A+Midsummer+Night's+Dream

Podcast: Spencer and Jinjin

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“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?

2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do?
====**Egeus has brought the suitors and his daughter to Theseus so that he might choose to let him invoke the law of Athens to let him kill his daughter if she doesn't obey him. He expects Theseus to agree.**====

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 role" for women is as a faithful follower of her father, and one who agrees to everything her father decides for her. Theseus' rule is that she will choose at their wedding either to marry Demetrius, become a nun, or die.**====

5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena?
====**Lysander and Hermia decide to sneak away from Athens and get married at Lysander's aunt's house. They tell Helena to comfort her because she will have Demetrius all to herself once they are married.**====

**Helena's skewed logic tells her that if she rats out the couple to Demetrius, he will be so grateful that he will forget about Hermia, and love Helena instead.**
====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 basic dilemma is that she must choose between a husband she doesn't love, becoming a nun, and death. Lysander's other option is that they sneak away and get married outside of Athens, where the law can't touch him. **====

Act I, Scene 2 8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? 9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene? 10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time? 11. How would you describe Bottom’s acting ability? What is Bottom’s own opinion of his acting ability?
 * Nick Bottom wants to play all the parts in the play because he thinks so highly of himself, he thinks that none of the others can possibly compare to him in acting ability.**
 * This scene is funny because Bottom makes a fool of himself by trying to persuade everyone that he should play all the parts.**
 * The actors decide to meet in the wood to practice without an audience. Lysander and Hermia are also meeting there that night.**
 * Nick Bottom is not a great actor in my opinion. He, though, thinks that he is a great actor, and is far superior to all the other actors.**

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? 11. How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta, and why have they come to Athens? 12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? 13. Why won’t Titania give up the changeling to Oberon? 14. What does Oberon send Puck to find? 15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? 16. How does Helena react to Demetrius’s verbal abuse? 17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse? 18. In what way is Helena’s behavior inappropriate for Athenian women? 19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? Act II, Scene 2 20. Why does Oberon want Titania to wake and fall in love with some vile thing? 21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her? 22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes? 23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? 24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality?
 * The reader first finds out that it is bad for humans when they meet, because they fight, which afflicts the world with diseases, droughts, floods, and other disasters.**
 * Oberon and Titania have both had affairs with Hippolyta and Theseus respectively, and have also both come for the wedding.**
 * Their fighting affects the seasons, the weather, and even diseases. Whenever they fight, some horrible storm, disaster, or new disease comes along and wipes out the food and the livestock.**
 * Titania claims that the child is hers to raise because her friend entrusted it to her before she died, and she intends to honour the promise she made.**
 * Oberon sends puck to find the field of pansies turned purple from cupid's badly-aimed arrow.**
 * Oberon plans to squeeze the juice of the pansies onto Titania's eyes to make her fall in love with the first thing she sees. he plans to erase this practical joke's effects once he believes she has learned her lesson.**
 * Helena cleverly turns everything Demetrius says back at him, conveying her true love. She is upset and hurt, but perseveres to try and get Demetrius to love her.**
 * She flips it back at him, saying that "all the world is watching us, because you are all my world", and such.**
 * Apparently it is not appropriate for women to chase after men, and should try to be dignified and wait to be wooed by them instead.**
 * Oberon tells Puck to fix Demetrius' hatred with the love juice of Cupid's pansies. He plans to make Demetrius love Helena as much as she loves him.**
 * Oberon is hurt by being denied the changeling boy, and wants to show Titania who's the boss. He plans to reverse it later, though, because he just wants to teach his queen a lesson, ad not lose her completely.**
 * Hermia wants to "keep her modesty" because she and Lysander are not yet married.**
 * Puck accidentally anoints the eyes of Lysander because he is supposed to "anoint the eyes of the man wearing Athenian garments" and Lysander is the first man with the clothes described that he sees.**
 * Helena is offended, thinking that Lysander is taunting her about her love for Demetrius.**
 * Hermia's dream about a serpent eating her heart is oddly fitting, because in the next scene, Lysander breaks her heart by telling her that he no longer loves her, and loves Helena instead.**

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? 26. How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall? 27. Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears? 28. What does Puck plan to do when he follows after the other actors? 29. How does Bottom react to Titania and the other fairies? 30. Bottom says, "…reason and love keep little company together nowadays." Why is this such an apt statement at this point in the play?
 * The actors decide to write a prologue to tell the audience that Pyramus is not Pyramus, but Bottom the weaver, and no-one actually will die. They also write another prologue to tell the audience that the lion is just Snug the joiner.**
 * The actors get one of the men to play "Wall" and plan to open a window to let in the moon, or have a man play the part of "Moon" with a lantern and a bush of thorns.**
 * The actors run off because Puck has placed an ass-head on Bottom, and they think they are haunted.**
 * Puck plans to shape-shift into different animals to keep the actors terrified and running in circles.**
 * Bottom is surprised by his sudden lover, and her minions, but as "reason and love keep little company together nowadays", he just accepts it.**
 * This is an apt statement, because there is absolutely no logic behind the queen of the fairies falling in love with him for no reason, and imprisoning him in the woods.**

