A Midsummer Night's Dream Questions

Question 1: Why is the play called, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”? Could you think of a more appropriate title? If so, what would you call it and why?

Answer: The play is called "A Midsummer Night's Dream" because Robin Goodfellow (Puck) sprinkles love juice on Lysander and he falls in love with Helena. Then, Demetrius gets love juice sprinkled on his eyes and he falls in love with Helena. Lysander and Demetrius both love Helena and want to settle it in a duel. Puck makes them run in the wrong direction until they are tired out. Puck then leads the two to a tree (one by one so that they don't see each other). Because they are both tired out, they lay down and sleep. Hermia and Helena also find the tree (separately and they don't see Lysander and Demetrius) and lie down to rest. When they are all asleep, Puck sprinkles the juice of a flower that is supposed to reverse the effects of the love juice on Lysander's eyes but doesn't do the same for Demetrius. Puck then leaves. The next morning, they are found by Theseus and think that the events that happened last night were all a dream (that is one reason that the play is called "A Midsummer Night's Dream"). Also, at the end of the play, Puck tells the people reading the play (us) that the play was all a dream (that is another reason that the play is called "A Midsummer Night's Dream"). I would not want to change the name of the play because I think that it fits the story.

Question 3: What was your favorite Act/Scene? Why?

Answer: My favorite Act would have to be act 4 because this is when all of the interesting things happen such as Lysander and Demetrius fighting over one woman, Helena. Also, this is the scene where the book gets it's name from because the characters think that everything that happened in act 4 was a dream.

Question 6: Did you like the play? Why or why not?

Answer: I liked the play because it incorporated a lot of elements that made you feel strong emotions for a character or characters. For example, Helena's actions made me think of her as a pathetic lady who should just get over her love for Demetrius because he just thinks of her as a pile of crap. Another example was Puck and he made me think that he was a silly prankster that can always find loopholes in any situation because Oberon told him to sprinkle love juice on a man that is wearing Athenian clothing and Puck ended up sprinkling the love juice on the wrong person. He didn't get in trouble because he told Oberon that he wasn't specific enough. I think that "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was a good book.

Act 5, Scene 1 Summary

In act 5, scene 1 (the last scene in the play), Bottom shows up just in time to put on a play for Theseus, Hippolyta, Hermia, Helena, Lysander and Demetrius. Finally, Quince, Bottom, Snug, Snout and Starveling act the play out. The play is about a man and a woman that are in love and the man kills himself thinking the woman died. The woman sees his body and kills himself. The play ends and the story is over. At the end Puck tells everyone (the readers of this play; real people) that this whole play was just a dream.

(If you have something else to add to my summary, please post a comment the tells what I missed, thanks)

Act 4, Scene 1 and Scene 2 summaries

In act 4, scene 1, Bottom and Titania fall asleep and Oberon puts the juice of a flower that is supposed to reverse the effects of the love juice from the flower that cupid shot on Titania's eye lids. When she wakes up she is disgusted by Bottom and Oberon tells her that she gave him the Indian boy (even though she was under a spell when she did it). Also, Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia and Helena are found by Theseus, Hippolyta and a bunch of others and think that what happened the night before was just a dream (like the name of the book). When they go back to Athens, Theseus overrides the command that he gave Hermia to marry Demetrius because Demetrius now loves Helena and everything is the way it is supposed to be. Hermia then marries Lysander and Helena marries Demetrius.

In act 4, scene 2, Bottom wakes up and thinks that he had a dream as well.

(If you want to add more to my summaries, please post a comment on which scene and which part it was please)

Act 3, scene 1 and scene 2 summaries

In Act 3, Scene 1, Puck finds the craftsmen in the woods and is disgusted with how terrible they are at trying to practice the play. Nick Bottom goes to take leaves the "actors" and Puck turns his head into a donkey's head. Once all of the other craftsmen see Bottom's head, they run away thinking he is some kind of a monster. Bottom doesn't know why so he thinks they are all playing a joke on him. After the craftsmen have all ran away (except for Bottom) Titania wakes up and sees Bottom and falls madly in love with him (because of the juice that Oberon squeezed on her eye lids when she was sleeping). Bottom is surprised and begins to think that he could use Titania's power to do things that he couldn't do before.

