Script of the Play
It all begins when Hermia and Lysander flee deep into the forest to escape Hermia's father, Egeus, who wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius. Demetrius himself bicycles into the woods to follow his true love Hermia. Demetrius is soon followed by yet another desperate lover: Helena, who adores Demetrius but finds her affections dreadfully unrequited. Crashing and flailing, and falling into mud puddles, the foursome find themselves near the secret home of the fairies, where water nymphs and satyrs party into the night at the fairy bars and cafes. Chaos ensues when the trickster Puck (Stanley Tucci) administers a secret love potion-causing the lovers to mix-and-match with outrageous results. Meanwhile, a band of actors come to the same woods to put on a play-a play that is interrupted when its star actor Bottom becomes a strange pawn in the love battles between Oberon, King of the Fairies, and Titania his Queen.
Shakespeare's intertwined love polygons begin to get complicated from the start--Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia's father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). In the forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon's head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking. Throw in a group of labourers preparing a play for the Duke's wedding (one of whom is given a donkey's head and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically funny.
Shakespeare's intertwined love polygons begin to get complicated from the start--Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia's father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). In the forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon's head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall in love with the first thing they see upon waking. Throw in a group of labourers preparing a play for the Duke's wedding (one of whom is given a donkey's head and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically funny.
Cast of Characters
Theseus, Duke of Athens
The Duke of Athens, Theseus' wedding to Hippolyta is the climax towards which the play moves. He is a sympathetic lover, though, as a middle-aged man, he is not given to the passions of youth. He is responsive to Hippolyta's moods, noting, for example, her distress at the plight of Hermia. This situation disturbs Theseus as well; it raises an issue that was important to Shakespeare--the relationship between authority and the law. Theseus is a model ruler who respects the laws of his domain, but he regrets the harsh consequences that they may entail for Hermia.
Theseus is a constitutional monarch, as the Tudor rulers of England declared themselves to be. He claims that he responds favorably to his citizens speeches of welcome, even when, hopelessly tongue-tied, they failed to speak at all. This connects him with Queen Elizabeth, for it is said she was the same way, and the passage is thought to embody a compliment to the monarch.
Theseus is a constitutional monarch, as the Tudor rulers of England declared themselves to be. He claims that he responds favorably to his citizens speeches of welcome, even when, hopelessly tongue-tied, they failed to speak at all. This connects him with Queen Elizabeth, for it is said she was the same way, and the passage is thought to embody a compliment to the monarch.
Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons
Queen of the Amazons and the bride of the Duke of Thesus of Athens. Her role is small, but she is a sympathetic figure who contributes to the play's theme of domestic love. Her distress at the prospect of Hermia's punishment highlights the young lovers plight. Near the end of the play, she disagrees with Thesus about the lovers' accounts of their experiences in the enchanted wood. Her mythical origins as leader of the Amazons are hinted at only fleetingly, in her recollected acquaintance with Hercules and Cadmus.
Demetrius
The lover of Hermia whose affections are magically diverted to Helena. Chosen by Egeus to be Hermia's husband, Demetrius had wooed Helena earlier, before teh opening of the play, but had abandoned her. In addition to fickleness, Demetrius shows an unpleasant shortness with Helena, who pursues him, but on a whole he is--like Hermia's beloved Lysander--a colorless young man who exists merely to be manipulated by Oberon's spells.
Hermia, daughter to Egeus
One of the four lovers whose adventures in the enchanted wood are the center-piece of the play. She reveals a determined nature when her father, Egeus, demands that she be punished for refusing to marry Demetrius. Her first words are a straight-forward assertion of her beloved Lysander, indicating that she will not be easily deterred. She is prepared to fight for her man when Lysander's love is magically diverted to Helena, and she drives her friend away.
Lysander
The lover of Hermia. When mistakenly annointed with a magical love potion, however, his affections are transferred to Helena. Lysander is the least distinctive of the lovers in the play. His love interest changed from one young woman to another and back again by the magic of Oberon's herbs, Lysander is merely a pawn in Shakespeare's game of rotating lovers.
