Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream) facts for kids

Titania is a famous character from William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare wrote this play around 1595–1596.

In the story, Titania is the powerful Queen of the fairies. She is also married to the Fairy King, Oberon. Because of Shakespeare's play, the name Titania is often used for fairy queens in other stories.

Where Did Titania's Name Come From?

In old folk tales, the queen of the fairies usually didn't have a specific name. Shakespeare gave her the name Titania. He found this name in a famous old poem called Metamorphoses by Ovid. In that poem, "Titania" was a name given to the daughters of powerful gods called Titans.

Titania's Role in the Play

Titania plays a very important part in one of the main stories in A Midsummer Night's Dream. She is a proud and strong fairy, just as powerful as her husband, Oberon.

The Fairy King and Queen's Argument

Titania and Oberon are having a big argument. They are fighting over who gets to keep a special Indian boy. This boy was "changed" by fairies, meaning he was taken from his human family and replaced with a fairy child. This fight between them causes many of the mix-ups and funny problems for the other characters in the play.

Titania Falls Under a Spell

Because of their quarrel, Oberon decides to play a trick on Titania. He asks his mischievous servant, Puck, to cast a magic spell on her. This spell makes Titania fall in love with the first creature she sees when she wakes up.

Puck finds a human worker named Nick Bottom. Bottom is a weaver, and Puck thinks he is a bit silly. So, Puck magically gives Bottom the head of a donkey! When Titania wakes up, she sees Bottom with his donkey head and immediately falls deeply in love with him because of the spell. While under this magic, Titania loses her usual powerful behavior and acts very doting and silly.

The Spell is Broken

After Oberon and Puck have watched Titania acting foolishly with Bottom, they decide it's time to end the trick. Oberon uses another spell to break the enchantment on Titania.

When the spell is gone, Titania wakes up and says, "What strange things have I seen! I thought I was in love with a donkey." After this, Titania and Oberon make up and reunite. At the end of the play, Titania and Oberon lead the fairies in blessing the marriages of the human characters.

Titania's Legacy: Appearances in Other Works

Titania has appeared in many other stories, paintings, and plays over the years.

Early Works Inspired by Titania

• In the 1770s, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe included Titania and Oberon in his play Faust I. They were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary.
• Carl Maria von Weber used Titania, Oberon, and Puck in his opera Oberon (1825–26). This story was set during the time of Charlemagne.
• Alfred Lord Tennyson's play The Foresters (1892), which is a Robin Hood story, has a short part with Titania, Queen of the Fairies.

Titania in Space

• Titania is one of the moons of the planet Uranus. It was named after Shakespeare's character. All of Uranus's moons are named after characters from the works of William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope.

Titania in Cartoons and Movies

• Titania also appears in the cartoon Gargoyles (1994–1997). In this show, Oberon and Titania were divorced but get married again. She is also secretly Anastasia Renard, the mother of a character named Fox.
• In the 1999 movie version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Michelle Pfeiffer played Titania.
• In the 2016 BBC television version, Maxine Peak played Titania. This version was noted for a kiss between Titania and Hippolyta.

Titania in Video Games, Manga, and Anime

• In the free online game Warframe (2016), one of the playable characters is named Titania. She has abilities inspired by fairies.
• In the manga and anime The Ancient Magus' Bride (2017–2018), the Queen of the Fairies is named Titania, and her husband is Oberon.
• In the manga and anime Fairy Tail (2006–2019), a character named Erza Scarlet is called "Titania, Queen of the Fairies." This is because she is the strongest female wizard in her guild.
• Titania is one of the inspirations for a boss character named Sol Titanion in the video game Mega Man Zero 4 (2005).
• In Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers (2019), Titania appears as an enemy. In this game, "Titania" is a title for the fairy ruler, not a specific name.
• Titania also appears in the Shin Megami Tensei video game series. She can be recruited as a demon, along with Oberon.

Titania in Books and Comics

• In Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files book series (starting 2005), Titania is the Queen of the Summer Court of fairies.
• In Dark Princess by W. E. B. Du Bois, the author dedicates the book to "Her High Loveliness Titania XXVII By Her Own Grace Queen of Faerie."
• In Vertigo Comics' The Sandman comic series (1989–1996), Titania rules Faerie with her partner Auberon. She is also rumored to have been a lover of the main character, Dream. One comic story says that William Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream for Dream. Dream then gave it to Titania as a gift for Faerie, so that the fairy folk would not be forgotten in the human world.

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  This is one of William Blake's drawings for his book The Song of Los. Many experts believe these figures are Titania and Oberon. This drawing was made in 1795.

See also

In Spanish: Titania (mitología) para niños