Renaissance A Midsummer Night's Dream lesson 7

The four lovers

The Love Potion - Discussion Questions

• Who was Robert Dudley?

• What does Hugh Bonneville say might have been the reason that Queen Elizabeth came to Kenilworth Castle in 1575?

• Is it possible that a young William Shakespeare saw the water show with "a mermaid on a dolphin's back" during the Queen’s Royal Progress? Use evidence from the video to explain.

• According to host Hugh Bonneville, how is the phrase "a mermaid on a dolphin’s back" connected to Kenilworth Castle?

• How does Oberon try to use to solve the Athenian lover’s problems? Describe what results from his meddling.

• Why does Helena think Lysander and Demetrius are mocking her?

• How does Shakespeare use poetic form and language to instruct the actors on how to perform what Julie Taymor calls the "quartet" scene? How does Helena speak in this scene and how does it change when she talks to Hermia?

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The end of the story

• This play is full of couples - and some of them are not very happy.
• However, in the end, with a bit of help from the fairies, everything is sorted out.

• If you are thinking of pretty creatures with wings and magic wands, think again. Shakespeare's fairies argue and fight as much, if not more than human beings - and they are not above playing some nasty tricks. 
• But as Puck says when he apologizes to the audience at the end, it is probably best not to take all this too seriously. Perhaps it was all a dream...
  

Puck changes the actor Bottom's head in that of a:

1. dog
2. cat
3. horse
4. donkey

How does the play end?

1. Everybody loves the right person
2. Everybody loves the wrong person
3. Oberon falls in love with Helena
4. Oberon falls in love with Hermia

A Midsummer Night's Dream is

1. a sonnet
2. a comedy
3. a historical play
4. a tragedy

Alquin questions page 32

Question 1 

You don't have to answer this one because the answer is right here!

Why are the violets described as 'nodding'? 

answer: the nodding violets create a picture of them being disturbed by a gentle summer breeze and thus helps to make the spot sound idyllic.

Question 2: In this short passage Shakespeare appeals to various senses. Which?

1. sight
2. touch
3. taste
4. hearing

Question 2 explained:

Sight: you will see all the beautiful things described. Smell and possibly taste: you can smell the wild thyme, and you may wish to taste some; the other wild flowers all have strong and attractive scents.

Touch: there is a gentle summer breeze that you will feel; the bank will be like a soft warm bed, and you are likely to feel snug under the covering of plants.

Hearing: under the canopy, it is likely to be sheltered and quiet, but you will presumably hear the breeze

3. If you could choose to play a part in this play, which one would it be, and why?

4. Name the three different storylines in the play.

1. The Athenians, the craftsmen, the fairies
2. The musicians, the gods, the lovers
3. The people of Crete, the craftsmen, the magicians
4. The Athenians, the gods, the fairies

Question 4 explained

The three worlds that meet in the wood are: 

• The world of the Athenian aristocracy, involving Theseus, king of Athens, and his courtiers
• The world of the fairies, represented by Oberon, Titania, Puck and the others
• The world of the ordinary working people, in the form of Bottom (the weaver) and his friends rehearsing their play.

5. What is the significance of the setting in terms of facilitating the events portrayed?

6. What is the basis of the three marriages that take place at the end?

1. Lust
2. True love
3. Money
4. Power

The end, thank you for your answers!

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Schools’ Synopsis

The events of the play can divided up between groups of students, allowing them to create their own 2 minute versions of each section and then presenting them back.

You can also print the ten lines on this page and ask students to work in pairs to arrange them in the order they take place in the play.

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