In this episode I look at the Folklore and Faeries of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Faeries, magic, witches and spells were a very real part of Elizabethan life, Shakespeare would have been very familiar with all of these things. The fear of the forest too, especially on nights when the veil was thin between the worlds, when magic was most powerful, when anything could happen... and did!
What are the roots in folklore of Oberon and Titania? Who and what is Puck in the Faerie realm? I tell of the folklore behind the names of the four Faerie handmaidens of Titania- Peaseblossom, Mustardseed, Moth and Cobweb. What is the Love in Idleness flower used in the magical spell created by Oberon and why is it such a powerful flower? Changelings... what are they... the Changeling boy gets hardly a mention in the play, but is the cause of all the mayhem?! And there is the beautiful lullaby sang by the Faeries to lull their queen to sleep.
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0:00 Introduction The Fairies of A Midsummer Night's Dream
4:03 Oberon the Fairy King
5:56 Titania the Fairy Queen
7:53 Puck, Robin Goodfellow the Hobgoblin Trickster of Oberon's Court
11:46 Cobweb - Fairy of Titania's Court. Spider & Cobweb Folklore. Greek Mythology
16:03 Mustardseed - Fairy of Titania's Court. Mustard & Jack By The Hedge Folklore
20:33 Peaseblossom - Fairy of Titania's Court. Pea & Pea Flower Folklore. Norse Viking Thor
25:03 Moth - Fairy of Titania's Court. Moth Folklore
29:24 Love In Idleness - Magical Spells of the Pansy Flower in Folklore. Love & Heartsease. Greek Mythology
35:50 The Changeling Child - Changelings & the Stolen Boy. Protection from Fairies & Cases of Fairy Kidnap
41:39 Closing Thoughts & the Protective Sleep Spell of the Fairies


Attributions -
Art, photography, writing :
As always the main artist images used are by my husband, artist and illustrator Marc Potts
If you love crafting faerie things you can buy printable downloads of his artwork and more at the Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/EtheraBelle...
You can find more of his work at www.marcpottsart.com ... he is also on Facebook and Instagram
My work can be found on www.kellypottsmartinez.com ... I am also on Facebook and Instagram, I sculpt, craft photograph and write
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Art & photography courtesy of Wikimedia Commons :
Joseph Noel Patton, John Anster Fitgerald, Robert Fowler, Tapissier, Henry Fuseli, E Landseer, Arthur Rackham, Lamb, Reynolds, Henry Howard, David Scott, John Simmons, Henry Meynell, Walter Crane, Guillaume Seign, Pietro Antonio Rotari, Samuel van Hoogstraten, Simmons, Marten Winge, Warwick Goble, Jacob Maris, John Rettig, Leighton, Henry Woodward, Walter Crane
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Film Still Images with thanks to Elizabeth Jane Baldry and The Chagford Filmmaking Group, and the actors and creatives
The Chateau de Comper for the Shared Legends Project
The Inn Theatre Company, the actors and creatives
Brian Skilton photography
Teresa Snow photography
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Research from Folklorists :
Walter Gregor Alexander Mackenzie, Sir James Frazer, John Charles Bucknill, FG Savage, Lou Reynolds, Paul Sawyer, strange history, Robert Hunt, J Henry Harris, Enys Tregarthen (Nellie Cornwall), Fiona Mccleod, Katherine Briggs, Walter F Staton JR, John Rhys, Lady Wilde, John Rhys, Robert Graves, Brewer... and of course Shakespeare
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Images and videos from Pixabay :
Videos : Steeve Gunness, Matthais Groenveld, Eros Edicoes, Dieter R.
Photos/Images : Willgard Krause, Victoria Borodinova, Stefan Kellar, Roy Buri, Parallel Vision, Darkmoon Art, Beate Bachmann, Omar Yousief, Ria Sopola, Waterguan, Adina Viocu, Bittermuir, Christoph Schutz, Claudia Wolleson, Cocoparisienne, Gamagapix, Karsten Paulick, M.Platte, Pexels, A Kumar, FotoRieth, Hans Braxmeier1, JimCooper1, Imaartist, Skorchanov, S-ms1989, Kentucky Ranger, Manfred Richter, Prettysleepy1, Ted Erski, Ulrike Leone, Yvonne Huijbens, Analogicus, Annette Meyer, Cebenstar, Kerstin Riemer, COmfreak, Enrique Mesegeur, Ben Lescure, congerdesign, Cristian Rico, David Mark, Deniss Ignatjiev, Dzidra Dubois, Foto-Rbe, gfriedri, Hans Braxsmeier, Jplenio, Kathy Buscher, Krzysztof Niewolny, LMoonlight, Merlinlightpainting, Momentmal, MW, Sarah Richter, sledgirlmt, suju-foto, Vincent Ciro, viviane monconduit, wei zhu, wikilmages, Adrien Kirby
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Music attribution :
Frost Waltz by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Enchanted Journey by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: http://incompetech.com/