This is one of the most hilarious comedies of Shakespeare that I have read, even funnier than A Comedy of Errors . Combining fantasy and reality and setting in Athens at the time of the wedding of the Duke of Athens, Theseus to Hippolyta, the Queen of Amazon, the play revolves around the adventures of the four young Athenian lovers, a group of performers who plan to put on a play for the wedding of the Duke and the Queen, and the meddling acts of fairies, especially those of the Fairy King’s through Pluck, his most trusted “knavish” spirit.
The main theme of the play is love, and actions of jealousies and betrayals center upon that theme. The writing is beautiful; poetic and lyrical. This is the second time in my reading of Shakespeare that I came across such beautiful, poetic, and lyrical writing, the first time being in Romeo and Juliet. It is a real treat to read those poetic and lyrical verses as they tell this light hilarious story.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most creative and imaginative plays by Shakespeare. The fantasy element is brilliantly combined with reality and the play is cast by an interesting set of characters ranging from humans to fairies to human-animal forms! All these elements have contributed to making the play a very interesting read. I enjoyed it very much and had a good laugh all along. Shakespeare had done a great job with this play.
Rating: 4/5
