THE ELIZABETHAN FAIRIES

THE FAIRIES OF SHAKESPEARE 179
the native fairies of the folk were ultimately superseded
by the fanciful beings that he invented for an appearance
in one play.
On first acquaintance, there seems but little difference
between the fairies of A Midsummer Night's Dream and
those of native tradition and of Shakespeare's other
plays.22 The train of Titania take their places in a
forest as is They materialize as a commonwealth
of elves and fairies 24 with their rulers. They
come at midnight,26 and hasten away at sunrise.26 They
break into song at any pretext,27 and dance their way
throughout the play.28 They can fetch jewels from the
deep 29'and are addicted to ~leanliness.~~ A human
changeling is among their number 31 and a mortal is
carried away into their and the recollection of
the hour of their appearance sends mortals to bed.3s
On closer study, however, the fairies of A Midsummer
Night's Dream are seen to be what Oberon calls them,
The exceptions are The Tempest, and Romeo and Juliet.
23M.N.D.,II,2,1. 79.
24 11, I, 1. 17; 111, I, 11. 158 and 175.
26 V, 2, 1. 9.
26 V, 2, 1. 31.
27 11, 3, 1. I; 111, I, 1. 160; V, 2, 1. 26.
2811,2,11.27 and81; II,3,1. 1;V,z,1.26.
29 111, I, 1. 159.
30 V, 2, 11. 19-20.
31 11, I, 1. 23.
32 111, I, 1. 154.
33 V, I, 1. 363.
"The fairy of folk-lore in Shakespeare's day is nearly everything
that the fairies of A Midsummer-Night's Dream are; we may pos-
sibly except their exiguity, their relations in love with mortals, and
their hymeneal functions. His conception of their size as infinitesimal
at least differs from that of the p'bpular stories, where (as far as can
be ascertained) they are shown to be about the size of mortal chil-
dren." Sidgwick, Sources and Analogues, p. 65.