30 Books in 30 Beach Days Day 23: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
- bostonbookworm22
- Aug 22, 2017
- 2 min read
If we're going to run the full literary gamut in this 30 books series, we're going to need to include something by Shakespeare.
I have a confession that will make fellow English majors gasp in horror: I don't particularly like Shakespeare. I should amend: I think Shakespeare's writing is brilliant, and I think the plot lines of a few of his plays are extraordinary, and I absolutely love his sonnets. But I think much of his work is repetitive, and I will stipulate that some acts of some plays can be particularly tough to slog through.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is not such a play. It is lovely, through and through, and playful, and beautiful. If you're not familiar, the story centers around a pivotal event: the marriage of Duke Theseus of Athens to Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons. With this event looming, the play begins with a love circle, with two would-be couples. Hermia's father wishes her to wed Demetrius, though she is in love with Lysander. By decree of Duke Theseus, Hermia's options are either to marry the suitor her father has chosen or live the life of a nun. Meanwhile, another woman -- Helena -- is actually in love with Demetrius, but that love is unrequited. Hermia and Lysander enter the forest hoping to elope, and Helena and Demetrius separately follow them.
What follows is a dreamlike succession of events, with three interconnecting plot lines: the "love circle," a slapstick comic tangent concerning a troupe of amateur actors, and a feud between the Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the fairies. With a few misunderstandings, a little magic, and some luck, the lovers make their way through the forest toward -- we dream -- a happy ending.
If you've been interested in reading Shakespeare but have been secretly dreading it, this is a good place to start.
Rating: 4/5
