Midsummer+Night's+Dream

media type="file" key="MidSummerNightStream 2.m4a" width="300" height="50" media type="file" key="Bottom's Dream 2.m4a" width="300" height="50" __**Act One, Scene One.**__

__1. How is Hippolyta’s reasoning concerning how quickly the next four days will pass different from that of Theseus?__


 * Theseus is extremely impatient. He wants the next four days to go as quick as possible. He woo'd thee with thy sword, and now wishs to marry for love. Hippolyta however, is very patient and knows that the day will come. Her philosophy is more or less that 'a watch clock never ticks.'**

__2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do?__


 * Egeus expects Theseus to give him permission to slay his daughter if she does not listen to him. He is vexed and wants justice. I think that maybe he brought Lysander along to show him that what he has done to Egeus' daughter (bewitched her soul).**

__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 and daughters was to obey their fathers fancies, and do exactly what they say. They are expected to marry young, to a man of their fathers choosing. The women was said to have no power concerning what she wants, whatsoever. Theseus' ruling is that she has three options:**
 * 1) Marry Demetrius**
 * 2) Get killed by her father**
 * 3) Become a nun, and be forced onto a single life.**

__4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things?__


 * Lysander makes en excellent point, with pointing out that Demetriushad a previous love affair with Helena. It makes Theseus' job harder in decided what to make of the situation, and it gives Eg****eus less of an argument.**

__5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena?__


 * Lysa****plan to run away to a cabin far into the forests, outside the walls of Athens. Then, they will get married and Egeus will no longer have the right to kill her. They end up telling Helena because she feels saddened by the fact that Demetrius doesn't love her. Hermia tells her that she can have him, because ___.__****nder and 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?__

__**Helena decides to tell Demetrius of Hermia and Lysanders plans because she wants to get Demetrius back, and maybe if she told him such things, he will be so grateful that he will have no choice then to take her back.**__

__7. Identify Hermia's basic dilemma. What are the choices outlines for her by Theseus and her father? What other choice does Lysander suggest?__

__**Hermia's basic dilemma is that she does NOT want to marry Demetrius, she does NOT want to be killed, and she does NOT want to become a nun, and those are the only three choices available to her by order of the Duke of Athens, Theseus. Lysander, gives her the alternative choice of running away with him to a far away cabin to get married, so her father will no longer have ruling over her,**__


 * 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 believes that he is the best one there, and he fits best for all the parts. He thinks that if the play wants to be the best it can be, he must play all the parts. He wants to express his ability in more ways then one.**__

__9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene?__

__**I think Shakespeare included this scene because it portrays what the average community of that time thought of the Actors in these kind of plays. They thought of them as self-centered, egotistic, and conceited people.**__

__10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time?__

__**The actors are to meet in the forest outside the walls of Athens, as to not draw any attention to their acting. They are to memorize their lines before they get there, to maximize the proficiency of their meeting. The only problem is, that is where Lysander and Hermia plan to meet that very same night.**__

__11. How would you describe Bottom's acting ability? What is bottom's own opinion of his acting ability?__


 * I think there is not enough evidence at this point to give a definitive point of view on his acting ability, but I think it must be at-least decent. Bottom's own perspective on his acting ability however, is very high. He thinks he is the best one in the world and should be celebrated.**

__**Act Two, Scene One.**__

__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; why have they come to Athens?__

__12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans?__


 * __The effect that the quarrel has on nature when Oberon and Titania is that whenever they fight, wild natural disasters occur. This is why fairies try to avoid conflicts between the two.__**

__13. Why won’t Titania give up the changeling to Oberon?__

__14. What does Oberon send Puck to find?__


 * __Oberon sends puck to find a magical flower that has been injected with the magic of Cupid. Dripping the juice of said flower into the eyes of a living creature will instantly turn the first thing the creature sees once they awake into their life long love.__**

__15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania?__

__**Oberon wants Puck to go find a flower in which Cupid had bewitched with his arrow. This flowed has the power to shift the love of one person onto the first person said person awakens too. Oberon hopes that the first thing that Titania wakes to is some ugly beast.**__

__16. How does Helena react to Deme____trius’s verbal abuse?__


 * __Helena counters everything Demetrius has to say in every situation. All of Helena's counters are all more intellectual and witty then all of Demetrius' verbal abuse.__**

__17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse?__

__18. In what way is Helena’s behaviour inappropriate for Athenian women?__

__**Most Athenian women do not have a say in what they want. The males were dominate back then, and had say over anything a women said or did.**__

__19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena?__


 * __Oberon tells Puck to find the man in the Athenian Garb and drip the juices of the flower into his eyes, making him fall in love with Helena. This is showing that Oberon isn't a very mean person after all.__**


 * __Act II, Scene 2__**

__20. Why does Oberon want Titania to wake and fall in love with some vile thing?__


 * __Oberon wants Titania to wake up and fall in love with some vile thing because he is not a very nice person to her and wants her to be a laughing stock of all of the sprites.__**

