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? She tells Theseus that he should not be concerned that he has to wait four days for them to be married. She states that four days would go by quicker than he would expect, and that he should relax and enjoy the time before their marriage.

2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do? Egeus brings Theseus to his two suitors because he expects Theseus to enforce the law to his daughter that Demetrius is his choice and she should respect it instead of protest and ask to marry Lysander.

3. What was the proper role for women/daughters in Athenian society according to Egeus and Theseus? What is Theseus’s ruling concerning Hermia? the proper thing to do is for Hermia to respect her father's choice in her husband and to do so graciously. Theseus gives Hermia a choice to either marry Demetrius as her fathers wishes her to, become a nun and live life single and a virgin, or to be murdered for disobeying her father.

4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things? He states to Hermia's father that Demetrius has had a previous love affair and is not as well qualified as he is to marry his daughter.

5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena? They plan on running away into the forest where they could get married without being under Athenian law. They tell Helena because she is a good friend of Hermia's and she is in love with Demetrius and gets comfort knowing he will not end up marrying Hermia.

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? So that she can go with Demetrius into the jungle after Lysander and Hermia. When the two are doing so she hopes that with the two together they will fall in love.

7. Identify Hermia’s basic dilemma. What are the choices outlined for her by Theseus and her father? What other choice does Lysander suggest? She is only given three choices, to marry Demetrius, to live as a nun, or to be murdered, none of which she wants to do. Theseus and Hermia's father leave the room, foolishly leaving Lysander and Hermia alone. Lysander suggests that they run away into the forest to get married, away from where Athenian law does not constrict Hermia to her fathers will.

Act I, Scene 2 8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? He believe that he is the best actor out of all the others and to make the play better he wants to play every role. Of course the other actors protest because it would look foolish for one actor to play so many parts as well upon the fact he is not that skilled of an actor.

9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene? It is funny because most likely the worst actor of the bunch is under the impression that he is an incredible actor and the others in an attempt not to offend him try and give praise to him in the best of their ability. I think Shakespeare put this in the play as a foreshadowing effect to portray how unprofessional and comedic the play they are putting together is going to turn out.

10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time? They are supposed to meet in the palace wood the following night to rehearse the play. Lysander and Hermia are also meeting out in the woods away from Athenian law so that they can get married.

11. How would you describe Bottom’s acting ability? What is Bottom’s own opinion of his acting ability? Bottom over acts to the point where he is a terrible actor, and turns serious acting into comedy. But Bottom believe he is a truly gifted actor who is blessed by god with his magnificent gift. He believe that he is talented enough to play all the roles in the play and that the outcome of the play would be better if he did so.

Act I, Scene 2 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? The reader learns that the two are very explosive and often clash with each other because of their explosive attitudes. We also learn that when the two fight bad things often happen for example floods.

11. How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta; why have they come to Athens? Oberon has been with Hippolyta and Titania has been with Lysander which they both use against each other. The two fairies came to Athens for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta.

12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? Often great natural disasters such as floods, contagious fogs, and whistling winds. Men loss their entire crops, and the overall happiness of those around them drops. And whatever season it may be, when the two quarrel, the weather is as if it were winter.

13. Why won’t Titania give up the changeling to Oberon? She grew found of the child and did not want to give it away to Oberon. She was reluctant to give it to him because he wanted to train him to be a soldier.

14. What does Oberon send Puck to find? He sends him to find a flower, with the ability to make any fall in love with the first person they see. The flower obtained its power when cupid shot one of his arrows and missed striking the flower allowing it to get the power of love.

15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? He plans on dropping the flowers juice into Titania's eyes so that she will wake up and fall madly in love with the first animal she sees.

16. How does Helena react to Demetrius’s verbal abuse? She merely twists what he says to express her love to him in a different way. No matter how hard Demetrius tries to get the point across he is no only not interested but actually disgusted by here the more she longs for him and the harder she tries to pursue him.

17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse? She simply twists his threats to express her love to him. That she would take physical abuse to be with him, and that anything is worth his love.

18. In what way is Helena’s behavior inappropriate for Athenian women? She is very mischievous seeing how she not only followed Demetrius into the forest to chase down his arranged wife and her lover, but she also is throwing herself at a man who is engaged to another woman, who also happens to be a close friend of hers.

19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? He tells Puck to use the flowers power on Demetrius as well so he to will fall in love with the first person or thing he sees. Oberon does this because he witnesses Demetrius abusing Helena's love and feels sorry for her so he tells Puck to wait for a moment when Helena is sure to be the first person Demetrius sees.

