Hi everyone! My name is Joey and I play Cobweb (a fairy) in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Nathan Hale Theatre’s current production. So, I was bored the other day and decided to do some research on the fairies in Midsummer, because there isn’t an extensive description of them in the script. I thought it would help me get into character more, because all we know about the fairies from the script is that they serve the fairy queen, Titania.
Fairies in Shakespeare’s time- and in English folklore in general- were heavily tied to evil and witches. In Midsummer, Puck (Oberon’s fairy servant) makes a remark about how the fairies must “run…from the presence of the sun.” (suggesting that the peak of the fairies’ power is during the night.) Puck also associates the fairies with ghosts and spirits, which Oberon doesn’t like. He insists that fairies don’t always have to work only during the night, but it is made clear that fairies are not that different from spirits who only have power during the night.
However, just because the fairies do most of their work at night doesn’t mean that they’re evil. Midsummer portrays fairies as harmless creatures who enjoy frolicking in the woods, song and dance, and somewhat look down on humans. If I had to pick an alignment for them, they would be chaotic good (with Puck being chaotic neutral). They might be tricksters, but in the end, the fairies change things for the better. It can be argued that A Midsummer Night’s Dream did a lot to change society’s views of them.
Oberon and Titania are associated with India (romanticized as it was by the English in that time), but are seen as international. The fairies are assumed to be able to travel very fast (Puck says he can travel around the world in 40 minutes). Also, they are nature spirits- Titania and Oberon’s quarrel disrupts the order of the natural world and ends up affecting the humans as well.
They are described to be as small as cowslips (a type of flower), but are usually played by adults. And, while they were written into the play as male (often referred to as “monsieur”), because in the modern world fairies are so often viewed as only female, they can be seen as gender-neutral.
Also, music is very important to the fairies. Music is often an important part of the plot in Midsummer (if you want to know how, you should come to one of our shows to find out!). It is also an important part of fairy society, being shown as the main way they celebrate with each other and even as an important part of daily life.
In conclusion, the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are transcendent of human constraints about morality, nationality, and gender! I hope you liked learning about them as much as I did. If you found this interesting, you should come see our shows!! If you didn’t find this interesting, you should also come see our shows because we won’t be spouting Shakespeare facts at you the whole time!!!
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