Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 1.1 Performance: Egeus, Hermia, Demetrius, Lysander 91-110
This video features a performance from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," where Egeus insists Hermia marry Demetrius, dismissing her love for Lysander. Lysander defends his love and rights, revealing Demetrius's past affection for Helena,...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 1.1 Interview: Egeus, Hermia, Demetrius, Lysander Pt 1
This video delves into the complexities of familial and romantic relationships in Act 1, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," focusing on the conflict between Egeus and his daughter, Hermia. Viewers will gain insights...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2 Performance: Puck Lines 6-34
In this video from Act 3, Scene 2 of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Puck gleefully recounts how he transformed Bottom's head into that of an ass while Bottom's acting troupe rehearsed in the woods. The transformation led to comedic chaos...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2 Performance: Puck Lines 379-388
In this video from Act 3, Scene 2 of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Puck emphasizes the urgency of their tasks to Oberon, noting the fast approach of dawn with Aurora's harbinger in the sky. He mentions that spirits and ghosts must return...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2 Performance: Puck Lines 348-354
In this video from Act 3, Scene 2 of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Puck explains to Oberon that he mistakenly applied the love potion to the wrong Athenian, thinking he recognized him by his clothing. Puck sees the resulting confusion and...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2 Performance: Puck and Lysander Lines 450-466
In this video from Act 3, Scene 2 of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Puck interacts with Lysander, causing further confusion under the influence of the love potion. Puck's trickery includes mimicking voices to mislead Lysander, intensifying...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2 Performance: Oberon Lines 389-396
In this video from Act 3, Scene 2 of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Oberon describes his role as a fairy, making light of his magical activities at dawn. He stresses the need to swiftly resolve the chaos caused by the love potion before...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2 Performance: Oberon Lines 355-378
In this video from Act 3, Scene 2 of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Oberon observes the turmoil caused by Puck's mishandling of the love potion. Determined to rectify the situation, he orders Puck to lead the Athenian youths through the...
Curated Video
A MidsummerNight'sDream 1.1.19 Animated note:Theseus and Hippolyta
From epic battles to romantic encounters or political alliances, Greek mythology includes multiple narratives regarding the union of Theseus, the founder and first ruler of Athens, and Hippolyta, the Amazon queen. Shakespeare, drawing...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Fairies
Modern fairy tales draw from a rich tradition of fairy folklore known even in Shakespeare's time. Fairies were believed to possess supernatural abilities, like flying swiftly around the world and shape-shifting, often engaging in...
Curated Video
A MidsummerNight'sDream 1.1.11a Animated Note: Diana and Moon
To Hippolyta the waning moon resembles a silver bow bent back to fire an arrow. According to Greek mythology, the moon and the bow and arrow go together. Since Diana is the goddess of both the moon and hunting and she's often pictured...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream: French Crown 1.2.087
In his remark, Quince uses the expression “French crown” to refer, not to a French coin, but to the top of the head of an everyday Frenchman. Quince says that some of these heads “have no hair at all.” His remark alludes to the fact that...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 5.1.304 Word Nerd: Die
During a performance, Demetrius humorously interprets Bottom's delivery of Pyramus's declaration of death as a pun, suggesting Pyramus is saying he's a "die" (singular of dice) that rolled an ace (one), playing on the notion of being one...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 5.1.234 Game of Wits
Theseus and Demetrius engage in a complex and somewhat confusing game of wits involving animal metaphors. The dialogue revolves around Snug's assurance that he won't scare the audience with his lion roar, leading to exchanges comparing...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 5.1.202 Word Nerd: Ninny
The word "innocent" originates from the Latin prefix "in-" (not) and the verb "nocere" (to do harm), initially meaning someone who does no harm. By the time of Shakespeare, "innocent" had evolved to describe someone naive due to youth....
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 5.1.197 Discussion: Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy, famed as the most beautiful woman on Earth, was married to King Menelaus of Sparta before being abducted (or, according to some versions, eloping willingly) with Paris, a prince from Troy. This act led to the Greek kings...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 5.1.109 Prologue
Quince's prologue may seem clumsily written at first but is a masterfully crafted speech by Shakespeare. Ambiguity and word choice, allows for dual meanings, at times earnest or humorous. The speech, asking for the audience's forgiveness...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 5.1.046 Eunuch
The term "eunuch" refers to a castrated man. It was originally used in ancient kingdoms where eunuchs served as guards for the ruler's harem, ensuring they would not engage with the women they protected. Additionally, there was a...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 4.1.55 Word Nerd: Orient Pearls
Titania places a flowery wreath on Bottom's head, and Oberon remarks that the dewdrops on the flowers, resembling tears, suggest the flowers are lamenting their dishonor in adorning Bottom's donkey head. He compares these to pearls,...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2.214 Heraldry
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena uses wordplay and heraldry to symbolize the deep connection between herself and Hermia, likening them to "two seeming bodies but one heart," indicating their close friendship. She references heraldry,...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2.203 Word Nerd: Artificial
The term "artificial" originates from the Latin "artificium," meaning craftsmanship or artistry, which was its initial meaning in English. Nowadays, "artificial" typically refers to anything man-made, often carrying a negative...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.2.158 Word Nerd: Conjure
The word "conjure" comes from the Latin words for "with" and "oath," initially meaning to accomplish something through a sacred oath. By Shakespeare's era, it evolved to refer specifically to summoning devils or spirits by using a sacred...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.1.126 Cuckoo
The cuckoo bird is named after the sound it makes. Its behavior of the female laying eggs in the nests of males other than her partner has led to the term "cuckold," referring to a man whose wife has been unfaithful. In A Midsummer...
Curated Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 2.1.92 Animated Note: Proud River
In A Midsumer Night's Dream, Titania describes her quarrel with Oberon as disrupting the natural world, causing mists to pull water from the sea and flood rivers, which she personifies as becoming "proud and arrogant." This video...