A Midsummer Night's Dream, with line numbers

By William Shakespeare

The classic comedy, with line numbers. According to Wikipedia: "A Midsummer Night's Dream is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, suggested by "The Knight's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, written around 1594 to 1596. It portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta, and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seltzer Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781455388707

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1564. The date of his birth is not known but is traditionally 23 April, St George's Day. Aged 18, he married a Stratford farmer's daughter, Anne Hathaway. They had three children. Around 1585 William joined an acting troupe on tour in Stratford from London, and thereafter spent much of his life in the capital. A member of the leading theatre group in London, the Chamberlain's Men, which built the Globe Theatre and frequently performed in front of Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare wrote 36 plays and much poetry besides. He died in 1616.

Book preview

A Midsummer Night's Dream By William Shakespeare

published by Samizdat Express, Orange, CT, USA

established in 1974, offering over 14,000 books

Other comedies by William Shakespeare:

All's Well That Ends Well

As You Like It

The Comedy of Errors

Love's Labour's Lost

Measure for Measure

The Merchant of Venice

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Much Ado About Nothing

The Taming of the Shrew

Twelfth Night

Two Gentlemen of Verona

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Dramatis Personae

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Act I

Scene I Athens. The Palace Of Theseus.

Scene II Athens. Quince's House.

Act II

Scene I A Wood Near Athens.

Scene II Another Part Of The Wood.

Act III

Scene I The Wood. Titania Lying Asleep.

Scene II Another Part Of The Wood.

Act IV

Scene I The Same. Lysander, Demetrius, Helena, And Hermia Lying Asleep.

Scene II Athens. Quince's House.

Act V

Scene I Athens. The Palace Of Theseus.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Theseus, Duke Of Athens.

Egeus, Father To Hermia.

In Love With Hermia

Lysander

Demetrius

Philostrate, Master Of The Revels To Theseus.

Quince, A Carpenter.

Snug, A Joiner.

Bottom, A Weaver.

Flute, A Bellows-Mender.

Snout, A Tinker.

Starveling, A Tailor.

Hippolyta, Queen Of The Amazons, Betrothed To Theseus.

Hermia, Daughter To Egeus, In Love With Lysander.

Helena, In Love With Demetrius.

Oberon, King Of The Fairies.

Titania ,Queen Of The Fairies.

Puck, Or Robin Goodfellow.

Fairies

Peaseblossom

Cobweb

Moth

Mustardseed

Other fairies attending their King and Queen.

Attendants on Theseus and Hippolyta.

SCENE Athens, and a wood near it.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

ACT I

SCENE I Athens. The palace of THESEUS.

[Enter THESEUS, HIPPOLYTA, PHILOSTRATE, and Attendants]

(1) THESEUS Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour

 Draws on apace; four happy days bring in

 Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow

 This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires,

 Like to a step-dame or a dowager

 Long withering out a young man revenue.

HIPPOLYTA Four days will quickly steep themselves in night;

 Four nights will quickly dream away the time;

 And then the moon, like to a silver bow

(10) New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night

 Of our solemnities.

THESEUS           Go, Philostrate,

 Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments;

 Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth;

 Turn melancholy forth to funerals;

 The pale companion is not for our pomp.

[Exit PHILOSTRATE]

 Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword,

 And won thy love, doing thee injuries;

 But I will wed thee in another key,

 With pomp, with triumph and with revelling.

[Enter EGEUS, HERMIA, LYSANDER, and DEMETRIUS]

(20) EGEUS Happy be Theseus, our renowned duke!

THESEUS Thanks, good Egeus: what's the news with thee?

EGEUS Full of vexation come I, with complaint

 Against my child, my daughter Hermia.

 Stand forth, Demetrius. My noble lord,

 This man hath my consent to marry her.

 Stand forth, Lysander: and my gracious duke,

 This man hath bewitch'd the bosom of my child;

 Thou, thou, Lysander, thou hast given her rhymes,

 And interchanged love-tokens with my child:

(30) Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung,

 With feigning voice verses of feigning love,

 And stolen the impression of her fantasy

 With bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, conceits,

 Knacks, trifles, nosegays, sweetmeats, messengers

 Of strong prevailment in unharden'd youth:

 With cunning hast thou filch'd my daughter's heart,

 Turn'd her obedience, which is due to me,

 To stubborn harshness: and, my gracious duke,

 Be it so she; will not here before your grace

(40) Consent to marry with Demetrius,

 I beg the ancient privilege of Athens,

 As she is mine, I may dispose of her:

 Which shall be either to this gentleman

 Or to her death, according to our law

 Immediately provided in that case.

