A Midsummer Night’s Dream ACT II

quiet The mother’s dulcet voice soothed the child to sleep.
festivities It took the street sweepers all day to clean up after the New York’s revels
weaken During the drought, vegetables began to languish on the vine.
loud We could hear the parrot’s clamorous squeaking all the way down the hall.
tempt Some colleges offer scholarships to entice students to enroll.
disagreement The play was canceled because of dissension between the cast and the director.
damp Only marshland plants can thrive in the dank soil of our garden.
contemptuous (feeling a person is worthless, deserving a scorn) At the audition, the actress cast a disdainful look at the less experienced actress who also wanted the part.
Act II, scene iThe language of Act II, scene i—the dialogue of the fairies—is written in rhyming verse, primarily trochaic quadrameter. The previous scene was written in prose. Act II, scene i 1. How does the language in Act II, scene i compare to the language in the preceding scene.
The setting has changed from Athens to the woods—from civilized society to a place ruled by magic. Act II, scene i2. How has the setting change from Act I?
The fairies come to this wood to bless the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. Act II, scene i3. Why do the fairies come to this wood?
4. When Titania says (II, i, 81), “These are the forgeries of jealousy,” she means that Oberon is not really jealous of her affection for the changeling boy; rather, he is only trying to justify his own philandering by accusing her. Act II, scene i4. What does Titania mean when she says, “These are the forgeries of jealousy”?
5. Oberon plans his revenge by asking Puck to obtain a drug that will cause Titania to fall in love with an unsuitable creature and give up the boy. Act II, scene i5. How does Oberon plan his revenge on Titania?
Act II, scene ii—1. Hermia refuses to sleep beside Lysander out of maidenly modesty. Her refusal is essential to the plot; for if the lovers are not together, Hermia will not necessarily be the first person Lysander sees when he awakens. Act II, scene ii1. Why does Hermia refuse to sleep beside Lysander? How does her decision serve the purpose of the plot?
2. Since Puck cannot identify Demetrius, he follows Oberon’s wishes and puts drops in the eyes of the first Athenian youth he finds. Act II, scene ii2. Why does Puck put drops in Lysander’s eyes?
3. Unaware of the magic drops, Helena cannot understand why Lysander expresses love to her upon awaken- ing instead of to Hermia with whom he has run away. Act II, scene ii3. Why does Helena think Lysander is ridiculing her?
… Questions for discussions:1. What do you think this play reveals about the nature of love?2. Why do you think magical events are made to happen in the woods and not in court?
spaniel spaniel is a type of gun dog. (gun dog is a type of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, usually birds)
July 23, 2019