Act II, Scene 2 20. Why does Oberon want Titania to wake and fall in love with some vile thing? He is playing a trick on her as revenge for not giving him the changeling boy.

21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her? Since the two are not yet married she wishes to stay true to the proper Athenian woman requirements and does not think the two sleeping together is proper. Even thought she is running away to get married with another man against the very law she is trying to live by.

22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes? Oberon only tells Puck the man he must anoint is an Athenian man dressed in Athenian cloths. In search of Demetrius he finds Lysander and since he fits the description he anoints Lysander by accident.

23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? She is already upset because of the recent rejection she had experienced with Demetrius, but she believe that Lysander is mocking her and tormenting her. She feels deeply offended and leaves Lysander is a hast, with Lysander, filled with new found love, follows after her.

24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality? She dreams that a serpent ripped out her heart, but if u used that as an analogy Helena being the serpent has taken away the man she loves, her heart, Lysander. Not on purpose but Lysanders love for Hermia is now all reflected to Helena.

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? The actors decided to create a prologue that explains to the viewers that no one actually is killed in the play to avoid scaring the ladies.

26. How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall? They checked the calender so that the play would be on a night when the moon was shining brightly. The actors are going to use a man to play the wall and have Pyramus and Thisbe speak through the crack.

27. Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears? Puck uses magic to turn Bottom's head into one of a donkey's so when Bottom returns to stage with his new face he scares off all the other actors. Bottom at first thinks it as a joke because he is unaware of what has happened to him.

28. What does Puck plan to do when he follows after the other actors? He want to cause mischief for the actors because of how terrible they are. Puck looks at the men rehearsing and finds them a joke, so he wishes to play pranks on them and cause mischief.

29. How does Bottom react to Titania and the other fairies? He acts as if he finds it odd that she is giving him so much attention but still enjoys it. He takes advantage of the attention he is getting from Titania and the other fairies and asks them to do tasks for him.

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 else where in the woods the same thing has happened to Lysander and Helena, Lysander's once love to Hermia is no all directed at Helena.

Act III, Scene 2 31. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing? When she wakes Lysander is gone from where he had been sleeping. She wonders of to go find him and spots Demetrius. She immediatly accuses him of killing Lysander, but Demetrius denies it.

32. How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake? Puck is going to make Lysander fall asleep and drop the love juice into his eyes so that he will fall back in love with Hermia and have things return to normal and his mistake fixed.

33. Why is Helena upset when Demetrius says he loves her? Isn’t this what she had wanted all along? She believes that they are all playing a prank on her because only moments ago Demetrius was stating his very different feelings toward her, very clearly. She finds it hard to believe that there could be such a change in heart in such little time so instead of being happy for getting what she was hoping for, she is upset because she believes it is all a mean joke.

34. Of what does Helena accuse Hermia? She accuses Hermia of having a role in the mean trick she believe Demetrius and Lysander are playing on her, which really is not a trick but the outcome or Puck dropping the love juice in their eyes.

35. How close had Hermia and Helena been in the past? The two had been as close as sisters before. They had grown up together and gone to school together as well.

36. How does Lysander treat Hermia? Why can’t she believe what he says? Since Puck ground the flowers juice into his eyes he no longer has love for Hermia. When she finally finds him she is over joyed, but Lysander wants nothing to do with her. She is confused of why his attitude has so quickly changed but he continuously turns her down, telling her much he now hates her and how she disgust him.

37. Of what does Hermia accuse Helena? Hermia accuses Helena of stealing Lysander's love from her.

38. Why is Helena afraid of Hermia? Helena is a cowered and when she calls Hermia small Hermia gets angry and goes after her.

39. What are Lysander and Demetrius going off to do? The two men are going off to fight for Helena because both of them love her.

40. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men? He tells Puck to lead the two men away from each other by pretending he is each of the men's enemies taunting them to follow him wherever he goes.

41. What is Oberon going to do about Titania? He decided to go talk to Titania about the changeling boy. If she decided to give him the boy he will reverse what he did to make her fall in love with Bottom.

42. Why doesn’t Oberon fear the coming of day? Most fairies can't perform magic in the day, but Oberon is a special fairy and is able to perform magic in the day which is why he doesn't fear it.

43. How well does Puck’s trickery work? He taunts the two men by pretending he is the other, luring them into a secluded area where he can fix his previous made mistake. He is successful in luring the two men to where he wants because each of the two men are filled with rage and follow the voices they hear without giving it much thought.

