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obsidian_blue's review against another edition
4.0
Well I am happy that I finally finished my William Shakespeare list from 2015. This last one was a bugger. As I said in my quick update, I thought the whole thing rhymed so much it took me out of the play. I found myself saying lines out loud to myself and then kind of bee bopping around my living room. Pretty much I was doing a lot of things, but not really reading the play. I know this one is a favorite with some people, but I think this would be more interesting to watch on stage (or in a movie/tv show) than actually reading the play.
Suffice it to say this was typical Shakespeare, people running around in love, not with each other for the most part, and then misunderstandings ensue (this time because of magic) and in the end all is right with the world by the time we get to the ending. Or at least all is right with most people.
One reason why I did find this play so interesting though is because two of the players are Theseus and Hippolyta. I have always been fascinated by Hippolyta because it pained me to read about how the Queen of the Amazons was taken and forced to give up being an Amazon. Depending on what Greek myth you read (and luckily for me when I was a kid I had several versions to these two) either Hippolyta was killed by Hercules (FYI I was never a fan of his at all) or she was taken or willingly left with Theseus for Athens.
Other than these two I was not that interested in the other players besides Oberon and Titiana. I was actually surprised that Shakespeare had a male character (though he is a fairy) fighting with his wife over a slave boy. I think there has been subtext in prior Shakespeare's plays about homosexuality, but it has never been overt, see Twelfth Night.
The play really didn't take too long to finish once I made myself sit and finish it. The acts were pretty short. You can also follow along with what is happening though I had the Folger's version of the play which provides definitions for some of the words.
Suffice it to say this was typical Shakespeare, people running around in love, not with each other for the most part, and then misunderstandings ensue (this time because of magic) and in the end all is right with the world by the time we get to the ending. Or at least all is right with most people.
One reason why I did find this play so interesting though is because two of the players are Theseus and Hippolyta. I have always been fascinated by Hippolyta because it pained me to read about how the Queen of the Amazons was taken and forced to give up being an Amazon. Depending on what Greek myth you read (and luckily for me when I was a kid I had several versions to these two) either Hippolyta was killed by Hercules (FYI I was never a fan of his at all) or she was taken or willingly left with Theseus for Athens.
Other than these two I was not that interested in the other players besides Oberon and Titiana. I was actually surprised that Shakespeare had a male character (though he is a fairy) fighting with his wife over a slave boy. I think there has been subtext in prior Shakespeare's plays about homosexuality, but it has never been overt, see Twelfth Night.
The play really didn't take too long to finish once I made myself sit and finish it. The acts were pretty short. You can also follow along with what is happening though I had the Folger's version of the play which provides definitions for some of the words.
sarahkfitz89's review against another edition
3.0
I cheated a little bit by reading a modern translation of it. I know this is a popular play of his but I thought it was only okay. Maybe it's because sometimes I didn't understand what was being said. It was fun though.
erinrouleaux's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for a class and at the time I hated it. It wasn't until I saw the play after reading it that I found it brilliant. Reading Shakespeare is always a completely different experience.
toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
meadforddude's review against another edition
5.0
An immensely pleasurable read, and one of the first of Shakespeare's comedies that I genuinely can't help but adore (in spite of the fact that "Hermia" and "Helena" as character names can get a bit frustrating to parse on the page, even if that's the obvious intent on the stage).
While reading through some of the critical analysis of the play collected in this edition, I was struck that seemingly no one had discussed the "Pyramus & Thisbe" play-within-the-play as a kind of self-satire of Shakespeare's own work. Granted, the timeline on when "Romeo & Juliet" was actually written and performed is as variable as any other in Shakespeare's canon, so there's no telling whether this play is directly commenting upon it or not, but I think the comparison is at least an interesting one to consider.
While reading through some of the critical analysis of the play collected in this edition, I was struck that seemingly no one had discussed the "Pyramus & Thisbe" play-within-the-play as a kind of self-satire of Shakespeare's own work. Granted, the timeline on when "Romeo & Juliet" was actually written and performed is as variable as any other in Shakespeare's canon, so there's no telling whether this play is directly commenting upon it or not, but I think the comparison is at least an interesting one to consider.
joohanna's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
lesi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25