1. This play makes many allusions to classical mythology and to Celtic fairy lore. Investigate on your own the background of Greek and Roman mythology. How does your exploration of mythology alter your reading of the play? 2. Besides mythology, this play makes many references to nature. What plants, animals, […]

Read more Study Help Practice Projects

1. What is the significance of the settings of the play? What are the major characteristics of each setting (the Duke’s palace, Quince’s cottage, and the fairy-enchanted woods)? What significance do forests have in other literary works you’re familiar with? What about urban settings? What rules and values apply in […]

Read more Study Help Essay Questions

abridgement (39) pastime. aby (335) to pay the penalty for. Acheron (357) a river in Hades: often identified as the river across which Charon ferries the dead. adamant (195) lodestone, a hard stone or substance that was supposedly unbreakable. Aegles (79) the woman for whom Theseus abandoned Ariadne. Antiopa (80) […]

Read more Study Help Full Glossary

Adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and other works have been featured in nearly 500 films and/or videos world-wide. That makes Shakespeare the most filmed playwright of all time! Here are the best, and most noteworthy, versions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that can help you study and better understand the play. […]

Read more Study Help Film Versions

Shakespeare coined many popular phrases that are still commonly used today. Here are some examples of Shakespeare’s most familiar quotes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. You just might be surprised to learn of all the everyday sayings that originally came from Shakespeare! “The course of true love never did run […]

Read more Study Help Famous Quotes

Michael Hoffman’s 1999 film version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream transports the drama’s action from ancient Athens to an imaginary Italian village named Monte Athena at the turn of the nineteenth century. In this rendition of the play, Duke Theseus isn’t a conquering hero but a tired and seemingly ineffectual […]

Read more Critical Essays Movie Review of Michael Hoffman’s Adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Exciting and new, or even tedious and worn-out, love in all its variations is presented in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. But what is love? What causes us to fall in love? How does love relate to the world of law and reason? These questions are broached in all their complexity […]

Read more Critical Essays Imagining Love

With four separate plots and four sets of characters, A Midsummer Night’s Dream risks fragmentation. Yet Shakespeare has managed to create a unified play through repetition of common themes — such as love — and through cohesive use of imagery. Shining throughout the play, the moon is one of the […]

Read more Critical Essays Moon Imagery

Explore the different symbols and motifs within William Shakespeare’s comedic play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Symbols and motifs are key to understanding A Midsummer Night’s Dream and identifying Shakespeare’s social and political commentary. The Moon The dominant imagery in A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolves around the moon and moonlight. The […]

Read more Critical Essays Major Symbols and Motifs

Explore the different themes within William Shakespeare’s comedic play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Themes are central to understanding A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a play and identifying Shakespeare’s social and political commentary. Love The dominant theme in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is love, a subject to which Shakespeare returns constantly […]

Read more Critical Essays Major Themes