• ISBN13: 9788126908707
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: English Literature
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Ltd
• Publisher Imprint: Atlantic
• Publication Date: June 26, 2007
• Pages: 192
• Original Price: INR 275.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 220 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Shakespeare

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is acclaimed as the best of the early comedies of Shakespeare. It brings together the elements of romance, supernatural forces and earthy common sense in an unprecedented blend of magical harmony. The present study aims at making the text more accessible to the serious student of Shakespeare. Besides providing the socio-political milieu of Shakespeare’s time, it gives a scene-wise critical summary of the text. It contains numerous citations from the text, thus providing ample opportunity for the reader to familiarise himself with the text. The analyses of different elements of drama are accompanied with the views of renowned critics. Classical theories of comedy as well as Elizabethan comments have been lucidly and briefly explained. A select Bibliography and Index have been provided at the end. The book is highly readable, self-contained and comprehensive. It will undoubtedly prove an invaluable reference book for both students and teachers of English Literature.

Ratri Ray is a retired university Professor and Head of the Deptt. of English, Patna University. She obtained her Ph.D. and D. Litt. degrees in 1981 and 2002 respectively. Her studies of six Shakespearean plays, according to the Rasavāda, had been serialized in the cultural periodical Mother India during the 80s and the 90s. A series of articles on the element of myth in Sri Aurobindo’s poetry, serialized during the late 90s in Srnvantu, has been recently published in book form. At present two of her serialised studies are being published from Kolkata: Sri Aurobindo’s Poetry and the Pastoral Tradition in Rtam and Re-reading Perseus the Deliverer in Rbhu. Besides these, her recently published books, William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, The Tempest and King Lear (The Atlantic Critical Studies) have received overwhelming response from the readers.

• 1. Introduction
• 2. The Background
• 3. Life and Works
• 4. The Story and the Genre
• 5. A Scene-wise Analysis
• 6. The Major Themes
• 7. The Major Characters
• 8. The Fairies and the Minor Characters
• 9. The Plot-Structure
• 10. Imagery and Symbolism
• 11. Poetic Style: Diction and Versification
• 12. Critical Reception
• 13. Important Questions
• A Select Bibliography
• Index