A Midsummer Nights Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakepeares plays. It brings together aristocrats workers & fairies in a wood outside Athens & from there the enchantment begins. Simple & engaging on the surface it is none the less a highly original & sophisticated work remarkable for both its literary & its theatrical mastery. It is one of the very few of Shakespeares plays which do not draw on narrative sources which suggests that it reflects his deepest imaginative concerns to an unusual degree. In his introduction Peter Holland pays particular attention to dreams & dreamers & to Shakespeares construction of a world of night & shadows. Both here & in his commentary he explores the plays extensive performance history to illustrate the wide range of interpretations of which it is capable. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford Worlds Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxfords commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study & much more.