“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by the renowned William Shakespeare (retold by Mary and Charles Lamb).
“What thou seest when thou dost wake
Do it for thy true-love take.”
( “Whatever you see when you wake up,
Take it to be your true love.”)
Oberon, the fairy king whispered to his queen as he ever so gently squeezed the magical juice of
the little purple flower on her gracious eyelids while she lay asleep.
I was taking a casual stroll in the library during a free period, looking to pass time. And that’s
when I look over to the shelf beside me and see the famous play: “A Midsummer
Night’s Dream” by the renowned William Shakespeare (retold by Mary and Charles Lamb).
Intrigued by the new and out of the ordinary book, I pick it up to skim through. Little did I
know I was in for a very confusing and sophisticated ride of miscommunication. The play
explores profound themes, such as one’s best not being good enough for another, one’s
deserved freedom being a puppet whose strings are throttled by another, and the bitter-sweet joy
of leaving everything behind for the bliss of a new life while being astonishingly funny. These
concepts are so carefully concealed and tucked away between the lines; anyone paying enough
attention can see it crystal clear.
There happens to live a guy who wants his own daughter publicly slaughtered. You see, the
kingdom of Athena handed the power to execute their daughter if she refuses to marry whoever
they pleased. Although most parents love their daughter and wouldn’t want to kill them, there
came to existence a jerk named Theseus who stood before the Duke of Athena asking the law to
be put to use. You see, his daughter Hermia refused to marry the suitor Demetrius, because her
dear friend Helena was incessantly in love with him and Hermia loved another young man
called Lysander. The play follows the four’s desperate adventure through the woods where
fairies lived to find another life.
The writing of Charles and Mary is incredibly sophisticated, while also making a legendary
Shakespeare play as simple as possible. The vocabulary choice paints imagery as vivid as a
sunflower in the heat of summer.
Lady Helena was “dejected and forlorn” not just sad when it was clear Demetrius loved Hermia
and not her. Because obviously, it wouldn’t be a real story unless the female main character is trapped in a love triangle, wouldn’t it? I mean who doesn’t love choosing between two emotionally unavailable men while the world is burning?
Vis-à-vis, the original fanatical beauty painted by Shakespeare was not in any manner
disregarded by the Lamb siblings. While reading, the world building flows so brilliantly it felt
as though a part of my conscience had been living there all its life.
For example:
“Some of you must kill cankers in the musk-rose buds, and some wage war with the bats for
their leathern wings, to make my small elves coats…”
The fairy queen ordered. (While she is more dramatic than a soap opera finale, who doesn’t
love a girl who thinks the world owes her rent? You go, girl! Thrive in your delusion!)
In a nutshell, this beautiful retelling of the classic play was simply other-worldly. The beautiful
motif of true love or the desperation Helena felt when she realized Demetrius not only would
not love her, but threw such expostulations at her, was all too exquisite for such a short read of
merely ten pages. Along with the fact that it can be truly fascinating to have unveiled the
unseen, rare, hidden gems of the literary world during a relaxing, leisurely read. Grateful to
K’sirs for making such meaningful experiences easily accessible by providing the book right
within our school premises”
