The action takes place in Athens. The ruler of Athens bears the name of Theseus, one of the most popular heroes of ancient legends about the conquest by the Greeks of the warlike tribe of women - the Amazons. Theseus marries the queen of this tribe, Hippolyta. The play was apparently created for a performance on the occasion of the wedding of some high-ranking officials.
Preparations are underway for the wedding of Duke Theseus and the Amazon queen Hippolyta, which is to take place on the night of the full moon. An angry Aegeus, Hermia's father, appears at the duke's palace, accusing Lysander of bewitching his daughter and cunningly forcing her to love him, while she had already been promised to Demetrius. Hermia confesses her love for Lysander. The Duke announces that according to Athenian law, she must submit to her father's will. He gives the girl a reprieve, but on the day of the new moon she will have to “either die / For violating her father’s will, / Or marry the one he chose, / Or take forever at the altar of Diana / A vow of celibacy and a harsh life.” The lovers agree to escape from Athens together and meet the next night in a nearby forest. They reveal their plan to Hermia's friend Helena, who was once Demetrius' lover and still loves him passionately. Hoping for his gratitude, she is going to tell Demetrius about the plans of the lovers. Meanwhile, a group of rustic craftsmen are preparing to stage a sideshow on the occasion of the Duke's wedding. The director, carpenter Peter Pigwa, chose a suitable work: “A pitiful comedy and the very cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” Weaver Nick Osnova agrees to play the role of Pyramus, as well as most other roles. Bellows repairman Francis Dudke is given the role of Thisbe (in Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed on stage). The tailor Robin Hungry will be Thisbe's mother, and the coppersmith Tom Snout will be the father of Pyramus. The role of Leo is assigned to the carpenter Milaga: he “has a memory for learning,” and for this role you only need to roar. Pigva asks everyone to memorize the roles and tomorrow evening come to the forest to the ducal oak tree for a rehearsal.
In a forest near Athens, the king of fairies and elves Oberon and his wife Queen Titania quarrel over a child whom Titania adopted, and Oberon wants to take for himself to make him a page. Titania refuses to submit to her husband's will and leaves with the elves. Oberon asks the mischievous elf Peck (Good Little Robin) to bring him small flower, upon whom Cupid's arrow fell after he missed "the Vestal Virgin reigning in the West" (an allusion to Queen Elizabeth). If the eyelids of a sleeping person are smeared with the juice of this flower, then when he wakes up, he will fall in love with the first living creature he sees. Oberon wants to make Titania fall in love with some wild animal and forget about the boy. Peck flies off in search of the flower, and Oberon becomes an invisible witness to the conversation between Helen and Demetrius, who is looking for Hermia and Lysander in the forest and rejects his former lover with contempt. When Peck returns with the flower, Oberon instructs him to find Demetrius, whom he describes as an “arrogant rake” in Athenian robes, and anoint his eyes, but so that when he awakens, the beauty in love with him will be next to him. Finding Titania sleeping, Oberon squeezes the juice of the flower onto her eyelids. Lysander and Hermia got lost in the forest and also lay down to rest, at Hermia’s request - away from each other, since “for a young man and a girl, human shame / Does not allow intimacy...”. Peck, mistaking Lysander for Demetrius, drips juice onto his eyes. Elena appears, from whom Demetrius ran away, and stopping to rest, wakes up Lysander, who immediately falls in love with her. Elena believes that he is mocking her and runs away, and Lysander, abandoning Hermia, rushes after Elena.
