a+midsummer+nights+dream

media type="file" key="RAWROMBN-OMNOMN.mp3" width="240" height="20" media type="file" key="bottoms dream.mp3" width="240" height="20"catherine kate layma! 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 is very negative while Hippolyta is an optimist. 2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do? Egeus wants help from Theseus to force his daughter to marry Demetrius. He expects permission from Theseus to kill his daughter if she doesn't marry Demetrius. 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 role of women was to listen to there fathers and men. 4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things? Lysander puts doubt in Egeus's mind about how deserving Demetrius is of Helena and sways the judgement of Theseus. 5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena? Hermia and Lysander plan to meet in the woods and later sneak out of Athens. They plan to go to Demetrius's aunt's house. They tell Helena their plan because she is Hermia's best friend, and Hermia wants to let Helena know that Demetrius won't marry her. 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 thinks that if she tells Demetrius about Hermia's plans, Demetrius will be so grateful that he will fall in love with Helena. 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 the choices to become a nun, die by her father's hand, or marry the man she doesn't love.

Act I, Scene 2 8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? Nick Bottom wants to play all the parts because he thinks he's the best actor. 9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene? This scene was funny because Nick Bottom said "obscenely" (27) instead of unseenly. He thinks he knows everything, but he doesn't. 10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time? The actors meet in the woods, which is the same place that Helena and Demetrius meet and the same place that Hermia and Lysander. 11. How would you describe Bottom’s acting ability? What is Bottom’s own opinion of his acting ability? Bottom thinks that he is the best actor out of everyone in the group. He is actually a decent actor but he thinks to highly of himself.

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? Oberon and Titania do not get along, we learn this because puck says that Titania has a changeling boy whom she and Oberon fight over. 11. How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta; why have they come to Athens? Oberon has had an affair with Hippolyta, and Titania had an affair with Theseus. They have come to Athens for the wedding of Hippolyta and Theseus. 12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? Their fight has caused flooding, which made all the crops to rot. The humans go hungry because of the fight. 13. Why won’t Titania give up the changeling to Oberon? The changeling is the son of Titania's friend. Titania promised to take care of it. 14. What does Oberon send Puck to find? Oberon wants Puck to finda flower which cupid has struck its bow into. 15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? Oberon plans to put juice from the flower in Titania's eyes so that she'll fall in love with the next creature she sees. 16. How does Helena react to Demetrius’s verbal abuse? She is clever and twists everything he says to let him know she will always love him. 17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse? She lets him know that the more he beats her, the more she will love him. 18. In what way is Helena’s behaviour inappropriate for Athenian women? In Athens it is thought that when a man loves a women he will try to make that women fall in love with himself. Helena is instead forcing her love upon Demetrius. 19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? Oberon tells Puck to put juice from the flower in Demetrius's 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? Oberon wants to convince himself that Titania's love means nothing because he is mad that she loves the changeling boy more than she loves him. 21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her? Hermia is wants to stay a virgin until she is married. 22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes? Puck mistook Lysander for the Athenian man Oberon was talking about. 23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? Helena thinks it is a cruel joke and gets really upset. 24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality? Hermia dreams of her heart being torn apart and then when she awakens it figuratively is torn apart by Lysander.

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 plan to have a prolog explaining that nothing in the play is real. 26. How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall? They plan to have a man stand on stage and pretend to be a wall and keep a window open to let the real moonlight shine in. 27. Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears? Bottom frightens the other actors because he has the head of an ass. 28. What does Puck plan to do when he follows after the other actors? Puck wants to scare the other actors even more and make the situation even worse. 29. How does Bottom react to Titania and the other fairies? Bottom is a little surprised but likes the attention so decides to ride with it. 30. Bottom says, "…reason and love keep little company together nowadays." Why is this such an apt statement at this point in the play? Through out the play demonstrations of Bottom's quote are given; Helena loves Demetrius even though he hates her. Demetrius loves Hermia even though she isn't interested in him.