__21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her?__

__22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes?__


 * __Puck anoints Lysander's eyes because he is wearing Athenian garb, and that is the only detail that Oberon has given him about the intended subject.__**

__23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens?__

__**Helena thinks that Lysander is mocking her, so she runs (or bikes) away from him.**__

__24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality?__

__**Hermia's dream is that a snake has eaten her heart, and now that Lysander has fallen in love with Hermia, Lysander is going to metaphorically become the snake.**__

__25. How are the actors going to keep from scaring the ladies when Pyramus kills himself or when the lion roars?__

__**The actors plan to write a prologue in which everything will be explained. It will be known that Pyramus is not Pryamus but Bottom the weaver, and that the lion is not in fact a lion. They claim that the actor is not actually going to kill himself in this play.**__

__26. How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall?__

__**The actors are going to open one of the windows in the church to let the moonlight in during the night scenes, and they are going to have an actor play a wall. The wall will show holes in his hands to indicate the crack in the wall.**__

__27. Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears?__

__**The rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears because he has the head of an ass. It is known that he has in fact translated, and the actors want nothing to do with this magic.**__

__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?__


 * __Bottom is surprised when he finds out that a Fairy queen has fallen in love with him. Usually, fairies do not interact with mortals, and that by giving him this royal honor, he in a sense fulfills his life dream.__**

__30. Bottom says, "…reason and love keep little company together nowadays." Why is this such an apt statement at this point in the play?__

__**This is such an apt statement in this point in the play because all the lovers love the wrong people, and for the wrong reasons. This phrasing would be remembered throughout history as a famous line of love.**__

__**Act III, Scene 2**__

__31. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing?__


 * __Hermia accuses Demetrius of killing Lysander when Hermia awakes to find he is not there. She is bewildered on why Lysander would not be there when she awoke.__**

__32. How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake?__


 * __Oberon is going to use his magical fog to make all the people drowsy, and then, Puck will reannoint their eyes when it is assured that the rightful people are sure to awake next to their lovers.__**

__33. Why is Helena upset when Demetrius says he loves her? Isn’t this what she had wanted all along?__


 * __Although it is what she wanted all along, since it is such a sudden change she believes that he, along with the others, are playing tricks on her, and mocking her for her lack of beauty.__**

__34. Of what does Helena accuse Hermia?__


 * __Helena accuses Hermia of being a part of the brigade that is mocking her for her lack of beauty.__**

__35. How close had Hermia and Helena been in the past?__

__**Hermia and Helena used to be best friends when they were little, so it hurts to have them fight now.**__

__36. How does Lysander treat Hermia? Why can’t she believe what he says?__


 * __Lysander tells Hermia very bluntly, that he in fact hates her. He wants nothing to do with her. She does not believe what he has to say because in the past Lysander had been all over her and now all of a sudden he despises her.__**

__37. Of what does Hermia accuse Helena?__


 * __She accuses Helena of coming in the night and stealing Lysanders love away from her.__**

__38. Why is Helena afraid of Hermia?__


 * __Helena is afraid of Hermia because when they were children, Hermia was known to be vicious and ferocious. They had been really close in the past.__**

__39. What are Lysander and Demetrius going off to do?__


 * __Lysander and Demetrius went off to, "duke it out." They both want to lay with fair maiden Helena, and only one can have her.__**

__40. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men?__

__**Oberon tells Puck to go and tire themselves out, so that the fog will make them fall asleep. Then, they will re-anoint their eyes in an**__ **__attempt__**

__41. What is Oberon going to do about Titania?__

__**Oberon feels bad for what he did to Titania, so he decides to reverse the spell, and make her not be truely in love with Bottom.**__

__42. Why doesn’t Oberon fear the coming of day?__

__**Oberon is a special type of fairy, that can walk both in the day, and in the night.**__

__43. How well does Puck’s trickery work?__

__**Puck's trickery works just as he had planned. He had tired out the two fighters by making them chase eachother, and thus making them want to fall asleep.**__
==== **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 awakens to see Bottom with the head of an ass**__ __**• Hermia awakens to see that Lysander is not with her**__ __**• Hermia accuses Demetrius to killing Lysander in the night**__ __**• Puck anoints Demetrius' eyes**__ __**• Demetrius falls in love with Helena**__ __**• Lysander and Demetrius fight over Helena**__ __**• Hermia and Helena fight over the men**__ __**• Oberon's fog and Pucks trickery makes them all fall asleep.**__ __**• Puck anoints Lysander's eyes once again.**__

__44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies?__

__**Bottom adores all the attension he is getting from the faries. He treats them like his personal servants, ordering them around.**__

__45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom?__

__**Oberon is envious of the love Titania gives to Bottom.**__

__46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her?__


 * __If Titania asks what has happend to her, Oberon will claim that it was all just a bad dream.__**

__47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning?__


 * __There is a royal hunt, in which importent people from the city go out and hunt for food, like deer.__**

__48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods?__


 * __Theseus' first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods is to celebrate the fact that the two are getting married.__**

__49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness?__


 * __Demetrius says that he once again loves Helena, and no longer loves Hermia. He says it's like a sickness because when you are sick, you are not normal. He says that his love for Helena makes him 'Healthy'.__**

