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graciegrace1178's review against another edition
4.0
AHHAAH LITERALLY WHAT IS THIS. 4.2 stars because I kind of love the insane nonsense of it all.
PT: Shakespeare, classics, books that have been on my TBR for too long, books recommended by a friend, ridiculous nonsense books (Dec 2021)
WIL
1) meta. A play. That makes fun of plays. Brilliant. I am ALWAYS a sucker for meta satire. The DIALOGUE is so HUMAN too. It’s just people trying to put on a show with all kinds of random stuff happening in the background. DELIGHTFUL.
2) Shakespeare on drugs. So. So like can we all agree this was Shakespeare’s fever dream? This is so far from all his other content (that I’ve read so far), and it’s HILARIOUS. Literally what even is this about.
3) Wit. Yea so it’s def not the normal kind of narrative from Señor Shakespeare, BUT Shakespeare’s characteristic wit is as intact as ever. The one liners!! The set up to jokes that made me snort into my tea while I was reading!! The PUNS!!
WIDL
1) I think I need more context to properly enjoy this in full. Like. Like there’s gotta be some symbolism I’m missing or something, right? It can’t JUST be sheer, unmitigated nonsense for nonsense’s sake, can it?? CAN IT??
PT: Shakespeare, classics, books that have been on my TBR for too long, books recommended by a friend, ridiculous nonsense books (Dec 2021)
WIL
1) meta. A play. That makes fun of plays. Brilliant. I am ALWAYS a sucker for meta satire. The DIALOGUE is so HUMAN too. It’s just people trying to put on a show with all kinds of random stuff happening in the background. DELIGHTFUL.
2) Shakespeare on drugs. So. So like can we all agree this was Shakespeare’s fever dream? This is so far from all his other content (that I’ve read so far), and it’s HILARIOUS. Literally what even is this about.
3) Wit. Yea so it’s def not the normal kind of narrative from Señor Shakespeare, BUT Shakespeare’s characteristic wit is as intact as ever. The one liners!! The set up to jokes that made me snort into my tea while I was reading!! The PUNS!!
WIDL
1) I think I need more context to properly enjoy this in full. Like. Like there’s gotta be some symbolism I’m missing or something, right? It can’t JUST be sheer, unmitigated nonsense for nonsense’s sake, can it?? CAN IT??
_ells_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emblem's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
8yalan8's review against another edition
4.0
Midsummer night’s Dream holds so much in it, one can find something new with every reread (if it’s done a few years apart):
The relationship and love – messy and complicated;
Archetypal myths;
The actors who are manipulated by fairies, celebration of acting and theater;
Bewitching magic and the forest that frees from reality.
The relationship and love – messy and complicated;
Archetypal myths;
The actors who are manipulated by fairies, celebration of acting and theater;
Bewitching magic and the forest that frees from reality.
polarbear2023's review against another edition
I think it's actually a great play I just don't care for the storyline? Like this scorned lovers thing? Plus reading this English is tiresome and not rewarding I would like to see the play one day
thaurisil's review against another edition
4.0
Theseus, Duke of Athens, is about to marry Hippolyta in 4 days. At the same time, Demetrius and Lysander are vying for Hermia, but Hermia loves Lysander, and Helena loves Demetrius. In the forest outside Athens, the fairy king Oberon wants a changeling that the fairy Titania has. He thinks up an elaborate plot involving the use of a herb that, when applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, makes that person fall in love with the first being he/she sees on waking. While he uses the herb on Titania, he orders his jester Puck to use the herb on Demetrius to make him fall in love with Helena. But Puck applies the herb on Lysander instead, who falls in love with Helena. Then Oberon, trying to correct matters, uses the herb on Demetrius, and now both men are trying to win over Helena, who thinks that they are mocking her, and poor Hermia is left loveless. Thankfully, Oberon uses another herb to remove the spell from Lysander, and after a fair bit of magic and a night's sleep in the forest, the couples awake and all things are right. Theseus chances upon them, and brings them to his palace where the three couples get married. As a parallel plotline, there's a group of mechanicals who are rehearsal a play on Pyramus and Thisbe for the duke's wedding. At one point, Puck transforms the man playing Pyramus, Bottom, into a man with an ass' head, and Titania, under the herb's spell, falls in love with him. He's eventually transformed back and the group perform a comically dismal play after the combined wedding.
