May-Dream: A Festive Fantasy Play in Eight Scenes

Adama van Scheltema, Carel Steven, 1877-1924Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0

Word count: 77K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Mei-droom: Een feestelijk verbeeldingsspel in acht tooneelen by Adama van ScheltemaAuthor: Adama van Scheltema, Carel Steven, 1877-1924,Language: Dutch, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Sep 4, 2008

Editor's review

Mei-droom is a "festive fantasy play" in eight acts by the Dutch poet and writer Carel Steven Adama van Scheltema. Known for his poetry and social ideals, the author here offers something closer to a symbolic stage fantasy than a realistic drama. Written in Dutch, the text is rhythmic and lyrical, and its settings blend festivity with dreamlike atmosphere, making it rewarding from both a literary and a theatrical perspective. As a public-domain Project Gutenberg ebook, it preserves the original text, convenient for researchers and suitable for Dutch learners doing close reading of a short literary work. Note that this is not a plot-driven popular drama; the pleasure lies more in the language, imagery, and stage imagination.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate and advanced Dutch learners who want to engage with literary texts
Readers studying Dutch literature and symbolist drama
Theater enthusiasts interested in early twentieth-century European fantasy and verse drama
Students who need a public-domain Dutch text for linguistic or literary analysis

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Dutch who want a Chinese translation only
Readers expecting strong plot conflict and realistic characterization
Readers hoping for a modern annotated edition or introductory guide

Reading tips

First read through the eight-act structure to grasp how scene changes echo the symbolic imagery, then return to key passages for close reading.
Dutch learners can read one act closely each day, excerpting clearly rhythmic lines and reading them aloud to internalize the feel of the language.
Imagining the stage blocking and festive atmosphere while reading helps in understanding the features of the "fantasy play" genre.
Pair it with the author's poetry or contemporary Dutch literary materials to understand his social ideals and literary positions.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a play script or a poetry collection?

It is a "festive fantasy play" written in eight acts, combining dramatic structure with lyrical verse. It has scenes and act divisions, yet makes extensive use of rhythmic poetic expression, so it can be read as both drama and poetry.

Can I read it without knowing Dutch?

The original is in Dutch, and readers without Dutch will face considerable obstacles reading it directly. A basic knowledge of Dutch is recommended, or use a bilingual edition or translation tools; if you only want a summary, look for introductions in literary histories first.

Does this ebook include notes or an introduction?

This is a public-domain electronic text from Project Gutenberg, primarily preserving the original text and generally without modern editorial notes or introduction. Readers needing background can consult Dutch literary histories or studies of the author.

Is it suitable as Dutch learning material?

It suits intermediate and advanced Dutch learners as close-reading material for literature. The poetic language and symbolic expression are more complex than everyday usage, so read act by act with a dictionary and background materials, and use reading aloud to help appreciate the rhythm.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Adama van Scheltema, Carel Steven, 1877-1924 Author

Carel Steven Adama van Scheltema (1877-1924) was a Dutch poet and playwright, with two of his works held in this collection. Publicly available information is limited, so details of his life, nationality and education are difficult to set out; his writings, however, offer a glimpse of his creative range. "Mei-droom: Een feestelijk verbeeldingsspel in acht tooneelen" is a festive imaginative play in eight scenes, revealing a dramatic conception in which dream and poetry intertwine; "Naakt model: Toneelspel in drie bedrijven" is a three-act play centred on the theme of the nude model, touching on the tension between art and reality. Both are plays with symbolic and fantastic colouring, carefully built through scene-setting and dialogue, reflecting the coexistence of fantasy drama and realistic drama in European literature around the turn of the twentieth century. They are classified here under inspirational growth.