A Midsummer Night’s Dream - EMC P

1 A Midsummer Night s Dre amWillia m Shakes pea reTHE EMC MASTERPI ECESERIESA ccessEditionsSERIESED IT ORRo bertD. ShepherdEMC/P aradigmPublishi ngSt. Paul, Mi nnesotaSt aff Cre dit s:Fo rEMC/Par ad igm Publish ing,St. Paul,MinnesotaForPe no bscot School Publis hing, Inc. ,Danvers, MassachusettsISBN0-8219-1635-1Co pyrigh t 1998byEMCCo rporationAllrig ht s re se rv partof thispublicationmaybeadapted,reproduced,s t or ed in a ret rieval system,or tr ansmittedin anyformor byanymeans,elec-tronic , mechanical,photocopying , recording,orotherwisewi th outpe rmis-sionfr byEMC/ParadigmPub l, Minnesot a 55102 Pri nt ed in theUnited Sta tesof 8 7 6 5 4xxx0908 07 06 05 Laurie SkibaEd it orSha nn on O Do nnellTaylorAss oc iate Edit orEileen SlaterEd itor ia l Co ns ulta ntJen niferJ. AndersonAssis tant Edito rEdit oria lRobert D. ShepherdPres ide nt, Execut ive Edi torChristina E. Ko lbManaging Edit orSa ra HyryEd it orLa urie Fa riaAss oc iate Edit orSharo n Sa lingerCo pye di torMarily n Mur phyShepherdEd it or ial Advis orDesi gn and Prod uctionCharles uct ion ManagerSaraDayArt Dir ec torDianeCa st roCom pos ito rJanet Ste bb ingsCom pos ito rTable of ContentsTh e Lif e andWorks of Wil liamShakespeare.

2 IvTim e Lineof Shakesp eare s Li fe .. viiiTh e His tor icalCon textofA Mids um mer Nig ht s Dream .. xEchoes .. xviiiIll ust ration .. xixDr amatis Pe rso nae.. xxACTI.. 1 ACTII .. 17 ACTIII.. 33 ACTIV.. 59 ACTV .. 71 PlotAnalysis ofA Mids umme r Ni gh t s Dream .. 89 Creativ e Wr itingActiviti es.. 92 Crit ica l WritingAc tiviti es .. 94 Projects.. 97 Sel ect ionsfo r Ad ditionalReading.. 99 Glos sary.. 11 2 Han db oo k of Li ter ary Terms.. 11 7 TAB LE OFCONTENTS iiiivA MI DS UMMERNI GHT S DREAMTHELI FE ANDWORKS OFWi llia m Shake speareWilliam Sh akes pe are (15 64 16 16).WilliamShakespearemay wellbe th e greatestdr amatist theworld mother,Mar y ArdenShakespeare,was fr oma well-to-do,wel l-connectedfamily. Hi s father,JohnShakespeare,wasapro sp erous glovemakerandlocalpoli s exactbirthdateis un known,buthewas baptizedin hi s hometownof Str atf ord-upon-AvononApr il 26, 15 64,andtr aditionhasas sig nedhi m a bi rthdateof Ap ri l 23 , whichwasalsothedayof his deathan d thefeastdayof SaintGeorge,England spatron sai areattendedtheStratford grammarschool,wherehe stu di ed La tinandperhaps so meGr theageof eigh-te en, Sh akespe aremarriedAnneHathaway, eight ye ar s hisseni or , whowa s ,WilliamandAnnehadth reechild re n, a daughterSusannaandtw insHamnetandJud it h.

