Myths and fairies: Shakespeare's clash between Rome and the forest

In Shakespeare's work there is frequently a contrast between the realm of classical stories and the realm of common fairy tales. Characters inhabit a magical world where Roman soldiers interact with English sprites and the gods are almost interchangeable with fairies. This representation creates a place where there are no bounds between literary traditions. Shakespeare freely borrows from differing tales and uses this merging to combine the well-known tales of the English countryside with the epics of a Renaissance education. Shakespeare uses this merging to create a world where the strict sexual and cultural boundaries of Humanism are mixed and tempered with the romance and revelry of the forest-world pictured in fairy tales.