A Midsummer Night’s Dream Group at eNotes

In Act II of A Midsummer Night's Dream we are immersed in the nocturnal...

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 21:01:02 PST

In Act II of A Midsummer Night's Dream we are immersed in the nocturnal realm of Oberon and Titania and we recognize at once that this enchanted forest of magic and mayhem is set apart from the daylight world of "Athens" under its reasonable ruler Theseus. The movement into the play's dream world is both determined and arbitrary. It occurs as a result of discord within the daylight world of Athens when the old man Egeus appears to block the...

A Midsummer Night's Dream was probably written in 1596, making it the...

Sat, 4 Jul 2009 21:00:07 PST

A Midsummer Night's Dream was probably written in 1596, making it the last of Shakespeare's early comedies. Here he again explores the familiar themes art versus life, dreams versus reality within a stock comedy form of young couple(s) pitted against paternal authority. Shakespeare may have incorporated bits and pieces into A Midsummer Night's Dream that he had written years before but was unable to fit into his other early comedies....

My mistress is in love with a monster.Near to her close and consecrated...

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 04:17:28 PST

My mistress is in love with a monster.Near to her close and consecrated private place,While she was sleeping,A crew of actors, rude mechanicals,That work for bread near Athenian shops,Were met together to rehearse a playIntended for great Theseus' wedding day.The stupidest man of these dim country-folkWho acted Pyramus in their rehearsal,Exited from his scene and entered in a bunch of bushes,When I took advantage of himAnd I fixed donkey's...

They help add a humorous element that the lower classes in Shakespeare's...

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 04:09:52 PST

They help add a humorous element that the lower classes in Shakespeare's time would have felt affinity with, and the upper classes would probably enjoy laughing at the antics of the lower classes. Basically they're just there to provide a comic element.

By end of Act IV, the narrative line of A Midsummer Night's Dream is...

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 04:07:58 PST

By end of Act IV, the narrative line of A Midsummer Night's Dream is essentially played out. Oberon and Titania are reconciled in their quarrel over the changeling, the young couples are paired correctly (Hermia with Lysander and Helena with Demetrius), Theseus has over-ruled Egeus, and a triple wedding awaits. Indeed, Acts I through IV of A Midsummer Night's Dreamcomprise a perfectly symmetrical pattern that moves from court to enchanted...

snacks, Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" refers to the summer...

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:55:57 PST

snacks, Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" refers to the summer solstice (the longest day of the year), around June 23, but in fact the play is set in May. Still, the holiday of Midsummer Night is appropriate since this day was associated with magic (herbs gathered on this night could charm), with lovers’ dreams, and with madness. The play begins (and ends) in what passes for the real world, that is, Athens, a city that supposedly...

Of course they do. Otherwise, they wouldn't be there. It is a dream...

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 07:41:58 PST

Of course they do. Otherwise, they wouldn't be there. It is a dream sequence, yet without Oberon, Titania, and Puck, all the craziness in the woods with Lysander, Hermia, Helena, and Demetrius wouldn't get so out of hand. There wouldn't be a Bottom with a bottom for a head if Oberon hadn't played a trick on Titania. They are integral and without them, there wouldn't be a play at all.

Oberon plays the role of deus ex machina in the play, providing the...

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:31:37 PST

Oberon plays the role of deus ex machina in the play, providing the means for resolving the dilemma of the mismatched lovers. Titania offers Shakespeare the opportunity to display his skill in creating fantastic, gorgeous description, similar to Mercutio's Queen Mab speech and Spenser's Faerie Queene. Puck is part of the comic relief. Elizabethan audiences would have been enchanted by all the supernatural activity.

The 'play within a play' is simultaneously an example of intertextuality...

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:51:31 PST

The 'play within a play' is simultaneously an example of intertextuality and metatheatre. As such it impacts the audience /readers in a very subtle manner. Intertextuality: When the main play begins it looks as though it is going to end as a tragedy (Hermia will be executed if she does not obey her father and marry Demetrius). This is immediately underscored in the very next scene itself-Bottom and his company choose a tragedy to be...

How could I describe Pyramus' and Thisbe's performance at the end?

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:14:48 PST

How could I describe Pyramus' and Thisbe's performance at the end?

Samuel Johnson stated this about Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's...

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:03:30 PST

Samuel Johnson stated this about Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream": It is wild and fantastical. The language, action, characterization, and imagery of the fairy world combine to create a festival atmosphere in the play. In Elizabethan times, the festival was a special period when normal social customs were relaxed or reversed--like modern Mardi Gras in new Orleans. The spring festival, like the ancient saturnalia, releases energies and...

do you think fairies play a provocative role in shakespeare's midsummer...

Tue, 9 Jun 2009 22:35:55 PST

do you think fairies play a provocative role in shakespeare's midsummer night's dream?

As Lysander says, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Love...

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 19:21:24 PST

As Lysander says, "The course of true love never did run smooth." Love in A Midsummer Night's Dream is portrayed as complicated and difficult, yet Shakespeare does it in a way that is humorous and lighthearted. In this play love often brings out the worst in people, yet in the end it's what brings everyone back together. Love has the ability to spellbind people as Shakespeare represents symbolically through Puck's actions, and we see how...

How does Shakespeare portray love in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"?

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 18:30:03 PST

How does Shakespeare portray love in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"?

You will notice a change of meter when moving in between the human world...

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 22:20:35 PST

You will notice a change of meter when moving in between the human world and the fairy world. Scenes that include the human characters are written in iambic pentameter and occasionally have rhyming lines. This denotes a sense of structure within their world. Scenes that include the faries and other fantasy creatures are written in free verse, meaning they have no identifiable meter or rhyme scheme. This denotes a sense of chaos and...

While Shakespeare purposefully does not attribute any truly unique...

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 19:55:04 PST

While Shakespeare purposefully does not attribute any truly unique characteristics to Hermia's personality nor any of the other related characters in this aspect of the play, there are a few personality traits that can be identified. First of all, she is bold and blunt and willing to rebel against her father's wishes in order to be with the man she loves. Her pent up frustrations over having a father who is stubborn and unwilling to...

Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father believes that Lysander...

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 13:02:41 PST

Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father believes that Lysander bewitched her into falling in love with him. At the beginning of the play, Hermia's father brings her to see Theseus so he may enforce the law that states Hermia must obey her father in choosing a husband. If she disobeys she may be sent to a nunnery or sentenced to death. Hermia's father has chosen Demetrius to be her husband but she is not interested and decides...

Since you are referring to a play by William Shakespeare, I will address...

Fri, 5 Jun 2009 11:02:28 PST

Since you are referring to a play by William Shakespeare, I will address this question based on that time period. In Shakespearean times, some reasons could be as follows:1. Difference of social class2. Lack of parental permission3. Marriages had already been arranged4. Same sex couples were not appropriate at this time5. Family dispuits (i.e. Romeo and Juliet)6. Difference ethnicities7. One or both parties is already in a...

What is the problem and how is it solved?

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 16:57:25 PST

What is the problem and how is it solved?

This question has been previously asked and answered. Please see the...

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 13:29:19 PST

This question has been previously asked and answered. Please see the link below, and thank you for using eNotes.