Reading Guide Questions
Responding to the Play
Analyzing the Play
Act 1
Identifying Facts
1. As the play opens, what event arc Theseus
mn
id Hippolyta anticipating? Whcn will it takc
place, and wherc?
2. Why does Egeus angrily bring his daughter
Hermia before lhc Duke? What choice docs
Theseus give Hermia? How long docs she
have lo makc up her mind?
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3. What plan docs Lysander propose to Hcmnia?
4. What problem does Hclcna have when we
first see her?
5. In hcr soliloquy at thc cnd of Scci~ci, what
does Helcna decide to do, and why?
6. In Scene ii, what play are the Athenian tradesrncn planning to piesent a[ the court?
7. Who is assigned to play the pan of !he lovcr?
Who will play the lady?
8. According to Quince, where and when will
the players rehearse?
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Interpreting Meanings
9. What docs Egeus's first long spcech in Sccne
i suggcst a b u t his character? What conflict
docs this speech establish?
10. The choice Thcscus gives Hcrmia seems harsh
and stcm. What irony do you see in the dcadline thacTheseus sets for Hernia's decision?
11, What arguments docs Lysandcr use whcn he
tries to pcrsuade thc Duke that he should be
allowed to marry Ilcrmia?
12. What do Hernia's specchcs in Sccne i suggest about hcr character?
13. What points about the nature of love does
Helena make in hcr soliloquy at the end of
Sccne i? How do you think lhcse assertions
may foreshadow the action io come?
14. How does the tone of Scene ii contrast with
that of the first scene?
15. Nick Bottom, thc weaver, seems to enjoy the
limelight in Sccne ii. What do his comments
a b u t the Corthcoining play-wilhin-a-play reveal about Bottom's character? How do the
othcr tradesmen contrast with Bottom?
16. Quince announces at the cnd of Sccne ii that
the tradesmen will mcer the following night to
rel~cnrsetheir play by moonlight. When you
consider this irlformation together with the
plans of Lysander and Hermia at the end of
Scene i, what may Quince's plan foreshadow
about thc complicatiorls of the plot in A Midswtlmer Night's Dream?
Act 11
Identifying Facts
1. Whcrc does Sccnc i take place?
2. Atcording to Puck, why is Obemn angry at
Ti ~ania?
3. According to Titania, what arc some of thc
effects on nature of Oberon's quaml with
her? Why won't shc give in to Obemn?
4. How does Obcron plan to rcvenge himself on
Titania? Whose aid does hc enlist to accomplish his plan?
backiirc in Scene ii? Explain Puck's mistake.
6. Explain the consequences of this mistake for
each of the four lovers: Hcrmia, Hclcna, Lysander, and Dcmetrius.
Interpreting Meanings
7. The quarrel belwecn Obemn and Tilania introduces a fresh complication into the plot of
play. What is this complication, and what
emotions motivate thc bchavior of the fairy
king and queen?
8. How would you describe thc character of
Puck, as hc is ponrayed in the iirst scene of
this act'?
Srrrdy Clride. A Midsummer Ni&k;'s Dream
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3. Who arc Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and
Mustardseed? What orders does Titania give
9. Act 11. Scene i is notable for its setting. What
details in the setting contrast with the settings
of both scenes in Act I? What atmosahere, or
mood, does this different setting held to estab-
4.
5.
6.
lish?
10. Oberon plays his trick an Titania to revengc
himself because of her stubbornness. He has a
different motive, however, when hc orders
Puck to squecze the love juice on the eyelids
of Demetrius. Whal is paradoxical a b u t
Oberon's reasons for these actions?
11. In Scene ii, thrce characters fall aslecp in
rapid succession:Timia, L~sander,and Hermia. How do you think this sequence of actions may be related to the play's title?
12. The predominant verse form in A Midsummer Night's Dream is blank verse, or
unrhymed iambic pcntarneter. Where and how
does Shakespeare vary this verse form in Act
IT? What reasons can you suggest for these
variations?
