Folk-lore of Shakespeare

This volume opens a window onto the world of Shakespeare’s imagination, tracing how the playwright wove the folklore of his age into the very fabric of his drama. Drawing on contemporary sources, the author shows how the poet’s vivid portraits of sprites, elves and the fairy court mirror the superstitions, customs and rural tales that surrounded Elizabethan life. Readers are guided through the lineage of “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and its unrivaled fairy language, discovering the balance Shakespeare struck between delicate elegance and earthy bawdiness.

The study also unpacks the social role of fairy belief, illustrating how Shakespeare borrowed from village gossip, pastoral tradition and classical romance to create a living, dancing mythology. By examining characters such as Oberon, Titania and the mischievous Puck, the work reveals the playwright’s deep familiarity with the popular imagination, while illuminating the broader cultural currents that shaped his unique vision of the unseen world.