MIDSUMMER: Mortal Are Fools! by William Shakespeare
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
Puck in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act III, Scene 2
I wanted to publish this blog on June 23, but my website was down for a while. The Blog is taken from my book Theatre Is My Life! Buy the volume on Amazon. https://amzn.to/3GgNojW
The photo is one of several Midsummer Night's Dream tiles on display at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
Midsummer’s Eve is the time to celebrate the longest day of the year, and I wish Americans commemorated it more heartily. All over Europe, this summer solstice period between June 19 and June 24 brings festivals and dancing, bonfires and picnics, fairs and parties. Since the thirteenth century, people in Great Britain have celebrated June 23 as Midsummer’s Eve, which is also the eve of the feast day of St. John the Baptist. Feasting and merrymaking are part of the tradition.
William Shakespeare’s great comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream portrays the magical things that can happen in a forest in the middle of the summer. The center of the plot is the occasion of the wedding of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and his bride Hippolyta. But all around that nuptial ceremony swirl the escapades of Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius, four young Athenian lovers, plus a rustic set of amateur actors. All of these folks are pulled into hilarious and bittersweet situations by the fairies who live in the enchanting forest where most of the play is set.
Since producing the play at Samford University in 1976, Puck’s line “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” has run through my mind many and many a time. Over and over, I have pledged not to think of people as fools remembering that once Jesus remarked, “Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.” (Matthew 5:22). But just listening to the news some days, it slips right out, “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
Many clever and memorable fools fill Shakespeare’s plays. Oftentimes, they are ordinary people who use common sagacity to outwit their “betters.” Much like the jesters popular in courts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the bard’s fools appealed to both the groundlings (audience members who stood on the ground to watch the play) and the members of court. Ever since they appeared on the boards of the Globe Theatre, fools like Touchstone in As You Like It, The Fool in King Lear, Feste in Twelfth Night, The Gravediggers in Hamlet, Clown in Othello, and Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream — all of them have mesmerized, amused, delighted, and informed audience members.
Shakespeare’s clowns seem witless, and yet, they have much wisdom hidden in their jesters’ caps. They often appear to provide comic relief after a truly tragic scene. Some sing and tell stories, like court jesters, but they also advise on morality or mortality, speak of love or despair, or pick up on emotional confusion and offer guidance.
So even though Midsummer’s Eve has passed, it is still summer, so why not give into some foolish lightheartedness? The days are long, so have an evening picnic, take an extended afternoon walk, blow bubbles, drink in the scents of the flowers in bloom, visit an English-like pub, listen to Felix Mendelssohn’s score for Midsummer Night’s Dream, buy a popsicle from the neighborhood ice cream truck, find a pool or creek for an evening swim. Take a break from the worries of your own drama and have fun!