EV1624
Shadows by Skylark
Solution
Removed letters give I AM FEAR’D IN FIELD AND TOWN GOBLIN LEAD THEM spoken by PUCK in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the SHADOWS refer to the characters in the scene.
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My favourite Shakespeare play is probably A Midsummer Night’s Dream, since it was such fun for my friends and I at school, and for my children when they were introduced it by a hilarious Rough Shakespeare production in Manchester.
One of my favourite characters is the mischievous Puck. So I decided to base a crossword on his antics, and one quotation sprang to mind.
Extra letters inserted into 36 clues spelled: I AM FEARD IN FIELD AND TOWN, GOBLIN LEAD THEM …
UP AND DOWN it continues. Puck is referring here to the four lovers, Demetrius, Lysander, Helena and Hermia, so I inserted their names into the grid accordingly.
I found a Puckish trick irresistible, so taking his words literally, thought Puck should be up and down too. In order to hint this to solvers, there was a letter count for shaded cells. Shadows refers to Puck’s closing speech: “If we shadows have offended …”
Many thanks to my generous test solvers.
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A full review of this puzzle can be seen over on fifteensquared.