A Midsummer Night’s Dream Test

What’s the easiest way to tell if a poem is a sonnet? Count the number of lines
What can you conclude about Shakespeare’s acting company from its name? It was made up of men only
Shakespeare wrote more than 100 sonnets. What term best describes his output? Prolific
How would Shakespeare please the groundlings in his audience? With bawdy jokes
What did original performances of Shakespeare’s plays have in common with modern Broadway plays? They debuted in a large theater in a big city
What do Shakespeare’s history plays have in common? They’re almost always about kings, queens, or nobles.
What were groundlings most similar to? The people in the bleachers at a ballgame.
“Twelfth Night” is a comedy. Knowing this, what can you infer about the ending of the play? It probably includes a wedding.
What supernatural creature can be found in many of Shakespeare’s plays? ghosts
We don’t know much about Shakespeare’s _______. early life
WHEN was Shakespeare born? (year) 1564
WHERE was Shakespeare born? Stratford-upon-Avon
What was the population of Stratford-upon-Ava? 1000
WHEN was Shakespeare baptized? April 26, 1564
Shakespeare’s mother, Mary, was the daughter of a _____________. local farmer
What occupation did Shakespeare’s father have? glove-maker and wool trader
When William Shakespeare four years old, his father was elected ________, effectively the mayor. Bailiff of Stratford
Shakespeare was the third of how many children? 8
How did Shakespeare grow up as the oldest if he had older siblings? He lived the longest; most of his siblings died.
What traumatic experience did Shakespeare survive when he was young? the plague
What age did Shakespeare probably leave school? 15
WHEN did Shakespeare marry? 1582
How old was Shakespeare when he got married? 18
Why did Shakespeare marry so young? His wife was pregnant.
What was the name of Shakespeare’s wife? Anne Hathaway
Where did Shakespeare live from 1590 to 1613? London
Where did Shakespeare’s acting debut start? And when? London; 1592
How many sonnets did Shakespeare write? 154
How many plays did Shakespeare write (or co-write)? 37
What was the name of the theatre company Shakespeare co-owned? The Lord Chamberlain’s Men
What theatre did Shakespeare own (most of his plays were performed here)? Globe Theatre
What year did Shakespeare start running the Globe Theatre? 1599
What is the significance of the church Shakespeare was buried in? It was the same church he was baptized in.
Where was Shakespeare buried? Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon
WHEN did Shakespeare die? April 23, 1616
where the ‘groundlings’ stood The Yard
How much was it to get admission into the Yard? 1 penny
How much was it to get admission into the lowest gallery? 2 pennies
under the stage; where characters came from through a trap door Hell
back-stage area the tiring house
the ceiling of the stage where a trap door lowered godly characters onto the stage Heaven
What is a sonnet? A 14-line poem
How is Hippolyta’s reasoning concerning how quickly the next four days will pass different from that of Theseus? Theseus thinks the days will go by slowly but Hippolyta thinks they will go by fast. Theseus is very impatient about love. Hippolyta thinks they will go by fast because of her excitement.
What was the proper role for women/daughters in Athenian society according to Egeus and Theseus? The proper role for women/daughters in Athenian society was to always do as their husband or father said.
Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do? Egeus is outraged that Hermia will not do as he says. Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus because he wanted Theseus to make Hermia marry Demetrius. He also wants to know if the king will give him permission to give the daughter the fate of marrying Demetrius or being put to death.
What is Theseus’s ruling concerning Hermia? She either has to marry Demetrius, become a nun, or die.
How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things? It puts Demetrius in a tight spot because then it is possible that Egeus would think he is unreliable and isn’t good enough for Hermia. Then Demetrius would lose his chance to marry Hermia.
What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? They plan to run away and elope. They run away to his widow aunt’s house out of Athens where they do not have to follow the law.
Hermia complains that she “frowns upon (Demetrius), yet he loves me still… I give him curses, yet he gives me love.” Why do you suppose, Demetrius continues to pursue a young woman who doesn’t want him? He is a man that loves the chase; it is not about love he just wants to win.
Why do Lysander and Hermia tell Helena their plans? Because now Helena could be with Demetrius.
