Midsummer Night's Dream

Midsummer-Night’s Dream By William Shakespeare Subject: The Influence of Witchcraft England in the 16th century was a Christian country; nevertheless, supernatural beings ( i. e. witches, goblins, fairies and others ) were believed to interfere directly with humans, helping and hindering according to there whims. However, Shakespeare set this play in what is supposed to be Athens, the seat of rationality, logic, order and democracy; nevertheless, Greece is simultaneously known for its vivid polytheistic tradition. Oberon, …

…reflected in Shakespeares’ writings. Midsummer-Night’s Dream offers the opportunity to view witchcraft, magic and the supernatural through the eyes of a seventeenth century writer. This way of looking at Shakespeare’s works, as if they were an encapsulated portion of Elizabethan life, strikes me as an incredibly productive way of reading a play, not just as an independent drama, but as a reflection of the way people lived and thought four hundred years ago.