The Sources and Analogues of 'A Midsummer-night's Dream'

This compact scholarly work digs into the tangled origins of Shakespeare's A Midsummer‑Night’s Dream without getting lost in dated biographical speculation. The author, Frank Sidgwick, sets a clear chronological framework, placing the play in the winter of 1594‑5 based on internal clues and contemporary references. From there he treats the comedy as more a festive masque than a conventional drama, a perspective that shapes the whole inquiry.

Sidgwick systematically separates the three intertwined storylines—the Athenian lovers, the fairy quarrel, and the rustic performers—and traces each back to earlier literary models ranging from classical myth to medieval romances. He highlights parallels in the works of Boccaccio, Straparola, Chaucer, and Holinshed, showing how Shakespeare reshaped familiar motifs into his own comic tapestry. The analysis remains focused on the first act, where the main motifs and character introductions first appear, allowing readers to see the building blocks before the play’s full mischief unfolds.