A Midsummer Night's Dream: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 12:20, 10 August 2020

This article is about Shakespeare's play. For other uses, see A Midsummer Night's Dream (disambiguation).

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of William Shakespeare's plays, Shakespeare stages the workings of love. Theseus and Hippolyta, about to marry, are figures from mythology. In the woods outside Theseus' Athens, two young men and two young women sort themselves out into couples—but not before they form first one love triangle, and then another.

Also in the woods, the king and queen of fairyland, Oberon and Titania, battle over custody of an orphan boy; Oberon uses magic to make Titania fall in love with a weaver named Bottom, whose head is temporarily transformed into a donkey by a hobgoblin or "puck," Robin Goodfellow. Finally, Bottom and his companions ineptly stage the tragedy of "Pyramus and Thisbe."

Shakespeare probably wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream in the mid-1590s. The play was published as a quarto in 1600. The main plot has no obvious sources, but sources for Pyramus and Thisbe include Ovid's Metamorphoses. Shakespeare may also have drawn on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Sir Thomas North's English translation of Plutarch's Lives.^[1]

Productions at the Folger

Helen Hayes Awards

Wins: "Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play" for Kate Eastwood Norris

Nominations: "Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production" for Kate Turner-Walker, "Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play" for Ralph Cosham, and "Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play" for Stephanie Burden

Early editions

First Folio

LUNA: First Folio: N1r - O3v

Hamnet: STC 22273 Fo. 1 no. 68

Second Folio

LUNA: Second Folio: N1r - O3v

Hamnet: STC 22274 Fo. 2 no. 07

First Quarto

LUNA: First Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22302

Second Quarto

LUNA: Second Quarto

Hamnet: STC 22303 Copy 1

The title page of A Midsummer Night's Dream printed in the 1600 First Quarto. STC 22302.
The 1600 Second Quarto title page of A Midsummer Night's Dream. STC 22303.
The title page of A Midsummer Night's Dream printed in the 1623 First Folio. STC 22273 Fo. 1 no.68.
The 1632 Second Folio title page of A Midsummer Night's Dream. STC 22274 Fo.2 no.07.

Modern editions

A Midsummer Night's Dream can be read online with Folger Digital Texts and purchased from Simon and Schuster. The play can also be purchased in Three Comedies, a collection that also includes The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night.

Hamnet link to Folger Edition: PR2753 .M6 2004 copy 2 v.25

In popular culture

Film

Watch the trailer for this 2001 teen comedy adaptation, starring Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Sisqo, and featuring Martin Short.

Translations

The Folger owns over 60 stand-alone translations of A Midsummer Night's Dream in various languages (not including collected works). Cataloging of these works is ongoing as of early 2015, and many have full-level catalog records, but some works still have only partial records. Translations can be found Hamnet in by searching for "Translations"in the Genre/Form Term field, or by searching the Call Number (Left-Anchored) field for call numbers starting with PR2796 (see the list of Sh.Col. translations call numbers for specific language call numbers). Since not all translations are fully cataloged, some items may only turn up in one of these searches.

Performance materials

Other media

Audio

A Midsummer Night's Dream Audio Edition from Simon & Schuster available on CD and as an audio download.

CAST
Puck	Louis Butelli
Oberon	Cody Nickell
Titania	Rachael Holmes
Helena	Karen Peakes
Hermia	Katie deBuys
Demetrius	Tim Getman
Bottom	Ian Merrill Peakes
Lysander	Andrew Schwartz
Peter Quince	Tom Story

Other parts were played by members of the cast.

Directed by Robert Richmond.

Original music composed by Anthony Cochrane.

In partnership with Simon & Schuster Audio.

Listen to Marin Alsop's "Guide to A Midsummer Night's Dream" on NPR's Weekend Edition-Saturday. (May 24, 2014)

Image Group

Explore the curated image group for A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Folger digital image collection.

Content Advisory: this image group contains representations of nudity.

Notes

↑ Adapted from the Folger Library Shakespeare edition, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. © 1993 Folger Shakespeare Library.

