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Dr. Anis Shaikh, , , , Dr. Rafiq Zakaria Campus, Maulana Azad Jr. College,, , Rouza Baugh, Aurangabad, , , , , , XLE Section Four (Genre-! Worksheet 2021 os, A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shak, , 1.Biography:, William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, E QQ, town of about, , 1,500 people northwest of London, John Shakespeai, , , , , , ther, made his living, primarily as a tanner and a glover but also traded wool and from time to time. John, Shakespeare also served (although not at one ti wn ale taster (inspector of bread and, malt), a petty constable, city chamberlain, alderman, igh bailiff (like a mayor), the city's, highest public office. Mary Arden, Williusf s hon., , family lineage to her marriage to Joh, ces itself back to William the Conqueror. In, the mid-1570s, John Shakespeare's,, , 's mother, brought a long and impressive, , gan to decline mysteriously (some say it was, , , , , because of his wife's Catholicism, that claim is unsubstantiated), and it was largely, , to the marriage that helped to sustain the family., , ded school in Stratford-upon-Avon, Although there are no records to prove his, , , , , , enrolimebt, criticficcept it with considerable certainty. At school, Shakespeare would have, and writing (in English as well as in Latin) and Greek and Roman writers, jorace, Aesop, Ovid, Virgil, Seneca, and Plautus. The extent to which he would have, been familiar with the works of such ancient classics is unknown, but studying Shakespeare's, plays and long poems suggests he had at least a degree of knowledge about them in their original, , forms, not merely translations., , , , Dept. of English, Maulana Azad Jr, College, Dr, Rafiq Zakaria Campus, Rouza Baugh, Aurangabad

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Dr. Anis Shaikh, , , , In November 1582, at age 18, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, 26, Their first, child, Susanna, was bom the following May; twins, Hamnet and Judith, followed in 1585. Little, information is available regarding Shakespeare's life from the time of the twins' birth until 1592, when he received his first public recognition as an upcoming young dramatist and actor in, London. We know that at some point he left his family in Stratford, but we know few specifics., Critics hold several theories, One asserts that during the mysterious seven-yega period, Shakespeare worked as an assistant master of a grammar school. Another eB, maintains Shakespeare worked as a butcher's apprentice during this time but, y London, where he was received into the theater. Another theory holds that during the Sqyep-year period,, , , , , , , Shakespeare made a living as a deer poacher who was eventual from Stratford as, , , , lawyer, or even a Franciscan. Unfortunately, though, nor s uny more likely, , than another; no one knows with complete certainty what Shi e did between 1585 and, 1592. All we know for sure is that by 1592 he ndon, leaving his family behind,, and had begun what is perhaps the most success ‘areer the world has ever known., , 1.2.Life in London:, , , , , , , the rank of baron, special licenge, which, , England, many acting companies dissolved, while others were forced to amalgamate with other, troupes for survival. Two preeminent companies emerged in 1593, and they would rival each, other for years. One company, The Lord Admiral's Men, was headed by Edward Alleyn with, financial banking from Philip Henslowe. ‘The other dominant troupe, The Lord Chamberlain's, , , , Dept. of English, Maulana Azad Jr, College, Dr, Rafiq Zakaria Campus, Rouza Baugh, Aurangabad

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Dr. Anis Shaikh, , , , Men (the troupe in which Shakespeare was actor, dramatist, and shareholder, later renamed The, King's Men when James | took the throne in 1603), was run by the Burbage family., , Acting troupes were organized under a shareholding plan wherein financial risk and profits were, divided among those actors who had become part owners of the company by buying shares in it., The troupes, comprised entirely of men and young boys, employed about 25 actors. Roughly, fewer than half of a troupe's actors were shareholders and not all owned equal share:, considered especially valuable to the company were encouraged to become os :, this ensured their continued service and loyalty. ‘To become a shareholder, afeto!, , jase, , , , since, to put up, , a considerable sum of money; when he retired or died, the company pai: his heirs for, , , , his share. Non-shareholding adult members of a company, however?, the shareholders and worked under contracts promising, , idered hirelings of, , , , ly wage of about 5-10, shillings, although they were frequently paid less,, , Shakespeare became a shareholding member of rd mberlain’s Men in 1599. Scholars, estimate that until about 1603 the averagegpa' lay was £6 (six pounds); by 1613 the, price had risen to £10 or £12. In addj, (minus company expenses) at the seco!, , js feet the playwright was given all the receipts, ance (but remember, if the show was bad, there, e fees were paid, however, the play was considered, , , , , , , , , may not be a second performance)., , property of the troupe. Printe:, publication nghts du, , more popular works, and troupes sometimes sold, ancuil stress. Such publishing practices, combined with the, fact playwrights, ¢, but with the goal of r, Shakes 's , only about half of his plays were published during his lifetime., , speare, didn't write with the intention of preserving their plays, money, makes it difficult for scholars to pinpoint definitive texts. In, , intil 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death in 1616, that all his plays were, , jnto one volume. This collection, referred to as The First Folio (because it was printed, , , , in folio format, the largest, most expensive, and most prestigious kind of book), included, previously published plays as well as plays never before published. Some of the works in The, First Folio can be traced to the author's original version of the text (including blotted lines and, revisions), yet some were recreated from prompt books (annotated versions of the play script that, , contain detailed directions for the action, settings, etc.) or even the memories of the actors, , , , Dept. of English, Maulana Azad Jr, College, Dr, Rafiq Zakaria Campus, Rouza Baugh, Aurangabad

