A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM€¦ · A Midsummer Night’s Dream, edited by R. A. Foakes Much Ado About Nothing,editedbyF.H.Mares Othello, edited by Norman Sanders Pericles, edited

T H E N E W C A M B R I D G E S H A K E S P E A R E

general editor

Brian Gibbons

associate general editor

A. R. Braunmuller, University of California, Los Angeles

From the publication of the first volumes in 1984 the General Editor of the New CambridgeShakespeare was Philip Brockbank and the Associate General Editors were Brian Gibbons andRobin Hood. From 1990 to 1994 the General Editor was Brian Gibbons and the AssociateGeneral Editors were A. R. Braunmuller and Robin Hood.

A M I D S U M M E R N I G H T ’ S D R E A M

Professor Foakes offers a new perspective on Shakespeare’s most popular comedy, and also aprofound archetypal play.

The Introduction describes the two main traditions in the stage history of A MidsummerNight’s Dream, one emphasising charm and innocence, the other stressing darker suggestions ofviolence and sexuality, and relates them to similar traditions in critical interpretation, showingthat both are necessary to a full understanding of the play.

Illustrations show the variety of ways in which the play has been staged, including PeterBrook’s 1970 production. The editorial commentary is especially concerned to help the readervisualise the play in performance.

For this updated edition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream the editor has added a new sectionto the Introduction which takes account of the number of important professional theatre perfor-mances since 1970, and the large output of scholarly criticism on the play which has appearedin recent years. The Reading List has also been revised and augmented.

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Cambridge University Press978-0-521-53247-1 - A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Updated editionEdited by R. A. FoakesFrontmatterMore information

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T H E N E W C A M B R I D G E S H A K E S P E A R E

All’s Well That Ends Well, edited by Russell FraserAntony and Cleopatra, edited by David BevingtonAs You Like It, edited by Michael HattawayThe Comedy of Errors, edited by T. S. DorschCoriolanus, edited by Lee BlissCymbeline, edited by Martin ButlerHamlet, edited by Philip EdwardsJulius Caesar, edited by Marvin SpevackKing Edward III, edited by Giorgio MelchioriThe First Part of King Henry IV, edited by Herbert Weil and Judith WeilThe Second Part of King Henry IV, edited by Giorgio MelchioriKing Henry V, edited by Andrew GurrThe First Part of King Henry VI, edited by Michael HattawayThe Second Part of King Henry VI, edited by Michael HattawayThe Third Part of King Henry VI, edited by Michael HattawayKing Henry VIII, edited by John MargesonKing John, edited by L. A. BeaurlineThe Tragedy of King Lear, edited by Jay L. HalioKing Richard II, edited by Andrew GurrKing Richard III, edited by Janis LullLove’s Labour’s Lost, edited by William C. CarrollMacbeth, edited by A. R. BraunmullerMeasure for Measure, edited by Brian GibbonsThe Merchant of Venice, edited by M. M. MahoodThe Merry Wives of Windsor, edited by David CraneA Midsummer Night’s Dream, edited by R. A. FoakesMuch Ado About Nothing, edited by F. H. MaresOthello, edited by Norman SandersPericles, edited by Doreen DelVecchio and Antony HammondThe Poems, edited by John RoeRomeo and Juliet, edited by G. Blakemore EvansThe Sonnets, edited by G. Blakemore EvansThe Taming of the Shrew, edited by Ann ThompsonThe Tempest, edited by David LindleyTimon of Athens, edited by Karl KleinTitus Andronicus, edited by Alan HughesTroilus and Cressida, edited by Anthony B. DawsonTwelfth Night, edited by Elizabeth Story DonnoThe Two Gentlemen of Verona, edited by Kurt SchlueterThe Two Noble Kinsmen, edited by Robert Kean Turner and Patricia TatspaughThe Winter’s Tale, edited by Susan Snyder and Deborah T. Curren-Aquino

the early quartos

The First Quarto of Hamlet, edited by Kathleen O. IraceThe First Quarto of King Henry V, edited by Andrew GurrThe First Quarto of King Lear, edited by Jay L. HalioThe First Quarto of King Richard III, edited by Peter DavisonThe First Quarto of Othello, edited by Scott McMillinThe First Quarto of Romeo and Juliet, edited by Lukas ErneThe Taming of a Shrew: The 1594 Quarto, edited by Stephen Roy Miller




A M I D S U M M E R N I G H T ’ S D R E A MUpdated edition

Edited byR . A . F O A K E SEmeritus Professor of English, University of California, Los Angeles




www.cambridge.orgInformation on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521532471

C© Cambridge University Press 2003

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exceptionand to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,no reproduction of any part may take place without the writtenpermission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 1984Reprinted 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999Updated edition 2003Eighth printing 2010

th printing 2015

Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives, plc.

Library of Congress catalogue card number: 84–2003

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataShakespeare, William.A misummer night’s dream. – (The New Cambridge Shakespeare).I. Title. II. Foakes, R. A. III. Series822.3′3 pr2827

isbn 978-0-521-82540-5 Hardbackisbn 978-0-521-53247-1 Paperback

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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM€¦ · A Midsummer Night’s Dream, edited by R. A. Foakes Much Ado About Nothing,editedbyF.H.Mares Othello, edited by Norman Sanders Pericles, edited