A+midsummer+night's+dream+questions

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

1. How is Hippolyta’s reasoning concerning how quickly the next four days will pass different from that of Theseus? __ Hippolyta believes that the days will go by quickly and the wait will be worth it. __
 * Act I, Scene 1**

2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do? __ Egeus brought them to Theseus because Hermia loves Lysander but Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius. Egeus wants Theseus to give him the power to force his daughter either marry Demetrius or die. __

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 believe that the women of Athens must obey their fathers or husbands. Theseus belives that their should be a second choice that does not involve death so he adds the choice of becoming a nun.__

4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things? __ Because it shows how if Hermia marries Demetrius it might upset Helena and Demetrius might leave Hermia in the end. __

5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena? __ They plan to run away to Lysander's Aunts house were the Athenian law can't reach. That way they can get married and Egeus can't get them. They tell Helena because she was mad that Demetrius loves Hermia and they wanted to show how she doesn't love him back. __

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? __ Mainly because she thought it would make Demetrius realize how she loves him and they would get back together. __

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's dilemma is either marry a person who you do not love and leave the person you do or die. Theseus adds the choice of becoming a nun and living a single life. Lysander then adds the option of running away and getting married at his aunts house. __

8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? __He wants all the parts because he feels he is the best actor and wants to be noticed by the king.__ 9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene? __This scene is funny because it shows how Bottom believes he is the best and Shakespeare probably included this scene to show how inexperienced the actors are.__ 10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time? __ The actors are planing to meet in the forest The same place Hermia and Lysander are planing to meet before they go to get married. __
 * Act I, Scene 2 **

11. How would you describe Bottom’s acting ability? What is Bottom’s own opinion of his acting ability? __ Bottoms is and average actor in my opinion. However he believes that he is a perfect actor who can play all parts. __

**Podcast is on my partners wall Jerry.** http://284779.wikispaces.com/midsummer+night%27s+dream


 * 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? **They find out that they are married but all the same are in a constant war mainly over a young boy who was born of one of the Queens servants. The queen wants to protect the boy and the king wants to teach him to become a henchman.**

11. How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta; why have they come to Athens? **Oberon and Hippolyta have previously loved each other. Titania and Theseus have also been in love. The fairies then come to Athens to witness the wedding.**

12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? **Their quarrel causes; great winds, large fogs, flooding rivers, and extreme frost in the fall.**

13. Why won’t Titania give up the changeling to Oberon? **She won't give up the changeling because her servant was her friend and she must keep him safe.**

14. What does Oberon send Puck to find? **The flowers with the power of cupids arrow.**

15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? **He planed to give her a special flower that would force her to be in love with the first thing she saw. The first thing she would see would be a vile animal.**

16. How does Helena react to Demetrius’s verbal abuse? **She continues to follow and say that it makes her love him even more.**

17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse? **She said that the world was with her and that his values were above that.**

18. In what way is Helena’s behaviour inappropriate for Athenian women? **She is following a man around rather than the man searching for her love.**

19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? **He tells him to give Demetrius some of the flower's juice so that he and Helena can fall in love.**


 * Act II, Scene 2**

20. Why does Oberon want Titania to wake and fall in love with some vile thing? **So that he can get back at her for not giving the changeling boy to him.**

21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her? **Because she doesn't want to have any inappropriate actions before they are married.**

22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes? **He thought that Lysander was Demetrius because he was sleeping far from Hermia and wearing Athenian clothing.**

23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? **She believes that Lysander is trying to mock her and runs away crying.**

24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality? **Her dream was that a serpent stole her heart, In reality her heart was for Lysander and now he loves Helena so her heart was therefore stolen.**

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 have a prologue within which they state that Pyramus is really Bottom and he won't kill himself. They also say that the Lion is really snout the weaver. The lions costume will also show the face of the actor.**
 * Act III, Scene 1**

26. How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall?**The actors are going to have people who will walk around saying they are the moon and the wall. These people would be dressed like the moon and the wall.**

27. Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears? **They run off because they are scared that they might be cursed or something. They also run because the asses head on Bottom completely surprises them.**

28. What does Puck plan to do when he follows after the other actors? **Puck plans on changing himself into different animals to scare the actors even more than Bottom already did.**

29. How does Bottom react to Titania and the other fairies? **Bottom makes fun of their names and jokes but is still not sure why Titania loves him so much.**

30. Bottom says, "…reason and love keep little company together nowadays." Why is this such an apt statement at this point in the play? **It is so relevant because must of the loving that is happening or even not happening makes no sense at all.**

31. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing? **Killing Lysander in his sleep.**
 * Act III, Scene 2**

32. How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake?**They are going to make Demetrius love Helena and make Lysander love Hermia again.**

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 he is mocking her just like Lysander.**

34. Of what does Helena accuse Hermia? **Joining the mockery to only greater push her down.**

35. How close had Hermia and Helena been in the past? **They had been best friends.**

36. How does Lysander treat Hermia? Why can’t she believe what he says?**Lysander constantly insults her and tells her that she hates her. She can't believe what he says because they were so madly in love that they were willing to run away from their homes to get married.**

37. Of what does Hermia accuse Helena? **Hermia accuses Helena of stealing her love Lysander while she was sleeping.**

38. Why is Helena afraid of Hermia?**She is afraid because if Hermia got the chance she could kill her.**

39. What are Lysander and Demetrius going off to do? **To fight for the love of Helena.**

40. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men? **He tells him to separate the two and then put the flower juice into Lysander's eyes.**

41. What is Oberon going to do about Titania? **Try to get the changling boy.**

42. Why doesn’t Oberon fear the coming of day? **He doesn't fear the coming day because he believes that he will have the same power during the day as he has during the night.**