3 He mayhavewo rkedfo r a whileas a schoolteacher,for there ar e manyreferencesto teachingin 1592,however, hewaslivingin Londonandpur suinga lifein theth eater. Sh ak es pearecontinuedto provideforhisfamilyandto ex pandhis ho ldi ngsin Stratford whileli vingin retiredto Str atford- upon- Avonat theendof hislif akespe ar e s Profe ssi onal Car eerBy 1593, Shakes peare wasa s histor y pl ay sHe nry the Six th ,Parts1, 2, and3, andTh eTra ged y of Ri chard th e Th irdhadestablishedhimas a significantforcein 93 , whenanoutbreakof thepla gu e for cedthecl os ingof thetheaters, Shakespearetu rnedto narrativepoetry,pr oducingVen us and AdonisandThe Rapeof Lucre ce ,bo thdedicatedtoa patron , theEar l ofSouthampton. Whenthetheaters reope ned,Shakespear eplu ng edbackintohi s pri maryvocation,andwrotethirty-seven pl ay s in les s thantwentyyears, includingThe Tamingofthe Shrew;A Mid summe r Nig ht s Dream ; The Merchant of Ven ice;Twelf th Ni ght , or What You Wi ll ; All s Well Th at Ends Well; TheTra ged y of Ki ng Ric ha rd the Se cond; The Tragedyof Romeoan dJulie t; The Trage dy of Jul ius C s ar ; The Tragedyof Hamlet,PrinceWill iam Shak espe areTHELI FE ANDWORKSOF WIL LIA M SHAKESPEAREvof De nma rk; The Trage dy of Ot he ll o, th e Moor of Venice;TheTrage dy of Ki ng Lear; The Trage dy of Macbeth; Th e Winter sTale;andTh e Temp es ou nd1594,Shake sp earebecamea shareholderin a the-ate r companykn ow n as TheLo rdChamberla in sMen.

4 Thetro up e qui ck ly becamethemostpopula r in Lo ,the y we re wealthyeno ug h to bu ild theirowntheater , a lar geope n- ai r pl ay house theycal le d theGlobe,andin 1603th eybought theBl ackfriar s, a small, art if iciallylighted indoor the-ate r for winter perfo companybeganperfor m-in g reg ula rl y at theco urtof QueenElizabethI. Afterthedeathof Elizabethin 1603,Shakespeare s co mpanybe came,off icial-ly, ser va ntsof KingJa mesI, andtheir namewas changedtoTheKing sMen. Shakespeare s fi nalnoncollaborativeplay,Th eFam ous Hi stor y of th e Li fe of He nry th e Eighth ,wasperformedinLo ndon in 1613. Laterthatsameyear, hecollaboratedwithJo hnFletche r to write a play cal ledTh e Tw o Noble Kins e hewasprobabl y livi ngagainin Str atford,in a lar geho usecall ed NewPl acethathehadboughtin 15 ,su rv ivedby hi s wif e andhistw o daughters,Shake spearewa s a weal buriedin theHolyTr inity Chu rchin Stratfo rd-upo n-Avon, wherehisbo nesrestto s graverea ds,Go od fr endfor Jes us sakefor beare,Todig g th e dus t encloasedheare:Bles t be th e manth at sparesthessto nes,And curst behe e Publicati on of Sh ake spe are s PlaysSh akespearedid no t personally pr eparehisplaysfor pu bli -ca ti on , andnoof fi cialco ll ectionof themappeareduntilaf terhis co llectionof hi s sonnets,co nsideredbycriticstobe amongthebestpoetryeverwrittenin English,appeared dualplay s we re pu blishedduringhislife-timeinunauthorizede ditionsknown as qu artos.

5 Manyofthe se qu art os ar e qui te unreli abl e. Somewere probablybasedon actors memori es of thepl ay s. So mewe re re printingsof so -ca ll edprompter s co pi esusedinpr memay havebee n based onfinalmanuscr ip t versions pr o-ducedbytheau 16 23 , sevenyearsafter Shakespeare sdeat h, his fr iends andfel lowactorsJohnHemingeandHenryCo ndellpublisheda collect eded itionofth irt y-five ofShakespear e splays. Thisco ll ectionis knownto literaryhis -tori an s as theFi rs t Fol io. Inthecenturiessince1623,andesp eci allyduring thelas t century anda half, editors haveworkeddi lig entlytocomparethevariousearlyprintedver si onsof Shakes peare swo rks to determinewhichversionor versi ons of ea chplaybest representShakespeare akespe ar e s Fin est Ach ie ve me ntFragmen ts canbetantalizi ,awak-en inga des ir e to ttleis kn ownof Shakespear e slif e beyonda fewofficialrecords andmentionsby others indiarie s orletters,manypeople havebeendri vento speculateabout theprivatelifeofEn gland s gr is madeallthemore diffi cult bythefactthatShakespearedidnotwritein apers on al vei n, abouthi mself, bu t ratherconcentratedhisvis io n onth e livesofothers.

