| This thesis explores festivity in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night from an historical perspective. The festivals surrounding the May Day, Midsummer's Eve and Twelfth Night holidays and royal weddings are discussed, as are saturnalian inversion, the role of music, and the darker revels in Twelfth Night. The thesis also examines the historical and festive elements of Elizabethan theater. Information on Puritan opposition to festivals and the theater is included as well. |
