When Shakespeare Met Ovid: Myths in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

In the immortal words of the 2001 movie, Get Over It,
“Did you ever read a Shakespeare play? And not understand a word they say? Well tonight we’re going to make things clear.
Because Shakespeare’s dead and we’re all here.”

This week’s episode is about Midsummer’s Night Dream. We're making sense of Shakespeare's flowery words and complicated plot, discussing the different interpretations of it, and then ending with the riot that took down a beloved Opera House right in the middle of a Shakespearean performance.
Our movie this week is the modern modern reinterpretation of the play, called, Get Over It, starring Kirsten Dunst. It's a great teen romantic comedy that attempts to put on Midsummer Night’s Dream as the school play. Dunst shines as always as the heroine and we cheer when she finally gets together with her hero, Ben Foster. Martin Short is a stand out as a slightly unstable music teacher who dreams of Broadway.

Once we’ve covered the movie, we move on to the play itself. Shakespeare was inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses and makes some allusions to it in the play. We’ll talk about Hermia and Puck and the great scene when Puck sprinkles fiery dust so the fairy queen falls in love with an ass. Who among us cannot relate?

Last up is a discussion of the Astor Opera House Riot. Two Shakespearean actors fight in the public arena as a mere squabble quickly becomes about class as well as America’s own identity as a culture. And of course, the riot turns deadly.

It’s a rollicking good time as always so be sure to tune in.

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Sources!

Staton, W. F. (1963). Ovidian Elements in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Huntington Library Quarterly, 26(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.2307/3816813

Dent, R. W. (1964). Imagination in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shakespeare Quarterly, 15(2), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.2307/2867882

Marshall, D. (1982). Exchanging Visions: Reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. ELH, 49(3), 543–575. https://doi.org/10.2307/2872755
Mysteries at the Muesum
https://shakespeareandbeyond.folger.edu/2017/05/09/astor-place-riot-macbeth-new-york/

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