THESEUS What say you, Hermia? be advised fair maid:

 To you your father should be as a god;

 One that composed your beauties, yea, and one

 To whom you are but as a form in wax

(50) By him imprinted and within his power

 To leave the figure or disfigure it.

 Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.

HERMIA So is Lysander.

THESEUS                   In himself he is;

 But in this kind, wanting your father's voice,

 The other must be held the worthier.

HERMIA I would my father look'd but with my eyes.

THESEUS Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.

HERMIA I do entreat your grace to pardon me.

 I know not by what power I am made bold,

(60) Nor how it may concern my modesty,

 In such a presence here to plead my thoughts;

 But I beseech your grace that I may know

 The worst that may befall me in this case,

 If I refuse to wed Demetrius.

THESEUS Either to die the death or to abjure

 For ever the society of men.

 Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires;

 Know of your youth, examine well your blood,

 Whether, if you yield not to your father's choice,

(70) You can endure the livery of a nun,

 For aye to be in shady cloister mew'd,

 To live a barren sister all your life,

 Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon.

 Thrice-blessed they that master so their blood,

 To undergo such maiden pilgrimage;

 But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd,

 Than that

Reviews for A Midsummer Night's Dream, with line numbers

[kennethwdavis_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite Shakespearean comedy, a miracle.

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

" The course of true love never did run smooth."This is one of Shakespeare's most performed comedies and as such probably one of his best known. Consequently I'm not going to going to say anything about the plot. I personally studied this whilst at school as part of an English Literature course and despite my callow years I remember enjoying. However, I haven't read it since.Now, far too many decades later, I read Bernard Cornwell's novel 'Fools and Mortals' which centres around a speculative and fictional première of the play. Having really enjoyed reading that book decided to revisit the original. Once again I found it a highly enjoyable read which made me smile and a piece of true genius.

[jfoster_sf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great romantic comedy.

[anagarika · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kinda boring.

[meandmybooks-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, what do you know? Third time wasn't the charm with this one – between reading it during my own education and with my kids for theirs, this is more like my fifth go with this play – but it's finally growing on me! I've always thought of this as “that stupid play with the lovers, the donkey, and all the irritating fairies,” but this time it seemed less stupid! I give the credit, as usual this year, to the amazing Marjorie Garber. Her essay, in Shakepeare After All, on this play was particularly good. Having just read “Romeo and Juliet” last week, I could fully appreciate the parallels she drew between the two plays, and she persuasively illustrated the ways the themes of love and envy, dreams and rationality, transformation and imagination give depth, meaning, and coherence to the play that I just hadn't seen before. The lovers are still silly and Theseus is still obnoxious, sure, but the play isn't quite the silly fluff I'd previously thought. A solid four stars.As well as Garber's book, my reading was enhanced by an audio performance from L.A. Theatre Works (2013) and the BBC's creative retelling of the play from their “Shakespeare Retold” series. The notes in the Folger Shakespeare Library (Updated) edition are quite adequate without being excessive, though in the mass market paperback edition I have the inside margin is so skimpy that the text threatens to disappear into the gutter.

[antao-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Physics of the Impossible: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare, Burton Raffel, Harold Bloom Published 2005.

I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the
wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass, if
he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was—
there is no man can tell what. Methought I was—and
methought I had—but man is but a patch’d fool, if he
will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man
hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand
is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart
to report, what my dream was.
(4.1.203–212)

(Paraphrase: I had the strangest dream. It is outside of the abilities of mankind to explain it: a man is as foolish as a donkey if he tries to about to expound this dream. Methought I was—there explain the dream of mine. I thought I was – well no one can really say what exactly. I thought I was – and I methought I had, -- but man is but a patched fool, if thought I had – but someone would be an idiot to say what I thought I had).

I remember watching the play for the first time in Quinta da Regaleira, Sintra in 2002 (staged by Rui Mário). Shakespeare has always been an over-riding need for me. I don't have the ability to act, though I do write betimes, but there's nothing like the thrill of a life performance, like the one I watched in 2002.

The rest of this review can be found elsewhere.

