Specifically there is an example of an Ass's head being placed on Midas in Theasaurus Romanae et Britannicae . In all probability Shakespeare, informed by having been well read, wrote this as an original play. It was probably written just after Romeo and Juliet as there are many parallels between the two plays. Only three seasons were recognized in Shakespeare's day, autumn, winter and summer that began in March. It was a time of year when spirits of the woods were thought to be out.
Puck is seen as the gateway between the real world and the fairies.
Music was used extensively in the fairy scenes since their words are in free forms, which are suitable for singing. The play ends with a dance, in the typical Elizabethan finale. A Midsummer Night's Dream was first published in 1600 in a Quarto edition. When theaters re-opened under Charles II there was a performance of The Merry Conceited Humors of Bottom the Weaver in 1662, attested by Samuel Pepys in his diary. It was probably quite a free adaptation of Shakespeare's play.