Questions and Answers

Act 1
1. What are thesues and Hippolyta discussing at the play's start?
    Theseus and Hippolyta are discussing their wedding.
2. How does Hippolyta come to be betrothed to Theseus?
    Theseus defeated her in battle and she fell in love with him.
3. Why is Egeus disturbed?
    Egeus is disturbed because, his daughter, Hermia refuses to marry
    Demetrius, but she's in love with Lysander.
4. What will be Hermia's fate if she refuses to marry Demetrius?
    Hermia's fate will be to die, marry Demetrius, or become a nun.
5. To what do Lysander and Hermia agree?
    Lysander and Hermia agree to meet on the next night in a wood a 
    league and go to Lysander's aunt where they will be married and safe.
6. What hope does Helena have by telling Demetrius of Lysander and
Hermia's flight?
    Helena follows Demetrius while Demetrius pursues Hermia.
7. Who are the characters in scene two, and what do they plan?
    The characters in scene two are Thisby and Pyramus. They plan to
honor the duke's 
    wedding day with some entertainment.
Act 2
1. Why is Oberon angry with his queen?
    Oberon is angry with his queen because she keeps a young boy as her
attendant, and
    Oberon wants the boy for himself.
2. On what mission does Oberon send puck?
    Oberon sends Puck to find a flower with a love potion on it so that he
may put it on
    Titania, causing her to blindly love the first thing she sees when she
wakes.
3. Upon overhearing Demetrius and Helena, what does Oberon command
Puck to do?
    Oberon commands Puck to find the Athenian couple and put the potion
on their eyes as 
    they sleep.
4. Upon whose eyes does Puck apply the potion?
    Puck applies the potion to Lysander's eyes.
5. When he wakes up, who does Lysander see and love?
    Lysander sees and loves Helena.
6. What is Helena's reaction to Lysander's words of love?
    Helena thinks Lysander is cruelly teasing her.
7. To where has Lysander disappeared when Hermia awakes?
    Lysander has gone to follow Helena.
Act 3
1.Why does Bottom want a prologue written for the play?
    To explain that Pyramus is only an actor, and the author playing the lion
must 
    show half of his face during his performance and the audience his true
idenity.
2. What has Puck done to Bottom?
    Puck plays a joke on Bottom by giving him an ass' head.
3. Identify the speaker: "Tie up my love's tongue, bring him silently."
    Titania
4. What news does Oberon send Puck to fetch Helena?
    Puck tells Oberon the outcome of his experiments with the love potion?
5. Why does Oberon send Puck to fetch Helena?
    He realizes that another Athenian youth was dosed by Puck by mistake
and that now 
    a maid has lost her true love and the interded youth is still repulsing
Helena. While Puck 
    is away, Oberon charms Demetrius to love Helena when he sees her
again.
6. What does Helena's situation at this point in the play?
    She's now loved by both Lysander and Demetrius and she believes that
they've conspired to
     play a cruel prank on her.
7. What does Helena suppose of Hermia?
    She thinks that Hermia has joined in the malicicus prank with Lysander
and Demetrius.
8. What does Hermia think Helena has done?
    She thinks that out of jealousy she has made known her taller height and
therefore fer greater
    value of the two maids.
9. Why does Oberon send Puck to confuse the two young men?
    They are going to fight over Helena, so Oberon has Puck make the night
darken and cloudy and
    use his voice to lead them away from each other and sleep.
10. What remedy corrects the crossed-loved couples?
    Puck drips the potion on Lysander's eyes so he will love his former
sweetheart, Hermia. He leaves
    Demetrius loving Helena.
Act 4
1. Why does Titania give Oberon the child?
    She cares for him no longer now that he has Bottom on whom to dole.
2. How does Oberon find Titania and Bottom?
    They are asleep in each others arms.
3. Why does Oberon remove the spell he has cast over his queen?
    He has the bay and now he pities his queen her silly new love-pet. He
wants her back to her
    true self.
4. Finding the two couples asleep in the wood and learning of their
more balanced love,
what order does Theseus give?
    He orders that they should follow him and Hippolyta to be married with
them at the temple.
5. What news does Bottom bring his companions?
    He says that their play has been chosen by the duke as an
entertainment. They must now get
     ready and meet at the palace.
Act 5
1. Why do you think Shakespeare include a play within a play?
    The story of Pyramus and Thisby is an ancient tale well known to the
audience in Shakespeare's time.
2. What do the fairies do after the palace goes to sleep?
    Oberon sends them off throughout the house to sing and dance and
bless the new lovers on their
    wedding night.
3. Who does Puck address at the play's end?
    He talkis to the audience.
4. What is the purpose of this last speech?
    It closes the play and thanks the audience asking that they enjoy or else
pardon a frivolous entertainment.