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Dr. Anis Shaikh, , , , themselves (helping to explain some of the inconsistencies found in different editions of the, , plays)., 1.3.Shakespeare's Work:, , Between the years of 1588 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote 38 plays. His dramatic work is, commonly studied in four categories; comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances. Sain, Shakespeare wrote several Ovidian poems, including Venus and Adonis (1593) of, Lucrece (1594). Shakespeare is also well known for his sonnet sequence at early, 1590s, which is composed of 154 interconnected sonnets dealing wighem uch as love,, fidelity, mortality, and the artist's power and voice. SS, , , , , Although we commonly single out Shakespeare's work as @xtfagrdinary and deserving of special, , attention, at the time of the plays’ performances they were (Ppically dismissed as popular, , entertainment. Whereas Shakespeare's works ar jay as timeless musterpieces, the, , original audiences knew the plays were good bi enize them as exhibiting the apex, , of the dramatic art form, In fact, Shal oe eo all the attention his name has generated, , since the late eighteenth century, was n, , Shakespeare's contemporary (and in's Wrst Poet Laureate), and Christopher Marlowe, a, , slight predecessor to Shukespegpe, commonly held in higher esteem than the man, his, , whose reputation has sj competitors., , , , , st popular dramatist of his time. Ben Jonson,, , , , , , In fact, Shakespeare ion as Britain's premier dramatist did not begin until the late, , , , , , sibility and storytelling captured people's attention, and by the end of, the nin y his reputation was solidly established. Today Shakespeare is more widely, med than any other playwright in the Western world, providing a clear, testamengto the skills and timelessness of the stories told by the Bard., , 2.AIntroduction: A Midsummer Night's Dream was written in a highly creative period in, Shakespeare's career, when he was moving away from the shallow plots that characterized his, earlier drama and discovering his more mature style. Most critics believe the play was written for, and performed at an aristocratic wedding, with Queen Elizabeth | in attendance. Scholars, , estimate the play was written in 1595 or 1596 (when Shakespeare was 31 or 32 years old), at, , , , Dept. of English, Maulana Azad Jr, College, Dr, Rafiq Zakaria Campus, Rouza Baugh, Aurangabad

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Dr. Anis Shaikh, , , , approximately the same time as Romeo and Juliet and Richard I, Obvious plot links exist, between A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet, and critics disagree about which, play was written first. Not only do both dramas emphasize the conflict between love and social, convention, but the plot of "Pyramus and Thisbe,” the play-within-the-play of A Midsummer, Night's Dream, parallels that of Romeo and Juliet. Critics have wondered if Romeo and Juliet is, a serious reinterpretation of the other play, or just the opposite: Perhaps Shakespeare i king, his tragic love story through the burlesque of “Pyramus and Thisbe.", , 2.1.Sources and Allusions: Unlike most of Shakespeare's dramas, A made’ 's Dream, does not have a single written source. The story of "Pyramus ny, , presented in Ovid's The Metamorphosis, making it one of many cl fe, in the play. Other allusions include Theseus and Hippo!, Chaucer's "Knight's Tale” in The Canterbury Tales, while the th, , ‘as originally, , , , , , i ‘olkloric allusions, which is described in, of a daughter who wants to, marry the man of her choice despite her father's o, fairies that dance and frolic throughout this play wi, tradition. On the one hand, these creatur® ha, , known as Robin Goodfellow, a com ¢ devil — but they can also be viewed as, fun-loving nature spirits, aligned ye Mother Nature, The interaction of this, , ically Greek royalty such as Theseus (derived from, , was common in Roman comedy. The, it likely derived from English folk, ster side — Puck, for example, is also, , , , , , , , eclectic array of characters — fror, , Plutarch's tale of "Theseus" i 7” Noble Grecians and Romans) to more traditionally, Celtic fairies such jasizes Shakespeare's facility in using elements of the old to, create something cor ely gltw., , , , 2.2.Perfy History: The first Quarto edition of the play, printed in 1600, announces that it, was, publickely acted, by the Right honourable, the Lord Chamberlaine his, seruants. . this drama has seen "sundry" performances over the past 400 years. Its, , id its emphasis on dance and magic and song have led it to be interpreted and, performed in a variety of ways, For example, numerous composers have been inspired by, Shakespeare's Dream. In 1692, Purcell wrote an operatic version, The Fairy Queen, although it, contains little of Shakespeare's original story line. In 1826, Mendelsohn composed an overture to, A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is still popular. The play has also seen many famous, and, often infamous, interpretations. For example, the 1900 Beerbohm Tree production had live, , , , Dept. of English, Maulana Azad Jr, College, Dr, Rafiq Zakaria Campus, Rouza Baugh, Aurangabad