Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareTheseusHippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword,And won thy love doing thee injuries;But I will wed thee in another key,With pomp, with triumph, and with reveling.What does Theseus mean by “I will wed thee in another key”? | We had a rough start, but I want our wedding to be a happy celebration. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareTheseusHippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword,And won thy love doing thee injuries;But I will wed thee in another key,With pomp, with triumph, and with reveling.Which mood is created in this excerpt? | The words won and will create a determined and purposeful mood. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareLysanderI am, my lord, as well derived as he,As well possessed. My love is more than his;My fortunes every way as fairly ranked,If not with vantage, as Demetrius’.What is Lysander saying in this scene? | I am just as good a match as Demetrius. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareLysanderAy me! For aught that I could ever read,Could ever hear by tale or history,The course of true love never did run smooth.What does Lysander mean by “The course of true love never did run smooth”? | True lovers always have to overcome problems to be together. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 2, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareHermia[Awakening]Help me, Lysander, help me! Do thy bestTo pluck this crawling serpent from my breast.Ay me, for pity! What a dream was here!Lysander, look how I do quake with fear.Methought a serpent ate my heart away,And you sat smiling at his cruel prey.Which mood does the imagery of Hermia’s dream create in this excerpt? | The image of the serpent eating Hermia’s heart creates a frightening mood. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 2, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareHelenaNo, no, I am as ugly as a bear,For beasts that meet me run away for fear.Therefore no marvel though DemetriusDo as a monster fly my presence thus.Which mood does the simile “I am as ugly as a bear” create? | The mood is sad; Helena is devastated that Demetrius has run away from her. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareHelenaI am your spaniel, and, Demetrius,The more you beat me I will fawn on you.Use me but as your spaniel: spurn me, strike me,Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave,Unworthy as I am, to follow you.What does Helena’s statement “I am your spaniel” reveal about her? | It shows that as long as she can be with him, she doesn’t care how Demetrius treats her. |
Bottom uses words incorrectly:We will meet, and there we may rehearse most obscenely and courageously.How does Bottom’s misuse of words create a tone for the scenes with Bottom and his friends? | Bottom tries to use big words to create a formal tone, but he misuses the words, which creates a funnier, more informal tone. |
How does the complicating incident in Act I of A Midsummer Night’s Dream affect the plot? | Lysander and Hermia decide to run away, which brings the four lovers and the fairies together in the woods. |
The Oberon and Titania plot intersects with the four-lovers plot at several points during the play.How do Oberon’s instructions telling Robin to help Helena create increased tension for the audience? | Robin gets the instructions wrong and enchants Lysander, making the audience wonder if Lysander and Hermia will ever get together. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareTheseusHippolyta, I wooed thee with my sword,And won thy love doing thee injuries;But I will wed thee in another key,With pomp, with triumph, and with reveling.What does Theseus mean by “I will wed thee in another key”? | We had a rough start, but I want our wedding to be a happy celebration. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareHelenaYour virtue is my privilege. For thatIt is not night when I do see your face,Therefore I think I am not in the night.Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company,For you, in my respect, are all the world.Which mood is created in this excerpt? | The line “It is not night when I do see your face” creates a mood of romantic love. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare LysanderAnd, which is more than all these boasts can be,I am beloved of beauteous Hermia.Why should not I then prosecute my right?Which statement best explains what Lysander is saying in this scene? | Most important, Hermia loves me, so why shouldn’t I marry her? |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareLysanderHelen, to you our minds we will unfold.Tomorrow night when Phoebe doth beholdHer silver visage in the wat’ry glass,Decking with liquid pearl the bladed grass,A time that lovers’ flights doth still conceal,Through Athens’ gates have we devised to steal.Which statement best explains what Lysander is saying in this excerpt? | Tomorrow night we are going to sneak out of the city and run away. |
Bottom uses words incorrectly:We will meet, and there we may rehearse most obscenely and courageously.How does Bottom’s misuse of words create a tone for the scenes with Bottom and his friends? | Bottom tries to use big words to create a formal tone, but he misuses the words, which creates a funnier, more informal tone. |
How does the complicating incident in Act I of A Midsummer Night’s Dream affect the plot? | Lysander and Hermia decide to run away, which brings the four lovers and the fairies together in the woods. |