13. Consider Shakespare's imagery in this act.
What seem toke the most significant patterns,
or clusters, of imagery? Explain your answer
with some specific examples from the dia-
7.
Ln terpreting Meanings
8.
~n 111, scene
i, fie tndesmen
9.
13. Puck seems to make his mistake casually, for
easily understandabIe reasons. How might his
mistake symbolize a more profound, undcrlying truth (abut both the world of the fairies
and the morbl world)?
15. During Act IT, Helena becomes even more
unhappy than she was in Act 1. What SYmPathetic traits in her character suggest that
10.
11.
Shakespeare intended us to pity her, rather
than to regard her as a whining complainer?
16. How d m Hcrmia's s p c h at the end of Act
I1 help to increase the audience's suspense
about forthcoming events? In addition to suspense concerning
four 1wenjwhat 0 t h ~
subplot in the action of the play are you curious about at the end of Act IT?
12.
13.
Identifying Facts
1. What arc some of the problems Bottom p i n t s
out to his friends about the play they are rehearsing? How do thc tradesmen decide to
soIve each of these problems?
14.
2. How is Bottom transformed by Puck? What is
the reaction of Bottom's friends? What is Titania's reac~on?
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Guids: A Midrummer Night's D r a m
them?
How does Oberon learn of Puck's mistake?
Why is Hermia angry at Helena in Scenc ii?
What plan does Obemn devisc to correct
Puck's mistake?
How does Puck accomplish Oberon's plan at
the end of Scene ii? What prediction or promise does Puck make?
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cfeate humor with numerous matapropisms in their dialogue. A malapropism is a humorous misuse
of words, usually resulting from a confusion
of similar sounds. [.Thetern was coined after
Mrs. MaIaprop, a characterin a comedy called
The Rivals by the eighteenth-century English
playwright, Richard Brinsley Sheridan.] Explain at least three examples of malapropism
in this scene.
Dramatic irony is a pointed discrepancy between what the audience knows and what the
characters on stage know. What is the source
of the dramatic irony in Bottom's tm?formation? How would you characterize the tone of
this irony?
Bottom does not seem at all disconcerted by
his new role in the world of the fairies. What
does his behavior in Act 111, Scene i reveal
about his character?
We know that the tradesmen are rehearsing a
play-within-a-play to present at the court of
Thcseus, in honor of the Duke's wedding.
What details in Act 111 suggest that the events
in the forest are also a symbolic play-withina-play, at least from the perspective of Okron
and Puck?
Descrik the motivations of each of the four
mortal lovers - Herrnia, Helena, Lysander,
and Dcmetrius - in Act 111, Scene ii.
How docs the action in the find part of Act
111, Scene ii echo or parallel the action in Act
11, Scene ii? What might be the significanceof
this parallel for the themes of the play?
At Ihe end of this act, puck takes auion to
correct the mistake he made in Act 11. How do
his deeds and his concluding speech comprise
thc structural climax, or turning point, of the
play?
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end of ~ c111,t what conflicts remain to
t
x resolved? What is your prediction for how
each conflict will or will not be resolved?
Act TV
Act V
Tdentifying Facts
Identifying Facts
1. Describe the humorous scene that opcns Act
IV.
2. Why does Obemn decidc to "undo" his enchantment of Titania and Bottom?
3. Why have Theseus and Hippolyta comc to the
forest?
4, After the four lovers awaken, what does The-
seus decide about lheir future?
5. At the bcgiraing of Scene ii, why are the
pl a yea upset?
6. What instructions does Bottom give the players for their final preparations?
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Interpreting Meanings
7. Identify as many sourccs of humor as you
can in the first par1 of Scene i with Bottom,
Titania, and the fairics.
8. Reread Okron's speech in Scene i, beginning, "Welcome, good Robin." What mixture
of motives docs this speech rcveal?
9. How does Tilania's reaction when she awakcns
foreshadow the reactions of the mortal lovcrs
when thcy wake up later in Scene i?