In Act 3, Scene 2, Oberon finds out that puck sprinkled the juice from the flower that cupid shot with his arrow on the wrong person. Hermia starts to accuse Demetrius of murdering Lysander because she has yet to find him anywhere. Hermia then leaves Demetrius in a rage. Puck then sprinkles the juice from the flower onto Demetrius's eye lids to try and fix his mistake. When Demetrius wakes up, he sees Helena who then he falls in love with. Helena now has both Lysander and Demetrius loving and chasing after her. Once the three of them are all together Helena believes that both Lysander and Demetrius are playing a trick on her because she has very low self esteem and she belives that she is ugly. Hermia then comes into the clearing and is accused by Helena that she is playing a rude joke to make her feel bad. Hermia and Helena start to argue. Lysander then challenges Demetrius to a duel for Helena's heart. They both leave. Oberon then orders Puck to lure Demetrius and Lysander away from each other so that they get tired of looking for each other and so that he can but the love juice from the flower into their eyes. Puck tires out both of the men causing them both to fall asleep, then Oberon sprinkles the love juice from the flower on Demetrius and juice from another flower that is supposed to reverse the effects of the love juice from the flower on Lysander. Helena and Hermia fall asleep in the forest too because they end up being lost, tired and not being able to find their way back home.
(If you want to add to my summary, post a comment telling which part and summarizing it please)

Act 2, Scene 1 and Scene 2 Summaries

In act 2, scene 1, Oberon, the king of the fairies and Titania, the queen of the fairies are arguing over an Indian prince who Titania took him to raise him when his mother died. Oberon wants to put the boy into his army, but Titania won't let him. Next, they accuse each other of cheating. Titania soon leaves and Oberon then goes to the forest, where he sees Cupid trying to hit a goddess with his love arrow so that she would fall in love with him. Cupid misses the goddess and hits a flower instead. Oberon then gets an idea. He tells Robin Goodfellow (Puck), his court jester to go retrieve the flower. His plan is to sprinkle the juice of the flower onto the eye lids of Titania and when the juice of a flower pierced by Cupid's arrow is sprinkled on the eye lids of someone sleeping, the first person (or thing) they see is the person (or thing) that they fall in love with. He wants Titania to fall in love with whoever (or whatever) she sees first to get her distracted from the young Indian prince. When she is distracted, Oberon could take the prince without her caring and put him in his army. Suddenly, Demetrius walks into the area where Oberon is with Helena pursuing him. Oberon hides himself and watches as Demetrius rudely insults Helena and leaves her. Oberon feels bad for her and after Helena leaves, he gives half of the flower to Robin and tells him to sprinkle the juice of the flower on "a young nobleman that is dressed in Athenian clothing's eyes" (this refers to Demetrius, but since Robin didn't see him, he doesn't know who Oberon is talking about). Oberon says that Demetrius is the one that will be chasing after Helena instead of her chasing him.

In act 2, scene 2, two fairies sing Titania to sleep and then Oberon sneaks in. He sprinkles the juice of the flower that Cupid pierced with his arrow on Titania's eyelids. Meanwhile, Hermia meets Lysander in the forest and they soon go to sleep. Robin Goodfellow (Puck) shows up and thinks that Lysander was the person that Oberon was referring to when he got the flower that Cupid pierced with his arrow. He then sprinkles the juice of the flower on Lysander's eyelids and leaves. Helena then finds Lysander there and wakes him up. Because of potion, he loves Helena instead of Hermia. Hermia then wakes up and he basically dumps her.

(If you want to add on to my summaries, then post the part that you think that I missed)

Act 1, Scene 1 and Scene 2 Summaries

Act 1, Scene 1
In act 1, scene 1 readers learn that Theseus and Hippolyta are getting married on the new moon. Meanwhile, Hermia's father, Egeus wants Hermia to marry a young nobleman called Demetrius. The problem is that Hermia loves another young nobleman called Lysander, and in loving him, she is disobeying her father's orders (which is very disrespectful). Egeus talks to Theseus about his daughter not marring the man he picked out for her and tells him that if she does not marry Demetrius, the death penalty will be inflicted on her. Of Course, Theseus sees that this is a bit too brutal and adds an option to Hermia's possibilities. He proposes that if she does not marry Demetrius she has the choice to either become a nun or die. Later on, she meets with Lysander and he convinces her to run away with him to his aunt's house. Helena then shows up and they tell her their plan. Helena then decides that it would be best to tell Demetrius the plan because she thinks that he is going to be grateful and fall in love with her again.

Act 1, Scene 2
In Act 1, Scene 2 readers learn that some middle class men are planning to put on a show for Theseus's wedding. Peter Quince (the carpenter) is the director of the show and will also be Thisbe's father. Nick Bottom the weaver) was given the role of Pyramus but is very full of himself and thinks that he can do anything better than everyone. Francis Flute (the bellow's repairman) was given the role of Thisbe and will have to talk in a really high pitched voice. Robin Starveling (the tailor) is going to be Thisbe's mother in the play. Snout (the handyman) will play Pyramus's father. Snug (the cabinetmaker) will play the part of the lion and is afraid that if he roars too load, it will scare the ladies. When the meeting was over, Peter Quince set the first rehersal to being the next night in the forest at the exact same place where Hermia and Lysander will be... (Hmm... interesting)

If you have something to add to my summary, post a comment please.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Today we started to read A Midsummer Night's Dream in Mr. Gallo's Language Arts class. My favorite part was when Egeus was saying that Demetrius was the only one that he would accept to marry his daughter in front of Lysander's face. What was your favorite part?