Images of fairies and elves and their functions in the works of English literature of different genres on the example of William Shakespeare's comedy "a midsummer Night's Dream" and the English folk tale "Cherry of Zennor"

Images of fairies and elves and their functions in the works of English literature of different genres on the example of William Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and the English folk tale "Cherry of Zennor"

Done by Davlatova Dilfuza

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of William Shakespeare's earliest romantic comedies, and it has been considered one of his most successful and best-loved works throughout the centuries. It has spawned some of his most memorable and imitated characters, such as Puck, the fairy sprite with a penchant for mischief; and Bottom, a weaver who becomes such a ham when rehearsing with the local theater group that a magical spell is cast to give him the head of a donkey.

In Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are three main fairies that have an important role in the play. Oberon is the fairy king, and Titania is his wife and the fairy queen.
Puck is Oberon’s servant and jester.

When looking at each of these fairies, one can see that Shakespeare knew about the popular fairy beliefs of his time. His fairies have some of the characteristics of fairies at the time, but they also have different qualities that Shakespeare attributed to them himself. The changes Shakespeare made to the fairies gave them a more human quality so that it seems that fairies are relatable to humans and do not live all that far away from the human world. The fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream question and poke fun at true love. The fairies also serve to be the explanation for why the characters act so chaotic during the play.

Fairies from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Cobweb
Moth
Mustardseed
Peaseblossom

The fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream raise the question: does true love exist?

The fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream raise the question: does true love exist?

They have many purposes. They poke fun at love, question if love is real or not, question the reality of the play, and show how Shakespeare changed the image of fairies during his time.

"Cherry of Zennor"

Zennor is the name of a village and a parish that lies on the north coast of Cornwall about 6 miles north of Penzance. Cherry is said by some sources to live in Treen, a hamlet within the parish. The area appears to be rich with folklore, and is said to be named after one St. Senara. One version of her legend tells how she was a Breton princess called Azenor, whose husband threw her into the sea in a barrel. Senara floated all the way to Ireland, but she founded Zennor along the way. In another version, Senara and her sister floated to Cornwall with her sister on a lettuce leaf (possibly a coracle). In prehistoric times, Zennor’s inhabitants were said to be defended by the giant Holiburn from his unscrupulous brethern. In almost a mirror image of Cherry’s tale, The Mermaid of Zennor tells how a mermaid in human form lures a young Cornishman away from the local church to raise children with her beneath the sea.

Cherry of Zennor combines several common folklore motifs concerning fairies, visiting a fairy dwelling place, use of an ointment that grants sight of the fairies’ true nature, and the taking of a human nurse for a fairy child. It is Aarne-Thompson folk tale type 476 ‘The Fairy Ointment/The Fairy Nurse’, and examples can be found in English, French and Scandinavian folklore. In this story, using the ointment allows Cherry to see the magical nature of her master: in other versions of the tale, magic glamour disguise the nature of the fairy’s abode, so that a humble human dwelling is revealed to be a grand palace or castle, or more often, a grand castle or house is revealed to be a squalid cave or underground dwelling that is horrifying to human sight.

Cherry of Zennor combines several common folklore motifs concerning fairies, visiting a fairy dwelling place, use of an ointment that grants sight of the fairies’ true nature, and the taking of a human nurse for a fairy child. It is Aarne-Thompson folk tale type 476 ‘The Fairy Ointment/The Fairy Nurse’, and examples can be found in English, French and Scandinavian folklore. In this story, using the ointment allows Cherry to see the magical nature of her master: in other versions of the tale, magic glamour disguise the nature of the fairy’s abode, so that a humble human dwelling is revealed to be a grand palace or castle, or more often, a grand castle or house is revealed to be a squalid cave or underground dwelling that is horrifying to human sight.

Thanks for attention