10. In scene i , several characters refer to the approaching dawn. What symbolic significance
might (his detail of setting have for the plot as
i t unfolds in this act?
1I. Explain how the long speech of Demetrius in
Scene i reveals him as a dynamic character.
12. As Theseus and Hippolyta discuss the sounds
of the hunting hounds, thcy use imagery that
seems paradoxical: "so musical a discord"
and "such sweet thunder." How does Theseus
apply the same paradoxicd imagery to the
new situation of the four young lovers?
13. How does Bottom's soliloquy at the cnd of
Scene i echo the themes of illusion and dreaming that we have heard about berore in this
scene?
14. The very brief second scenc seems necessary
for one of rhe subplots, in that it rcunites
Bottom wieh his friends and prepares for the
play-within-a-play in the final act. This sccne
is also enjoyable because it further characterizes Bottom. At this p i n t in the play, how
would you compare the characters of Bottom
and Puck?
1. According to Theseus in his speech at h e
beginning of this act, what resemblance links
the lunatic, the lover, and the poet?
2. Who is Philostrate?
3. TheseusconsidersanumberofpossibIeplays
for perfomance after supper. Why does he
choose the play on Pyramus and Thisby?
4. Summarize the events that Quince relates in
thc pmlogue to "Pymmus and Thisby."
5. How dothe spectators react to the play-withina-play?
6. How does the evening's entertainment condude for thc mortal characteq?
7. Who appears in the final sccne, and why?
Interpreting Meanings
8. What new insight do we gain into the character of Thcscus from his long opening speech
in this act about the lunatic, the lover, and the
poet?
9. What is humorous about the way- Quince
delivers his prologue to "Pyramus and
Thisby"?
10. How does the style of Pyramus's s p c h beginning, " ~ w c e l - ~ o o In thank
,
thee for thy
sumy beams" furnish a parody of a typical
lament in tragedy or melodrama?
Many rcadets have noted that the mythical
plot of "Pyramus and Thisby" contains striking parallels to the plot of Romeo and Juliet.
In that tragedy, written about the same time as
A Midsutt~rnerNight's Dream, Shakespeare
told the story of "star-crossed lovers," whose
fateful misunderstanding of events led to their
deaths by suicide. How might the subject
matter of the whole play-within-a-play be
linkcd thematically to the main plot of A
Midsummer Night's Drem? What turns the
play-within-a-play into a farcical variation of
the main plot of Shakespeare's comedy, and
into a comic inversion of me plot of Romeo
and Juliet?
12. How do Thcseus and Hippolyta diffcr in lheir
rcactions to the play-wihin-a-play? How may
Theseus's reaction be rclatcd to the thcmcs of
A Midsummer Nighr's D r e m as a whole?
13. Explain how lhc four main strands of
Shakespeare's plat all come togcther in Act
v.
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Guide: A Midsummer Night 'r Dream
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14. A bIocking character in comedy is
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a strait-
laced, stereotyped f i g u who
~ objects to merriment and mirth as unseemly. Haw is Philostrate portrayed as something of a blocking
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character in Act V? What is ironic a b u t this
characterization?
15. Egeus is conspicuous by his absence (at least
from the dialogue) in Act V. Why do you
suppose Shakespeare gave him no part to play
in the play's resolution?
/--l6, What symbalism do you think the actions of
Puck and Oberon in the final scene might
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possess?
17. How does Puck's final speech in the play give
us one last echo of the themes of acting and
illusion in A Midrummer Night's Dream as a
whole?
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The Play as a Whole
1. ?he two scenes of the first act and the firs
scene of the second act present thrce
contrasting, quite different worlds in A
Mikummer Nights Dream. How would you
describe these worlds? What atmosphere, or
mood, is suggested by each?
2. Analyze and evaluate the role of song. music.
and dance in A Midsummer Nights Dream.
How do these elements relak to some of the
themes of the play as a whole?