Helena
The lover of Demetrius. Helena is obsessed with Demetrius, who has betrayed her, and while she realizes she is shaming herself, she cannot stop pursuing him, even to the extent of betraying her friend Hermia. Her loss of self-respect is evident in her first words, "Call you me fair? That fair again unsay!" (1.1.181).
When through magic both men woo her, she can only construe their praise as ridicule. Her frustration leads her to insult Hermia viciously; her flawed personality has nothing to do with her finally winning Demetrius, as she knows; she treats the outcome as a miracle.
When through magic both men woo her, she can only construe their praise as ridicule. Her frustration leads her to insult Hermia viciously; her flawed personality has nothing to do with her finally winning Demetrius, as she knows; she treats the outcome as a miracle.
Oberon, king of the fairies
The fairy king who works the magic that ensures the triumph of love that is the focus of the play.
Oberon gives an unpleasant first impression, quarreling with his queen, and resolving to torment her because she will not surrender to him a changeling that he desires to raise. However, it is clear that he intends his revenge, a dose of a magic aphrodisiac, to be only temporary. Once he knows he will have his way, he is a gentle king, overseeing the confusions of the lovers' plot with good-natured amusement. When Titania, magically enchanted with the ass-headed Bottom, has surrendered the changeling, he feels sorry for her and lifts his spell, as he had said he would.
For the remainder of the play, he is a benign figure, blessing the marriages and the palace of Duke Theseus.
Oberon gives an unpleasant first impression, quarreling with his queen, and resolving to torment her because she will not surrender to him a changeling that he desires to raise. However, it is clear that he intends his revenge, a dose of a magic aphrodisiac, to be only temporary. Once he knows he will have his way, he is a gentle king, overseeing the confusions of the lovers' plot with good-natured amusement. When Titania, magically enchanted with the ass-headed Bottom, has surrendered the changeling, he feels sorry for her and lifts his spell, as he had said he would.
For the remainder of the play, he is a benign figure, blessing the marriages and the palace of Duke Theseus.
Titania, queen of the fairies
Wife of Oberon and, temporarily, the magically charmed lover of Bottom.
Titania's infatuation with Bottom is Oberon's revenge on her for having persisted in keeping a changeling whom he wants. She asserts that she will keep the boy in the memory of his mother, who died in childbirth. She is icily haughty and insists on having her way, although, since she and Oberon are elemental forces of nature, their dispute is causing bad weather, as she vividly describes in 2.1.88-117.
During her enchantment she is a vapid lover, and afterwards she merely serves a decorative role. Her chief qualities are regal pride and grand diction. She is highly stylized character, generally magnificently costumed, who symbolizes the supernatural at its most glamorous.
Titania's infatuation with Bottom is Oberon's revenge on her for having persisted in keeping a changeling whom he wants. She asserts that she will keep the boy in the memory of his mother, who died in childbirth. She is icily haughty and insists on having her way, although, since she and Oberon are elemental forces of nature, their dispute is causing bad weather, as she vividly describes in 2.1.88-117.
During her enchantment she is a vapid lover, and afterwards she merely serves a decorative role. Her chief qualities are regal pride and grand diction. She is highly stylized character, generally magnificently costumed, who symbolizes the supernatural at its most glamorous.
Bottom, a weaver
His comical ignorance and his tendency to mangle language make Bottom a typical Shakespearean clown. He is repeatedly placed in ludicrous situations, but his supremely good opinion of himself is unshakable. As the leading player in the amateur production, Bottom cuts a silly figure as a know-it-all who is unaware of his true ignorance. Given the head of an ass by the fairy Puck, Bottom temporarily becomes the beloved of the magically charmed Titania, and his decorum in this extraordinary situation is ridiculous.
