The fairy court in A Midsummer Night's Dream is peripatetic: it is not tied to one place, but moves, as the Fairy explains to Puck in act II, scene I, "over hill, over dale." Unlike a human court, those who "serve the fairy queen" exist in the liminal space of the wood: the Fairy describes how the natural features of the wood serve as courtiers and decoration. "The cowslips tall her pensioners be," while the Fairy is going to "hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear" in anticipation of the queen's arrival.
Puck explains that "the king doth keep his revels here to-night," out in the open space of the wood, and he describes an element of discord between the king and queen. The queen "as her attendant hath / A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king," which has made the king jealous. The elves who form part of the court are so afraid of the tempers between Oberon and Titania that they "creep into acorn-cups and hide them[selves] there" in order to protect themselves.
Puck explains in this scene his place in the court: "I jest to Oberon and make him smile." The court revolves around Oberon and Titania, but Puck plays a significant part in it.
Titania describes how she and her company "dance our ringlets to the whistling wind," and identifies a number of natural settings in which they have done this: "on hill, in dale, forest or mead / By paved fountain or by rushy brook." The king, however, "hast disturbed our sport," to Titania's displeasure. She tells Oberon that he is welcome to stay in the wood with her "if you will patiently dance in our round / And see our moonlight revels." If he is not willing to do this, she invites him to leave.
In this scene, then, the characters establish the state of relations within the fairy court, its significant characters, and how it functions.
Friday, September 13, 2013
In a Midsummer Night's Dream, what are some quotes that describe the court and its features
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