Near the place where Titania sleeps, a company of artisans gathered for a rehearsal. At the suggestion of Osnova, who is very concerned that, God forbid, not frighten the female spectators, two prologues are written for the play - the first about the fact that Pyramus does not kill himself at all and that he is not really Pyramus, but a weaver Osnova, and the second - that Lev is not a lion at all, but a carpenter, Milag. Naughty Peck, who is watching the rehearsal with interest, casts a spell on the Foundation: now the weaver has a donkey's head. The friends, mistaking the Base for a werewolf, run away in fear. At this time, Titania wakes up and, looking at the Base, says: “Your image captivates the eye. I love you. Follow me!” Titania summons four elves - Mustard Seed, Sweet pea, Cobweb and Moth - and orders them to serve “his dear one.” Oberon is delighted to listen to Peck's story about how Titania fell in love with the monster, but is very dissatisfied when he learns that the elf sprinkled magic juice into the eyes of Lysander, and not Demetrius. Oberon puts Demetrius to sleep and corrects the mistake of Peck, who, on the orders of his master, lures Helen closer to the sleeping Demetrius. As soon as he wakes up, Demetrius begins to swear his love to the one he recently rejected with contempt. Elena is convinced that both young men, Lysander and Demetrius, are mocking her: “There is no strength to listen to empty ridicule!” In addition, she believes that Hermia is at one with them, and bitterly reproaches her friend for her deceit. Shocked by Lysander's rude insults, Hermia accuses Helen of being a deceiver and a thief who stole Lysander's heart from her. Word for word - and she is already trying to scratch out Elena’s eyes. The young people - now rivals seeking Elena's love - retire to decide in a duel which of them has more rights. Peck is delighted with all this confusion, but Oberon orders him to lead both duelists deeper into the forest, imitating their voices, and lead them astray, “so that they will never find each other.” When Lysander collapses exhausted and falls asleep, Peck squeezes the juice of a plant - an antidote - onto his eyelids love flower. Elena and Demetrius were also euthanized not far from each other.
Seeing Titania asleep next to the Base, Oberon, who by this time had already acquired the child he liked, takes pity on her and touches her eyes with an antidote flower. The fairy queen wakes up with the words: “My Oberon! What can we dream about! / I dreamed that I fell in love with a donkey!” Peck, on Oberon's orders, returns his own head to the Base. The Elf Lords fly away. Theseus, Hippolyta and Aegeus appear hunting in the forest. They find sleeping young people and wake them up. Already free from the effects of the love potion, but still stunned, Lysander explains that he and Hermia fled into the forest from the severity of Athenian laws, while Demetrius admits that “Passion, purpose and joy of the eyes are now / Not Hermia, but dear Helen.” Theseus announces that two more couples will be married today with them and Hippolyta, after which he leaves with his retinue. The awakened Base goes to Pigwa's house, where his friends are eagerly awaiting him. He gives the actors the last instructions: “Let Thisbe put on clean linen", and Leo should not try to cut his nails - they should look out from under the skin, like claws.
Theseus marvels at the strange story of the lovers. “Madmen, lovers, poets - / All created from fantasies alone,” he says. The entertainment manager, Philostratus, presents him with a list of entertainments. The Duke chooses the workmen's play: "It can never be too bad, / Which devotion humbly offers." Pigva reads the prologue to the audience's ironic comments. Snout explains that he is the Wall through which Pyramus and Thisbe are talking, and therefore is smeared with lime. When the Pyramus Base looks for a crack in the Wall to look at his beloved, Snout helpfully spreads his fingers. Lev appears and explains in verse that he is not real. “What a meek animal,” Theseus admires, “and what a reasonable one!” Amateur actors shamelessly distort the text and say a lot of nonsense, which greatly amuses their noble viewers. Finally the play is over. Everyone leaves - it’s already midnight, a magical hour for lovers. Peck appears, he and the rest of the elves first sing and dance, and then, by order of Oberon and Titania, scatter around the palace to bless the beds of the newlyweds. Pak addresses the audience: “If I couldn’t amuse you, / It will be easy for you to fix everything: / Imagine that you fell asleep / And dreams flashed before you.”
The comedy in five acts was written in the mid-1590s. It is believed that Shakespeare wrote his work in honor of the Day of St. John the Baptist or for the wedding celebration of a famous aristocrat.
The play consists of several storylines, one way or another intertwined with each other. Theseus, Duke of Athens, prepares for his wedding to the Amazon queen Hippolyta. The celebrations should take place on a full moon night. A young girl named Hermia is in love with the young man Lysander, who also loves her. However, Demetrius is also courting Hermia. Aegeus, the girl's father, gives preference to the second suitor.
Since Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, the father turns to the Duke of Athens, claiming that Lysander has bewitched her daughter. The Duke demands obedience to his father's will. Lysander and Hermia decided to flee the city. The girl shared her secret with her friend Elena. Since Elena was once Demetrius's lover and still continues to love him, the insidious woman is driven by the desire to regain the favor of her ex-fiancé. Elena reveals her friend's secret to Demetrius.
