Midsummernightsdream

PodCast #2: (By Megan Letham and Kassidy SmidsDyk)
=“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”=

Act I, Scene 1
1. How is Hippolyta’s reasoning concerning how quickly the next four days will pass different from that of Theseus? Hippolyta thinks that Theseus should just calm down, and that the days until the wedding will pass quickly enough. 2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do? He has brought them all there to try and get Theseus to force them to be together, because His daughter won't listen. He expects Egeus to either make her do what he wants, or allow him to kill her. 3. What was the proper role for women/daughters in Athenian society according to Egeus and Theseus? What is Theseus’s ruling concerning Hermia? That women do what their fathers want, or die. Theseus is quite symathetic, and chooses a third option to offer her... death, marry Demitreus, or A nunnery. 4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things? It kind of makes everybody think for a second, to see if Demetrieus is actually committed to Hermia. 5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena? Lysander and Hermia are going to run into the woods, and get married at his aunt's house, outside of Athenian law. They tell Helena to chill her out a bit, and open a door for Helena to possibly "woo" Demetrieus and make them fall in love again. 6. Even though Helena loves Demetrius and is Hermia’s best friend, why does she decide to tell Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander’s plans? Because she thought that would make Demetrious love her, and get over Hermia. 7. Identify Hermia's basic dilemma. What are the choices outlined for her by Theseus and her father? What other choice doesn't Lysander suggest? Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her dad wants her to marry the guy he thinks would be best, who is Demitrius, so she runs away into the woods to Lysander's Aunt's house, which he suggested.

Act I, Scene 2
8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? Because he believes he can do it better than everyone else. He is waaaay too full of himself. 9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene? This is funny because Bottom is so flamboyant, and out there... Shakespeare included this scene to build on the actor characters and build empathy towards them. 10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time? They're planning to meet in the woods, and so are Lysander and Hermia! OMFG!! 11.How would you describe Bottom's acting ability? What is Bottom's own opinion of his acting ability? He is a pretty good actor, but he is not QUITE as good as he thinks he is... He thinks he is just a total genius.

Act II, Scene 1
10. What does the reader find out about the current relationship between Oberon, King of the Fairies, and Titania, Queen of the Fairies, from Puck and the first fairy? They tell you that the King and Queen have been quarreling. 11. How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta; why have they come to Athens? Titania was in love with Theseus, and Oberon, Hippolyta. 12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? When they fight, it makes the weather go crazy, and natural disasters happen. 13. Why won’t Titania give up the changeling to Oberon? Because she believes it's her duty to take care of him, and she knows he does not agree with that. 14. What does Oberon send Puck to find? A man and a woman, dressed in Athenian clothing. 15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? He is going to put drops of the juice from the flower so she will fall in love with the next ugly thing she sees. 16. How does Helena react to Demetrius’s verbal abuse? She retorts, and everything he says, she says pretty much the opposite. 17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse? That she deserves it, and that he can treat her like a dog. 18. In what way is Helena’s behaviour inappropriate for Athenian women? She is getting in the way of the relationship Hermia's father wants to happen. 19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? He tells him to find them so he can put the drops on their eyelids, and make him fall in love with her.

Act II, Scene 2
20. Why does Oberon want Titania to wake and fall in love with some vile thing? So she will be distracted and hand over the Indian boy to him. 21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her? She wants to be modest, and wait until they are married to be intimate. 22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes? He sees Lysander, and thinks that he is Demetrius. 23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? She thinks he is pulling a sick joke, with Demetrius, and runs away. 24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality? She dreams that her heart is being eaten by a snake, and that Lysander is just sitting there watching and laughing. This is kind of like how all of a sudden, Lysander ditches Hermia, breaks her heart, and says how much he hates her, and loves Helena.