6 Readinghisplays,or seeingth emper for med, we co meto know manyof hischaractersbetterth anwe kno w most people in ou r character-is ticof Sh ak espeare sgreatnessis thathiswork takesusonjo ur neysin to parallel universes,intootherminds,so thathisch ar acters inn er most feelings,dr eams,wishes, values,moti -vati on s, an d evenco ,perhap s, Sh ak espeare sfi Aut hor sh ip of Sh ake sp ear e s PlaysTh e factth atShakespeare wasa commonerandled,accord ingto th e fewfactswehave,a ratherordinarylife,hasle d many people to speculatethathisplays werewrittenbysomeoneels e by theEar l of Oxford,pe rhaps,orbyBenJonson,bu t therearegood reas onsto believethatShakespearewas, indeed , theau thorof thepl aysattributedto onto accept thetraditio nalattrib utionis thattheplayssho w anun ders tandingof thelivesof peoplein allstationsof li fe,fro m th e lo wl ies t peasantsto menandwomenof theco ur t. We knowthatShakespearecamefro m a middle-classbackgroun d an d latermovedin court circles,andthisfactisco nsis tent wi th hisunderstandingof peoplefromall walksofli th e very least, a carefulreadermust co nclude thattheplay s at tri butedtoShakespeare aretheworkof a singleau thor, for th ey havea di stinctvoicenotto befoundin theworkofan y otherdramatist ofhisday avoicethathasen richedour languageas Uni que nes s of Sh ake spe ar e s WorkNo br iefsummarycanbegin to catalogthemanyvirtuesof Sh ak espeare swor k.

7 Hewasa giftedobserverof people,capable of cr eatingunforgettable charactersfromallstationsan d walks of life. Heusedoneof thelar gest vocabularieseveremplo yedbyanau th or, fil linghi s playswithconcretedetailsviA MI DS UMMERNI GHT S DREAMan d wi thsp eechthat,whil e notalwaysrealistic,is alwaysen ga ging andbelievable. Hi s play s probe therangeof humanex romantic in thesensethattheyar e fullofinte ns elyco nv ey edpassio wever,theplaysrar elystrain credibi lityor sinkintosensationalismor akespe are slanguage tendsto bedense,metaphorical,fullofpuns andword pl ay,andyetnatural,sothat itcomes trippinglyoffthetongue of sceneofShake spearetea rs across thestage,rivetinganddramatic,andye t it bears close rer eading, reveali ngin that re readingaston-ishi ngde pt h andcomplexi ty. Shakespearewro te hi s dramasina co mbinationofpros e, rhy medpoetry, andblankverseal wa ysap pro pr iatetothecharacteror sceneat ayshavecontributedmanynow well-known phrasesto th laughter,jo y, pity, fear,sadness, despai r, andsu sp en se foroverfourhundre d years.