Meanwhile, preparations for the Duke's wedding continue. Several city masters decided to stage a comedy about Pyramus and Thisbe in honor of the newlyweds. The production is directed by carpenter Peter Pigva. The role of Thisbe will be played by bellows repairman Francis Dudka. The mother of the main character will be tailor Robin Zamorysh. The carpenter Gentle will be a Leo. Weaver Nick Basis will be Pyramus, and his father will be played by coppersmith Tom Snout. The masters agree to meet in the forest the next day to rehearse the performance. In Shakespeare's time, women were not allowed on stage. That is why it might not seem strange to the audience that all the roles in the play are played by men alone.
Not far from Athens, a couple lives in the forest - Oberon, the elven leader, and his wife Queen Titania. The wife took the boy into custody. Oberon wants to take him away to make him a servant. Titania disagrees. As a result, the husband and wife quarreled. The husband wants to cast a love spell on the queen, so that love will make her forget about her adopted son.
For this, the king needs a special flower. Oberon accidentally witnesses a conversation between Demetrius and Helena. Hermia and Lysander agreed to meet in the forest, as the girl’s friend knew about. Helena led Demetrius to the same forest. Oberon sends the elf Puck to cast a spell on Demetrius. By mistake, Puck bewitched Lysander. The young man, who was sleeping peacefully, wakes up and falls in love with the first person he managed to see - Elena. He leaves Hermia and runs after his new lover.
The city's craftsmen gathered in the forest to rehearse a play. Puck appeared nearby and bewitched the weaver. The Base grew a donkey's head. At the sight of such a metamorphosis, the other masters fled. Titania, who had already been bewitched by Puck, was sleeping not far from the rehearsal site. Waking up, the queen sees a weaver monster in front of her and falls in love with him.
Oberon is pleased with Puck's actions, but the elf's mistake had to be corrected. The king bewitched the sleeping Demetrius, who, after waking up, fell in love with Elena who was next to him. Having met, the friends begin to quarrel. Hermia accuses Helen of betrayal. Demetrius and Lysander now both love the same woman and challenge each other to a duel. Puck likes the confusion that he himself caused, but Oberon disenchantes Lysander. In addition, he freed his wife from the spell and returned the weaver to the Basis to his former appearance. Oberon has already managed to get his wife’s adopted son as a page and no longer wants to torment her.
Hippolyta, Theseus and Aegeus hunt in the forest and find 2 sleeping couples: Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helen. The awakened Lysander explains that he was forced to flee the city with his beloved so that she would not become the wife of his rival. Demetrius declares that Hermia is no longer interesting to him. He only loves Elena. The weaver also comes to his senses and goes to the city. The play ends happy wedding, where Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia, and Demetrius and Helena were married.
Mere mortals
There are neither completely positive nor completely negative characters in the play. Mere mortals behave as people have behaved at all times: they love, they hate, they fight for their right to happiness, selfishly without thinking about this right for another person. During the course of the play, almost every character manifests himself in both positive and negative ways.
It is likely that the author did not want to divide his characters into 2 camps because he wanted to show their helplessness. All heroes, including Duke Theseus, were to appear as puppets. Shakespeare absolves his characters of responsibility for their actions. A person's destiny does not belong to him. It’s all because of evil fate, a predetermined path. Perhaps the author did not believe in the existence greek gods, however, he fully admitted that there is a force that determines our lives.
Forest gods
According to Greek tradition, the forest gods in Shakespeare's play have anthropomorphic qualities. They are distinguished from people only by their power and supernatural abilities. Otherwise, the king, queen and elves are similar to ordinary Athenians. Oberon quarreled with his wife, like an ordinary mortal. Elf Puck loves pranks, like any boy on the streets of Athens. The gods are also capable of love, envy and intrigue each other.
Gods with human face
The author has no reverence for the supernatural creatures of the forest. He strives to portray them as comically as possible, to show their grumpiness, vanity and some stupidity. Gods, like people, are not divided into good and bad. Oberon, who started a real intrigue to take away his adopted son from his wife, nevertheless does not show cruelty and helps the lovers unite.
Fatum is often present in Shakespeare's works. Evil fate did not allow Romeo and Juliet to unite. Despite all the tricks, cruel fate doomed the young Veronese to inevitable death.
main idea
The idea of the play "Dream in summer night», summary which will interest the future viewer or reader may be controversial, since the main purpose of this work is to entertain the public. One can only assume that Shakespeare chose as his idea the idea that human life- just a game. How exactly the game ends depends solely on the mood of the players.
