Rating 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Is Shakespeare's comedy a "harmless piece of fun," or a "brutal commentary on power and desire"?

Faculty Seminar on British Studies - Doug Bruster, ENGLISH

A Midsummer Night's Dream leads a double life.  Regularly performed for children as a harmless piece of fun, it is also interpreted as a brutal commentary on power and desire. How should we reconcile these differences?  What should the fantasy world of Dream be rated?  Addressing these questions may tell us a great deal about the erotic appeal of theater, power, and dreams themselves.

Douglas Bruster is a Professor of English at UT. After graduating from the University of Nebraska with a B.A. in English, History, and Latin, he received his M.A. and Ph.D. at Harvard.  He is presently editing A Midsummer Night's Dream for Cengage Learning.