However, Bottom is a sympathetic figure as well. He is not pompous, and he is unfailingly civil to everyone. He is not patronizing to his fellow artisans when he lectures them (preposterously) on stagecraft, and he is courteous to his fairy attendants. His self-confidence, though humorous in its fog-like density, is not entirely misplaced: he is a leader among his fellows, as they are quite aware, and we can believe he is surely an excellent craftsman. His comedy lies in the contrast between his circumstances and his lack of awareness, but he is not a victim. His courage makes him admirable as well as amusing.
It is ironic that Bottom, who remains absurdly unperturbed, is the only mortal who actually meets any of the fairies. Yet, in the end, he is plainly moved by his experience, but does not remember it as well as he should.
His name refers to a tool of his trade, not what he was turned in to during the play.
However, Bottom is a sympathetic figure as well. He is not pompous, and he is unfailingly civil to everyone. He is not patronizing to his fellow artisans when he lectures them (preposterously) on stagecraft, and he is courteous to his fairy attendants. His self-confidence, though humorous in its fog-like density, is not entirely misplaced: he is a leader among his fellows, as they are quite aware, and we can believe he is surely an excellent craftsman. His comedy lies in the contrast between his circumstances and his lack of awareness, but he is not a victim. His courage makes him admirable as well as amusing.
It is ironic that Bottom, who remains absurdly unperturbed, is the only mortal who actually meets any of the fairies. Yet, in the end, he is plainly moved by his experience, but does not remember it as well as he should.
His name refers to a tool of his trade, not what he was turned in to during the play.
Puck, or Robin Goodfellow
A fairy and aide to Oberon, the Fairy King.
Puck is a powerful and supernatural creature, capable of circling the earth in 40 minutes and of manipulating the elements, but he is more mischievous than awe-inspiring. He reminds us of a small boy when he boasts of his talents as a trickster. Like Bottom, he is a humorous character, but Puck more closely resembles a fool, like Shakespeare's jesters. He is removed from the practical world and expresses himself through an idiosyncratic sense of humor.
There is some malice in Puck's taste for pranks, and Puck reminds us that the fairy world is not all sweetness and light; this contributes to an undertone of potential evil that makes the comedy, while still benign, a more richly textured tale. He speaks in horrifying terms of the cruel and awesome world that is also the domain of the fairies, however, when his error in anointing Lysander causes trouble, Puck is immune to Oberon's regret that this has happened. He is coolly indifferent to human suffering.
The puck was originally a Norse demon, identified in England with the devil.
Puck is a powerful and supernatural creature, capable of circling the earth in 40 minutes and of manipulating the elements, but he is more mischievous than awe-inspiring. He reminds us of a small boy when he boasts of his talents as a trickster. Like Bottom, he is a humorous character, but Puck more closely resembles a fool, like Shakespeare's jesters. He is removed from the practical world and expresses himself through an idiosyncratic sense of humor.
There is some malice in Puck's taste for pranks, and Puck reminds us that the fairy world is not all sweetness and light; this contributes to an undertone of potential evil that makes the comedy, while still benign, a more richly textured tale. He speaks in horrifying terms of the cruel and awesome world that is also the domain of the fairies, however, when his error in anointing Lysander causes trouble, Puck is immune to Oberon's regret that this has happened. He is coolly indifferent to human suffering.
The puck was originally a Norse demon, identified in England with the devil.
Vocabulary
Fatuous Reticent Prosaic Reverie Chimera Paramour
Ardent Loquacious Amorous Genre Queue Cue
Allot Albeit Amalgam Au Courant Au Pair Chutzpah
Kismet Kibitz
Ardent Loquacious Amorous Genre Queue Cue
Allot Albeit Amalgam Au Courant Au Pair Chutzpah
Kismet Kibitz
Study Materials
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/msnd
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/msnd/
http://absoluteshakespeare.com/plays/a_midsummer_nights_dream/a_midsummer_nights_dream.htm
http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~sflores/MNDsqs.html (Study Guide)
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/mnd/SUM.html (Book Summary)
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