Midsummer Nights Dream

Act I, Scene I

1. When the play opens, what event are Theseus and Hippolyta anticipating? When will it take place?

Their wedding; it will take place in four days. 

2. Why does Egeus angrily bring his daughter Hermia before the Duke? What choice does Theseus give Hermia? How long does Hermia have to make up her mind?

Egeus wants his daughter to marry a man named Demetrius, but she is in love with a man named Lysander. Theseus states that if she does not marry Demetrius, she will be executed or forced to live in a nunnery. She has until their wedding day to make up her mind. 

3. What arguments does Lysander use when he tries to persuade the Duke that he should be allowed to marry Hermia?

Lysander says that he is equal to Demetrius in terms of rank and wealth. He also says that he and Hermia share feelings for each other.

4. What plan does Lysander propose to Hermia?

Lysander proposes that they meet in the woods outside of Athens that night and run away to his aunt’s home. 

    5.Why is Helena so distraught when she enters the play?

She is in love with Demetrius, but he wants to be with Hermia. 

    6.In her soliloquy at the end of Scene 1, what does Helena decide to do and why?

Helena decides to tell Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander’s plan to run away. She anticipates the sweet pain of following him and hopes to win his affections. 

Act I, Scene II

1. In Scene 2, what play are the Athenian tradesmen planning to present at the court?

An ancient story written by Ovid and published in Metamorphosis, “Pyramus and Thisbe”.

2. Identify the two lovers from the story and the actors assigned to them.

Pyramus is played by Nick Bottom. 

Thisbe is played by Francis Flute.

3.  According to Quice, where and when will the players rehearse?

The next night; a mile outside of the palace wood.

4. How would you describe Nick Bottom’s character?  How is he different from the other tradesmen?

Nick Bottom is loud and overly confident. He thinks he is an excellent actor and that he should play all the roles in the play.

5.  How does the tone of Scene 2 differ from that of Scene 1?

The tone of scene 1 is serious and dramatic. The tone for scene 2 is light-hearted and comedic. 

6.   Knowing that the tradesmen will meet in the woods to rehearse their play the same night that Lysander and Hermia intend to carry out their plan, what do you predict will happen?

I predict that the two subplots will collide and connect in some way. Lysander and Hermia might stumble across their performance, or the Mechanicals might catch the lovers as they run away. 

Act II, Scene I

1. Where does Scene 1 take place?

Scene 1 takes place outside of Athens, in the woods/Fairy realm. 

2. What kind of character is Puck? What is his personality like?

Puck is mischievous. He is a prankster and a trickster. He creates problems for others and enjoys their confusion. 

3. According to Puck, why is Oberon angry at Titania?

Puck says that Oberon is angry at Titania because she adopted a Changeling Boy and Oberon is jealous of the attention she is giving the boy. 

4. According to Titania, what are some of the effects on nature due to her and Oberon’s quarreling? 

Their fighting causes natural disasters in the human realm. It causes flooding, fog, dead crops, dead livestock, and more. 

Act II, Scene II

1. What does Oberon intend to do in order to get revenge against Titania?  Whose aid does he enlist to carry out this plan?

He wants to use the nectar of a magic flower that was shot by Cupid’s arrow. The nectar is placed on the eyelids of people while they are asleep, and when they awake, they will fall in love with the first living creature they see. He asks Puck to find the flower.

2. After Oberon witnesses the interchange between Demetrius and Helena in Scene 1, what further orders does he give to Puck?  What mistake does Puck make?

He sympathizes with Helena, so he asks Puck to use the magic flower on Demetrius to make him fall in love with Helena. He tells Puck to find the Athenian man in Athenian garments. Puck finds Lysander first and uses the flower’s nectar on him.

3. Explain the consequences of this mistake for each of the four lovers: 

Hermia: Woke up alone in the woods; is worried about Lysander and thinks something bad happened to him.

Helena: Thinks that Lysander is mocking her by pretending to love her.