[1] Adapted from the Folger Library Shakespeare edition, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. © 1993 Folger Shakespeare Library.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-This is the main article about all things related to the play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. It is most definitely a stub.
+''This article is about Shakespeare's play. For other uses, see ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (disambiguation)|A Midsummer Night's Dream (disambiguation)]]''.''
+In ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', one of [[William Shakespeare's plays]], Shakespeare stages the workings of love. Theseus and Hippolyta, about to marry, are figures from mythology. In the woods outside Theseus' Athens, two young men and two young women sort themselves out into couples—but not before they form first one love triangle, and then another.
+Also in the woods, the king and queen of fairyland, Oberon and Titania, battle over custody of an orphan boy; Oberon uses magic to make Titania fall in love with a weaver named Bottom, whose head is temporarily transformed into a donkey by a hobgoblin or "puck," Robin Goodfellow. Finally, Bottom and his companions ineptly stage the tragedy of "Pyramus and Thisbe."
+Shakespeare probably wrote ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' in the mid-1590s. The play was published as a quarto in 1600. The main plot has no obvious sources, but sources for Pyramus and Thisbe include Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. Shakespeare may also have drawn on Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'' and Sir Thomas North's English translation of Plutarch's ''Lives''.<ref>Adapted from the Folger Library Shakespeare edition, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. © 1993 Folger Shakespeare Library.</ref>
 == Productions at the Folger ==
+*[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Folger Theatre, 2016)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (2016)]]
 *[[A Midsummer Night's Dream: In Concert (2014)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream: In Concert'' (2014)]]
 *[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Folger Theatre, 2006)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (Folger Theatre, 2006)]]
+:[[Helen Hayes Awards]]
+:''Wins'': "Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play" for Kate Eastwood Norris
+:''Nominations'': "Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production" for Kate Turner-Walker, "Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Play" for Ralph Cosham, and "Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play" for Stephanie Burden
 *[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 2001)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 2001)]]
 *[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 1997)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 1997)]]
 *[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 1993)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, 1993)]]
-*[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Traveling Shakespeare Company, 1993)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (The Traveling Shakespeare Company, 1993)]]
+*[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Travelling Shakespeare Company, 1993)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (The Traveling Shakespeare Company, 1993)]]
 == Early editions ==
+'''First Folio'''
+:LUNA: [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/731o36/ First Folio]: N1r - O3v
+:Hamnet: [http://shakespeare.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=78903/ STC 22273 Fo. 1 no. 68]
+'''Second Folio'''
+:LUNA: [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/o7ginj/ Second Folio]: N1r - O3v
+:Hamnet: [http://shakespeare.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=97486/ STC 22274 Fo. 2 no. 07]
+'''First Quarto'''
+:LUNA: [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/j63334/ First Quarto]
+:Hamnet: [http://shakespeare.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=163934/ STC 22302]
+'''Second Quarto'''
+:LUNA: [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/se8js3/ Second Quarto]
+:Hamnet: [http://shakespeare.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=163931/ STC 22303 Copy 1]
+<gallery>
+File:STC 22302 title page.jpg|The title page of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' printed in the 1600 First Quarto. STC 22302.
+File:STC 22303 copy 5 title page.jpg|The 1600 Second Quarto title page of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. STC 22303.
+File:STC 22273 Fo. 1 no. 68 N1r.jpg|The title page of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' printed in the 1623 First Folio. STC 22273 Fo. 1 no.68.
+File:STC 22274 Fo.2 no.07 N1r.jpg|The 1632 Second Folio title page of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. STC 22274 Fo.2 no.07.
+</gallery>
 == Modern editions ==
+[[File:Midsummer Night's Dream Folger Edition.jpg|150px|right]]
+''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' can be read online with [http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/?chapter=5&play=MND&loc=p7/ Folger Digital Texts] and purchased from [http://books.simonandschuster.net/Midsummer-Nights-Dream/William-Shakespeare/Folger-Shakespeare-Library/9780743477543/ Simon and Schuster]. The play can also be purchased in [http://books.simonandschuster.net/Three-Comedies/William-Shakespeare/Folger-Shakespeare-Library/9780671722609/ ''Three Comedies''], a collection that also includes [[The Taming of the Shrew|''The Taming of the Shrew'']] and [[Twelfth Night|''Twelfth Night'']].
+Hamnet link to Folger Edition: [http://shakespeare.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=192188/ PR2753 .M6 2004 copy 2 v.25]
+==In popular culture==
+=== Film ===
+Watch the trailer for this 2001 teen comedy adaptation, starring Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, Sisqo, and featuring Martin Short.
+<html5media height="" "180"="" width="" "320"="">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xuln_qTD91E</html5media>
 == Translations ==
+The Folger owns over 60 stand-alone translations of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' in various languages (not including collected works). Cataloging of these works is ongoing as of early 2015, and many have full-level catalog records, but some works still have only partial records. Translations can be found [[Hamnet]] in by searching for "Translations"in the '''Genre/Form Term''' field, or by searching the '''Call Number (Left-Anchored)''' field for call numbers starting with PR2796 (see the list of [[List of Sh.Col. call numbers#PR2796 .E2.80.93 Translations|Sh.Col. translations call numbers]] for specific language call numbers). Since not all translations are fully cataloged, some items may only turn up in one of these searches.
 == Performance materials ==
 == Other media ==
+=== Audio ===
+''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' Audio Edition from Simon & Schuster available on [http://shop.folger.edu/store/003516%21003/Midsummer+Night%27s+Dream+Folger+Audio+Edition CD] and as an [http://books.simonandschuster.com/Midsummer-Nights-Dream/William-Shakespeare/Folger-Shakespeare-Library-Presents/9781442374355 audio download].
+[[File:Midsummer audio cd cover.jpg|right|thumb|350px]]
+{|
+!CAST
+|-
+|Puck||Louis Butelli
+|-
+|Oberon||Cody Nickell
+|-
+|Titania||Rachael Holmes
+|-
+|Helena||Karen Peakes
+|-
+|Hermia||Katie deBuys
+|-
+|Demetrius||Tim Getman
+|-
+|Bottom||Ian Merrill Peakes
+|-
+|Lysander||Andrew Schwartz
+|-
+|Peter Quince||Tom Story
+|}
+Other parts were played by members of the cast.
+Directed by Robert Richmond.
+Original music composed by Anthony Cochrane.
+In partnership with Simon & Schuster Audio.
+Listen to Marin Alsop's "Guide to ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''" on NPR's ''Weekend Edition-Saturday''. (May 24, 2014)
+<html5media>File:Marin_Alsop_npr.mp3</html5media>
+===Image Group===
+Explore the curated [https://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/6h29yt image group] for ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' in the Folger digital image collection.
+''Content Advisory:'' this image group contains representations of nudity.
+== Notes ==
+<references />
+[[Category: William Shakespeare's works]]
+[[Category: Plays]]
+[[Category: Comedies]]
+[[Category: A Midsummer Night's Dream]]
+[[Category: Public programs]]
+[[Category: Folger Theatre]]
+[[Category: Travelling Shakespeare Company]]
+[[Category: Shenandoah Shakespeare Express]]
+[[Category: Helen Hayes Award]]
+[[Category: 16th century]]
+[[Category: Early modern drama]]
+[[Category: Digital Folger]]
+[[Category: Audio]]