Page 71 - Shakespeare in the Movie From the Silent Era to Shakespeare in Love

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A FAIRY TALE FOR GROWN-UPS

A Midsummer Night's Dream

What fools these mortals be!
—Puck

y 1594 Shakespeare was the public's favorite playwright, but
Bcould this country-born crowd pleaser create a sophisticated
show, engaging the interest of a more discriminating audience? An
important source of income for the Lord Chamberlain's Men was
earned by providing entertainment at noble weddings. A lighthearted
comic satire, including a wedding ritual not unlike the one actually
performed earlier that day, would serve as a perfect conclusion to a
night of celebration, one attended by the queen herself. So Will con-
cocted A Midsummer Night's Dream for a marriage ceremony, either
that of the third earl of Bedford to Lucy Harrington (December 12,
1594) or the earl of Derby to Elizabeth Vere, daughter of the earl of
Oxford (January 26, 1595).
Like the balls of skillful jugglers he had witnessed at rural fairs,
the Bard would keep four separate stories in perfect syncopation.
The framing device was drawn from classical mythology. The con-
quest of Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, by Theseus of Athens,
had been translated from Plutarch by Sir Thomas North, and also
featured in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Through this tale of royal
submission and wedding, Shakespeare could slyly slip in a sugges-
tion to honored guest Elizabeth; the actor playing Hippolyta would,
after all, be dressed in a costume anachronistically resembling Bess's
own garb.
A tale of young nobles, similar to those in attendance, focused on
mismatched couples. Intelligent Hermia is promised by her father,
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