The Oberon and Titania plot intersects with the four-lovers plot at several points during the play. How do Oberon’s instructions telling Robin to help Helena create increased tension for the audience? | Robin gets the instructions wrong and enchants Lysander, making the audience wonder if Lysander and Hermia will ever get together. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareTheseusNow, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hourDraws on apace. Four happy days bring inAnother moon. But, O, methinks how slowThis old moon wanes! She lingers my desiresLike to a stepdame or a dowagerLong withering out a young man’s revenue.What does Theseus mean by “She lingers my desires / Like to a stepdame or a dowager / Long withering out a young man’s revenue”? | I’m as impatient as a young man who has to wait for his inheritance. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareTheseusNow, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hourDraws on apace. Four happy days bring inAnother moon. But, O, methinks how slowThis old moon wanes! She lingers my desiresLike to a stepdame or a dowagerLong withering out a young man’s revenue.Which mood is created in this excerpt? | The words slow and lingers create an impatient mood. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare In this excerpt, Puck talks about Oberon and Titania.PuckAnd now they never meet in grove or green,By fountain clear, or spangled starlight sheen,But they do square, that all their elves for fearCreep into acorn cups and hide them there.What does Puck mean by “But they do square…”? | They argue with each other. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act I, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareLysanderDemetrius, I’ll avouch it to his head,Made love to Nedar’s daughter, Helena,And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes,Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,Upon this spotted and inconstant man. | Demetrius wooed Helena and now she’s in love with him, but he ignores her. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareTitaniaAnd thorough this distemperature we seeThe seasons alter: hoary-headed frostsFall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,And on old Hiems’ thin and icy crownAn odorous chaplet of sweet summer budsIs, as in mockery, set. The spring, the summer,The childing autumn, angry winter, changeTheir wonted liveries…Which mood does the imagery in this excerpt create? | Images of frost on roses and summer flowers on an icy crown create a chaotic mood. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 2, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareHelenaNo, no, I am as ugly as a bear,For beasts that meet me run away for fear.Therefore no marvel though DemetriusDo as a monster fly my presence thus.Which mood does the simile “I am as ugly as a bear” create? | The mood is sad; Helena is devastated that Demetrius has run away from her. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareHelenaI am your spaniel, and, Demetrius,The more you beat me I will fawn on you.Use me but as your spaniel: spurn me, strike me,Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave,Unworthy as I am, to follow you.In this passage Helena speaks of herself as Demetrius’s spaniel. Which mood does this metaphor create in this excerpt? | It is desperate because she is willing to be treated like a dog as long as she can be near him. |
Of the many plots in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which plot does Shakespeare focus on during the exposition and why? | the four-lovers plot because it drives the action of the rest of the play |
Shakespeare uses parallel plots throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and those plots frequently intersect. Focus on what happens when Oberon tells Robin to help Helena. How does Robin’s effort to help Helena create surprise or increased tension for the audience? | Robin puts juice in Lysander’s eyes, causing him to fall in love with Helena. This action surprises the audience and also builds tension because there will be conflict between Lysander and Demetrius. |
The fairies (Oberon, Titania, Robin), the lovers (Hermia, Helena, Lysander, Demetrius), and the nobles (Theseus and Hippolyta) speak in rhymed verse or blank verse. However, Bottom and his friends speak in prose (no rhyme or rhythm).How does this create different tones for the different scenes? | The lines in verse create a formal tone in the scene, while the lines in prose create an informal tone in the scene.The lines in verse create a formal tone in the scene, while the lines in prose create an informal tone in the scene. |
Read the passage.excerpt from Act II, Scene 1, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareTitaniaTherefore the winds, piping to us in vain,As in revenge have sucked up from the seaContagious fogs, which, falling in the land,Hath every pelting river made so proudThat they have overborne their continents. | Images of rivers and fogs that behave in an unnatural way create an agitated mood. |
How does the rising action in A Midsummer Night’s Dream create tension? | The four lovers get lost in the woods, which leads Lysander to get the potion instead of Demetrius. |
At several points in the play, the Oberon and Titania plot intersects with the four-lovers plot.How do Oberon’s efforts to help Helena create surprise or increased tension for the audience? | Lysander abandons Hermia in the woods because of the enchantment. This action builds tension by making the audience wonder what will happen to Hermia. |
A Midsummer Night’s Dream C
July 22, 2019