8/8/2019 Characters of Midsummer Nights Dream

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Settings.

.......The action takes place in Athens and nearby woods during the age of myth in ancient Greece.However, the play has the atmosphere and lighthearted mood of a land of enchantment which could beanywhere. Although the characters reside in the environs of Athens, many of them speak and act likeElizabethan Englishmen. The time of the action is June 24. In Elizabethan England, Midsummer Day

the feast of Saint John the Baptistfell on that date. It was a time of feasting and merriment. OnMidsummer Night, fairies, hobgoblins and witches held their festival. To dream about Midsummer Night,

therefore, was to dream about strange creatures and strange happeningslike those in the play.

Characters

Protagonists: The Various Lovers; Puck, the Main Trickster Who Invigorates the Plot and Informs theAudience That the Story Is Not to be Taken Seriously

Antagonists: Egeus and the Tricks and Pitfalls Facing the Lovers

.

Theseus: Duke of Athens. He orders lavish festivities and merriment for his marriage to Hippolyta, queen

of the Amazons, telling her "I will wed thee . . . with pomp, with triumph and with revelling."Theseus and

Hippolyta represent ideal, mature love against which the immature love of the other couplesincludingOberon and Titaniais to be measured.

Hippolyta: Queen of the Amazons, a race of women warriors, and a former battlefield foe of Theseus.She is his wife-to-be. According to one tale in Greek mythology, Theseus first made war on the Amazonsin their homeland on the Black Sea; they, in turn, invaded Greece in the region of Athens. In this tale,

Theseus marries an Amazon queen named Antiope, who is the daughter of the war god Ares (Mars).

Hermia: Strong-willed young woman in love with Lysander. She refuses to marry Demetrius, her father's

choice for her. Her father asks Theseus to settle the dispute.

Egeus: Hermia's father.

Lysander, Demetrius: Young men in love with Hermia.

Helena: Young woman in love with Demetrius.

Philostrate: Master of the revels for Duke Theseus.

Bottom: Weaver who plays Pyramus in the tradesmen's play.

PeterQuince: Carpenter who plays Thisby's father in the tradesmen's play. He also recites the

prologue.

Snug: Joiner (Cabinetmaker) who plays a lion in the tradesmen's play.

Francis Flute: Bellows-mender who plays Thisby in the tradesmen's play..

Tom Snout: Tinker who plays Pyramis's father.

Robin Starveling: Tailor who plays Thisby's mother.

Oberon: King of the fairies.

Titania:Queen of the fairies.

Puck (Robin Goodfellow): Mischievous sprite who acts on behalf of Oberon. He can take the form of

any creature or thinghog, bear, horse, dog, and even fire.

Peaseblossom,Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed: Fairies.

OtherFairies Attending TheirKing and Queen

Attendants ofTheseus and Hippolyta