[jwhenderson_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"The course of true love never did run smooth,” comments Lysander, articulating one of A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s most important themes—that of the difficulty of love (I.i.134). Though most of the conflict in the play stems from the troubles of romance, and though the play involves a number of romantic elements, it is not truly a love story; it distances the audience from the emotions of the characters in order to poke fun at the torments and afflictions that those in love suffer. The tone of the play is so lighthearted that the audience never doubts that things will end happily, and it is therefore free to enjoy the comedy without being caught up in the tension of an uncertain outcome.This play has insoired many musicians, notably Felix Mendelssohn who wrote an overture and incidental music for the play. It also inspired Benjamin Britten to write one of his best and most impressive operas. Britten used the text of the play for his libretto which is rarely done. A fantasy, this is among my favorite of all Shakespeare's plays.

[bryndahlquis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This will always be my favorite Shakespeare play. I love all the fairies, Puck especially, and I'll never get over the four lovers' quarrels when half of them are under spells. Plus, how can anyone not enjoy Pyramus and Thisby?

[lhlogan1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Finally, a Shakespeare book I can get behind. Fun, light and crisp; this tale is a hit.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Studied it for A Level. I wasn't really fond, though there were some good/clever bits in the writing.

[elmyra_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Was promted to re-read this by reading Neil Gaiman's eponymous Sandman short story. Learned:That my English has gotten a hell of a lot better in the last 11 years. This was the first Shakespeare play I tried to read, and I read it by myself at the time, so I didn't really get it.That I still don't really get the "brilliance" of this particular Sandman story.That I should probably read more Shakespeare.That some of the notes to this edition are utterly useless, and that Reclam can't quite decide what level of audience they're aiming their notes and translations at.

[hvymetalmg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having taken a Shakespeare class in college, I've read, studied and analyzed a number of the bard's plays. This was a sleeper as it turned out to be my favorite. If a book this old can make me laugh, that says something, especially when most television shows today can't make me smirk.

[aarondesk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A comedy by Shakespeare on love and marriage. The way he mixes English culture with ancient mythology is brilliant.

[kerrilea-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great story of romance with enough trickery to make it fantastical. He loves her but she loves him, and nothing is ever clear when you're in the middle of it all!

This is an easy-to-read for anyone who is new to Shakespeare, play formats, or both. I highly recommend this for a fun look into romance and the drama that naturally ensues. It seems that we all have our own Fae dictating the rules of our hearts, sometimes.

[leslie398 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While I liked the overall plot, I found this to be one of the plays in which Shakespeare's language is hard for me. I have seen some of the film versions (most notably the 1935 movie with Olivia de Havilland & Jimmy Cagney and the BBC Production with Helen Mirren as Titania) & seeing the action does help (especially in the 'humorous' parts!).One thing that I noticed in reading this was how unpleasant I found Oberon to be.

[grytajme · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was a stagehand for this. Incredibly fun.

[amaraduende · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*gasp* Can I put Shakespeare in my fantasy shelf? :)

This is just such a delicious treat to read. Do yourself a favor and read it outloud - at least parts of it. It's just so fun.

[seraphinac.b4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In "A Midnight's Summer Dream", there are four lovers, Lysander and Hermia, and Demetrius and Helena. Hermia wishes to marry Lysander but Demetrius is also in love with her. Hermia's father, Egeus, wants her to marry Demetrius. If she refuses, she could receive the full extent of the law and be executed. Nevertheless, Hermia and Lysander plan to flee Athens the next night and marry in the house of Lysander's aunt. They tell Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius, who still loves him even though he dumped her for Hermia. Helene wanting to regain Demetrius's love, tells him about Lysander and Hermia escaping. Demetrius follows Lysander and Hermia while Helena follows Demetrius. Fairy king, Oberon, notices how cruelly Demetrius acts towards Helena. Oberon orders Puck, a fairy messenger, to spread the juice of a magic flower on Demetrius's eye lids so that the first person he sees, he will love. Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and when Lysander wakes up he immediately falls in love with Helena, who was the first person he saw. Later that night, Puck tries to fix his mistake, but it ends up that they both now love Helena. The next night Puck succeeds in making Lysander love Hermia, and Demetrius love Helena. Theseus, a duke, and Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons, find them sleeping and take them to Athens to be married. Overall, this book was lacking. I thought this because it was dull. I found it dull because you would know what happened next. it didn't have any cliffhangers. I thought it was slow to get to the climax... if there was one. Shakespeare wrote using strong literal and metaphorical language, which makes it confusing. It was not my cup of tea.

[therebelprince · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A reasonably mild edition of a great play, but one that will be eminently suitable for highschool students and actors.

