Pocket Classics
Advanced
Complete and unabridged

A Midsummer Night's Dream was written around 1595; the play looks at the foolishness of love and employs the above-mentioned devices. Shakespear draws on diverse classical and other sources as he waves a complex and magical tale. There is no main plot; indeed the play can be seen as an intricate blend of sub-plots. The story unfolds in the fantastic and mysterious setting of a wood inhabited by fairies, elves and spirits. Due tothe wide variety of characters - noble men and women, fairies and spirits, and a company of uncultured rustics who have come to the woods to practise a play - there are widely differing poetics styles and their juxtaposition and incongruity add to the humour.