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Shakspeare, Midsummer-Night's Dream. Act IV, Scene I

1803, Engraving
Shakspeare, Midsummer-Night's Dream. Act IV, Scene I
Shakspeare, Midsummer-Night's Dream. Act IV, Scene I
Shakspeare, Midsummer-Night's Dream. Act IV, Scene I
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Category
Library Item
Item no
40229
Title
Shakspeare [Shakespeare]. Midsummer-Night's Dream. Act IV, Scene I
Description
BOTTOM: Scratch my head Peaseblossom. Where's Mounsieur Cobweb?
COBWEB: Ready.
BOTTOM: Mounsieur Cobweb, good mounsieur, get you your/ weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipped/ humble-bee on the top of a thistle; and, good/ mounsieur, bring me the honey-bag. [...]

Midsummer night’s dream is probably the most well-known of Shakespeare’s comedies. Henry Fuseli painted the same scene for the Boydell Gallery twice. In this image, engraved by Peter Simon, the fairy court is depicted with all its strange creatures, different in size and form. The circular composition has Titania, queen of the fairies in the centre joined by Bottom with ass’s head – an image most associated with this play. Fuseli elevates the play, and does not depict the scene literally, as it would be seen on a stage, but rather as the fantasy land that is described by Shakespeare’s words. Titania is enchanted by Oberon and Puck to fall in love with Bottom. She orders her peculiar looking fairies to attend her new lover, and that is what they do in this illustration.
Engraver
Peter Simon
Date
1803
Size
63 x 49.5cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
Rights and purchasing
Option
Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG
£5.80(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF
£29.40(inc. VAT 20%)
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