Lysander: Loves Helena; loathes Hermia. 

Demetrius: Still perseus Hermia. 

4. At the end of this act, what do you predict will happen in Act 3?

The dynamic between the Four Lovers will shift even more; no one will be in love with the right person. 

Act III

1. What are some problems that the actors encounter in the play that they are rehearsing?  How do the tradesmen decide to solve each of these problems?

They fear that the audience members, specifically the female audience members, will think their acting is real. They decide to create a prologue that explains that everything that happens on stage does not actually happen in real life. 

They also think they need something to represent/play the wall between the lovers and the moonlight the lovers meet under, so they assign these as parts for the actors. 

2. How is Bottom transformed by Puck?  How do Bottom’s friends react to this? 

Puck uses his fairy magic to turn Bottom’s head into a donkey’s head. Bottom’s friends run away in panic and fear at his transformation. They leave him alone in the woods. 

3. What is Titania’s reaction to Bottom?  Why?

Oberon used the magic flower on Titania to make her fall in love with the first living creature she sees upon waking. She wakes to Bottom’s singing, so she falls madly in love with him, despite his donkey head. 

4.What is Helena’s reaction to the new affections from Lysander and Demetrius?

Helena thinks Lysander and Demetrius are playing a cruel trick on her by pretending they have feelings for her. 

5.Why is Hermia angry at Helena in Scene 2?  

Hermia is angry at Helena because she blames her for stealing Lysander’s affections. 

6.What does Puck do to keep Lysander and Demetrius from killing each other in the forest?

Puck mimics the sound of their voices to lure them away from each other. They grow tired of looking for each other and fall asleep in the woods. 

7.How does Puck fix his earlier mistake?

Puck uses the magic flower on Lysander to make him fall in love with Hermia again.

Act IV

1. Bottom does not seem at all disgruntled by his new role in the world of the fairies.  What does his behavior in Scene 1 reveal about his character?

Bottom loves the attention and care he receives from the fairies, so this proves that Bottom thinks highly of himself and that he deserves this treatment. 

2. Why does Oberon remove the spell from Titania?

Once Oberon receives the Changeling Boy, he removes the spell. He also feels bad because Titania fell in love with Bottom with a donkey head. 

3. How have the relationships between the four lovers changed from the beginning of the play?

The relationships between the Four Lovers became even more complicated in act three, because Lysander and Demetrius both loved Helena, who thought it was a joke. This left Hermia feeling betrayed by both Lysander and Helena. 

4. After realizing that Demetrius’ feelings have changed toward Helena, what new command does Theseus give?

Theseus sees that the Four Lovers are happy and in love, so he proposes that they all wed on his wedding day. 

5.  At the beginning of Scene 2, why are the actors upset?

The actors are upset because they left Bottom alone in the woods and they cannot replace Bottom as Pyramus. 

Act V

1. When Theseus asks the Philostrate about “Pyramus and Thisbe”, what does the Philostrate’s reaction indicate about the quality of the play?

Philostrate warns Theseus about the quality of the play. He says even though it’s not supposed to be a comedy, it will leave the Duke laughing. This indicates that the play was ridiculous. 

2. Who is “Pyramus and Thisbe” performed for?  How do these spectators react to the play?

The Mechanicals perform “Pyramus and Thisbe” for the wedding. The audience members laugh and comment throughout the play because the acting is ridiculous. 

3. How does the evening end for the mortals?

The mortals leave the temple to celebrate their wedding; the fairies bless their marriages. 

4. Egeus is absent from the dialogue in Act 5. Why do you suppose Shakespeare 

           gave him no part in the play’s resolution?

Egeus is likely absent from act five because his role was to be an obstacle for Hermia and Lysander’s relationship. Once Theseus overrides Egeus, he has little purpose. 

5. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech at the end of the play?

Puck asks for forgiveness if the play offended the audience. He tells the audience to see the play as only a dream; unreal, innocent, and harmless.