8 In fact,hi s workshavebeenperformedmoreoft enan d in more co untries aroundtheworldthanthoseofan y ot her dr amatist. Tobeginto readShakespeareis to entera worl d, onemightsaytheworl d, for hisartis,as Hamletsaysit should be, ami rro r held up to nature readhimwell is to begi n to understandothersandoursel te,Shakespeare sar t is notofanage, bu t for allti me. THELIFE ANDWORKSOFWILL IAMSH AKESPEARE viiviiiA MI DSU MMERNIGHT S DRE AMApr il 23, 1564 April26,1564158 2158 3158 51589 1 5911592 1 5931592 1 594c. 159 31593 1 5941594 1 595159 51595 1 5961596 1 597159 6159 7159 7159 81598 1 599159 9 TimeLi neof Sha kespeare s LifeWilliamShakespeareis borninStratford-upon-Avon, sfirstdaughter,Susanna,is twins:a boy,Hamnet,andagirl, sfirsthistories,Henry the Sixth,Parts1 and2, Tragedyof Richardthe Thirdis , and AdonisandThe Rape of sfirstcomedy,The Comedyof Errors,is Tamingof the Shrewis s Labor sLostis Tragedyof King Richardthe Secondis Tragedyof Romeoand JulietandA MidsummerNight Merchantof VeniceandHenry the Fourth,Part1, sson,Hamnet,diesat finehomecalledNewPlacein Merry Wivesof Windsor,possiblyat therequestof the Fourth, Ado about Nothingis Life of Henrythe Fifth, The Tragedyof Julius C sar,andAs You Like E LINEOF SH AKESPEARE S LI FEix159 9160 0 1601160 1 1602160 2 1603160 3160 4160 5160 6160 7160 7 1608160 9 1610161 0 1611161 1161 2 1613161 3 Apr il 23, 161 6 Shakespeare Tragedyof Hamlet,Prince of Denmarkis.

9 Or What You WillandThe Historyof Troilusand s Well That Ends Wellis stroupeservesJamesI andbecomesknownas theKing MeasureandThe Tragedyof Othello,the Moor of Tragedyof King Learis Tragedyof Macbethis Tragedyof Antonyand Cleopatrais Tragedyof CoriolanusandPericles,Prince of Winter sTaleis Tempestis FamousHistoryof the Life of Henry the Eighthis Two buriedin HolyTrinityChurchin MID SU MMERNIGHT S DREA MTHE HI STORI CALCONTEXTOFA Mid summer Night s Dr ea mTh e Re na is sa nce in EnglandThewo rdre nai ssa nc emeans , literal ly, r ebirth. Historiansuse thewo rd to ref er to thepe ri odbetweenthefifteenthandearl y se venteenth ce nturies whenEu rope wasinfluencedbyarebir th of int erest in in terest incl as sicallearning an d li te rat uremovedEur op eansfr ommedieval habits ofthoughttowardmoremodernha bit g th e artsandli terature of classicalGreecean d Rome broug ht about,fir st in Italyandthenin therestofEu rop e, a renewedinterest in humanlifeon ai ssancedevotio n toGreekandLatinclassics hasthusbecome knownas at humanbei ngswerecreatedintheimageofGo d an d th at eachperso n was a littl e world,ormicrocosmos,co mpletein himself or hersel f.

10 Theybelievedthathumans,sharin g as th eydi d in thedi vine,co uldperfectthemselvesan d th e institutionsof thi s world. Out of thisbeliefcameanewemphasi s onlearni ngandon thearts,as wellas reli -gio usandpoliticaldebatesthatledtotheProtest antRef or mati on , th e declineof feudalism,andtheemergenceofmodern so , theinventionoftheprintingpres s in1453 al lowedinformation tospreadmorequicklyan d en co uragedpeople to read,to wr ite,to thinkforthem-selves,andto ch all engeau thori England, theperi odfr om15 58 to 1603 is knownas theEliz ab et hanAg e af terElizabethI, thequeenwhoreigneddur-ingthi s pe ri od . Englis h literaturereachedwhatmanypeopleco nsi de r to beits ze nithdu ri arewroteandproducedhi s pl aysat theheightof theEliza-bethanperi odandthroughoutmuchof theJacobeanperiod,th e period from16 03to 16 25whenJamesI ru akespeare s wr iti ngis a go odexampleof thespiritofth e Renaiss an ce hispl ay s oftenfo cuson memorableandTHEHISTORICAL CONTEXTOFA MIDS UMMER NIGHT S DR EAMxicomple x characters, hi s pl otsoft enarederive d fromclassicalso urces, andhisthemes oft eninvolvechallenges to ou ghShakespeare sscholarl y contemporaryandfellowpl aywrightBe n Jo nson wro te of Shakespeare, thouhadstsmall Latin, andle ss Greek, Shakespeareknewfarmoreofth es e languages th anmost people dotoday,andhepr obablyre admanyof thecl as si calworksof Ro mein theiror iginalLati n.