Powered by   Cr

Shakespeare Explained: Quick Questions on A Midsummer Night's Dream

For more questions with detailed answers, please see Examination
Questions on A Midsummer Night's Dream.

ACT I — SCENE I

1. Explain the relations between the four lovers.

Lysander and Hermia are in love with each other, but Hermia's father,
Egeus, favors a second suitor, Demetrius, for his daughter. Demetrius has
formerly been in love with Helena but has deserted her, although she still
loves him.

2. Just why does each of the lovers go to the forest?

Hermia goes to the forest to meet Lysander with whom she is going to his
aunt's to be married. Helena knows of it, so tells Demetrius so he can
pursue them, she follows that she may watch him — Lines 250-251 —
Scene i.

SCENE II

3. Are these characters to be thought of as Athenians? If not, do they

belong in this play?

These characters are not to be thought of as true Athenians. They belong

to the play. Athens was taken because to the English that was the city of
beauty and the nearest approach to an ideal city.

4. What sort of a person is Bottom?

Bottom is a weaver, a thinker, an egotist and a tyrant.

ACT II — SCENE I

5. Do these fairies make you think of Greece, or some other country?

These fairies remind one more of England than Greece. The references to
the cowslips and to the housewife churning are truly English.

6. What are some of the lines that are most fairy-like?

The first fifteen lines of scene i are most fairy-like.

7. Are they represented with petty minds as well as tiny forms?

Titania is not represented with a petty mind although Oberon and Puck are.
8. What is the power of the magic plant, and how does Oberon mean
to have it used?

The magic plant, love-in-idleness, makes the one to whom it is applied love
the first thing he or she sees upon awaking. Oberon means to have it
applied to Titania, so that she will give up the page before he will remove
the charm from her.

9. How seriously are we to take this scene?

We are to take this scene as one of Puck's inimitable jokes.

10. In this and other scenes, how does Puck feel about his mistakes?

Puck has no compunctions about any of his mistakes.

ACT III — SCENE I

11. Do the characters in this scene know that they are funny?

The characters in this scene have no idea that they are funny, in fact
Bottom wishes the audience to be informed that he is Bottom to put them
out of fear.

12. Show how Titania's fairy daintiness affects the humor of the
closing part of the scene.

That the dainty fairy Titania could love the monster Bottom with the body of
a man and the head of an ass adds much humor to this scene, especially
when she calls Cobweb, Peaseblossom, and Mustard Seed to wait upon
him.

13. Explain the confusion of the lovers here; how is it to be

straightened out?

Oberon told Puck to put love-in-idleness on Demetrius, instead he put it on

Lysander by mistake, then he puts it on Demetrius; both men see Helena
on first awaking and scorn Hermia. Oberon tells Puck to put them to sleep
when they go to fight a duel and put something on Lysander's eyes to
break the charm.

ACT IV — SCENE I

14. How far is Bottom turned into an ass, and how far does he remain
his natural self?

Bottom is turned into an ass only in the shape of his head and what he
wishes to eat. He still thinks as the Weaver Bottom did.

