a+Midsummer+Night's+Dream

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Act I, Scene 1 1. How is Hippolyta’s reasoning concerning how quickly the next four days will pass different from that of Theseus? Hippolyta feels that the days will fly by, but Theseus is very impatient. He doesn’t want to have to wait 4 days.

2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do? Egeus wants Theseus to give him permission to kill his daughter if she refuses to marry Demetrius. He needs the duke’s permission to do this.

3. What was the proper role for women/daughters in Athenian society according to Egeus and Theseus? What is Theseus’s ruling concerning Hermia? They believed that the proper role of women was to be the property of their father who could make them marry whoever he wanted and kills them if they were disobedient. Theseus decides that if Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, she must join nunnery and never be allowed to marry.

4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things? This means that Demetrius isn’t entirely trust worthy. Lysander was probably hoping that this would make Egeus approve of his love for Hermia.

5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena? Lysander and Hermia plan to run away to Lysander’s aunts’ house to get married. They tell Helena because they think that this will make her happy that Demetrius will no longer be devoted to Hermia and they trust her to keep it a secret.

6. Even though Helena loves Demetrius and is Hermia’s best friend, why does she decide to tell Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander’s plans? She hopes that this will make Demetrius love her because she told him about the plan. Maybe she thinks that if Demetrius loves her, Hermia and Lysander will be free to marry.

7. Identify Hermia’s basic dilemma. What are the choices outlined for her by Theseus and her father? What other choice does Lysander suggest? Her father gives her the option to marry Demetrius or die. theseus adds the option to live the life of a nun, never to marry. Then Lysander offers to elope with her, which she obviously chooses.

Act I, Scene 2 8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? Nick Bottom has a very large ego and he believes that he can play all the parts better than everyone else.

9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene? Maybe he chose to include this scene for some comic relief, after the conflict in the first scene. It also introduces Nick Bottom’s character, as he is an important character later in the story.

10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time? The actors plan to meet in the forest, where Hermia and Lysander are also planning to meet.

11. How would you describe Bottom’s acting ability? What is Bottom’s own opinion of his acting ability? Bottom isn’t a good actor, although he is entertaining. He thinks that he is a really good actor. media type="file" key="A Midsummer Night's Dream.mp3" width="240" height="20" Emily and David's Midsummer Night's Dream Night Images Podcast Act II, Scene 1

10. What does the reader find out about the current relationship between Oberon, King of the Fairies, and Titania, Queen of the Fairies, from Puck and the first fairy? Puck tells the other fairy about how Oberon is jealous of the changeling child who is getting lots of attention from Titania. Oberon want to have the child as “a knight of his train.”

11. How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta; why have they come to Athens? It is implied that Oberon and Titania have cheated on each other with Hippolyta and Theseus. They are in Athens for the royal wedding.

12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? When the fairies are angry, their mood is reflected on the environment. Titania and Theseus have been fighting frquently, so there are lots of storms, famines, droughts etc.

13. Why won’t Titan ia give up the changeling to Oberon? Because it is the child of one of her previous attendants who died while giving birth, so she wants to make sure it has a good life.

14. What does Oberon send Puck to find? A flower that, when placed on someone’s eyelids, will make them fall in love with the next living thing that they see.

15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? To put the flower on her eyes and make her fall in love with some sort of wild animal (to teach her a lesson?)

16. How does Helena react to Demetrius’s verbal abuse? She has a loving comeback for every insult that he te lls her.

17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse? She says she wouldn’t mind?

18. In what way is Helena’s behaviour inappropriate for Athenian women? Athenian women were supposed to be very modest and submissive, and Helena was being very insistent and disobedient.

19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? He tells Puck to put some of the flower on Demetrius’ eyes so that he will fall in love with Helena.

Act II, Scene 2 20. Why does Oberon want Titania to wake and fall in love with some vile thing? To play a trick on her because he is angry! REVENGE!!!!

21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her? Because they aren’t married yet and she doesn’t want to... get too close to him before they’re married...

22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes? Because he has never seen Demetrius before, so he thought that Lysander was Demetrius because he was near a girl and he was wearing Athenian clothes.

23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? She thinks that he is playing a cruel joke on her!

24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality? In her dream, a snake is eating out her heart, while Lysander stood idly by.

Act III, Scene 1 25. How are the actors going to keep from scaring the ladies when Pyramus kills himself or when the lion roars? They are going to explain to the audience that the lion is not really a lion, and that Pyramus is not really dying.

26. How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall? They are going to have an actor play the wall, and they are going to have an actor with a lantern play the moon.

27. Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears? Because he has a donkey head and they are scared.

28. What does Puck plan to do when he follows after the other actors? He plans to lead around the wood, “through bog, through bush, through brake, through briar.”

29. How does Bottom react to Titania and the other fairies? He is somewhat unquestioning of their reaction. He is suprised by Titania’s enamourment with him, but he justifies it by saying that “reason and love keep little company together nowadays."

30. Bottom says, "…reason and love keep little company together nowadays." Why is this such an apt statement at this point in the play? Because love isn’t being effected by reason at all. Oberon and Puck are dictating who is in love with who and making a mess of everything.