Analysis of the work
When creating his play, the author set himself one single goal - to please the public. The work contains neither moral teachings nor deep philosophy. Viewers who are captivated by the plot do not always notice the lack of authenticity. The ruler of Athens could hardly be called a duke. Urban Greek artisans cannot wear typical english names.
However, Shakespeare's plans did not include authenticity, an excessive desire for which can make the work too boring. At the end of the play, Park, addressing the audience, asks them to imagine that everything they saw was just a dream. Presenting the play as a not entirely logical dream justifies unreliability and inaccuracy, because in dreams everything that was impossible in reality becomes possible.
5 (100%) 3 votes
CHARACTERS
Theseus, Duke of Athens.
Aegeus, father of Hermia.
Lysander |
) lovers of Hermia.
Demetrius |
Philostratus, master of festivities at the court of Theseus.
Klin, carpenter.
Saw, carpenter.
Hank, weaver.
Duda, bellows repairman.
Snout, coppersmith.
Hungry tailor.
Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, bride of Theseus.
Hermia, daughter of Aegeus, in love with Lysander.
Helena, in love with Demetrius.
Oberon, king of the elves.
Titania, queen of the elves.
Puck, or Rogue Robin.
Bob |
Cobweb) elves.
Moth |
Mustard |
Elves and fairies from the retinue of Oberon and Titania.
Retinue of Theseus and Hippolyta.
Setting: Athens and nearby forest.
ACT ONE
PHENOMENON 1
Athens. Palace of Theseus.
Enter Theseus, Hippolyta, Philostratus and retinue.
Theseus
The hour of our wedding is near, Hippolyta:
Only four days until the new moon.
But the old moon takes so long to melt
And does not allow my wishes to come true,
Like a stepmother with a lifetime income,
Healing is to the detriment of his stepson.
Hippolyta
Four days will easily drown in the night,
Four nights of sleep will disappear easily,
And the new month, bending in the sky
He glances at his silvery bow
The night of our wedding.
Theseus
Philostratus, go,
Call the youth of Athens to fun,
Ignite a lively and ardent spirit of fun.
A despondent place is at a funeral;
We don't need this pale-faced guest.
Philostratus leaves.
I wooed you with my sword, Hippolyta,
I earned your love through cruelty;
But I will play the wedding in a different way,
Among the celebrations, and spectacles, and feasts.
Enter Aegeus, Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius.
Aegean
May our Duke Theseus be happy!
Theseus
Thank you, Egey. What did you come with?
Aegean
Full of indignation, I came with a complaint
To Hermia, to my own daughter.
Here, Demetri! This person
I, sir, have promised her as my husband.
Here, Lysander! And this man
He bewitched her soul, oh my Duke.
You, you, Lysander! You brought her poems,
Love pledges changed;
You are under her window, in the moonlight,
He languidly sang to her about languid love;
You captured her imagination
Giving now a lock of your hair, now a ring,
Flowers, gifts, memos, trinkets, -
Youth readily believes such ambassadors;
You stole my daughter's heart,
You turned your daughter's obedience
In obstinate stubbornness. Sovereign,
When she is here, before your eyes,
Demetrius will reject, I will come running
To the ancient custom of Athens:
She is mine, and I have all power over her.
That's why I'll give my daughter
I will condemn Demetrius to death,
As provided by law.
Theseus
What do you say, Hermia? Child, think:
Your Father is like God to you;
He is the one who created your beauty;
For him you are just a wax form,
Which he sculpted and is domineering
Either leave it like that or destroy it.
Demetrius is a very worthy person.
Hermia
The same goes for Lysander.
Theseus
On my own;
But here, since your father doesn't want him,
We recognize another as more worthy.
Hermia
Oh, if my father looked like me!
Theseus
No, you have to look through his eyes.
Hermia
May your lordship excuse me.
I don't know what gives me courage
And how my modesty allows me
In such presence, raise your voice;
But I ask: let me know
The worst thing that can happen to me
When I refuse my hand to Demetrius.
Theseus
Will you accept death or be forever
Excommunicated from the company of men.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy by William Shakespeare, written between 1594 and 1596. Presumably, the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written by Shakespeare for the wedding of the English aristocrat and patron of the arts, Elizabeth Carey, who married on February 19, 1595, on this day "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was first performed in the theater. According to another version, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is timed to celebrate the day of St. John (a holiday similar to the day of Ivan Kupala in the Russian tradition ).
In 1826, 17-year-old German composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote music for theatrical production"A Midsummer Night's Dream." Mendelssohn's music for A Midsummer Night's Dream was very popular in 19th-century productions; it also left its mark in cinema, being the main theme song in the 1935 film A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" gained particular popularity, turning from a hymn to the fickleness of love for many into a hymn to marital fidelity.
Theseus is going to marry Hippolyta, and the wedding of Demetrius and Hermia is also being prepared, on which Hermia’s father insists. Hermia loves Lysander, together they decide to run away and tell Elena, who is in love with Demetrius, about this in the hope that Elena will be pleased by the escape of her rival for Demetrius’s heart. Elena, counting on Demetrius’ gratitude, tells him about the escape of his bride. As a result, all four - Hermia, Lysander, Helen and Demetrius - find themselves in the forest at a time when the king of fairies and elves Oberon decides to punish his wife Titania, who does not give him her Indian page. Oberon orders his servant Puck to smear the eyes of the sleeping Titania with magic juice, after she wakes up, she will fall in love with the first living creature who sees and forgets her Indian pet. There is magic juice in a flower that grew in the place where Cupid's arrow hit, bouncing off a chaste virgin.
Fairy
Or maybe you just look like him,
Or are you really Rogue Robin,
Evil spirit. Not you in the villages
Are you scaring girls? Do you grind the grains yourself?
Skim off the cream and spend hours on end
Don't you let the worker churn the butter?
Are you spoiling the yeast in your beer? You're fooling
Do you want to follow the night traveler?
And who calls you "dear Puck"
That's why you're happy to help in this way and that.
Tell me, is it you?
Fairy and Puck
Arthur Rackham - Fairy and Puck
Arthur Rackham - Fairy and Puck
Oberon
Is this meeting under the moon good?
Arrogant Titania?
Titania
What is this?
Jealous Oberon? Let's fly away, fairies!
I hate the sight of him and his bed.
Oberon and Titania
Joseph Noel Paton. Dispute between Oberon and Titania
Alfred Fredericks. Titania and Oberon
Arthur Rackham - Titania and Oberon
Arthur Rackham. Titania
Arthur Rackham - Titania
Amateur actors also come to the forest, deciding to perform the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” at the wedding of Theseus. One of them, the weaver Motok (in another translation - the Basis), turns out to be turned by Pak into a creature with a donkey's head. The weaver with the donkey's head is the first one Titania sees after waking up and falls in love with him.
Titania
Don’t try to leave this thicket.
You wouldn't find a way anyway.
I am a creature of the rarest of breeds.
It's summer in my domain all year round.
And I love you. Come, my friend.
Elves will come running to you for services,
So that you can look for pearls in the seas
And sing when you're dozing on the flowers.
This is how I will cleanse your mortal frame,
That you, like a spirit, will soar above the earth.
Titania and Base
Alfred Fredericks - Foundation
Alfred Fredericks - Titania and the Skein (Base)
Alfred Fredericks - Titania and the Base
Edwin Landseer. Titania and Base
John Anster Fitzgerald. Titania and Base
Joseph Noel Paton. Titania and Hank (Base)
Arthur Rackham - Titania and the Foundation
Oberon witnessed a conversation between Helen and Demetrius, who rejects the girl in love. Oberon orders Puck to pour magic juice into the eyes of the sleeping Demetrius so that Demetrius will fall in love with Helen. But Puck mistakenly pours juice into Lysander’s eyes and he falls in love with Helen, forgetting his love for Hermia. Correcting himself, Puck waters Demetri's eyes and he also falls in love with Elena. Helen, who did not have a single admirer, now finds two and decides that Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia want to play a cruel joke on her. Hermia is at a loss as to why Lysander has lost interest in her. Demetrius and Lysander leave to fight for Helen's heart.
Arthur Rackham. Elena
Jones Simmons. Hermia and Lysander
Alfred Fredericks - Lysander and Hermia
Alfred Fredericks - Hermia
Alfred Fredericks. Demetri and Elena
Oberon orders Puck to remove the effect of the magic juice from Lysander, and he himself heals Titania, who has already given him the Indian boy. The weaver returns to his normal appearance and he and his comrades play at a triple wedding: Theseus marries Hippolyta, Lysander marries Hermia, and Demetrius marries his new love- Elena.