15. Is the hunting party a good addition to the play?

The hunting party makes the awakening of Lysander and Demetrius seem
more natural and helps straighten out the confusion of the preceding
scene.

16. When Bottom wakes, how much does he remember?

Bottom remembers that he thought he was an ass and had ass's ears.

ACT V — SCENE I

17. Is Quince's prologue nonsense because of the way it was written,

or of the way he recites it, or both?

Quince's prologue is nonsense because of the way it is written and the way
in which he recites it.

18. What absurdities of stage-management occur in the mechanics'

play?

The wall making a speech, and later showing a chink by holding up two
fingers; the man with lantern, the dog and bush of thorn representing
Moonshine; and Snug's announcement that he is not a real lion are a few
of the absurdities.

19. Which of the actors makes the funniest blunders in language, and
what trait of his character leads him to make them?

Pyramus makes the funniest blunders in language; his bombastic and

dictatorial manner causes him to do this.

20. Do the comments of the spectators have any effect on the actors?

The comments of the spectators have no effect upon the actors so intent
are they upon their play.

GENERAL

21. What popular beliefs are connected with Midsummer's Night?

Some of the popular beliefs are that whatever is wished on Midsummer's

Night will come true; that after night-fall the fairies are all-powerful; that they
often steal new brides, or turn cowslips sprinkled on the doorstep into
flames to burn those who have harmed them.
Demetrius analysis

Christian Bale, as Demetrius in 1999 a Midsummer Night's dream.

Description: Demetrius is the first male main character in the book “A midnight summer’s drea
Lysander. In fact, they both are qualified as ''worthy gentleman'' by Hermia. Demetrius is in lov
very confident about the fact that he has Egeus approval which makes him less friendly and car
story, is in love with him but does not like her but in the Act 4 everything is ''fixed'' while the lo
separated couples ; Hermia with Lysander and Demetrius with Helena.

Evolution: In the beginning of the play, Demetrius is very formal and respectful. He also has He
story, we learn that he is a very direct and arrogant. He can be a little aggressive like when he th
not stop following him or when he was about to fight Lysander. In the end, he changes his opin
him noting it.
Lysander's analysis
Description: Lysander is the second male Athenian lover. He is in love with Hermia and she is
Hermia's father, does not approve their union and prefers her daughter marrying Demetrius
and he'll do everything to be with her. We also learn that he has family outside Athens. Lysa
gallant than Demetrius. He respects other characters even when they argue with him. He see
poetic than Demetrius.

Quotes: 

Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth.

But either it was different in blood—

Act 1 scene 1 line 134-137. In this quote, Lysander says that in books we learn that will alway
class we're in.

Hermia's analysis
Description: Hermia is Egeus daughter. She is also a childhood friend with Helena, ano
love with Lysander but his father don't want her to be in love with him but with Demetriu
does not. In the book, we learn that Hermia is very short, and gives it like an excuse wh
suddenly fall in love with Helena which is a little taller. She also seems to have weird d
happens in the story.

Relationship: Hermia is involved in a love circle. She loves Lysander and him loves her
does not and while he loves Hermia, Helena loves Demetrius who ignores her.

Quotes: "Help me, Lysander, help me! Do thy best to pluck this crawling serpent from m
Lysander! What, removed? Lysander, lord! (...) Then I well perceive you are not night.
immediately.'' Act 2 scene 2 Line 152-164. In this quote, Hermia just woke up from a dr
about a snake eating her heart and Lysander not caring which, in that moment, was kin
left after Helena.
Helena's analysis
Description: Helena is one of the four lovers or main characters in the book “A midsummer n
Shakespeare. She is from Athens and a very desperate woman as she seeks Demetrius love b
In the book it is written that she is as pretty as Hermia but she doesn’t think so. She is very sh
Only to get Demetrius to like her she tells him where Hermia and Lysander are going to mee
that Helena will do anything to get Demetrius to love her even if Hermia is her good friend, s