A Midsummer Night's Dream Symbolism, Imagery & Allegory

In Act 2, Scene 1, Puck fetches a pansy (a.k.a. "Cupid's flower") so that Oberon can use its magic juice to make his victims fall head over heels in love. Here's how Oberon describes it: The juice...

Speaking of flowers, did you notice the way Theseus refers to lifelong chastity as "withering on the virgin thorn"? Well, we did and we think it's worth investigating. Check out what Theseus says...

We thought you might come sniffing around here for the lowdown on all the play's allusions to popular Elizabethan festivities like Midsummer's Eve and May Day. We talk about this in "What's Up Wit...

We talk about this in "Themes: Art and Culture," so head over there if you want the 411.

We can't emphasize enough how important the Moon is in A Midsummer Night's Dream – its image shows up all over the place. We're guessing that's why three of the planet Uranus's moons are named...

You probably noticed how we, the audience, have a lot more information about what's happening on stage than the characters do. Case in point: throughout the play, we know the fairies use magic to...