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Shakespeare on Stage
American Shakespeare Center, Love's Labour's Lost. To Jun. 15, 2013.
American Shakespeare Center, The Duchess of Malfi. To Jun. 15, 2013.
Folger Shakespeare Library, Twelfth Night. To Jun. 9, 2013.
American Shakespeare Center, Return to the Forbidden Planet. To Dec. 1, 2013.
American Shakespeare Center, Twelfth Night. To Jun. 16, 2013.
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Theseus and Hippolyta

The mortal pair at the top of the hierarchy, Theseus and Hippolyta, play a minor part in the comedy. They hunt, they celebrate the midsummer festival*, and they get married.

But Theseus, like Oberon*, seems to be concerned to maintain male supremacy. He reminds Hippolyta, who is after all an Amazon, the strongest of women:

. . . I wooed thee with my sword,
And won thy love, doing thee injuries
(1.1.16-17)

Footnotes

  1. Oberon and patriarchy

    Oberon gives no reason for his desire for the changeling boy, whereas Titania gives a long, poetic defence of her action (2.1.123-37).

  2. A festival by any other name . . .

    Oddly enough, the play at times seems to refer to the fesival of May Day, sometimes to Midsummer's Eve.

    Go to the page that deals with these festivals.