A+MidSummer+Nights+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? Theseus feels that the four nights and four days until his marriage with Hippolyta are going so slowly and Hippolyta thinks that the time will go fast. 2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do? Egeus complains that his daughter, Hermia, refuses to marry his chosen suitor, Demetrius, since she's in love with Lysander. Egeus dislikes Lysander and says that it is his wedding day. Egeus wants Theseus to threaten his daughter with death since she chooses not to marry the suitor chosen by her father. 3. What was the proper role for women/daughters in Athenian society according to Egeus and Theseus? What is Theseus’s ruling concerning Hermia? Egeus and Theseus think that the women should obey the men. They think that women can't make smart choices. Hermia is concerned that she'll dies or become a nun. 4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things? Demetrius has already been involved romantically with Helena in the past. 5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena? They plan to go to Lysander's aunt's house and get married. They tell Helena what they plan to do because they hope she will tell Demetrius. 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? Helena decides to tell Demetrius because she hopes he'll love her instead of Hermia. 7. Identify Hermia’s basic dilemma. What are the choices outlined for her by Theseus and her father? What other choice does Lysander suggest? Hermia has to decide wether to marry Demetrius, get killed, or go to a nunnery and become a nun. Lysander suggests that they can hide at his aunt's house and get married. media type="file" key="Shakespeare.m4a" width="300" height="50" Christopher Yu Act I, Scene 2 8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? Nick Bottom believes he's the best actor of all and so good. He believes can play all the parts at the same time. 9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene? They weren't aloud to have girls on the stage so it was played by all guys. I think Shakespeare included this scene to show that men can act. 10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time? They were to meet at Dukes Oak. Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena are meeting there as well. 11. How would you describe Bottom’s acting ability? What is Bottom’s own opinion of his acting ability? I would describe Bottom's acting ability "poor." Bottom thinks that he's so good at acting that he'll make the audience cry.

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? Titania loves Oberon and Puck was engaged to a fairy named Moth who is possibly evil. 11. How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta; why have they come to Athens? Oberon & Titania have been romantically involved with Theseus and Hippolyta. 12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? Nature: Fogs & floods, farming is bad Seasons: Change in seasons (it will feel like winter in summer) Humans: People are confused 13. Why won’t Titania give up the changeling to Oberon? Titania says that his mother was a member of her order & died giving birth to the boy 14. What does Oberon send Puck to find? Oberon sends Puck to find a flower known as "love-in-idleness" 15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? Oberon says he will drop the juice from the flower into Titania's eyes when she sleeps, and he will not break the spell until she has given up the young boy. 16. How does Helena react to Demetrius’s verbal abuse? She says that the more he rejects her, the more she will fall in love with him. 17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse? Helena follows him, still determine to pursue him & hoping for a change of heart 18. In what way is Helena’s behaviour inappropriate for Athenian women? Women aren't allowed to speak back to the men. 19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? Oberon tells Puck to take the flower and put it on the eyes of Demetrius and then the next thing he is likely to see will be Helena.

Act II, Scene 2 20. Why does Oberon want Titania to wake and fall in love with some vile thing? Oberon decides to cast a spell on Titania in order to allow himself time to obtain the young boy that Titania takes care of. 21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her? Hermia wanted to protect her virtue. 22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes? Oberon told Puck to pour some of the juice on the eyes of Demetrius, so he would fall in love with Helena. Instead, Puck put it on Lysander's eyes by mistake. 23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? Helena thinks he is making fun of her and runs away. 24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality? Hermia dreams that a sea serpent is stealing her heart and Lysander watches, smiling. media type="file" key="Act II.m4a" width="300" height="50" Andy Yang and Christopher Yu

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 will write a prologue to explain their actions. 26. How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall? The actors are going to wait for a full moon and someone will act as the wall by having the guy make a hole with his fingers for the chink in the wall. 27. Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears? They run because Bottom appears with a donkey head as his head. 28. What does Puck plan to do when he follows after the other actors? Puck plans to cause more trouble by transforming himself into a boar, a horse, a headless bear, fire and a hound and terrorize them. 29. How does Bottom react to Titania and the other fairies? Bottom doesn't really know whats going on and he satrts singing when suddenly Titania comes up to him and says she loves 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? He is saying when people fall in love they don't think about why or how they fell in love they just love them. He is saying, to fall in love you don't need to think, you just need to see how they act or who they are.

