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Good question. The only thing vaguely Greek about the play are Theseus and Hippolyta. Oberon and Titania are from German myth, Puck from English, and the mechanicals are obviously English and contemporary with Shakespeare. The lovers could fit in anywhere. Athens was not known for its laws about arranged marriages. The only reason why Theseus (and therefore Athens, of which he was a legendary king) may have been invoked is that his marriage to the Amazon queen Hippolyta was a significant part of his legend, and Shakespeare may have wanted a story where the main character was married. Quite frankly, the story would be more consistent if Theseus and Hippolyta were instead a very English Duke of Gloucester and his intended wife. However, it was probably more politic not to use the title of a real person, as people were jumpy about that sort of thing. Ancient Athens was remote, and safe.

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Q: Why is A Midsummer Night's Dream set in Athens?
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What country was a midsummers night dream?

Midsummer Night's Dream was set in Ancient Greece, specifically in the city of Athens.


Which shakespeare plays were set in Greece?

The Comedy of Errors, Pericles, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Timon of Athens.


When was a mid nights summer dream set?

You are talking as if the events in the play really happened. They did not. Nobody would mistake this play for anything but a fantasy. Theseus and Hippolyta are legendary figures from the Greek past. Oberon and Titania are equally mythological figures from Germanic mythology. The rude mechanicals are obviously contemporary English. It does not make sense to try to find a temporal setting for the play.


Did Shakespeare write greek plays?

A Midsummer Night's Dream is set in Athens. Pericles is also set in various Greek cities, as is The Comedy of Errors. The Comedy of Errors is a play based on the style of Latin authors like Terence or Plautus, who borrowed their style from Greek playwrights. However, none of Shakespeare's plays contain anyone who speaks a word of Greek onstage--they only speak English and occasionally French and Latin.


What were shakespeares classical plays?

Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra are taken from Roman history. Titus Andronicus is fictional but set in Imperial Rome. Troilus and Cressida is set during the Trojan War, and is in fact derived from incidents in the Iliad. Timon of Athens, Pericles, The Two Noble Kinsmen, and The Comedy of Errors are set in an Ancient Greece which strongly resembles medieval or renaissance Europe. A Midsummer Night's Dream has a couple of characters from Greek mythology, but they are jammed together with characters from other kinds of legends and with everyday people in a strange mish-mosh. Only one of Shakespeare's plays conforms to the style of Greek and Roman plays: The Comedy of Errors.

Related questions

What year was A Midsummer Night's Dream set?

A Midsummer nights dream is set in Athens, Greece in 1899


What was A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Midsummer Night's Dream was set in Ancient Greece, specifically in the city of Athens.


Where is the play set in midsummer night's dream?

A town near Athens


What country was a midsummers night dream?

Midsummer Night's Dream was set in Ancient Greece, specifically in the city of Athens.


Which shakespeare plays were set in Greece?

The Comedy of Errors, Pericles, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Timon of Athens.


When does A Midsummer Night's Dream take place?

A Midsummer Night's Dream is set in ancient Athens during the summer solstice.


What year was a midsummer nights dream set in?

Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is set in ancient Athens, as indicated by references to Greek mythology and the mythical figures in the play. The exact year is not specified, as the story is more focused on the themes of love, magic, and chaos.


What era was A Midsummer Night's Dream set in?

In Ancient Greece (Athens), in Pericle's century (around % century BC, if I remember correctly).


When was a mid nights summer dream set?

You are talking as if the events in the play really happened. They did not. Nobody would mistake this play for anything but a fantasy. Theseus and Hippolyta are legendary figures from the Greek past. Oberon and Titania are equally mythological figures from Germanic mythology. The rude mechanicals are obviously contemporary English. It does not make sense to try to find a temporal setting for the play.


Where was A Midsummer Night's Dream set?

It is supposedly set in Athens, the city in Greece. This is presumably because Theseus is a legendary character in the history of that city. However, nobody behaves like ancient Greeks, and Theseus's title ("Duke") is decidedly not Greek at all. Neither are the names of the "rude mechanicals" which are totally English, or the fairies, who come from English and European mythology. We might consider this to be an Athens of the imagination, an Athens imagined by someone who didn't know very much about the place.


Where do you get the midsummer set in World of Warcraft?

To get the Midsummer set, you must first wait for the midsummer Fire festival, then get as many burning blossoms as you can and buy the peices from the midsummer vendors


What are the 5 w's for a midsummer night's dream?

Who: Characters like Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Titania. What: A comedic play by William Shakespeare involving love, mistaken identities, and magical beings. When: Set in ancient Athens and the surrounding forest during a midsummer night. Where: Takes place in various settings, including the court of Duke Theseus and the enchanted forest. Why: Explores themes of love, mischief, and the supernatural.