Supernatural Phenomena in The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and Midsummer Night's DreamThe Oxford English Dictionary defines "supernatural" as something "that is outside the ordinary course of nature; there, above or outside of what is natural." In light of this definition, I will discuss the works The Tempest, Julius Caesar, and A Midsummer Night's Dream through three successive pairings, drawing distinctions and comparisons between each work and other significant ones in relation to some aspects of the supernatural realm. In any discussion of two of Shakespeare's plays, the question of chronology deserves at least a passing mention. In the case of The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream, knowledge of the chronology of the works is of fundamental importance to understand the differences in tone, language and the relationship dynamics between Oberon/Puck and Prospero/Ariel/Caliban. A Midsummer Night's Dream came out about 1594-95, The Tempest about 1611-12, about seventeen years later. The development of Shakespeare's imagination, as well as his abilities as a playwright and poet, are certainly evident in The Tempest: the language is richer and more twisted, the tone darker, more brooding, as are the characters (a characteristic characteristic of Shakespeare's Jacobean). phase), and the whole message of revenge transmuted into forgiveness and resignation is a notable departure from traditional Senecan motifs. Furthermore, as often seen in later works, a particular character or group dynamic seen in an earlier work is updated, expanded and elaborated upon, in this case that of Oberon and Puck. In MND, Oberon is proud and imperious, but basically helps the course of true love run smoothly in the end with the help of... middle of paper... the 20th century might consider a quaint dramatic device, a colorful quality , imaginative, booga-booga, for To Elizabethan and Jacobean spectators of the time, the world of fairies, ghosts, demons and witches was very real, and is worth keeping in mind when reading and attending performances . To try to imagine that such things really populate our world, that they really have a place somewhere in the immense chain of being, is to feel a very vital resonance within that nothing in the gray, bleak so-called postmodern landscape can ever provide. .Works CitedBadawi, MM, Background to Shakespeare, London, MacMillan Education Ltd., 1981.Boyce, Charles, Shakespeare A to Z, New York, Roundtable Press Inc., 1990.All citations of acts, scenes and line numbers refer to Edizioni Arden of the various works discussed in this monograph.