Even though Helena loves Demetrius and is Hermia’s old school friend, why does she decide to tell Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander’s plans? What does this show us about Helena? Helena decides to tell Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander’s plan, because she thinks he will be so grateful to her and that he will fall in love with her again. It shows that Helena is so desperate for Demetrius’s attention that she breaks the trust of her good friend in order to talk to him.
Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? He wants to play all the parts because he believes he is the best actor there is and can handle any role perfectly. He is arrogant and thinks he is the best actor.
What other famous Shakespearean story does the plot of Pyramus and Thisby echo? It reminds me of Romeo and Juliet.
How do you suppose the threat of being hanged if they scare the ladies will affect the tradesmen’s interpretation of the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisby? They will make a more light, funny approach and make it more comedic than a tragedy.
In what way is this scene funny? (the scene where the men are getting the roles for the play) It is funny because Bottom thinks he is the best while the other men know he is not. He keeps cutting in on everyone’s sentences. Men have to play women’s roles.
Where are the actors meeting the following night? Why are they rehearsing in this remote place? They are meeting in the woods so that no one will know the plot of their play.
Who else is meeting in these same woods at the same time? Why do you suppose Shakespeare has set up this coincidence? Lysander and Hermia; Shakespeare probably did this to add some awkward moments between the two groups to make their meetings funny. *know that Shakespeare did this on purpose.
Why are Oberon, the king of fairies, and Titania, the queen of the fairies, fighting? They both want the small Indian boy who is in the possession of Titania. Titania wants him as her son, but Oberon wants him as his servant.
Name three of the numerous tricks Puck enjoys playing on humans. He pretends he is a stool and disappears when old ladies are sitting on them; making them fall over. He would make travelers go in the wrong direction so they’d get lost. He takes the foam off of beer. He makes the milk not turn into butter.
How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta, and why have they come to Athens? They both have had romantic relationships with them and are there for their wedding. Hippolyta and Oberon were together and loved each other. Hippolyta made Theseus do mean things to his ex girlfriends.
What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? The seasons have mixed up on one another. The fairies don’t dance on the field; making the flowers and plants not grow. The rivers are flooding. Disease is everywhere. Summer nights are filled with icy frost.
Why won’t Titania give up the “changeling,” or little Indian boy, to Oberon? Titania was good friends with his Indian mother and in honor of her death she is to take care of him as her son.
What does the juice from the “love-in-idleness” flower do to a person? How did the flower get this power? The juice should be laid on the person’s eyelids. The next person they see, will be the person they fall madly in love with. It has to be when they are asleep. The reason why the flower has this power is because cupid’s arrow hit the flower instead of it’s target.
What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? He is going to use the magic juice on her to make her fall in love with the first thing she sees. This will cause a distraction so that he can take the Indian boy.
Helena tells Demetrius, “I am your spaniel.” What does she mean by this? Is this the best approach to win back a former lover? Explain your answer. She means that she will follow him around and never stop loving him like a dog never stops loving his owner. It’s not a good approach because it makes her seem desperate and creepy. She probably needs more self-respect.
When Demetrius warns that Helena won’t be safe alone with him in the woods at night, what is her reply? She lists all the other places they have been “rough” together. If Demetrius killed her, she says that it would be a privilege to be killed by him.
Helena says that women “cannot fight for love, as men may do; we should be woo’d and were not made to woo.” Do you agree with this idea or is this old-fashioned thinking today? Explain. No I think that guys should make the first move. Such as, the guy has to propose.
What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? He asks Puck to put the magic juice on Demetrius eyes so that he will fall in love with Helena.
What’s ironic about the song the fairies sing to lull Titania to sleep? They are wishing a restful sleep and good dreams. A few minutes later Oberon comes and puts the juice on her eyes and says that he wishes that she would have a terrible sleep and find some type of beast to fall in love with when she wakes up.
Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little bit away from her? She insists that since she and Lysander aren’t married, she can’t sleep with him.
Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes with the juice from the flower? He thinks it’s Demetrius.
Now that you’ve finished reading this scene, what’s funny about lines 68-71, when Hermia and Lysander are saying goodnight to each other? They are saying that they love each other when the next morning Lysander wants nothing to do with Hermia. He says he’ll die before he is not loyal to her, but the next morning he claims that he hates her.
How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? She think he is mocking her. She thinks it is a cruel joke and is very angry.
