William Shakespeare's Works/Comedies/A Midsummer Night's Dream
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About this Play
[edit | edit source]This play was written between 1595 and 1596. This is one of his early wedding comedies, and was written to accompany a marriage celebration. Unlike most of Shakespeare's other works, there is very little borrowing from other works. (For example, Romeo and Juliet is based on The Tragedie of Romeus and Juliet.) Most scholars agree that Shakespeare enjoyed writing this play more than any other one.
The play's main plot circles around two couples: Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius. Their problems become greater as they enter the fairyland woods, and as the monarchs of the fairies, King Oberon and Queen Titania, mess up the relationships.
This play emphasizes themes of love, dreams, imagination, and the power of a patriarchal society.