43. How well does Puck’s trickery work? **Pucks trickery works very well.**

==== **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**
 * **Titania introduces Bottom to her servants**
 * **Puck tells Oberon of his success in trying to get Titania to fall in love to a creature**
 * **Demetrius and Hermia fight about Lysander's "disappearance"**
 * **Oberon realizes pucks failure**
 * **Demetrius falls in love with Helena and begins to fight with Lysander**
 * **Hermia finds out Lysander loves Helena**
 * **Lysander and Demetrius fight only to be tricked by Puck who then puts juice in Lysanders eyes.**

44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies?**He has become even more greedy and not even scratching his head on his own.**
 * Act IV, Scene 1**

45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom? **Oberon felt like she did not deserve such a thing and he was also jealous of the attention that Bottom was getting.**

46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her?**He gives no explanation but rather changes the subject away from the past night.**

47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning?**They are having a fox hunt which is an early morning wedding day tradition.**

48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? **They decided to go into the forest to witness the tradition.**

49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness? **He says that Helena revealed the secret journey of Lysander and Hermia to him so he decided to follow them but in the woods his mind was changed and he now loves Helena. He compares Hermia to an illness because it comes and goes.**

50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people? **He decided to allow them to go free and get married during his marriage.**

51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming? **They can't be sure because the events that happened were seemingly impossible.**

52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke? **He is going to make Peter construct a ballad and he will read it out at the wedding after their play.**

53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? **They believe that he is the best actor and can't be replaced by anyone in Athens.**
 * Act IV, Scene 2**

54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? **They most regret not getting the large sums of money that would be rewarded because it was a triple wedding.**

55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace? **So that they may be able to do the play in front of the Duke even if it wasn't during the wedding ceremonies.**

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 can be looked at as opposite from Theseus in many ways. Bottom has no extreme amounts of power while meanwhile Theseus is the Duke of Athens. Theseus also is very out going but is still good at what he does. Bottom is different in the way that he believes he is the best even if he isn't. Bottom also thinks he is always right while Theseus doesn't.** ====

==== 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 are very confused and sceptical about what happened but, only Demetrius was changed forever because he is now permanently in love with Helena and before he was in love with Hermia.** ====

==== c) In this act, several characters look back at prior infatuations with disbelief. What do you think Shakespeare is saying about love and infatuation? **Shakespeare, in my opinion, was trying to say that love can be very confusing and complex there are two good quotes that support this the first one is, "reason and love keep little company together" showing that love is confusing. The second is, "the course of true love never did run smooth", This shows that love is a very complex thing that is never easy.** ====

== Act 4 Podcast: Bottom decides to commission Peter Quince to write a ballad called “Bottom’s Dream.” On your own or with a partner, imagine that you have been asked to write the lyrics and compose the musical accompaniment. Remember that at the beginning of act 4, Bottom told the fairies that he likes to listen to the “tongs and bones” (act 4, scene 1, line 30). Tongs were pieces of metal struck against each other and bones were actual bones. These instruments were used in comical or in less sophisticated musical performances. Write the poetry for the ballad ( a minimum of 2 stanzas, 4 lines each), then put it to music! ==
 * My podcast is on my partner, Jerry Yu's, wiki.Wiki **

Act V

56. Why does Theseus dismiss the stories of the four young people?**Beacause he finds it impossible and they must have been hallucinating from their love.**

57. Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisby rather than the other entertainments? **He thinks that it will be better because it is preformed by average working people rather**
 * someone who would do it only for the money.**

58. Why does Philostrate try to keep Theseus from seeing the play? What does he say is wrong with it? **Philostrate doesn't want Theseus to see the play because it was not preformed well and wasn't good. He says that even though it is a short play it is too long.**

59. What does Theseus mean by the lines, "For never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it"? **He means that nothing can go wrong if you fully try.**

60. What is accomplished by having the Prologue tell the whole story that the actors are then going to enact? **They accomplish nothing and ruin the story for the audience.**

61. How does Shakespeare use comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play that they are watching? **He uses the comments to point out more of the visual failures brought on by the actors.**

62. What is Hippolyta’s reaction to the play? **Hippolyta says that the actors will be embarrassed by their bad performance.**

63. In what way is Thisby’s final speech humorous? **They try to create a good set of metaphors nut end up comparing Pyramus to many bad things.**

64. What does Oberon tell the fairies to do? **He tells the faries to go around the house and bless all of the lovers.**

65. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech? **To ask the audience to be forgiven and to tell use that if you are offended it was just 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 ** "He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast" **

breaking the play’s illusion of reality ** Bottom talks with Theseus and tells him that Thisbe has her cue. **

using the wrong word or name ** "I am thy lovers grace. And, like limander, am I trusty still" **

<span style="color: #1a1a18; font-family: Times,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">repeating a word excessively ** "Now die, die, die, die, die" **

<span style="color: #1a1a18; font-family: Times,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">ridiculous metaphor ** "These yellow cowslip cheeks " **

=== 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? ===

It helps to understand all the things that can't be written in script otherwise with the example of visual effects. It also helps us understand that we may see it as a bad story telling event they would also find it fairly comedic.

=== 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? ===

The Simpsons (with Bart and Liza or Homer and Marge), Modern Family (with Alex and Haley).

=== 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 play would be unsuitable because of it's tragic nature and everyone dies. It might be suitable because of the fact that it is about two lovers trying to connect. It was however completely ironic because Pyramus and Thisbe were willing to die to be with each other and the other lovers were constantly changing their minds about who they loved and who they didn't.