A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of William Shakespeare's more comedic works. Penned sometime between 1590 and 1596, this fanciful play follows a group of young people as they make merry (with the help of fairies) in a Grecian forest.
Whether you choose to read it the traditional way, or read it off one of our A Midsummer Night's Dream wall posters, this play is definitely worth reading! Here are a few reasons why:
A Midsummer Night's Dream is more than just a comedy
Like all of Shakespeare's plays, there's a lot of depth to A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's much more than just a simple comedy. This work explores classism, rebellion against authority, and control — all contemporary issues in Shakespeare's time too.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is true to the nature of love
Few could write about love and all its pitfalls quite the way The Bard could. This is one of the reasons why Shakespeare's work is so fun to read! His outlook on love could be due in part to Shakespeare's own rather scandalous marriage. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare shows a particular talent for unpacking what humans are willing and capable of doing in the name of love. It's a very human trait to act like a fool when you're in love, and Shakespeare captures this perfectly in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is just plain fun!
Early in the play, the characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream take part in the consumption of mind-bending substances. That's right, psychedelics are the catalyst for all the events that happen throughout. The result is romantic mayhem, fae trickery, and a few close calls with a donkey-headed fairy. The psychedelic aspect of the play is one of the reasons why it's a delightful and enjoyable read! (And one of the reasons why we incorporated a donkey head into our A Midsummer Night's Dream art print.)
Have you read A Midsummer Night's Dream? Tell us in the comments below what you think!