Act III, Scene 2 31. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing? 32. How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake? 33. Why is Helena upset when Demetrius says he loves her? Isn’t this what she had wanted all along? 34. Of what does Helena accuse Hermia? 35. How close had Hermia and Helena been in the past? 36. How does Lysander treat Hermia? Why can’t she believe what he says? 37. Of what does Hermia accuse Helena? 38. Why is Helena afraid of Hermia? 39. What are Lysander and Demetrius going off to do? 40. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men? 41. What is Oberon going to do about Titania? 42. Why doesn’t Oberon fear the coming of day? 43. How well does Puck’s trickery work?
 * Hermia accuses Demetrius of killing Lysander, to which he replies that he has not, and doesn't know where he is.**
 * Puck and Oberon are going to correct the mistake by re-anointing Lysander's eyes, to make him love Hermia, and to anoint Demetrius's eyes to make him love Helena.**
 * Helena is partially happy, but also thinks that Demetrius is messing with her, by playing a joke on her with Lysander and even Hermia.**
 * Helena accuses Hermia of persuading Lysander to pretend to love her as a joke, and also of going along with the joke herself.**
 * Hermia and Helena had been best friends in the past.**
 * Lysander treats Hermia badly because he claims he no longer loves her, but Helena instead.**
 * Hermia accuses Helena of stealing her fiance, Lysander.**
 * Helena is afraid of Hermia because she is vicious in a fight.**
 * Lysander and Demetrius are going off to "duke it out", or fight ,possibly to the death, over Helena.**
 * Oberon tells Puck to lead the men apart from each other, and tire them out until they go to sleep, and then anoint the eyes of Lysander with the juice of the pansies, to make him fall back in love with Hermia.**
 * Oberon decides to take the curse off Titania, and give bottom back his normal head.**
 * He is not afraid of daybreak because he and Puck are "fairies of another sort" that are not affected by daylight.**
 * Puck's trickery throughout the play works rather well, even though it is really the cause of the whole problem with the love square.**

Act IV, Scene 1 44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies? 45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom? 46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her? 47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning? 48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? 49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness? 50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people? 51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming?
 * Bottom, for some reason, seems to think that it is perfectly normal to have fairies waiting on him. He decides that "Love and reason keep little company these days", and accepts it.**
 * Oberon likes how the prank turned out, but also feels a little guilty about it.**
 * Oberon does not really explain, and instead brushes off the question and changes the subject.**
 * Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others are out for a morning hunt to celebrate the wedding that evening.**
 * Theseus's first explanation was that they all rose early to celebrate the "Rite of May"**
 * Demetrius says that his love to Hermia is "melted as the snow," and compares his love for Hermia to a sickness because he now loathes the face that he ever loved her.**
 * Theseus decides to overrule Egeus and have the two couples married at the same time as he and Hippolyta.**

52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke? Act IV, Scene 2 53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? 54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? 55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace?
 * He is going to have Quince write a ballad called "Bottom's Dream", to perform before the Duke and Duchess.**
 * The other artisans now think that Bottom was a good guy, and deserved the pay the Duke was offering.**
 * They most regret not being able to perform the play because they would have gotten paid handsomely for the privilege.**
 * They must hurry because the Duke might choose some other form of entertainment over them if they do not arrive soon.**