Oberon
(speaking)
Oh, Robin, hello! Do you see? Admire it.
I'm starting to feel sorry for the poor thing.
Now she was collecting at the edge of the forest
Flowers for this vile creature;
Oberon, Titania and Hank (Base)
Titania
My Oberon! Oh, what a fable!
I had a dream that I loved a donkey.
Oberon
Here he is, your gentle friend.
Oberon, Titania and Base
Alfred Fredericks - Titania, Oberon and Foundation
John Anster Fitzgerald - Oberon and Titania
William Blake. Oberon, Titania and Puck with dancing fairies
Alfred Fredericks - Theseus and Hippolyta
Now I’ll tell you about two film adaptations of Shakespeare’s comedy that I watched - 1935 and 1999.
The 1935 film A Midsummer Night's Dream was directed by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterli. This film has a wonderful fairytale atmosphere, especially Titania, played by Anita Louise. The music used is Mendelssohn's music.
Stills from the film "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935):
Oberon and Titania
Titania and Base
Hermia (played by Olivia de Havilland)
Elena (played by Jean Muir)
Of the modern adaptations of A Midsummer Night's Dream, I would like to note the 1999 film directed by Michael Hoffman, I like it even more than the 1935 film, despite some deviations from Shakespeare's original text - the action is transferred to the Italian town of Athens at the end of the 19th century, and Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena ride bicycles through the forest. If in the 1935 film the emphasis is shifted towards the fairy tale, then in the 1999 film the main thing is not the fabulousness, but the comic nature of what is happening, due to this the film is watched in one go. Plays Titania. It is impossible to choose a better actress for this role; Michelle Pfeiffer in the role of the queen of fairies and elves is simply magnificent.
Stills from the film "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999):
Oberon and Titania
Titania and Base
Of the theatrical performances of the role of Titania, one cannot fail to mention Vivien Leigh; she first appeared on stage in the role of Titania in the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on December 27, 1937.
Vivien Leigh as Titania
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy by William Shakespeare, written between 1594 and 1596. Presumably, the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written by Shakespeare for the wedding of the English aristocrat and patron of the arts, Elizabeth Carey, who married on February 19, 1595, on this day "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was first performed in the theater. According to another version, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is timed to celebrate the day of St. John (a holiday similar to the day of Ivan Kupala in the Russian tradition ).
In 1826, 17-year-old German composer Felix Mendelssohn wrote music for a theatrical production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mendelssohn's score for A Midsummer Night's Dream was very popular in 19th-century productions, and it also left its mark on cinema, being the main theme song in the 1935 film A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" gained particular popularity, turning from a hymn to the fickleness of love for many into a hymn to marital fidelity.
Theseus is going to marry Hippolyta, and the wedding of Demetrius and Hermia is also being prepared, on which Hermia’s father insists. Hermia loves Lysander, together they decide to run away and tell Elena, who is in love with Demetrius, about this in the hope that Elena will be pleased by the escape of her rival for Demetrius’s heart. Elena, counting on Demetrius’ gratitude, tells him about the escape of his bride. As a result, all four - Hermia, Lysander, Helen and Demetrius - find themselves in the forest at a time when the king of fairies and elves Oberon decides to punish his wife Titania, who does not give him her Indian page. Oberon orders his servant Puck to smear the eyes of the sleeping Titania with magic juice, after she wakes up, she will fall in love with the first living creature who sees and forgets her Indian pet. There is magic juice in a flower that grew in the place where Cupid's arrow hit, bouncing off a chaste virgin.
Fairy
Or maybe you just look like him,Or are you really Rogue Robin,
Evil spirit. Not you in the villages
Are you scaring girls? Do you grind the grains yourself?
Skim off the cream and spend hours on end
Don't you let the worker churn the butter?
Are you spoiling the yeast in your beer? You're fooling
Do you want to follow the night traveler?
And who calls you "dear Puck"
That's why you're happy to help in this way and that.
Tell me, is it you?
Fairy and Puck
Arthur Rackham - Fairy and Puck
Arthur Rackham - Fairy and Puck
Oberon
Is this meeting under the moon good?
Arrogant Titania?
Titania
What is this?
Jealous Oberon? Let's fly away, fairies!