Act III, Scene 1
25. How are the actors going to keep from scaring the ladies when Pyramus kills himself or when the lion roars? They are going to treat them like complete idiots and have a prolog at the beginning saying the names of Pyramus, and the lion actors. Also they will show part of the lion's head through the costume. 26. How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall? They are going to have a window, for the moonlight, and A person to play the wall. 27. Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears? His head had turned into a Donkey Head and that scared them. 28. What does Puck plan to do when he follows after the other actors? To cause some mischief, and be funny. 29. How does Bottom react to Titania and the other fairies? He makes puns with all of the fairies' names, and he is okay with Titania beig in love with him. 30. Bottom says, "…reason and love keep little company together nowadays." Why is this such an apt statement at this point in the play? It is such an important concept in this part of the play because all of the characters are infatuated with someone, and there is hardly any reason. Like Titania and Bottom, and even Helena and Demetrius.

Act III, Scene 2
31. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing? Killing Lysander. 32. How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake? Puck will pretend to be Demitrius and Lysander, make them fall asleep, and make Lysander fall back in love with Hermia, with the love juice. 33. Why is Helena upset when Demetrius says he loves her? Isn’t this what she had wanted all along? She think she is playing a sick joke on her, and she is hesitant to believe that this is actually true. 34. Of what does Helena accuse Hermia? Of being a part of the whole joke, and breaking the "WOMAN CODE" 35. How close had Hermia and Helena been in the past? They were BFFs in school. 36. How does Lysander treat Hermia? Why can’t she believe what he says? He was saying that he hated her and wanted to hurt her, and Hermia does not believe that Lysander is actually meaning all of this, because in her heart she knows he loves her. 37. Of what does Hermia accuse Helena? Of being a man stealer. 38. Why is Helena afraid of Hermia? She is small, but fiesty. 39. What are Lysander and Demetrius going off to do? to fight for Helena. 40. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men? To follow them and tire them out, then make them fall in love with the right people, with the love juice. 41. What is Oberon going to do about Titania? He is going to make her give him the Indian boy. 42. Why doesn’t Oberon fear the coming of day? He knows he has the right Athenians this time. 43. How well does Puck’s trickery work? Quite well. ==== **Review Question: The climax, or turning point, of //A Midsummer Night’s Dream// comes at the end of Act 3. In point form describe the major plot points of Act Three starting from when Titania falls in love with Bottom leading to the climax or turning point of the play near the end of act three:** ====
 * Titania awakens to the "Beautiful" sound of Bottom's voice, then sees him and instantly falls in love.
 * Hermia thinks that Demetrius killed Lysander, she runs away from him in anger.
 * Puck and Oberon see that DEMETRIUS was the one they needed to fall in love with Helena, so they put flower juice in his eyes, and he falls in love with Helena too.
 * Demetrius and Lysander get in a fight over Helena. Helena and Hermia get in a fight, thinking they had betrayed one-another. Lysander says how much he hates Hermia, but she doesn't believe it.
 * Puck takes Lysander and Demetrius to the woods and tricks them into thinking that Puck is their rival. Puck makes them both fall asleep, then puts love juice into Lysanders eyes, which will put everything back to normal.

Act IV, Scene 1
44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies? He was a bit weirded out at first, then he kinda liked it. 45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom? He was very happy, and didn't expect his plan would work that well. 46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her? He is going to just say it was a dream? Or ignore it. 47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning? They were looking for the missing lovers, and it's their wedding day. 48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? He thought they went to the wedding early. 49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness? He says that he doesn't quite know why, but he is now in love with Helena, and his love for Hermia was like a food he ate too much, and now it's not good anymore. 50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people? He says they can have a 3-way wedding now. 51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming? Because everything has changed, and none of them are quite sure what is going on. 52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke? He is going to get Flute to write a Ballad called "Bottom's Dream".

