Various parallels between Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream tend to support the theory that the two works are closely related. The purpose of this article is to show that wherever parallels exist, the relationship probably runs from A Midsummer Night's Dream to Romeo and Juliet. An in-depth analysis of the spirit of the two plays and the different attitudes towards love and life they present, leads us to the conclusion that A Midsummer Night's Dream is the natural reaction of Shakespeare's mind to Romeo and Juliet. It will not be necessary in this article. present all the testimonies on the dates of composition of the two comedies. There is no doubt that the first version of Romeo and Juliet appeared around 1591. The date of the first version of The Dream is more problematic. The only external evidence is the mention of the play in 2 Palladis Tamia by Francis Meres in 1598, but the strongest internal evidence is the alleged reference to the death of Robert Greene, in Act v, I, 52-3: The three times three Muses mourning the death of Learning, who died in begging, would set the date at 1592-3. Assuming, therefore, that the Dream was written soon, perhaps immediately, after Romeo and Juliet, let us see whether a comparative study of the two works will be useful. does not support our hypothesis. Awaken the impertinent and agile spirit of mirth, Turn melancholy to funerals, says Theseus in the first scene of the Dream, and later in the first scene of Act V: Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, Such molding fancies, that they learnMore than cold reason could ever comprehend. The lunatic, the lover and the poet are all compacts of the imagination. These two speeches of Theseus, to whom Shakespeare gave much of his clear serenity and benevolence, are, it seems to me, significant manifestations of the poet's mental attitude when he