__50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people?__


 * __Theseus decides since that there are no love triangles, and these people felt so passionately for each other, he would be no more then a horrible person not to let them be together. He overrules Egeus' ruling and tells the young people that they may lay with each other.__**

__51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming?__


 * __The young people cannot be sure if they were dreaming or not because the entire seems so unrealistic, and unnatural. The thing that keeps them from thinking it is not a dream, is the fact that they all had the same one, at the same time.__**

__52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke?__


 * __Bottom plans to write a bonnet called 'Bottom's Dream' and preform it infront of the Duke. He does this because he believes, that people will think he has just gone crazy and nobody will believe him.__**

__Act IV, Scene 2__ __53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost?__

__**The artisans believe that he is a very good actor, and that they truly do miss him now that he is gone. They think he is very witty and has a sweet voice.**__

__54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play?__

__**They regret losing the money by not being able to preform the play. The artisans had little money to begin with, and this would just add to that.**__

__55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace?__


 * __Once Bottom returns, they must hurry to the Duke's palace before the young people get married to apply to play for the Duke.__**

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 believe Bottom is an over-confident, arrogent character on the outside. I also believe however, that on the inside, he is a softie, just trying to find his place. I believe he is also a very sensitive person. Bottom is only a weaver, and is in no way a Duke. Bottom wishes he could be someone of that high power however, which is why he felt so strongly about Titania loving him. Theseus seems as well very humble, where as Bottom does not.**__

==== __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 believe that everything they had just experienced was in fact a dream, but as they soon found out, they had all experienced the same thing, so it could not have been. Demetrius has been changed permanently, because previous to the dream experience he had not loved Helena. Now, coming out of it, he does, and must love her for the rest of eternity (unless the spell is reversed).**__

==== __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 believe that Shakespeare is saying that most love is illogical, unreasonable, and downright crazy. It causes issues between people that never needed to be issues (e.g Hermia and Helena fighting). There are numerous quotes throughout the play that support this idea. For example, "the course of love never did run smooth".__**

__**Act V**__

__56. Why does Theseus dismiss the stories of the four young people?__


 * __Theseus decides that since they have tried so hard, that they need not lie to him. They are to get married with Theseus and Hippolyta.__**

__57. Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisby rather than the other entertainments?__

__**Theseus chooses to see the play about Pyramus and Thisbe because it is one he had not heard before, and it is preformed by the working class of that society.**__

__58. Why does Philostrate try to keep Theseus from seeing the play? What does he say is wrong with it?__


 * __Philostrate trys to keep Theseus from seeing the play because he himself watched it, and thought it was so bad it was laughable. He thinks that the king would not in any way shape or form enjoy it.__**

__59. What does Theseus mean by the lines, "For never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it"?__


 * __I think what Theseus was trying to say was that as long as aslong as they are honest and that if it comes from the heart, 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?__


 * __The prolouge was intended so that the ladies in the audience would not get scared when the lion roared or when Pyramus killed himself, but actually the audience thought that the actors thought they were stupid.__**

__61. How does Shakespeare use comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play that they are watching?__

__**It mocks what actual theatre was like in that day in age. The people in the stands would heckle among themselves. It also shows what their specific thoughts were about the play.**__

__62. What is Hippolyta’s reaction to the play?__


 * __Helena makes fun of the actors, and their play. But then, later on, she is very moved and begins to cry.__**

__63. In what way is Thisby’s final speech humorous?__

__64. What does Oberon tell the fairies to do?__


 * __Oberon asks the fairies to go "Bless the marriage beds".__**

__65. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech?__


 * __Pucks final speech was telling the audience that if they didn't like the play they just watched, then to think of it as, "Just a bad dream". This is mocking back to the play, in which there are many references to dreams.__**

__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 broach'd his boiling bloody breast"**__ __breaking the play’s illusion of reality __ **__"No, in truth sir, he shall not. 'Deceiving me' is Thisbe's cue. She is to enter now, and I is to spy her through the wall."__** __using the wrong word or name __ __repeating a word excessively __ __ridiculous metaphor __
 * __"Not shafalus to Procrus was so true."__**
 * __"Adieu, Adieu, Adieu."__**
 * __"To spy, I can hear thy Thisbe'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? ===

=== __When we observing another audience perspective, we can see how the audience perspective of the play, affects our own perspective on the play. The play was tremendously different on the movie, because we could see things like facial expressions that we couldn't see during the screenplay.__ ===

=== 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? ===

__Whyl E. Coyote - Road Runner (From Show ROAD RUNNER)__

 * __Tom - Jerry__ __(From Show TOM & JERRY)__**

=== 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 for a number of reasons. A tragic ending is not all appropriate, nor is frightening or saddening the ladies in the audience. This play is Ironic because Hermia could have done something to hurt herself when she thought Lysander was dead in the morning.**__

**Completion 20/25** **Effort 20/25** **Content 21/25** **Total 61/75** **Podcast 1 - 18/20** **Podcast 2 19/20**