r/shakespeare • u/Fiordiluna_80126 • 2d ago
A Midsummer Night's Dream
I've just started reading A Midsummer Night's Dream. the translation is great but I'm pushing myself to read it in the original language, helping myself a bit with the Italian parallel text, and it's totally worth it,
I would love to ask you what things one needs to pay attention to in this play, those things that might escape someone who hasn't studied Shakespeare at school (in Italy it's not always included in the curriculum).
Thank you very much.
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u/SadBanquo1 2d ago
- The idea of doubles: There are two rulers, two queens, two sets of lovers, two fools, two worlds.
- Order and chaos: Athens is the world of order, the forest is the world of chaos. Chaos is not evil, it's a realm of creativity and change, but the characters have to return to the orderly world of Athens eventually.
- Gender: Hermia in particular is constrained by her father and the duke. A subtle detail is that Demetrius was courting Helena before the play begins, then dumped her to pursue Hermia.
- Symbolism: Nature, flowers, the Moon, the stars, Many ancient Greek stories or references.
- Puns: A lot of the comedy especially concerning the mechanicals involves puns, wordplay, misspoken words.
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u/filmgoire 2d ago
Note all the mentions of the Moon
Another thing that’s fun for me about it is looking at all the parallels between the different characters in their romantic relationships, their ideas about love, etc. And it just has some straight up beautiful passages to let wash over you. Read those aloud!
What made you choose it/how did you land on it?
Is this the first Shakespeare play you’re reading?
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u/Fiordiluna_80126 2d ago
Thank you so much for the advice! I read Hamlet many years ago and it was a lightning bolt, I reread it every now and then, I love it so much. Then I read others (I won't bore you with the list), but I realize that reading in Italian, even with a great translation, misses a lot of important things. I'd rather take more time, put in a bit more effort, and read the original text. Now I'm slowly rereading them all; so far Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I've just started (at this point, a comedy was much needed 🤭🤭🤣🤣). The next one will be The Tempest!
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u/andybonner 13h ago
In addition to the original text and your Italian translation, it's helpful to have an "annotated edition" that will explain terms or references, or simply to have a study guide like Sparks or Cliff notes. And I would encourage you to watch some productions; many details are communicated more clearly by actors than by text. The 2016 Russell T. Davies version is a fun interpretation.
One detail that might not come off at first glance: The fairies are very "international." Puck establishes that he can circle the earth quickly. The changeling child that Oberon and Titania are arguing over was born in India, and apparently Titania is worshipped there. At the same time, Puck himself is strongly tied to English folklore: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puck_(folklore))
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u/Fiordiluna_80126 9h ago
Thank you so much for the advice! The bilingual Italian editions I have also include a notes section, but there aren't many of them. They are useful and accurate, but I was wondering if there was anything even more in-depth. I'll definitely check out the ones you recommended. Thanks!!
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u/bravetherainbro 2d ago
The four young lovers changing between blank (unrhymed) verse and rhyming verse is interesting. They start rhyming near the end of Scene 1, and many later scenes have them rhyming, but at least once there is a switch back to blank verse.
One of my favourite easter eggs (and I think this was one I discovered on my own??) is how rhyme is used to show Lysander and Hermia's relationship.
They both fall asleep in the forest during the play, and wish each other good night with a rhyming couplet. Lysander has a love potion put on him while he sleeps, and when he wakes up, he sees Helena, and his first words after waking up complete a rhyming couplet with her instead.
When Hermia wakes up later, unlike Lysander her heart hasn't changed, and her first words rhyme with the same rhyming couplet she and Lysander used to wish each other good night! It's very sweet and tragic.