By what other names is Puck known? | Hobgoblin, Robin, Robin Goodfellow, Sweet Puck |
What does the fairy tell Puck in the beginning of scene one? | That she serves the fairy queen and that Titania and Oberon are fighting. |
What warning does Puck give the fairy? | He tells the fairy to make sure that Titania does not meet Oberon, because they are constantly fighting. |
Why is Oberon angry with Titania? | She is keeping a changeling child for her own train when Oberon wants the boy for his own train. |
What sorts of tricks does Puck play on humans? | -Turning into a stool and then, when an elderly woman comes to sit down, disappearing so that she falls onto the floor.-Frightens young girls-Skim the milk so that it will not produce butter no matter how hard it is churned-Making drinks lose their qualities-Mislead travelers at nights so that they get lost-Pretend to be an apple in a drink and then spill it all over the person’s neck |
Why is Titania jealous of Hippolyta? | Oberon, Titania’s husband, was, at one point, in love with Hippolyta. |
Of whom is Oberon jealous? | Theseus, whom Titania was once in love with. |
Who do Titania and Oberon blame for recent storms and floods? | Titania blames Oberon, whilst Oberon blames Titania. It is really their fighting that causes problems, but each believes that they are defending the right side and it is the foolish attempts of the other to prove otherwise that prolongs the quarrel. |
Who do you think is more to blame? (personal opinion) | I believe that Titania is more justified in her argument and therefore is defending as opposed to attacking. This opinion, like some mentioned in Act 1, is greatly influenced by the fact that I have grown up in a free society in which men are not the ultimate source of authority. |
According to Oberon, how did the pansy become magical? | Oberon tells Robin that the flower was shot by one of Cupid’s stray arrows. |
Why does Oberon tell Puck to fetch the flower? | Oberon plans to make Titania madly in love with something very ugly for two reasons:a) She will be so busy chasing the creature that she will not notice him taking the changeling boyb) After she is returned to normal, he can laugh at her for being in love with something random and ugly |
Who races after Demetrius in the woods? | Helena, his past love. |
How does Demetrius try to stop Helena? | Attempt one: insults Attempt two: threats of his uncontrollable attacks on her modestyAttempt three: telling her that he will hurt her if she keeps chasing him |
What is Oberon’s reactions when he sees the pursuit? | Oberon takes pity on Helena and decides to help her win Demetrius’ love. |
Oberon tells Puck to dab whom on the eyelids with the magic nectar? | Demetrius, but only when the first thing he will see is Helena. |
Why does Oberon give Puck these orders? | This is Oberon’s method of helping Helena with her chase of Demetrius. If he is annointed with the nectar, he will dote on Helena even more than she already dotes on him. |
What does Oberon intend to do with the rest of the nectar? | Oberon plans to personally put the nectar on Titania’s eyelids so that his plan for her loving a random creature will be put into action. |
What jobs does Titania send her fairies off to do? | -Sing her a lullaby-kill cankers on the muskrose buds-fight bats for their wings-make coats for the elves-make the owl stop hooting so loudly |
Why do the fairies sing charms for Titania? | She wants them to send her to sleep soundly. The charms are also a protective enchantment against most harms. |
Why does Oberon pronounce a spell over Titania? | He must break the protective enchantments surrounding Titania for the flower to work to its fullest extent. He must also ensure that she only wakes up when something vile and ugly is the first thing she will see. |
Why does Lysander move away from Hermia before they sleep? | This action is on request of Hermia, because Lysander implicated a desire to lie together. He was trying his luck, but Hermia recognized this and decided to hold off until they actually married. |
On whose eyelids does Puck press the magic nectar? | Puck mistakenly puts the nectar on Lysander’s eyes instead of Demetrius’. |
What happens when Helena wakens Lysander? | Lysander, having been put under the spell of the flower, falls in love with Helena the moment he sets eyes on her, forgetting all previous ties to Hermia. |
What does Helena think of Lysander’s flattery? | Helena takes the numerous compliments as mockery, as her self-esteem is so low. She is also quite confused, as she has recently seen Lysander making quite similar comments toward Hermia. |
What has Hermia been dreaming about? | She dreamt that a snake was eating her heart (probably symbolic of her losing her ability to love), and Lysander was watching and smiling (symbolic of him losing his love for her). She was extremely scared when waking from this nightmare, revealing that she most likely fears nothing more than the event in which she and Lysander break up. |
Why does Hermia run off at the end of the scene? | She is off to find Lysander, who has actually gone chasing Helena. |
Why do you think Shakespeare has Hermia say to Lysander, before they fall asleep, that she wishes “the wisher’s eyes to be pressed”? | This was an element of foreshadowing leading into the part of the act in which many eyes are pressed with nectar. |
What is ironic about that line? | Hermia did not mean that she wanted eyes to be charmed into loving others, but rather, she was wishing a deep sleep. In a deep sleep, one will have heavy eyelids, perhaps feeling as though they are being pressed gently upon. This is dramatic irony in that the audience will soon know the significance of eyes being pressed, however, Hermia remains blind to the double meaning of her words. |
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 2
July 25, 2019