Act III, Scene 2 31. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing? She accuses Demetrius of killing Lysander, because she can’t think of another explanation of why he would have disappeared.

32. How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake? They will make Demetrius fall in love with Helena and reverse the effect of the flower on Lysander so that he will once again be in love with Hermia.

33. Why is Helena upset when Demetrius says he loves her? Isn’t this what she had wanted all along? She is upset because she thinks that he is playing a cruel joke on her. Even though this is what she wanted all along, maybe the shock of it actually happening made her suspect that it wasn’t true.

34. Of what does Helena accuse Hermia? Helena accuses Hermia of being in on the “plan” that Lysander and Demetrius had, to embarrass Helena.

35. How close had Hermia and Helena been in the past? They were very close! Sisterly love!

36. How does Lysander treat Hermia? Why can’t she believe what he says? He insults her and tells her he doesn’t love her anymore. She is surprised by this because he recently asked her to run away with him.

37. Of what does Hermia accuse Helena? Hermia accuses Helena of stealing Lysander from her and seducing him.

38. Why is Helena afraid of Hermia? Hermia threatens to hurt Helena, but Helena runs away.

39. What are Lysander and Demetrius going off to do? They are going to settle their argument over Helena by a fight in the woods.

40. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men? He tells puck to lead them around in circles until they get tired and fall asleep.

41. What is Oberon going to do about Titania? He plans to lift the spell from her and take the changeling boy.

42. Why doesn’t Oberon fear the coming of day? I don’t know why he would fear the coming of day... why would he?

43. How well does Puck’s trickery work? It works very well! They all fall asleep together and when they wake up, they are all in love with the correct people. Review Question: The climax, or turning point, of A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes at the end of Act 3. In point form describe the major plot points of Act Three starting from when Titania falls in love with Bottom leading to the climax or turning point of the play near the end of act three. -Titania falls in love with Bottom. -Puck and Oberon realize their mistake with Lysander and Demetrius. -Hermia accuses Demetrius of murdering Lysander. -Oberon and Puck make Demetrius fall in love with Helena. -Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander all end up in the same place. Confusion ensues, as the men have both changed their love from Hermia to Helena. -They fight and verbally-abuse each other until they eventually disperse. -Puck leads them around the woods until they all end up in the same clearing in the forest, asleep. -Puck fixes the enchantment so that they are all in love with the correct people. I think that that moment was the climax because it resolved the conflict! Act IV, Scene 1 44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies? He has gotten used to ordering people around to do his bidding.

45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom? Even though he caused it, he feels a bit jealous of the attention that Bottom is getting from Titania, and quickly puts a stop to it.

46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her? He basically just avoids the question and doesn’t give her an answer at all.

47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning? They are going for a fox hunt!!!

48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? He says that they got up early to meet Theseus and Hippolyta.

49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness? He says that his “love to Hermia melted like the snow” and that “as in sickness, I did loathe this taste.” This means that when he was engaged to Hermia he loathed Helena but now that he has “returned to health” he loves her once again!

50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people? He decides to override Egeus’ authourity and let them get married, as they wish.

51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming? Maybe because they never expected that something like this could happen in waking life?

52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke? He plan to have a ballad commissioned called “Bottom’s Dream” and to perform it at the wedding.

Act IV, Scene 2 53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? They begin to think very highly of him, saying that he is the only man who could have played the part of Pyramus etc.

54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? They won’t get paid!

55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace? Because the wedding is going to start soon!!! The duke has already started eating!!! Act V 56. Why does Theseus dismiss the stories of the four young people? Because they don’t make any sense! They are laughable! Improbable! Impossible! Illogical!

57. Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisby rather than the other entertainments? Because “never anything can be amiss when simpleness and duty tender it.

58. Why does Philostrate try to keep Theseus from seeing the play? What does he say is wrong with it”.

59. What does Theseus mean by the lines, "For never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it"? He means that when things are tendered by simpleness and duty, they cannot be amiss.

60. What is accomplished by having the Prologue tell the whole story that the actors are then going to enact? Well... it would help the audience understand the play, which would probably be useful seeing as it was very poorly performed.

61. How does Shakespeare use comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play that they are watching? He uses the audiences comments to point out how badly the play is produced (perhaps also to contrast the (hopefully) wonderful play that they are watching).

62. What is Hippolyta’s reaction to the play? She seems somewhat unimpressed... she doesn’t want to spend more time than necessary watching the play - she sees how poorly it is produced.

63. In what way is Thisbe’s final speech humorous? I didn’t find Thisbe’s final speech particularly humorous... maybe because she thinks he asleep when he has a knife sticking out of him?

64. What does Oberon tell the fairies to do? he tells them to bless the newly wedded couples in the house.

65. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech? To say that if you were offended by the play, you can simply believe that it was all a dream. media type="file" key="Bottom's Dream.mp3"Emily and David' Bottom's Dream Podcast Extending the thought process?? COmpletion 20/25 Effort 20/25 Content 21/25 Total 61/75