William Shakespeare, playwright and poet, was born in 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (historians believe Shakespeare was born on April 23, the same day he died in 1616). He was born as the son of John Shakespeare, a Glover, and Mary Arden, of farming stock. Much uncertainty surrounds Shakespeare's early life. He was the oldest of three sons, and there were also four daughters. He was educated at the local grammar school, and married Anne Hathaway, from a local farming family, in 1582. She bore him a daughter, Susanna, in 1583, and twins, Hamnet and Judith, in 1585. In 1591 he moved to London, and became an actor. From 1592 to 1594, when the theatres were closed for the plague, he wrote his poems "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece." His sonnets, known by 1598, though not published until 1609, fall into two groups: from 1 to 126 are addressed to a fair young man, and from 127 to 154 to a "dark lady" who holds both the young man and the poet in thrall. Who these people are has provided an exercise in detection for numerous critics. The first evidence of his association with the stage is in 1594, when he was acting with the Lord Chamberlain's company of players. When the company built the Globe Theatre south of the Thames in 1597, he became a partner, despite he was living modestly at a house in Silver Street until 1606. Then he moved near the Globe. He returned to Stratford in 1610, and he was living there as a country gentleman at his house, New Place. His will was made in March 1616, a few months before he died, and he was buried at Stratford.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the most successful comedy of Shakespeare’s first five comedies. The story takes place in ancient Athens and is also connected with Shakespeare’s homeland, folk tales and superstitions. Shakespeare mixes here supernatural forces, occurrences and beings with ordinary life as well as he link different social classes: empire of fairies and elfs, aristocrats and world of workmen.
In this play there are mentioned two old-fashioned folk festivities: Midsummer Day, which is celebrated on 24th June and The First May, known as love time. The play is also full of optimistic humour, what is typical sign of Renaissance. The play is divided into separate acts and scenes. In the story you can follow two story lines.