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‘Very Tragical Mirth’: Performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Screen(s) during Lockdown

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2023

Emma Smith
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

Yearning for some entertainment following his nuptials with Hippolyta, predominantly to kill some time before they can retire to their wedding bed, Theseus asks the question above to find out what his ‘manager of mirth’ (5.1.35) has in store. In the context of the play, Theseus’s language of pain and suffering is excessive – a symptom of the character’s privileged perspective as Duke of Athens. His sentiment resonated anew, however, during the lockdown restrictions of 2020 and 2021, implemented around the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Pascale Aebischer observes, ‘Shakespeare, both as a cultural figure and in the shape of his plays, “went viral”’ during lockdown.

Type
Chapter
Information
Shakespeare Survey 76
Digital and Virtual Shakespeare
, pp. 37 - 51
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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