOUT O Bottom, thou art changed! What do I see on thee? BOTTOM What do you see? you see an ass-head of your own, do you? [Exit SNOUT - enter QUINCE.] QUINCE Bless thee, Bottom! bless thee! thou art translated. [Exit.] I see their knavery: this is to make an ass of me; to fright me, if they could. But I will not stir from this place, do what they can: I will walk up and down here, and I will sing, that they shall hear I am not afraid. [Sings.] The ousel cock, so black of hue, With orange-tawny bill, The throstle with his note so true, The wren with little quill. TITANIA [Waking.] What angel wakes me from my flowery bed? The finch, the sparrow, and the lark, The plain-song cuckoo gray, Whose note full many a man doth mark, And dares not answer nay; for, indeed, who would set his wit to so foolish a bird? Who would give a bird the lie, though he cry 'cuckoo' never so? TITANIA I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again; Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note. So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape; And thy fair virtue's force perforce doth move me, On the first view, to say, to swear, I love thee. BOTTOM Methinks, mistress, you should have little reason for that: and yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together now-a-days: the more the pity that some honest neighbours will not make them friends. Nay, I can gleek upon occasion. Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful.

Love Magic Loss of Identity (Irrational Love) Characters: the artisans, Bottom and Titania Setting: the wood Techniques: Dialogue and a little monolgue Does Bottom realise his condition? How do the artisans react to him? What does he do, and how does Titania feel? Do their behaviour contrast? Themes: (Irrational Love) Love Magic Loss of Identity

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