A Midsummer Night - Questions & Answers Act 1
A Midsummer Night's Dream By William Shakespeare Act One . The story takes place in Athens and nearby woods during the age of myth in ancient Greece and Combines elements of Ancient Greece with elements of Renaissance England. The line 165, “And in the wood, a league without the town,” (I, i, 9) and line 247, “Then to the wood will he tomorrow night” (I, i, 12) describe this. Athens is described in line 227, “Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.” (I, i, 12). However, the play has the atmosphere and the mood that one can perceive the place to be anywhere. In Elizabethan England, Midsummer Day was the feast of Saint John the Baptist and it fell on June 24 where it was the time of feasting and merriment. It was believed that on Midsummer Night that the fairies and witches held their festival. To dream about Midsummer Night was to conjure up images of fairies and witches and other similar creatures and supernatural events. [1] 2. In line 16, “Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword,” (I, i, 3) and line 17, “And won thy love, doing thee injuries;” (I, i, 3); according to the play, Hippolyta and Theseus meet in battle. 3. Helena speaks with rhymes, so that we the readers can understand the way the way her character feels. For example, lovers in Shakespeare’s time normally spoke in rhyming couplets (two lines of verse that form a unit alone or
Midsummer Nights Dream Act II Questions and Answers
Midsummer Nights Dream Act II . a) The first plot consists of the love affairs of four characters: Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena. In basic form, Hermia loves Lysander, Lysander loves Hermia, Helena loves Demetrius but he detests her and prefers Hermia. Problem arises when Hermia’s Father chooses Demetrius over Lysander and Hermia is conflicted in either marrying him or being a nun for life. She doesn't favour both options and plots to run away with Lysander together in the forest. b) The second plot focuses on Oberon and Titania, rulers of the fairies, having relationship problems. Titania is handed an Indian boy whom she’s obligated to take care and who she adores while not paying attention to her partner Oberon. Oberon soon plots revenge against Puck, the mischievous boy. c) The last of the subplots comprises of a play "Pyramus and Thisbe", being performed by a group of peasants in order to a get grand prize from the nuptial ceremony of Theseus and Hippolyta. The one that stands out the most is the town’s weaver, Bottom, a man with very high self-esteem, and has the confidence (or so he thinks) that he can play any of the parts. 2. In the beginning, Hermia is shown to be refusing her fathers order, Egeus, upon marrying his chosen man, Demetrius. In response, Egeus goes to the duke for her disobedience in response for death, Theseus whom
More then one type of love in Mid Summer Nights Dream
Gabriel Patino 12/8/11 Doc Schmidt English More than one type of love By definition love is a profoundly tender and passionate affection for another person. Love is a disease that can make you do things you’ve never think of doing. This powerful emotion affects your behavior and personality and is demonstrated through the characters of Midsummer Nights Dream. But what determines whom we love; is it beauty, intellect or both? Is it possible for love to be perfect? Lysander proclaims, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Act 1, Scene 1, line 134, this means that no matter how much you love someone there will always be obstructions in the way. Thesesus, Egeus, and the fairies are all obstacles for the four main lovers, Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena. The biggest obstruction to love is love itself, because it is an emotion that can change drastically in a blink of an eye. But is there more than one type of love? Prior to reading Midsummer Nights Dream, we read two sonnets by Shakespeare discussing two different types of love and gave of an insight on his views. One of the two loves described was the love of infatuation. Shakespeare considers this love as a fever longing still. This type of love is similar to a rollercoaster, it goes up and down and right when you think your going straight and everything is stable,
Love in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM There are various types of “love” found in A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, which Shakespeare explores through the constant evolution and changing of relationships between the characters. The first of these relationships is that of the duke, Theseus, and his bride-to-be, Hippolyta. Although his enthusiasm over their wedding can be interpreted as a sign of love, it belies his actual dominating nature. He had “wooed” Hippolyta with his “sword”, and “won (her) love doing (her) injuries”. This is a clear example of how Theseus is not the righteous man he claims to be, another example of which is given in Act II Scene I: we discover that he had “ravished” Perigouna, and “broke his faith” with Aegles, Ariadne, and Antiopa for Titania. The Fairy Queen’s relationship with her husband Oberon is where we once again see male domination and female subservience, as was common in Victorian society. But in reciprocal, Ritania is depicted as a strong woman who is loyal to and cares for her friends, even if one such friend was a “votress of her order”. Oberon is, comparatively, rather shallow, bordering on cruel. Throughout the play, he shows more companionship towards his servant Robin Goodfellow than his own wife, calling her a “rash wanton”. He demands that she hand over an Indian changeling boy to be his “henchman” solely
Midsummer Nights Dream
Explore the Theme of Marriage in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' The play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was written by William Shakespeare in 1594. From the theme and context of the play, I can conclude that it was probably written for a wedding. It would be similar to the epithalamion written at weddings at this time, but a more elaborate version. Many of the lines rhyme and it all has the feel of poetry: some beautiful and some seeming supernatural and spell-like. It canvasses all aspects of marriage through plot, characters and symbolism, touching on both light and dark areas. The tragic side is shown more through references that actually spelling it out; Pyramus and Thisby is one example of a union which ended in catastrophe. However, despite this, the main idea of marriage is perceived as harmonious; all is shown in a 'comic' frame, with a humorous touch and a happy ending. This would be an appropriate feel for a wedding play because it gives the concept of marriage an idyllic feel, telling the newlyweds what they want to hear: that marriage is a good idea. If you search the play in depth, you will find that not only is it about the union of people in a marriage, but also about the unity of opposing forces in nature and bringing harmony from chaos. It is also, in an even broader sense, about the Elizabethan ideals about God and the universe. To clarify exactly
Midsummer Nights Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream, quote response/analysis There are many themes in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream(1595 or 1596), the main theme of the play is love. The main plot of the play is composed of the interaction of two Athenian couples(Hermia and Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius), and Theseus(the duke of Athens), Hippolyta(Theseus' soon to be wife), and Egeus(Hermias father who does not consent of her love to Lysander. Whose romantic purposes are complicated even more when they enter the woods, in which the King and Queen of the fairies(Oberon, and Titania), and Puck,(also known as Robin Goodfellow)the mischievous imp all reside. Then all goes wrong when the fairies interfere between the lovers, but in the end all is restored back to its natural order. In the subplot of the play, another set of characters-Bottom the weaver and his band of "rude mechanicals"-stumble into the main doings when they go into the same enchanted woods to rehearse a play that is based on the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, their hilarious piece takes up Act V of Shakespeare's romantic comedy. In this play, Shakespeare creates three worlds: the noble, aristocratic world of the Athenian court, the mundane world of the mechanicals, and the fantastical fairy world. Through the language of the inhabitants Shakespeare give each world its distinct atmosphere. Through the language of: