A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare
Table of Contents
Key Facts
Title: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Author: William Shakespeare
Type of work: Play
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Written in: London, circa 1595
First published: 1600
Tense: Present
Protagonist: The play has no clear protagonist because there are so many interwoven stories and sets of characters. Puck is typically seen as the main character in the play because his actions affect each of the play’s separate stories.
Time in which play is set: As a fantasy, the play is not set in a literal time period. However, it incorporates aspects of ancient Greece.
Places in which play is set: A fantasy version of the ancient Greek city of Athens and an enchanted forest outside of the city.
Climax: Act III, scene ii. With their relationships cast into chaos by the misapplication of Puck’s love potion, the four young Athenian characters argue. Hermia challenges Helena to a fight, while Demetrius and Lysander nearly come to blows over Helena.
Falling Action: The resolution of the love relationships among Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius; the performance of “Pyramus and Thisby” which follows the group wedding; the blessing of the married couples by Oberon and Titania.
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