Nick Bottom, Royal Shakespeare Company Production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005)
Please post your questions in the comments. Remember we talked about three types of questions:
Please post your questions in the comments. Remember we talked about three types of questions:
- content questions, i.e. what is going on in the text (questions of doing)
- theme-oriented questions, i.e. related to the more general questions posed by the play (questions of thinking)
- interpretive questions, i.e. about specific passages, phrases or concepts used in the play (questions of making)
27 comments:
In Act Three, Scene Two, What would have happened if King Oberon didn't fix the mix up between the young couples? How would the themes of Shakespeare's previous plays reflect what would occur?
I could be reading way to far into this... but does anybody think that there is any significance between the workers real life jobs and the characters they play in their satire?
What theme is represented when Demetrius declares his love for Helena after the flower has worn off him( the spell is gone from him)and why( in your opinion) does he decide he loves Helena?
oops sorry anonymous is Sacha Morales
When i first read Act One, Scene One, i didn't understand why she wanted to tell Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander's plan to meet in the woods and go off and get married. I was wondering why she told Demetrius so he could try to stop them, instead of just letting Lysander and Hermia go off and get married and then that would lead Demetrius to eventually get over Hermia and possibly start leaning towards Helen??
I think that the play within a play about Pryramus and Thisbe draws some kind of parallel to what occurs to the real lovers in the main plot. What do you guys think? I think there is something to this.
Sorry, my full name is Alexis Wong
In Act 3 Scene 2, Helena curses Lysander and Demetrius because she believes the two are toying with her, but is unaware of the fairy involvement with the two men. Helena says, "You both are rivals, and love Hermia; And now both rivals to mock Helena: A trim exploit, a manly enterprise." The foot note states that "trim" means splendid; why would Helena call this event a splendid achievement and how is it ironic?
At the end of Act Four, Scene 1, Bottom comes out of his trance and thinks about his dream with Titania and calls it a "most rare vision." In his short soliloquy, what exactly is he trying to say when he states "Methought I was--no man can tell what...nor his heart to report, what my dream was"? I'm not quite sure if this relates to the idea of love or not.
What exactly are Oberon's and Hippolyta's role in the play? Why are they needed?
How do Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed encompass the motif of making in the beginning of Act Four, Scene One?
How do Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed encompass the motif of making in the beginning of Act Four, Scene One? Analyze the connection of making to the actions performed by each of these fairies.
In "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Shakespeare named the mechanics after their occupations. What was Shakespeare's purpose when he chose those names? Would anything change if the mechanics were named differently?
Looking back, which relationship within the play suffers most from the interferences of Oberon and Puck?
What is Puck's role throughout the play? Does it ever change? What is the function of endowing Puck with two names, and how do his monologue at the play's end function in context with the rest of the play?
Throughout the entire play, there is a difference in speech between the characters. Some speak in rhyme while others speak without rhyme. Do you believe there is a significance for certain characters to speak in rhyme (fairies, at times Oberon and Titania, Puck, Lysander while he is under the influence of the flower) as opposed to the other characters who don't speak in rhyme? Also, there are times where the rhyming character use different rhyme schemes (abab, aabb, aabbb, etc). Might there be a reason for the change in scheme? --Dana Toribio
The main theme of the drama, which is the "transitoriness and inconstancy of love," is anticipated with the main lovers Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena. How can this theme be applied to the relationship concerning Hermia and Helena alone? How about Theseus and Hippolyta? How about Oberon and Titania?
I am pretty sure I am thinking to hard about this, but is there any significance in Shakespeare deciding to have the fairy royalty in the story to be almost a mirror to the real king and queen
What is the symbolic reference to changing Bottom's head into an ass? Could being an "ass" transcend beyond Bottom, and refer to other characters as well? Totally
What is the significance of the play within the play? Is the Pyramus and Thisby pertinent to the main story and is there any parallelism between the two young couples in play and the couple in the play within the play?
Is Shakespeare trying to relate the characters: Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed to the working men in the play?
In Act Three, Scene Two, Helena and Hermia are fighting in the presence of Lysander and Demetrius who are under the love spell. To defend Helena, Lysander says, "What, should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead? Although I hate her, I'll not harm her so." Does this quote have deeper meaning, could it be related to the play's theme on love, that as allusive as love may be, it still prevails under all circumstances? Does Lysander choose to hate Hermia instead of defending Helena in some other way, knowing hate would hurt Hermia most?
What are fairies, really? And why do they use their mischief to be so philanthropic?
lots of comments and questions about the fairies and the kind of supernatural making that they do. sarah's question about if there is a connection between the labor of the fairies and that of the rude mechanicals is an interesting one. what would be the point of making such a connection? or a connnection between the rude mechanicals and their play-acting figures? between pryamus and thisby and the aristocratic audience? between oberon and titania and thesus and hippolyta? any?
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