023 This is a comedy!?: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1596)

It’s the one with the donkey-headed tradie! An Athenian hero with his Amazon war-bride condemns a young girl to death or nunnery, so young lovers flee into the forest, followed by two other young lovers who don’t love each other yet, so a fairy king tries to fix the love quadrangle, but not before he makes his wife fall for a donkey-man mutant to get revenge on her for not handing over an royal Indian toddler. That old chestnut. One of Shakespeare’s most famous… comedies??? Like a lot of Shakespearian comedies, this one has a dark edge. But does it work as farce or drama? Join Michael and Sophie to find out! Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to [email protected] Sources: The Oxford Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oxford University Press) Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage, edited by Brian Vickers (Routledge)