Act IV, Scene 2
53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? They kind of remember Bottom... better than he actually was... and their fondness of him grew, the longer they had been without him. 54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? That they wouldn't get the money they deserved, and "made men" 55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace? He just ate, and now it's their time to go wait for him to be ready.

a) The fourth act opens and ends with Bottom at center stage. What is your opinion of Bottom’s character? How might he be the antithesis, or opposite, of Theseus’s character?
====Bottom is very full of himself, and I don't really like his aggressive personality very much. He is quite obnoxious. He is quite different from Theseus, because Theseus is calm, and understanding... Bottom just has to have his way, it seems.====

c) In this act, several characters look back at prior infatuations with disbelief. What do you think Shakespeare is saying about love and infatuation?
That it changes FAST, and looking back... sometimes you even wonder why you loved someone in the first place. Also that it is complicated, and easy to lose someone you once loved.

Act V
56. Why does Theseus dismiss the stories of the four young people? He sees that they just woke up, and thinks they were dreaming. 57. Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisby rather than the other entertainments? He would rather see something quaint, and cute, than cold, industrial kind of acting. 58. Why does Philostrate try to keep Theseus from seeing the play? What does he say is wrong with it? He says that the actors were so TERRIBLE it was funny, and agonizingly long. 59. What does Theseus mean by the lines, "For never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it"? He's pretty much saying, You can't really go wrong with sincerity, and true effort. 60. What is accomplished by having the Prologue tell the whole story that the actors are then going to enact? To let them know what is going to happen so they don't get startled, and it is how Shakespeare pokes fun at how stupid the audiences are. 61. How does Shakespeare use comments from the audience to enhance the humour of the play that they are watching? by making the interaction between audience and players, it kind of makes the play seem a bit more intimate and enjoyable, than just a train-wreck. 62. What is Hippolyta’s reaction to the play? She think's it's silly. 63. In what way is Thisbe’s final speech humorous? It takes him/her a LONNNGGG time to die? 64. What does Oberon tell the fairies to do? To bless their house. 65. What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech? He's making a connection with the audience.. just saying that if they didn't like it, to pretend it was all a dream, it is supposed to be funny.

Find at least one example of each of the following that occurs during the play within the play. Write down the quote that illustrates example.
excessive alliteration: "Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade, he bravely broached his boiling bloody breast." (Prologue)

breaking the play's illusion of reality: "Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn."-Puck (When Bottom gets the Donkey Head.)

using the wrong word or name: "Thisbe, the flowers of odious savours sweet," (suppost to be oderous)

repeating a word excessively: Bottom/Pyramus-"O grim-looked night! O night with hueso black! O night which ever art when day is not! O.... etc."

ridiculous metaphor:

"That is hot ice, and wonderous strange snow" (Philostrate, about the Play)
====**a) In reading the play-within-a-play, we become the audience for the drama played out by Theseus, Hippolyta, and the others. These performers, in turn, form the audience for the reenactment of Pyramus and Thisbe. How does observing another audience help you understand the relationship between audience and performers?**====

It makes the overall experience of going to a play, back then, a bit more familiar, and gives you a bit of an idea, of what an audience would possibly be thinking.
====**b) Modern television shows often create comic effects by having a silly, innocent, or “clueless” character and a sarcastic, knowing, clever character play off of each other. What examples can you think of?**====

Puck and Oberon. Puck is very silly, and sneaky, Oberon is serious, mostly. And it's funny to see Oberon react to Puck's actions.
====**c) Identify ways in which Pyramus and Thisbe might be unsuitable for a wedding celebration. Are there any ways in which the play might be appropriate? In what ways is the play-within-a-play an ironic commentary on what the two pairs of young lovers (Demetrius and Helena, Lysander and Hermia) have gone through earlier?**====

=
It isn't appropriate because there is killing and violence in the play. It could be appropriate because of how romantic and passionate it is though. It's kind of ironic because There is a wall between Pyramus and Thisbe, and they'r families hate eachother... There is sort of a wall between Lysander and Hermia... (Demetrius, and Egeus) and between Helena and Demetrius (Hermia).=====

Completion 25/25 Effort 20/25 Content 21/25

Total 66/75

Podcast 1 - 17/20 Podcast 2 - NHI