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The History Of European Theatre
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: ‘Man Is but An Ass If He Go About to Expound This Dream’
Episode 151
Having finished with Ben Jonson’s biography we can now go back in time just a little to work through Shakespeare’s and Jonson’s plays in more detail. By the early 1590s was then the man of the theatrical moment, no longer the young upstart, but the proven playmaker and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ surely did nothing but enhance that reputation and it has been popular ever since.
A brief synopsis of the play
The dating of the play
Suggested settings for the play as a wedding celebration
The sources for the play
Biblical influences
Publication of the play
The central themes of the play
The darker elements of the play
Theseus and Hippolyta and the setting of the play
The blindness of desire and passion
The question of the nature of attraction
The four lovers as exemplars of romantic love
The significance of the play within the play
The role of the rude mechanicals
How the play within the play tells us something about theatre practice at the time
Barriers to love – including a wall
A brief performance history of the play
Links to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream: An Illustrated Handbook and Encyclopaedia' by Rachel Aanstad:
UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Midsummer-Nights-Illustrated-Handbook-Encyclopedia/dp/B09PKSTL1S/ref=sr_1_2
US link : https://www.amazon.com/Midsummer-Nights-Illustrated-Handbook-Encyclopedia/dp/B09PKSTL1S/ref=sr_1_2
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