[clq_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've been meaning to catch up on various Shakespeare plays that "everyone" has read, and after finishing a book and having no immediate plans for what to read next, A Midsummer Night's Dream was conveniently waiting for me on my Kindle.In short, I didn't really like reading it much. I can see how it would probably work much better on stage, but read as a book it didn't really do much for me.If I ever get the opportunity to see it on stage I probably will, and I'll be prepared to be pleasantly surprised at how well it can work as a play.That said, I do enjoy poems, and I found the lyrical nature of the dialogue, the rhythm and the rhyme, to be quite fun. But as a story I just didn't really appreciate it as much as I had expected.

[osunale · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I consider this my first Shakespeare: this is the play that made me fall in love with the master. It's a supremely delightful work that never wears thin with time. It's that immortal "O lord, what fools these mortals be" that does me in every time. Humorous and splendidly human despite the fairies dancing across the words.

[brianinbuffalo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As hard as I've tried, I could never quite get into this one. I've read it once and seen it performed twice. Both productions were classy. Still, I found the play tedious.

[paradox98_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite comedies. Significant to me because I've actually been in a love rhombus, as it were; therefore, I can relate some of the characters.

[librarylou · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of my favourite Shakespeare plays, very witty and funny.

[unclebob53703 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful copy of Shakespeare's play, with the text written out by hand and Arthur Rackham's gorgeous illustrations and decorations. Gave away my copy of this to my niece one Christmas, and recently found this replacement. I'm not sure it's the same size.

[fredacochran · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read it in high school. Loved it, it was funny

[deckla_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perfect comedy.

[nicolesch-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"If we shadows have offended,/Thing but this--and all is mended--/That you have but slumber'd here/While these visions did appear./And this weak and idle theme,/No more yielding but a dream,/Gentles, do not reprehend;/If you pardon, we will mend./And, as I'm an honest Puck,/If we have unearned luck/Now to' scape the serpent's tongue,/We will make amends ere long;/Else the Puck a liar call:/So, good night unto you all./Give me your hands, if we be friends,?/And Robin shall restore Amends"

By ending the play with this quote, Shakespeare seems to leave it for us to decide whether the events that occurred in the woods, or if they were dreams. Perhaps this play is what inspired Louis Carroll and Frank L. Baum to do the same in their famous stories.

Everything that happens in the woods is somewhat confusing--for the characters at least. We know more-or-less what is going on, being party to Puck and Oberon's doings, but, as will sometimes happen in a dream, the characters are buffeted by abrupt changes to themselves, and those they care about. One moment Demetrius is cruel to Helena, the next he loves her. At one time Lysander loves Hermia, then claims to despise her, then back again. No wonder the characters were confused. These kind of character changes only happen in dreams, or if a person is crazy.

Every character in the play is victim to Oberon's whims, including Puck, and every character is the subject of Puck's gaffe or impishness. Oberon wants Titania's changeling. A child to whom she is attached because she was friends with his mother, and so Oberon devises a cruel game to trick Titania into giving the child to him. Along the way he decides to help Helena, but tells Puck only to find a man in Athenian clothing to enchant into love with Helena, so Puck finds Lysander, who then upsets Helena by claiming to love her, and breaks Hermia's heart. Demetrius and Lysander could have hurt one another--therefore further breaking their lady's hearts--in the turmoil that followed.

Bottom is the subject of Titania's manipulated love and Puck's parody on the two of them. Through that the rest of Bottom's troupe is also victim, being frightened, and having their practice interrupted (maybe their play wouldn't have been so painful to read if they had been able to practice more).

A Midsummer Night's Dream has got to be the most popular Shakespearean play there is. It's one of the one's that I became familiar with through Jim Weiss (though this is my first time reading the actual play) and it has been brought into books and movies, it has been adapted into movies. It has become a ballet via Felix Mendelssohn (part of which is a violinist's nightmare,) an opera by Benjamin Britten, and has shorter pieces written for it by Henry Purcell and Ralph Vaughn-Williams.

(Please note that this review was written as a discussion post in an online Shakespeare class.)

[kristina_brooke-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love sharing Shakespeare with my 5 year old. This is a very good children's version of one of my favorites. She loved it and was scolding Puck for being such a bad boy!

[cathywoolbright · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Every read of this classic reveals another tongue in cheek pun. This humorous comedy of errors deals with love, romance, fairies in an enchanted forest, a traveling actors' troupe that passes itself as professional, but offers comic relief, mistaken identity, and of course parents at the crux who will not let true love have its way. Just a simple, straightforward Shakespearean tale. Enjoy!