====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 Oberon finds out Puck has made a mistake and dropped the love juice in the wrong man's eyes. Hermia accuses Demetrius of killing Lysander but he denies it. Oberon tells Puck to drop the love juice in Demetrius's eyes so that he will fall in love with Helena. Demetrius wakes and both him and Lysander fight over Helena. Lysander tells Hermia he does not love her and he in fact, he hates her. Hermia and Helena argue with each other and Hermia accuses Helena of stealing Lysander's love from her. Lysander and Demetrius leave to go and battle for Helena. Puck tricks the two men away from each other by yelling out and pretending to be the others enemy. After long search Demetrius and Lysander fall asleep and Puck fixes his mistake. End of Act Three.

Act IV, Scene 1 44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies? He loves the attention he is getting and takes as much advantage of it as he possibly can. 45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom? He gets jealous of all the attention Titania is giving to Bottom instead of him.

46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her? He may blame it on the changeling boy.

47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning? They are out celebrating the rite of may with their entourage.

48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? He at first believes that they all went out early before him to celebrate the rite of may with him.

49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness? He acts as if when he loved Hermia he had an illness and now that he loves Helena he was recovered from his illness and the weights that came with his love to Hermia has been lifted from him.

50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people? He decides to let the lovers chose their spouses and that all six of the lovers are going to have a shared marriage that day.

51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming? They think the situation and events they just experienced are ob-surd but the since they all remember the same things they are unable to really know whether they were dreaming or not.

52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke? He wants to write about his dream and call it Bottom's Ballad because of how peculiar the events he remembered in his dream.

Act IV, Scene 2 53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? They are upset they lost Bottom and are now missing him. They feel now as if they under appreciated his acting skills and took him for granted.

54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? They most regret giving up the chance to obtain fame and fortune by performing their play for the Duke on his wedding day.

55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace? They have to hurry to the Duke's palace because they want to be there in time to prepare and set up for their play.

Extending the thought process.
====a) The fourth act opens and ends with Bottom at center stage. What is your opinion of Bottom’s character? How might he be the antithesis, or opposite, of Theseus’s character?==== ====I think that Bottom is a character who is introduced with very little in his life. And as the story goes on his life seems to steadily be getting better. I think act four for Bottom is an overall look at his character and sums up what happens to him in the story, he comes into the story with very little, but comes out of it with much more. When he originally is introduced in the story he is described as the foolish character and the character the reader laughs at. But the more you read and learn about him, the more compassionate you feel towards him. I think he is in ways the opposite of Theseus because Bottom is introduced in the play as a character who has no power and no love, while Theseus has large amounts of power and great love with Hippolyta.====

====b) How do most of the dreamers respond to the dream experience upon waking? Which character is changed permanently by the dream experience?==== Most of the dreamers believe that although they all seemed to experience the same thing, they find it impossible to believe the oddness of the whole situation. And since most of the characters woke up loving the same person they did before, it adds to the disbelief of the events that they dreamed of. The character that is mostly changed from the dream is Demetrius because from before he loved Hermia but because of Puck's meddling he know loves Helena.

====c) In this act, several characters look back at prior infatuations with disbelief. What do you think Shakespeare is saying about love and infatuation?==== I think Shakespeare was poking fun at people who do not hold true to love, real love to another person. In the play characters jump from one lover to another without any reason and without any explanation, which is a classic case of infatuation. I also think Shakespeare is poking fun at infatuation because he ends the story having love triumph over infatuation and the four lovers happy together. Although a comedy the play does have a message about love and infatuation and I think Shakespeare displays that message successfully without taking away from the humour of the play.

Act V, Scene 1

56. Why does Theseus dismiss the stories of the four young people? The most likely reason he does so is because he does not mind that the young people fell in love, and is to overjoyed on his wedding day to care.

57. Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisby rather than the other entertainments? He chooses he Pyramus and Thisbe play because it is put on by simple, everyday people and he thinks that they will feel honoured to put on the play.

58. Why does Philostrate try to keep Theseus from seeing the play? What does he say is wrong with it? He thinks that it is not good enough to be the entertainment at his wedding and he thinks that the play is put on by such amateurs that it would be a disappointment on Theseus's wedding day.

59. What does Theseus mean by the lines, "For never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it"? He means that you can't go wrong when people are trying to do their best and that they feel obligated to do so.