What was Hermia’s dream? How is the dream a reflection of reality? In the dream, a snake is ripping out Hermia’s heart and Lysander is doing nothing about it. Lysander will do the same to Hermia (metaphorically) because he loves Helena now.
“Churl, upon thy eyes I throw all the power this charm doth owe.” Who says this line? To whom does he think he’s speaking? To whom is he really speaking? Robin puts the juice on Lysander’s eyes instead of Demetrius’s.
play the role of Pyramus’ father in the play Snout
tired of always playing the role of a woman flute
the flower Oberon uses on Titania love-in-idleness
role of the Lion snug
plays Thisbe’s mother in the play Starveling
How are the actors going to keep from scaring the ladies when Pyramus kills himself or when the lion roars? They are going to make it obvious that the lion is not real. Bottom will read a prologue stating that none of it is real. They are overestimating their acting skills.
How are the actors going to manage the setting/scenery such as the moonlight and the wall? For the moonlight, they plan to have a person walk in holding a lantern, so that the light from the lantern would imitate moonlight. On the contrary, for the wall, they would have a person standing there with his hands outstretched, and make his fingers into an “O” shape, so that would be the crack they walk through.
Why do the rest of the actors run off when Bottom reappears? They are scared because his head is turned into a donkey.
What does Puck plan to do when he follows after the other actors? He plans to act in the play. He will sometimes transform himself so that he can scare them and make them get lost.
How does Bottom react to the hysterical shoutings of Snout and Quince? He thinks they are messing with him.
Based on what we already know about Nick Bottom’s character, why isn’t he surprised that the lovely fairy queen is attracted to him? He is very arrogant and isn’t surprised that a queen would fall in love with him.
In lines 145-146, Bottom says that “reason and love keep little company together nowadays.” Why is this such an apt statement at this point in the play? The only reason Titania loves him is because she has the love-in-idleness on her eyes.
Now that Nick Bottom has been transformed, what do we realize is funny about his name? Only the bottom half of him is still Nick Bottom, not a donkey. He is a weaver, and the bottom of a spool of yarn it called the bottom.
When Puck describes to Oberon how the tradesmen/actors reacted when they saw Bottom transformed into a jackass, what analogy does Puck use to describe the manner in which the men scattered? What does this analogy show us about the power that they fairy world has over the mortal world? Puck described them as wild geese flying away when a gunshot goes off. Puck is like a hunter scaring away a flock of geese, who are the mortals. The magical world seems to have a great deal of power over the mortal world.
What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of doing? She accuses him of killing Lysander in his sleep.
Hermia calls Demetrius both a “worm” and an “adder.” What’s an adder? How are both descriptions apt for Demetrius? An adder is a snake. He is described as a worm because he “wormed” his way into Hermia’s relationship. He is described as an adder because he is mean (especially to Helena) and uses and abuse her like a snake. A snake has a forked tongue, which means that someone with a forked tongue cannot be trusted.
How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake? Robin’s mistake is putting the juice on Lysander’s eyes. They will put it on Demetrius’s eyes and make sure Helena is the first person he sees.
Why is Helena upset when Demetrius says he loves her? Isn’t this what she wanted all along? It is what she wanted, but she thinks Demetrius is mocking her and making fun of her.
Of what does Helena accuse Hermia? She accuses her of being a bad friend by letting the three of them (Lysander, Demetrius, and Hermia) make fun of her. Helena thinks that Hermia is on the ‘mocking’ of Demetrius and Lysander.
Describe the friendship of Helena and Hermia they younger days. What fruit analogy does Helena use to describe their former friendship? They used to be the bestest friends. She uses the cherry analogy. They are like two cherries attached to the same stem.
Helena and Hermia have similar names, but their physical appearance is quite different. Which girl is tall? Which is short? Which has dark hair and a darker complexion. Which is blond and pale/light complexion? Hermia is short, has dark hair and a darker complexion. Helena is tall, has blond hair and a pale complexion.
Why is Helena afraid of Hermia? Helena threatened to hurt Hermia. (Bottom of 103; Hermia says that she’s not too short to claw Helena eyes out)
What are Lysander and Demetrius’ plans for each other? They plan to fight for Helena.