Act III, Scene 2 31. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing? Hermia thinks Demetrius killed Lysander, out of jealousy. 32. How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake? They plan to make all the lovers fall asleep and re-anoint Lysander's eyes to make him love Hermia again. 33. Why is Helena upset when Demetrius says he loves her? Isn’t this what she had wanted all along? Although Helena loves Demetrius, his sudden change in opinion of her makes her think he is playing a trick on her. 34. Of what does Helena accuse Hermia? Helena thinks Hermia is in on a joke with the guys where they all pretend to love her. 35. How close had Hermia and Helena been in the past? Hermia and Helena were extremely close their whole lives. 36. How does Lysander treat Hermia? Why can’t she believe what he says? Lysander is really mean to Hermia and she thinks he is lying because he has loved her for their whole life. 37. Of what does Hermia accuse Helena? Hermia says Helena is a stealer of love. 38. Why is Helena afraid of Hermia? Hermia is very mad and threatening to hurt Helena. 39. What are Lysander and Demetrius going off to do? They are going to fight over Helena in a different area away from the girls. 40. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men? Oberon tells Puck to delay them from fighting and to tire them out. 41. What is Oberon going to do about Titania? Oberon is planing to go and beg for the changeling boy. 42. Why doesn’t Oberon fear the coming of day? Oberon is not scared because he has powers so he is still strong in the day. 43. How well does Puck’s trickery work? Pucks trickery works out well for him but poorly for the people he tricks.

Act IV, Scene 1 44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies? Bottom loves the attention he gets from Titania, he has always wanted attention like this. 45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom? Oberon feels bad about making Titania love Bottom because she makes a fool of herself. 46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her? Oberon avoids answering Titania's questions, he instead asks her to dance with him. 47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning? The large group of people are all in the woods early in the morning because they are all on a fox hunt, for a wedding celebration. 48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? Theseus right away thinks that the couples are there for the fox hunt. 49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness? Demetrius explains that he has always loved Helena and says Hermia was like an illness because she wasn't right for him. 50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people? Because Theseus is in a good mood on his wedding day and so he decides all the couples will get married together to the people they love. 51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming? The experience made absolutely no sense at all, so everyone thought it was a dream. However, the four friends had all had the exact same dream and so they think they actually had been awake. 52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke? Bottom thinks of his experience as crazy and so he decides to tell people about by getting Peter Quince to write a ballad about it.

Act IV, Scene 2 53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? All the other actors in the play appreciate Bottom much more because it becomes obvious that they need him. 54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? They are most regretful when they find out that there were three weddings and they would have been paid triple. 55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace? They have to hurry because they are late because they couldn't find Nick Bottom.

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 find Theseus's character to be very humble while Bottom is the very opposite.
==== b) How do most of the dreamers respond to the dream experience upon waking? Which character is changed permanently by the dream experience? ====

They all think that the experience was crazy and they tried to figure out if it was a dream or reality. The only character who is changed permanently is Demetrius.
==== 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 is trying to say that when you love someone you feel like they are the only person in the world.
Act V 56. Why does Theseus dismiss the stories of the four young people? Theseus doesn't want to have to listen to the stories and would rather just enjoy his wedding. 57. Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisby rather than the other entertainments? Theseus is so amused by the description of the play that he decides to see it. He had already seen some of the other options and wanted to know how the play could be merry and tragical and tediously brief. 58. Why does Philostrate try to keep Theseus from seeing the play? What does he say is wrong with it? Philostrate doesn't want to watch the play again because of the terible acting. 59. What does Theseus mean by the lines, "For never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it"? Theseus means that he's sure they will try there best and end up doing a good job of the play. 60. What is accomplished by having the Prologue tell the whole story that the actors are then going to enact? The Prologue is to make sure that the audience knows whats going on. 61. How does Shakespeare use comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play that they are watching? Shakespeare makes the audience poke fun at the acting to make it even more obvious that the play is totally ridiculous. 62. What is Hippolyta’s reaction to the play? Hippolyta thought the play was very funny. 63. In what way is Thisby’s final speech humorous? Thisby is played by a man so his/her whole part is a bit humorous. 64. What does Oberon tell the fairies to do? Oberon tells everyone to dance. 65. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech? Puck's speech at the end is to wrap up the play and make sure it didn't offend anyone. 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 **during the play pyramis and thisbe "...blade, with bloody blameful blade, He bravely broach'd is boiling bloody breast..."

**breaking the play’s illusion of reality ** when Bottom talks to the audience. "...No, in truth, sir, he should not..."


 * using the wrong word or name: ** " Not Shafalus to Procrus was so true."


 * 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? ===

Being able to see another audience gives a completely different perspective. Being able to see how the adience reacts to the play helps to understand things like how the acting is.

=== 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? === - in 'mean girls' Karen and Regina. - in 'modern family' Haley and her little sister.

=== 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 Pyramus and Thisbe is unsuitable for a wedding because the play is about a couple who cannot get married. The ending is tragic when on a wedding day a happy ending would be better. This play within a play is ironic because in the play with in a play the lovers are forever faithful to each other while the characters in the play had been unfaithful just the night before.

Completion 25/25 Effort 20/25 Content 20/25

Total 65/75

Podcast 1 - 20/20 Podcast 2 - 18/20