Good morning, thanks for coming. My lecture today is about Mid-Summer Night's Dream.

So, Midsummer Night's Dream is written in about 1595 or 6, so its closest relations chronologically are probably Richard II and Romeo and Juliet.

They're both plays which are quite interesting to look alongside Mid-Summerummer night stream, particularly in terms of linguistic and structural formality.

It's first published in 1600, quite an interesting quarto text to look at in 1600 and then again in 1623.

So three plot lines, as you almost certainly know, are interwoven in Midsummer Night's Dream.

The human world of Athens is awaiting the marriage of Duke Theseus to his bride, Hippolyta.

Just as the case of Hermia, who prefers Lysander over her father's chosen suiter Demetrius, comes before Theseus for judgment.

Theseus backs Egeus, Hermia's father. He backs Egeus in saying that Demetrius is a more appropriate

husband for Hermia than Lysander. And so the lovers, Hermia and Lysander and so the lovers Hermia and Lysander run away into the wood

outside the city they're followed by Demetrius and he in turn is followed by Helena who is in love

with him the wood is the territory of the fairy world its rulers Oberon and Titania are quarrelling over custody

of an Indian boy. Oberon's mischievous servant Robin Goodfellow or Puck mixes up the lovers

by applying a love potion to the men's eyes. They both then turn their amorous attentions onto a bewildered

Helena. Meanwhile, a group of Athenian tradesmen are practicing a play to be performed at Theseus'

wedding. Robin puts an ass's head onto their boisterous ringleader bottom and makes Titania fall in love

with him. In the end, all the magics are revoked.

Titania cedes Oberon, the contested child.

Bottoms, ass's head is removed.

The play is performed, and the Athenian lovers form two couples.

My question for thinking about the play was,

remind me, who marries who.

And I want to use this to discuss the way

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