3. A static character is portrayed as fixed and
unchanging throughout a play; he or she does
not developin any significant way. A dynamic
character changes as the result of conflict or
some other aspect of the events in the plat. In
what ways might Theseus and Dernelrius be
regartied as dynamic characters?
4. Analyze and evaluate the importance of the
theme of acting in the play. Which characters
are prominently associated with acting, pIay ing a part, or witnessing a play? Why do you
think this theme is so prominent in the play as
a wholc?
5. Imagery is concrete, vivid language that appeals to one of the five senses. Select one
pattern of imagery in the play, such as p l m ~
and flowers,the moon and moonlight, or sleep
and dreaming. Trace the way this pattern is
develom in h e play as a whole.
6. Shakespeare combines four different plots, or
series of events, in A M i d F m e r Night's
Dream, Identify these plots, and then show
how ShAespeare skillfully interweaves them.
What are the p@ipal parallels or other connections that link these plots togethcr on a
thematic level? How do h e characters in
these plots, when considered together, suggest a microcosm of society. w perhaps of the
universe?
7. Many critics have suggested that beneath the
surface of every great comedy are serious,
universd themes touching on human nature
and behavior. Do you think this assertion is
valid for A Midsummer Nights Dream? If so,
what are some of the themes you think
Shakespeare intends for us to think about?
Study Guidc: A MLfsrrmnwr Night's Drcam
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Writing About the Play
F
A Creative Response
1. Planning a Set Design. Choosc one of the
scenes set in the forest from Acts 11,111, and IV.
Lmagine that you are a set designer in charge of
planning the scenery for a performance of A
Midsummer Nighl's D r e m . Reread the scene
of your choice carefully, and then makc notes
for the scenery as you envision it. Be sure to
include any props that may be necessary.
2. Writing a Letter. Theseus overmles Egeus in
Act IV when he pcnnjts Hcnnia to marry Lysander. Write a letter that Egeus might send to
Hernia a few days after her wedding. In the
letter, give Egeus's reaction to the wedding.
3. Writing a Sequel. Select any one of the following characters: Bottom, Helena, Thcseus,
or Puck. Study the characterization of the pcrson you choose carefully. Thcn write a short
narrative sequel focusing on your character's
fortunes a few months afkr the play ends.
4. Sketching Nates for a Film Version. Write
notes for a film version of A Midsummer Night's
Dream. Which scenes do you think would k
especially effective on film? Which scenes
would contain special challenges for a director? Would you omit or add any material? Which
actresses and actors would you cast to play the
leading roles?
A Critical Response
5. Analyzing Theme. In an essay, state and analyze what you take to be Shakcspcare's most
important theme in A Midswnmer Night's
D r e m . In your essay, be sure to discuss how
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7.
8.
9.
the elements of setting, imagery, plot, and characterination contribute to this theme.
Analyzing Character, In most Shakespearean
plays. one or two characters are clearly preeminent as the protagonist or thc protagonists of
the drama. Who is the most important character
in A Midfwnmer Night's Dream? In an essay,
discuss and defend your choice with specific
references to the text.
Analyzing Imagery. Reread carefully the
speeches of Oberon, Titania, and Puck. In an
essay, analyze two or three of rhe most important patterns of imagery in the language of
these speeches. Bc sure to include specific references to the text in your analysis.
Evaluating the Play-Within-a-Play. In an
essay, discuss the importance of the performance of "Pyramus and Thisby" within the play
as a whole. How does the plot of the playwithin-a-play compare and contrast with the
other plots of the comedy?
Responding to a Critic. Commenting on the
play, the critic Harold F. Brooks has written:
"Both in form and feeling, A Midsummer Nighr's
D r e m is the most lyrical of all Shakespeare's
plays."Do you agree with this evaluation? Write
an essay discussing the lyrical elements of
Shakespeare's play. Feel frcc to compare and
contrastA Midsummer Night's Drew wilh other
plays by Shakespeare with which you are familiar.
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