60. What is accomplished by having the Prologue tell the whole story that the actors are then going to enact? They wanted to let the audience know a little bit about their play and explain it for times when the play gets confusing. For example, they explained to the audience about the actor playing the wall, and that the lion is just Snug the joiner.

61. How does Shakespeare use comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play that they are watching? He does so by the audience acknowledging the flaws of the play that make it so humorous. He does so in a way that you don't feel bad for the actors because they are putting on a good show for their audience and their audience is enjoying it and finds it humorous.

62. What is Hippolyta’s reaction to the play? Hippolyta found the play humorous and laughs at it's flaws. She points out it flaws and laughs at it in good humor with Theseus and the others watching.

63. In what way is Thisby’s final speech humorous? The actual speech is not humorous, it is the way it is said that is humorous and the way the character addresses the crowd at the end before he she dies is taking away from the seriousness of the play.

64. What does Oberon tell the fairies to do?

65. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech? He wanted to make amends and correct the mistakes he had made with the four lovers.

Extending the thought process:

Find at least one example of each of the following that occurs during the play within the play. Write down the quote that illustrates example.

Excessive alliteration: In Act 5 Quince has to recite the prologue to the audience before they perform. In one attempt to make it rhyme he uses a ridiculous amount of alliteration. He says, "Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade. He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast."

Breaking the play’s illusion of reality: The artisans decide not to tell anyone about the events that occurred with Bottom because they do not want others to think they are crazy. But other people in the kingdom are aware that their are mystical and magical fairies around, which could be a completely logical explanation for the events that took place. This breaks the illusion of reality and logic in the play but is a small element in the play that shouldn't be over examined.

Using the wrong word or name: When snout is speaking about his part he says I am Snout by name and I play the wall.

Repeating a word excessively: In the play Pyramus and Thisbe that the artisans are performing Pyramus has a line that repeatedly uses the same word. He states, " O grim-look'd night! O night with hue so black! O night, which ever art when day is not! O night, O night! alack, alack, alack, I fear my Thisby's promise is forgot! And thou, O wall, O sweet, O lovely wall, That stand'st between her father's ground and mine! Thou wall, O wall, O sweet and lovely wall..."

Ridiculous metaphor: I thought a ridiculous metaphor that one of the artisans had to state to the audience to not scare the ladies was, " Whose gentle hearts fear the smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on the floor."

=== **a) In reading the play-within-a-play, we become the audience for the drama played out by Theseus, Hippolyta, and the others. These performers, in turn, form the audience for the reenactment of Pyramus and Thisbe. How does observing another audience help you understand the relationship between audience and performers?** ===

I thought the ability to observe the audience and watch their reactions as they watched the play a unique way of understanding the play at a different angle. I thought the movie we watched in class was an interesting perspective of the play because not only did we get to hear the audiences dialogue but we got to observe their reactions and facial expression. It is not always clear on how the character might be expressing something when it is just written and the same sentence could be said using the same words but in a different tone to have a completely different meaning as well as a facial expression or a body movement which is impossible to see when you are just reading the script. So in the story I was able to pick up the positive relationship and connection that audience and the performers created as a result of the comedic play the performers put on.

=== **b) Modern television shows often create comic effects by having a silly, innocent, or “clueless” character and a sarcastic, knowing, clever character play off of each other. What examples can you think of?** ===

An example of this situation is a comedy television show called the "Big Band Theory" that have a large group of intelligent characters who co-exist with a much less intelligent friend who in ways is more "street" smart than they are. The exchange of the two types of knowledge creates a comedic relationship between the characters.

=== **c) Identify ways in which Pyramus and Thisbe might be unsuitable for a wedding celebration. Are there any ways in which the play might be appropriate? In what ways is the play-within-a-play an ironic commentary on what the two pairs of young lovers (Demetrius and Helena, Lysander and Hermia) have gone through earlier?** ===

The overall theme of the play Pyramus and Thisbe is a sad play in which to lovers are unable to be together in life. Which is a fairly dark and depressing message for a wedding day but at the same time the way the play is being put on, it is humorous and in a way pokes fun at the sad play and makes the situation lighter. The play is ironic because in the play-within-the-play the main characters have to over come the obstacles of love which is similar to what Demetrius, Helena, Lysander, and Hermia had to do. Lysander and Hermia's love was forbidden by Hermia's parents similar to the same as Pyramus and Thisbe. And although the characters all had different obstacles to overcome to get their lovers they all had to work for their love none the less. So their is an ironic relationship between the characters in the

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