By the light of the moon, a group of youths sneak into the woods, where they take mind-altering substances, switch it up romantically, and brush up against creatures from another dimension. "A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream" sees Shakespeare get psychedelic – and the result is a treat in the theatre and on the page.
Pod mesečevom svetlošću, grupa mladih se iskrada u šumu gde uzimaju psihoaktivne supstance, zamenjuju ljubavne partnere i na trenutak dolaze u dodir sa bićima iz druge dimenzije. U „Snu letnje noći“ zatičemo Šekspira kako ponire u psihodeliju - a rezultat toga je poslastica, kako u pozorištu, tako i na papiru.
First performed in the 1590's, this play is one of Shakespeare’s friskiest works, filled with trickery, madness and magic. Set over the course of one night, Midsummer progresses at a rollicking pace. The plot is structured around patterns of collision and dissolution, where characters from different worlds are thrown together and torn apart. Shakespeare uses these patterns to mock the characters’ self-obsession and question authority with a comic twist.
Prvi put izvedena 1590-ih godina, ova drama je jedno od najrazdraganijih Šekspirovih dela, ispunjena je lukavstvima, ludilom i čarolijom. Radnja se dešava tokom jedne noći i „San letnje noći“ napreduje živahnim tempom. Zaplet se gradi oko obrazaca sudaranja i poništavanja, gde su likovi iz različitih svetova zajedno bačeni i razloženi. Šekspir koristi ove obrasce kako bi se rugao samoopsednutosti likova i kako bi preispitao autoritet komičnim preokretom.
The action is set in Ancient Greece, but like many of Shakespeare’s plays it reflects his contemporary concerns. The magical setting of the woods at night disrupts the boundaries between separate groups, with bizarre results. Here, the bard plays with the rigid class system of his own time, taking three distinct groups and turning their society upside-down in a world where no mortal is in control.
Radnja je smeštena u antičkoj Grčkoj, međutim, kao i većina Šekspirovih drama ona odražava njegove savremene strepnje. Magično okruženje šume po noći narušava granice između različitih grupa, što daje bizarne rezultate. Ovde se bard poigrava sa rigidnim klasnim sistemom svog doba, uzimajući tri različite grupe i izvrćući njihovo društvo naglavačke u svetu kojim nijedan smrtnik ne vlada.
The play opens with young Hermia raging at her father Egeus and Theseus, the King of Athens, who have forbidden her to marry her lover Lysander. Hermia has no interest in her father's choice for her of Demetrius – but her best friend Helena definitely does. Furious at their elders, Hermia and Lysander elope under cover of darkness, with Demetrius in hot pursuit. This is further complicated by Helena’s decision to follow them all into the woods, in the hope of winning Demetrius’ heart.
Dramu otvara mlada Hermija koja besni na svog oca Egeja, kao i na Tezeja, kralja Atine, koji su joj zabranili da se uda za njenu ljubav Lisandra. Hermija nije zainteresovana za Demetra koga je otac izabrao za nju - ali njena najbolja prijateljica Helena zato definitivno jeste. Gnevni na svoje starije, Hermija i Lisander beže pod okriljem tame, sa Demetrom za petama. Sve ovo dodatno komplikuje Helenina odluka da ih prati u šumu s nadom da će da osvoji Demetrovo srce.
At this point, the woods are getting crowded, as the lovers are sharing the space with a group of “rude mechanicals”— a troupe of workers drunkenly rehearsing a play, led by the jovial Nick Bottom. Unbeknownst to them, the humans have entered into the world of the fairies.
U ovom trenutku, u šumi postaje tesno, dok ljubavnici dele prostor sa grupom takozvanih „gologuzih prostačina“ - radničkom trupom koja pijana vežba predstavu, predvođena žovijalnim Nikom Vratilom. Ne znajući, ljudi su ušetali u vilinski svet.
Despite their magical splendor, Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies, have their own romantic problems. Furious at his inability to control Titania, the jealous Oberon commands the trickster Puck to squeeze the juice of a magical flower over her eyes. When she wakes up, she’ll fall in love with the first thing she sees. On his mission, Puck gleefully sprinkles the juice over the eyes of the napping Demetrius and Lysander, and transforms Bottom’s head into that of a donkey for good measure.
Uprkos bleštavilu magije, Oberon i Titanija, kralj i kraljica vila i vilenjaka, imaju sopstvene ljubavne probleme. Besan zbog nemoći da kontroliše Titaniju, ljubomorni Oberon zapoveda šaljivdžiji Puku da iscedi sok čarobnog cveta preko njenih očiju. Kada se probudi, zaljubiće se u prvo što ugleda. Na svom zadatku, Puk radosno sipa sok preko očiju dremajućeg Demetrai Lisandra i pride preobražava Vratilovu glavu u magareću.
As eyes flicker open, a night of chaos commences that includes broken hearts, mistaken identity, and transformations. Out of all the characters, Bottom probably fares the best – when the bewitched Titania lays eyes on him, she calls on her fairies to lavish him with wine and treasures and sweeps the transfigured donkeyman off his feet: “pluck the wings from painted butterflies/ To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes. Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies.”
Dok se oči otvaraju, otpočinje haotična noć ispunjena slomljenim srcima, zamenom identiteta i preobražajima. Od svih likova, Vratilo verovatno najbolje prolazi - kada začarana Titanija baci oko na njega, poziva svoje vile da ga obasipaju vinom i blagom i tako obara s nogu izobličenog čoveka-magarca: „A leptiru šarenom počupajte krila/ Pa nek' ga tom lepezom hladi vila. I odsad haj'te, pa mu se klanjajte.“
While magic is the catalyst to the action, the play reflects the real drama of the things we do for love – and the nonsensical behavior of the people under its spell. The moon overlooks the action “like a silver bow,” signifying erratic behavior, the dark side of love, and the bewitching allure of a world where the usual rules don’t apply.
Iako je magija katalizator radnje, predstava odražava istinsku dramatičnost stvari koje radimo zbog ljubavi - i besmisleno ponašanje ljudi pod njenim činima. Mesec nadgleda zbivanja „poput srebrnog luka“, simbolišući nepredvidivo ponašenje, mračnu stranu ljubavi i očaravajuću privlačnost sveta u kome uobičajeni zakoni više ne važe.
Although the characters eventually come to their senses, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" raises the question of how much agency we have over our own daily lives. But it’s not the more realistically rendered lovers, rulers or workers who have the last word, but the impish Puck who queries whether we can ever truly trust what we see:
Iako se likovi na kraju dozivaju pameti, „San letnje noći“ postavlja pitanje koliko kontrole imamo nad sopstvenim svakodnevnim životima. Međutim, nisu nešto realističnije prikazani ljubavnici, vladari ili radnici ti koji imaju poslednju reč, već đavolak Puk koji propituje da li ikada zaista možemo da verujemo onom što vidimo:
If we shadows have offended, Think but this and all is mended: That you have but slumbered here While these visions did appear.
„Ako smo vas mi uvredili nečim tamo Da bismo stvar izgladili: Zamislite da ste snili I da ste sve opsene tu videli samo u svom snu.“
And in so doing, he evokes the effect of entering into the magical world of great theatre that plays with the boundary between illusion and reality – and dramatizes the possibility that life is but a dream.
A tim postupkom, evocira dejstvo ulaska u magični svet sjajnog pozorišta koje se poigrava sa granicom između iluzije i stvarnosti - i dramatizuje mogućnost da je život tek san.