Act V

56. Why does Theseus dismiss the stories of the four young people? 57. Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisbe rather than the other entertainments? 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"? 60. What is accomplished by having the Prologue tell the whole story that the actors are then going to enact? 61. How does Shakespeare use comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play that they are watching? 62. What is Hippolyta’s reaction to the play? 63. In what way is Thisbe’s final speech humorous? 64. What does Oberon tell the fairies to do? 65. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech?
 * Theseus dismisses the stories of the the young couples because he sees**
 * Theseus chooses the play of Pyramus and Thisbe partially because he has seen the others, or they are not appropriate for a wedding ceremony, but also because of how Philostrate reviews it. When Philostrate tells him how bad it is, Theseus just becomes more and more curious about how bad the play could really be, and decides to see it.**
 * Philostrate tries to keep Theseus from watching the play because he does not think it is up to the standards a wedding of their scale demands. He says that it is tedious, yet short, and "not one word apt". He also says that he laughed until he cried when he watched Pyramus kill himself, because the acting was so bad.**
 * Theseus means that** **the play cannot be as awful as Philostrate has described, if the simple workers have gone about directing it and performing it with duty.**
 * The Idea behind the prologue is to warn the audience, so they are not surprised when Pyramus and Thisbe both kill themselves. This backfires, though, because the prologue announces the whole story, making it redundant to perform the play.**
 * Shakespeare uses comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play by giving the audience hysterically funny lines such as "it is the wittiest partition that ever I heard discourse, my lord" to make the scene seem funnier.**
 * Hippolyta finds the play amusing, but also silly beyond belief, to the point of sheer stupidity.**
 * Thisbe's final speech is humorous because**
 * Oberon tells the fairies to spread out through the house and bless all the couples while they sleep.**
 * Puck's final speech serves as an appology to the audience if they are offended by the play, saying that they will try to improve if the audience will turn a blind eye to the mistakes they made.**

Extending the thought process Act IV
====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?==== ====b) How do most of the dreamers respond to the dream experience upon waking? Which character is changed permanently by the dream experience?==== ====c) In this act, several characters look back at prior infatuations with disbelief. What do you think Shakespeare is saying about love and infatuation?====
 * Bottom seems to be the kind of man who thinks he is really important, and that he knows everything, and always has to show off his greater intellect. This does not work for Bottom, though, because he has no greater intellect, and just makes a fool of himself. He is the opposite of Theseus in that he is arrogant where Theseus is modest, he is a know-it-all while Theseus never shows off, and he is a lower-class workman who thinks he is important, while Theseus is and upper-class duke who knows he is important, but never says anything to flaunt it.**
 * The dreamers respond with confusion, but later accept that their dream was real, because they all had the same dream.**
 * I think Shakespeare is saying that you can't always choose who you love, or how much you love them, and that you can completely change your mind about someone overnight.**

Extending the thought process Act V
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 : bloody blameful blade, bravely broached, boiling bloody breast (Prologue)**

** ridiculous metaphor:the flowers of odious savours sweet...(Pyramus misquoting) **
===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?=== Observing another audience made me realize just how often we criticize movies while watching them, even without meaning to or realizing it. I know i have leaned over tons of times to a friend and gone "no, really? The pirates are hiding in the house with the giant jolly roger flying from the chimney?", even without meaning to. I also realized how bad it sounds when the actors in the play or the movie speak directly to the audience(except in Puck's case during the ending speech).

===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=== Some great examples of clueless and wisecracking characters are found in cartoons. one great example is Buggs Bunny. He is a wisecracking rabbit who always comes out on top, whether he is facing off against Blacque Jacque Shellacque, or Daffy Duck. The Roadrunner has a similar gimmick going, with Wile E. Coyote trying to catch him, but always falling one step behind.

===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?=== Pyramus and Thisbe might not be appropriate for a wedding because the play is about a wedding that goes wrong when both the Bride and Groom commit suicide. I don't believe there are ways this play is appropriate for a wedding, given that the wedding-goers might see the play as an omen of things to come.

Act 3 plot summary
Act three starts off with the craftsmen in the woods, rehearsing for their play. Puck stumbles upon them, and after seeing how badly they act, "makes an ass" of Bottom and scares off the other actors. Bottom sings a song to keep his spirits up, and accidentally wakes Titania, who instantly falls in love with him ,because of the pansy juice on her eyelids. Puck sees this, and reports it to Oberon, who announces how pleased he is with Puck's work. Demetrius and Hermia come along, and Oberon and Puck, being curious, stick around to watch what happens. As Hermia accuses Demetrius of killing Lysander, Puck and Oberon quickly realize Puck's accident. Hermia storms off, and Demetrius goes to sleep, Conveniently allowing Oberon to apply pansy juice to his eyelids, and Puck to go find Hermia and Lysander and bring them back. Lysander, having been made to fall in love with Helena, has made her very angry, because she believes he is mocking her. This problem gets even worse when their fighting wakes Demetrius, and he too declares his love for Helena. Hermia then arrives, and the proceeds to accuse Helena of stealing Lysander. Helena still believes the whole thing is a joke, and accuses Hermia of mocking her, and breaking their bond of friendship, which they had built since childhood. Lysander and Demetrius then leave to duel over Helena, and Puck leads them astray, tires them out, and puts them to sleep, and then brings Hermia and Helena over, and puts them to sleep near their boyfriends, and finally applies pansy juice to Lysander's eyes, to make him love Hermia again.

Completion 25/25 Effort 22/25 Content 23/25

Total 70/75

Podcast 1 - 20/20 Podcast 2 - 20/20