Act III, Scene 2 31. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing? Hermia accuses Demetrius of killing Lysander. 32. How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake? Oberon tells to split Lysander and Demetrius up by getting Puck to become Lysander and get Demetrius to follow him to one half of the woods and then he will become into Demetrius and get Lysander to chase him to the other half of the woods and then when Lysander falls asleep, he will pour the juice onto Lysander's eyes and he will fall with Hermia once again. 33. Why is Helena upset when Demetrius says he loves her? Isn’t this what she had wanted all along? Demetrius has never said he loved her and always ignored her so when he says that he loves Helena, she thinks that Demetrius is making fun of her. 34. Of what does Helena accuse Hermia? Helena accuse Hermia of causing all this madness. Helena blames Hermia of doing something bad to Lysander to cause him to do this. 35. How close had Hermia and Helena been in the past? Hermia and Helena has been very close friends in the past. 36. How does Lysander treat Hermia? Why can’t she believe what he says? Lysander treats Lysander very poorly and calls Hermia small. Hermia doesn't believe what Lysander says because Lysander was the one who came up with the plan to run away to his aunt's house and get married there, so she is shocked. 37. Of what does Hermia accuse Helena? Hermia accuses Helena of stealing Lysander. 38. Why is Helena afraid of Hermia? Helena is afraid of Hermia because she thinks that Hermia is in on the act. 39. What are Lysander and Demetrius going off to do? Lysander and Demetrius are going off to fight for Helena. 40. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men? Oberon tells Puck to separate them and pour the juice of the flower onto Lysander's eyes and then Lysander will fall in love with Hermia once again while Demetrius is still in love with Helena. 41. What is Oberon going to do about Titania? Oberon is going to do nothing on Titania. 42. Why doesn’t Oberon fear the coming of day? He is a fairy that can withstand both night and day. 43. How well does Puck’s trickery work I'd say it worked out pretty good at the end.

Titania falls in love with Bottom and Bottom is confused, but he just goes along with it. Puck goes to Oberon to tell him his accomplishments. Then Demetrius and Hermia talk about where Lysander has went. Oberon then gets mad at Puck for doing the wrong thing and tells Puck to get Lysander and Demetrius to split them up and get Lysander to love Hermia and Demetrius to love Helena. Later, Demetrius wakes up and him and Lysander start fighting over Helena. Hermia comes in and Helena starts arguing about how she would be in on the act and why she would do such a thing to her. She doesn't understand why when they were such good friends since they were little kids. Then the Lysander and Demetrius fight for Helena's love and then Helena goes running off. Later, Oberon tells Puck to separate Lysander and Demetrius and get them to chase Puck so they would go to sleep. Then Puck would pour the juice of the flower into Lysander's eye causing him to love Hermia once more when he wakes up.. media type="file" key="Act III.m4a" width="300" height="50" By Christopher Yu and Andy Yang Act IV, Scene 1 44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies? Bottom is loving everything and he bosses the fairies around, like getting him food and scratching his head. 45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom? He starts to feel guilty that he has done this and he decides to put an end to this. 46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her? Oberon will tell Titania that he didn't know what happened at all. He will lie to her. 47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning? They went to celebrate May Day with their hunting hounds. 48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">They thought that they woke up early for May Day to show their grace. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">He followed Lysander and Hermia to prevent them from fleeing and then he fell in love with Helena. He described his love with Hermia as a "sickness." He said that when he was sick he hated Helena. But now his sickness is gone and he loves Helena once more. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">All three couples are going to get married on the same day. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">It didn't seem real, but everyone had the same dream which didnt seem quite right. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">He is gonna get Peter Quince to write a ballad of his dream, which he calls "Bottom's Dream." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Act IV, Scene 2 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">They think that he is irreplaceable and valuable to the group <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">They lost the money they get payed for performing. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace? He has already dined and is about to choose the play they will watch for the evening.

