Book Review #4

A Mid-Summer Night's Dream, Condensed Version by William Shakespeare


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While reading this book I got very confused. I’m not good with Shakespeare. I don't understand his language and quite frankly I think he was either quite drunk or quite high while writing each and every one of his plays. This plays in particular because it is about fairies and magical love flowers. Anyway, the play starts out with Theseus talking to his soon to be wife Hippolita about their wedding. Then Egeus came in to tell Theseus that his daughter Hermia isn't in love with the man he has chosen for her (Dometrious) but instead loves another man (Lysander). Theseus says that Hermia can either marry Dometrious, become a nun, or be sent to death. Hermia and Lysander plan to run away to Lysander's aunt's house to get married in Athens and tell Hermia's friend Helena of the plan. Helena is madly in love with Dometrious (whom does not love her in return). Later that night in the forest, the fairy queen Titania has a young Indian boy. Her husband, Oberon, wants the little changeling boy as his henchman and argue with Titania over him. Oberon tells his frisky friend Robin Goodfellow (Puck) to go get a magic flower. Apparently, when you squeeze the flower juice into someone's eye as they sleep, they fall in love with the next person they see. Hermia and Lysander fall asleep in the woods for the night on their way to his aunt's and Helena and Dometrious follow them. Oberon sees Helena and Dometrious arguing and tells puck to put the flower juice into the male mortal's eyes. Puck puts the juice into Titania's eyes then into the male mortal's eyes. Sadly, puck put the juice in the wrong male mortal's eyes. Lysander woke to the sight of Helena and fell in love with her. Then Puck put it into Dometrious' eyes and he woke to the sight of Helena and now both men are in love with her. Hermia awakes furious and she thinks that Dometrious has done something to her Lysander. While all of this is going on, a group of village people are practicing a play to perform at Theseus' wedding. The man (Bottom) playing the lead gets turned into a donkey because puck put a spell on him. Bottom then enters on his cue and scares away his friends. He then sings and wakes the sleeping Titania. She falls madly in love with him and tells her fairies to wait on him. When they fall asleep later that night, Oberon puts more flower juice into Titania’s eyes and wakes her. She falls in love with Oberon and he gets the Indian boy. The lovers in the forest all fall asleep and puck puts juice in Lysander’s and Dometrious’ eyes and layed Hermia with Lysander and Dometrious with Helena so when they wake, they love the rightful girl. They wake and Theseus agrees to marry Helena to Dometrious and Hermia to Lysander. Bottom wakes in a field. He thinks it was all a dream. He no longer looks like a donkey and he goes to the wedding to perform the play. They all marry and see Bottom’s show and they all live happily ever after. ….I still think Shakespeare was on something…




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