What does Oberon tell Puck to do about the two young men? He’s going to lower a dark fog and lead them away from each other as far as possible. He tells him to put the juice on Lysander’s eyes so he can make Lysander fall in love with Hermia again.
What is Oberon going to do about Titania? He is going to steal the Indian boy.
How well does Puck’s trickery work? Everything works out. All is well. The men aren’t able to find each other to fight. All four of the young Athenians fall asleep. Lysander’s love-juice spell is removed.
mischievous act, prank, trickery knavery
transformed translated
traveled away sojourned
trickster, deceiver juggler
worm that destroys beautiful things canker blossom
short dwarfish
How was Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies? He loves getting pampered and is taking a great advantage of the fairies’ attention. He is having the time of his life. He has already gotten used to ordering them around.
How does Oberon use Titania’s infatuation with Bottom to help him gain custody of the Indian boy? He says that he is angry that she loves another man, and in order to make him forgive her, she gives him the Indian boy.
What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her? Do you think he will tell her the truth? He will probably not tell her the truth because she will take back the Indian boy and they will be back to where they started.
Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning? They are hunting for a bear. Theseus is trying to impress Hippolyta with his hounds.
What is Theseus’ first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? They must have come here to celebrate “May Day” which is May 1st.
Explain Demetrius’ meaning when he equates his hatred/love for Helena with sickness and food. His hatred towards Helena is like a sickness. But, Helena is like healthy food that he wants to eat in order to get well again.
What is Theseus’ decision concerning the four young people? He over rules Egeus. They will all get married at the same time as him and Hippolyta.
Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming? They are so confused as to if the feelings from the love-juice potion were real or not.
Bottom believes he, too, has had a dream. What’s funny about this short passage at the end of the scene? He wants to write a play about his dream called “Bottom’s Dream.” he thinks that he has had such a strange dream, he can’t even put it into words. He wants to sing it as a song at the end of the play. He is not an ass anymore, but he is still acting like one.
What opinion do the other tradesmen/actors now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? They think Bottom is all that he thinks he is; great at acting, handsome, and the best at everything. If someone passes away, you don’t think of all the bad things about them, you think of the positive.
What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? They don’t want to miss out on all the money they would’ve been paid.
Why must the tradesmen/actors hurry to the Duke’s palace? Bottom returns, so they will be able to perform the play.
When discrediting the young Athenians’ stories, Theseus says, “Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, such shaping fantasies, that apprehend more than cool reason ever comprehends.” Explain his meaning. Do you agree with this idea. Explain. He thinks that once people are in love, they do crazy things. I agree with this to a certain extent. People do crazy things when they are in love, but I don’t think they would have the same dream.
Why does Theseus choose to see the play about Pyramus and Thisbe rather than the other entertainment options? He is intrigued by the title how it contrasts with what the play is about. Oxymoron example He feels bad for the men putting in so much work to create this play, so he is being polite by watching.
What evidence do we have in lines 89-105 that Theseus is a kind-hearted ruler? He figures since they have gone out of their way to prepare this play, for him and Hippolyta, the least they could do was let them perform it for them.
How is Quince’s prologue reflective of what Theseus said in lines 89-105? Quince came out and rambled and stumbled over his lines. Theseus feels bad for him, and this is reflective of what Theseus said is #s 2-3.
In lines 145-146, what heavy-handed literary technique is being used? alliteration; all the words start with the same letter
Do you find the newly-weds commentary during the play to be funny or annoying? Explain. I find it funny because it is relatable; I would’ve done the same thing.
In what way is Thisbe/Flute’s final speech humorous? They say they are dying before they die. They use terms to describe each other that are not flattering even though they are in love.
Write down the lines from Theseus’ last bit of test that show he actually enjoyed the play. (Top of pg. 169) He says that this really bad play helped us pass the time and entertained us until it was time to go to bed.
What wedding gift do Titania and Oberon give all three wedded couples? He makes all of their children perfect, safe, and healthy. They also give them the gift of never having anything bad happen to them.
What is the purpose of Puck’s final speech? What’s ironic (and sort of silly) about Shakespeare’s ending his play this way? Puck tells us (the audience) that if there was anything offensive or that we didn’t like about this play, we should pretend that it is a dream and that everything will be alright.
How are Puck and Oberon going to correct Puck’s earlier mistake?