MSND+ACT1+questions

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Act I, Scene 1 1. How is Hippolyta’s reasoning concerning how quickly the next four days will pass different from that of Theseus? Theseus thinks that the four days until their wedding will be very long, but Hippolyta thinks that those days will be very short and sweet.

2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do? Egeus brought Hermia to Theseus because he thinks that by bringing her to very high authority, she will change her mind, out of fear and respect. Egeus expects Theseus to give him permission to "dispose" of her.

3. What was the proper role for women/daughters in Athenian society according to Egeus and Theseus? What is Theseus’s ruling concerning Hermia? They are to listen, to any men. For example, their brothers, fathers, uncles, husbands. She now has another option other than death or marring the man she does not love, and that is to be a nun for the rest of her life. Theseus gave her this extra option because he felt sympathetic to her.

4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things? It proves how inconsistant he is and if he changed his mind of loving Helena, he could easily change his mind about Herimia, if married to her.

5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena? They plan to run away to Lysander's aunt's house, which is not affected by the law. They tell Helena because they want to inform her that now she has a path cleared out for her.

6. Even though Helena loves Demetrius and is Hermia’s best friend, why does she decide to tell Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander’s plans? She thinks that if she tells Demetrius, he will feel lots of gratitude towards her for telling him something that he never would of known otherwise. It will also be an excuse to talk and interact with him.

7. Identify Hermia’s basic dilemma. What are the choices outlined for her by Theseus and her father? What other choice does Lysander suggest? She either has to marry the man she does not love, or face death, or be a nun for the rest of her life. The choice that Lysander suggests and is the one that she agrees to, is that they will run away.

Act I, Scene 2 8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts? He is very cocky and he thinks that he is a better actor than all the rest of the actors.

9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene? There is humour from the script itself. For example, one of the actors didn't want to play the part of a woman because he was trying to grow a beard. The scene itself is humourous also because of the bad acting and script. It's Shakespeare kind of making fun of his own industry.

10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time? They are to meet at the woods by moonlight. Lysander and Hermia are meeting there too, but neither of them know about the actors that are going to meet there also. 11. How would you describe Bottom’s acting ability? What is Bottom’s own opinion of his acting ability? Bottoms acting skills are over-done while he thinks that they are perfect.

media type="file" key="MSND Act 1.mp3"