I hate the sight of him and his bed.
Oberon and Titania
Joseph Noel Paton. Dispute between Oberon and Titania
Alfred Fredericks. Titania and Oberon
Arthur Rackham - Titania and Oberon
Arthur Rackham. Titania
Arthur Rackham - Titania
Amateur actors also come to the forest, deciding to perform the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” at the wedding of Theseus. One of them, the weaver Motok (in another translation - the Basis), turns out to be turned by Pak into a creature with a donkey's head. The weaver with the donkey's head is the first one Titania sees after waking up and falls in love with him.
Titania
Don’t try to leave this thicket.
You wouldn't find a way anyway.
I am a creature of the rarest of breeds.
In my domain it is summer all year round.
And I love you. Come, my friend.
Elves will come running to you for services,
So that you can look for pearls in the seas
And sing when you're dozing on the flowers.
This is how I will cleanse your mortal frame,
That you, like a spirit, will soar above the earth.
Titania and Base
Alfred Fredericks - Foundation
Alfred Fredericks - Titania and the Skein (Base)
Alfred Fredericks - Titania and the Base
Edwin Landseer. Titania and Base
John Anster Fitzgerald. Titania and Base
Joseph Noel Paton. Titania and Hank (Base)
Arthur Rackham - Titania and the Foundation
Oberon witnessed a conversation between Helen and Demetrius, who rejects the girl in love. Oberon orders Puck to pour magic juice into the eyes of the sleeping Demetrius so that Demetrius will fall in love with Helen. But Puck mistakenly pours juice into Lysander’s eyes and he falls in love with Helen, forgetting his love for Hermia. Correcting himself, Puck waters Demetri's eyes and he also falls in love with Elena. Helen, who did not have a single admirer, now finds two and decides that Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia want to play a cruel joke on her. Hermia is at a loss as to why Lysander has lost interest in her. Demetrius and Lysander leave to fight for Helen's heart.
Arthur Rackham. Elena
Jones Simmons. Hermia and Lysander
Alfred Fredericks - Lysander and Hermia
Alfred Fredericks - Hermia
Alfred Fredericks. Demetri and Elena
Oberon orders Puck to remove the effect of the magic juice from Lysander, and he himself heals Titania, who has already given him the Indian boy. The weaver returns to his normal appearance and he and his comrades play at a triple wedding: Theseus marries Hippolyta, Lysander marries Hermia, and Demetrius marries his new love, Helen.
Oberon
(speaking)
Oh, Robin, hello! Do you see? Admire it.
I'm starting to feel sorry for the poor thing.
Now she was collecting at the edge of the forest
Flowers for this vile creature;
Oberon, Titania and Hank (Base)
Titania
My Oberon! Oh, what a fable!
I had a dream that I loved a donkey.
Oberon
Here he is, your gentle friend.
Oberon, Titania and Base
Alfred Fredericks - Titania, Oberon and Foundation
John Anster Fitzgerald - Oberon and Titania
William Blake. Oberon, Titania and Puck with dancing fairies
Alfred Fredericks - Theseus and Hippolyta
Now I’ll tell you about two film adaptations of Shakespeare’s comedy that I watched - 1935 and 1999.
The 1935 film A Midsummer Night's Dream was directed by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterli. This film has a wonderful fairytale atmosphere, especially Titania, played by Anita Louise.
Stills from the film "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1935):
Oberon and Titania
Titania and Base
Hermia (played by Olivia de Havilland)
Elena (played by Jean Muir)
Of the modern adaptations of A Midsummer Night's Dream, I would like to note the 1999 film directed by Michael Hoffman, I like it even more than the 1935 film, despite some deviations from Shakespeare's original text - the action is transferred to the Italian town of Athens at the end of the 19th century, and Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena ride bicycles through the forest. If in the 1935 film the emphasis is shifted towards the fairy tale, then in the 1999 film the main thing is not the fabulousness, but the comic nature of what is happening, due to this the film is watched in one go. Plays Titania. It is impossible to choose a better actress for this role; Michelle Pfeiffer in the role of the queen of fairies and elves is simply magnificent.
Stills from the film "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999):
Oberon and Titania
Titania and Base
Of the theatrical performances of the role of Titania, one cannot fail to mention Vivien Leigh; she first appeared on stage in the role of Titania in the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on December 27, 1937.
Vivien Leigh as Titania