Magic, love spells, and an enchanted wood provide the materials for one of Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies. When four young lovers, fleeing the Athenian law and their own mismatched rivalries, take to the forest of Athens, their lives become entangled with a feud between the King and Queen of the Fairies. Some Athenian tradesmen, rehearsing a play for the forthcoming wedding of Duke Theseus and his bride, Hippolyta, unintentionally add to the hilarity. The result is a marvelous mix-up of desire and enchantment, merriment and farce, all touched by Shakespeare’s inimitable vision of the intriguing relationship between art and life, dreams and the waking world. Each Edition Includes: • Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English • Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

シェイクスピアが描いた本作の神髄は、理屈では説明できない愛の狂気を、夢幻的な森の情景を通して鮮やかに昇華させた点にあります。秩序ある現実と、魔法が支配する混沌の森を行き来する構成は、人間の心が持つ多層的な真理を映し出します。詩的な台詞が織りなすリズムは、読者を一瞬にして甘美な迷宮へと誘い、理性の外側にある真実の愛の姿を突きつけるのです。 また、映像化作品が視覚的なスペクタクルで魔法を具現化するのに対し、原作テキストは読者の想像力に無限の美を委ねるという贅沢さを提供します。映画版で見せる滑稽な喜劇性と、活字の奥に潜む深遠な哲学的思索。この両者が重なり合うとき、私たちはかつてない知的な興奮と、現実を忘れさせるほどの陶酔感を味わうことになるでしょう。