This is a wonderfully lighthearted play. There's fairies, music, dancing, magic galore, sleeping and dreaming, and everyone ends up happily married. It's humorous, with all sorts of jokes from witty ones to ironical ones to plain slapstick, like the whole Bottom turning into an ass situation, and the many inadvertent references he makes to asses while in that state. And as always, Shakespeare's talent at wordplay is on full display.
The funniest part was at the end during the mechanicals' play. Words were mangled, especially by Bottom and Quince. The Wall, the Moon and the Lion all explained who they were, ruining the effects of their scenes completely. The Moon ran off at a metaphorical comment of "Moon, take thy flight". Some of the rhymes were ridiculous. And Pyramus last words were "Now die, die, die , die." Their bumbling performance was capped by sarcastic comments from the audience. And yet, as typical of this play, Theseus sought for patience and tolerance from the audience, so that what could have been an ugly situation turned out reasonably good-humoured. It was also perhaps Shakespeare's way of showing that not everyone can write and perform a good play, and that what he causes to look easy actualy requires good skill.
The play also explores what love is and how it is formed. The characters, influenced by magic, fall in and out of love with each other as quickly as teenagers do. Their love, as Bottom, in his only wise comment of the play discerns, has no reason to it, and at the end Demetrius remains in love with Helena only due to the magic of the herb. But while their reasons for love are ridiculed, the lovers, while being spellbound, also occasionally drop hints that the reasons for their love go deeper than magic.
I don't know much about iambic pentameters and its cousins, but Shakespeare's poetry is always better read aloud than read. It has a wonderful rhythm and the rhymes, though plentiful, are not silly. His wordplay made me chuckle. This play was a joy to read.
This is a wonderfully lighthearted play. There's fairies, music, dancing, magic galore, sleeping and dreaming, and everyone ends up happily married. It's humorous, with all sorts of jokes from witty ones to ironical ones to plain slapstick, like the whole Bottom turning into an ass situation, and the many inadvertent references he makes to asses while in that state. And as always, Shakespeare's talent at wordplay is on full display.
The funniest part was at the end during the mechanicals' play. Words were mangled, especially by Bottom and Quince. The Wall, the Moon and the Lion all explained who they were, ruining the effects of their scenes completely. The Moon ran off at a metaphorical comment of "Moon, take thy flight". Some of the rhymes were ridiculous. And Pyramus last words were "Now die, die, die , die." Their bumbling performance was capped by sarcastic comments from the audience. And yet, as typical of this play, Theseus sought for patience and tolerance from the audience, so that what could have been an ugly situation turned out reasonably good-humoured. It was also perhaps Shakespeare's way of showing that not everyone can write and perform a good play, and that what he causes to look easy actualy requires good skill.
The play also explores what love is and how it is formed. The characters, influenced by magic, fall in and out of love with each other as quickly as teenagers do. Their love, as Bottom, in his only wise comment of the play discerns, has no reason to it, and at the end Demetrius remains in love with Helena only due to the magic of the herb. But while their reasons for love are ridiculed, the lovers, while being spellbound, also occasionally drop hints that the reasons for their love go deeper than magic.
I don't know much about iambic pentameters and its cousins, but Shakespeare's poetry is always better read aloud than read. It has a wonderful rhythm and the rhymes, though plentiful, are not silly. His wordplay made me chuckle. This play was a joy to read.
cerilla's review against another edition
4.0
(4'5/5⭐)
Creo que debería gustarme menos la obra dentro de la obra pero no puedo, ¡me encanta! Es entretenida, divertida, tiene paralelismos con la historia principal y creo que es una forma de recordar lo que podría haber sido. Y los actores son muy entrañables~.
El lenguaje es maravilloso incluso para insultar (como siempre), las metáforas, la forma en la que se expresan los personajes... Delicioso.
Lo único que echo en falta es más tiempo en el bosque con las hadas, más shenanigans de Puck y quizás un poco más de diálogo entre los cuatro personajes principales a modo de conclusión. Y un poco más de integridad para Helena, por favor.
Creo que debería gustarme menos la obra dentro de la obra pero no puedo, ¡me encanta! Es entretenida, divertida, tiene paralelismos con la historia principal y creo que es una forma de recordar lo que podría haber sido. Y los actores son muy entrañables~.
El lenguaje es maravilloso incluso para insultar (como siempre), las metáforas, la forma en la que se expresan los personajes... Delicioso.
Lo único que echo en falta es más tiempo en el bosque con las hadas, más shenanigans de Puck y quizás un poco más de diálogo entre los cuatro personajes principales a modo de conclusión. Y un poco más de integridad para Helena, por favor.
jordanrosez90's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5