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? Bottom is a person who needs attention and too over confident. He is the opposite of Theseus character because Theseus is a relaxed and calm guy. b) How do most of the dreamers respond to the dream experience upon waking? Which character is changed permanently by the dream experience? The dreamers are confused wether the dream is true or not. They all had the same dream but it didn't seem really real. Demetrius is changed permanently by the dream experience because now he loves Helena instead of Hermia. <span style="font-size: 1.06em; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">c) In this act, several characters look back at prior infatuations with disbelief. What do you think Shakespeare is saying about love and infatuation? He is saying that true love cannot be changed but infatuated love can be changed. <span style="font-size: 1.06em; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">media type="file" key="Bottom's Dream.m4a" width="300" height="50" Bottom’s head transforms into a donkey

He had no clue that his head was of an ass

Titania wakes up and loves him like he was swanky

While Bottom enjoys his life like first class

He bosses the fairies and causes an intrusion

But the fairies gets annoyed and hates him with strain

Oberon gets jealous and reverses the illusion

And all is back to normal once again By Christopher Yu and Andy Yang Act V 56. Why does Theseus dismiss the stories of the four young people? Theseus describes the story as a sotry a crazy person might make up. Theseus does not really believe in the world of imagination. 57. Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisby rather than the other entertainments? The first act, he already told his bride. The second act, is too old and has been told too many times. The third act, is too sad and boring. Then come Pyramus and Thisbe. He is intrigued by the play and wishes to see how it is acted. Theseus thinks it will be a difficult play to act out. 58. Why does Philostrate try to keep Theseus from seeing the play? What does he say is wrong with it? Philostrate has seen the actors rehearsing and thinks that the actors are horrible. 59. What does Theseus mean by the lines, "For never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it"? He means that as long as they are being true and sincere there is nothing wrong with it. 60. What is accomplished by having the Prologue tell the whole story that the actors are then going to enact? It will explain that the actors are actually not dead and the lion is not real. 61. How does Shakespeare use comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play that they are watching? It reinforces the humor of the play through their explanations. 62. What is Hippolyta’s reaction to the play? Hippolyta thinks it is a joke and its the funniest thing she has ever seen. 63. In what way is Thisby’s final speech humorous? It is funny because of the way he says his lines. For example "Adieu, Adieu, Adieu." 64. What does Oberon tell the fairies to do? Oberon tells the fairies to bless the beds of the couples. 65. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech? He is sorry for the mistakes he did and tells the audience that if they liked it they should tell other people and if they disliked it, they should think of the play as a dream. 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 - "Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade, he bravely broach'd is boiling bloody breas" breaking the play’s illusion of reality - The prologue using the wrong word or name "<span style="color: #000000; font: 12px/19px Helvetica; letter-spacing: 0px; margin: 0px;">This is old Ninny's tomb. Where is my love?" repeating a word excessively - " Now die, die, die, die, die." ridiculous metaphor - "To spy an I can hear my Thisby's face. Thisby! "

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?

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? Peter Griffin - Family Guy, Homer Simpson - The Simpsons, Garfield - Garfield

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? It could be unstuitable because of the deaths and the scary lion in the play. The part when they kiss through the chink of the wall might br appropriate for a wedding celebration. It is similar to what the two pairs of lovers has gone through because the parents forbade Pyramus and Thisbe to marry just like how Theseus forbade Hermia to marry Lysander.

** COMPLETION10/10 EFFORT 8/10 CONTENT 8/10 TOTAL 26/30 **