Mid+Summers+Night+Dream+Act+1

media type="file" key="amsnd.mp3" width="240" height="20" Podcast by: Jeremy Smith and Tom Norman Podcast act 1 scene 1-2. Creating imagery of the moon, foreshadowing the night to come.

“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 feels like the next four days will pass almost unbarebly slow and wishes not to have to endure them. He is anxious because his wedding day quickly approaches yet for him not quickly enough. Whereas Hippolyta thinks four days will fly by in no time and soon they will be married. She is not overly exited or anxious, not because she doesn't want to get married but because she knows four days is almost no time at all and it will soon pass.

2. Why has Egeus brought his daughter and her two suitors to Theseus? What does Egeus expect him to do?: Egeus expects Theseus to enforce the Athenian law, he wishes that his daughter Hermia marry Demetrius. And by Athenian law Hermia must marry Demetrius or Egeus has the right to kill her with no punishment. Although, Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius and so Egeus wants justice and expects Theseus to sort out the dispute and make ammends between Egeus and Hermia, Egeus expects that Theseus will side in his favor.

3. What was the proper role for women/daughters in Athenian society according to Egeus and Theseus? What is Theseus’s ruling concerning Hermia?: Women in Athenian society according to Egeus and Theseus were meant to please their husbands and their fathers. They were meant to get married and have kids so the next generation of men could be brought up. In that way they were also meant to care for the children if there were any and take care of the house. Also that Athenian women were possesions, in essence they were thought to be owned by the men in their lives, of their fathers or husbands and had to do their bidding. Theseus offers Hermia a third option and that final option is to live the life of a nun and devote her life to god, never having any man or children in her life. And with that Theseus gives Hermia time to decide whether she wants to either marry Demetrius, live the life of a nun or if she refuses to do either prepare to die by the hand of her father.

4. How does Lysander’s comment about Demetrius’s previous love affair with Helena complicate things?: Lysander says that Demetrius had, had a love affair with Helena and that he won her heart and seduced her. He continues on to say that because of this he should get to have Hermias love and that Demetrius doesnt love Hermia and Lysander as the play says Demetrius is a "...spotted and inconstant man." This complicates things because now Demetrius' love for Hermia is doubted where as Lysanders is just more reassured. It is also debated as to whether Demetrius still has feelings for Helena and if Hermia will and he will stay happily married if they do get married. Also of course with any scandal, especially a sex scandal drama is created and more qeustions begin to be asked and now there is a qeustion as to who is truely more suited for Hermia, Lysander or Demetrius.

5. What do Lysander and Hermia plan to do about this seemingly impossible situation? Why do they tell Helena?: Lysander and Hermia plan to run away and marry each other at Lysander's aunt's house. Her aunts house is far outside of Athens and therefore away from Athenian law and so Hermia cannot be prosecuted and has escaped her fathers will. They plan to both sneak out into the woods the night after and then travel together seven leagues to the safety of Lysander's aunts house far from the reach of Athenian law. Hermia tells Helena of their plan because Hermia feels bad for Helena, she loves Demetrius like nothing else and yet the more she loves him the more he hates her. And so out of pity Hermia tells Helena in hoping that this will make her feel better about her terrible situation.

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?: For some reason, possibly because Helena is blinded by love and because of this does not think clearly, Helena thinks that telling Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander's plan will make him feel more drawn to her and will be grateful to her, in that way Helena thinks she can get Demetrius to love her more by telling him the plans. Although she is still Hermias best friend she is still more concerned about her love for Demetrius than her friendship to Hermia, so she is willing to take that risk that because she thinks she can get Demetrius to love her.

7. Identify Hermia’s basic dilemma. What are the choices outlined for her by Theseus and her father? What other choice does Lysander suggest?: Hermias dilemma is that her father is forcing her to either marry Demetrius or be killed by his own hand. Yet Hermia loves another man named Lysander and wishes not to be wed to Demetrius but under Athenian law that means her father, Egeus has the right to dispose of her. Egeus, Hermia's father gives her two basic choices, she has the option to etiher agree to wed Demetrius the man Egeus has chosen for her or she can be disposed of or in simple terms killed by Egeus himself. And under Athenian law that was custom and perfectly legal for Egeus to present those choices to Hermia. Although Theseus in addition to the offers that Egeus has presented her also gives her the option to live the life of a nun and curse her life to one of a virgins and she can have no man or children at all. Hermia is displeased with all of these choices and so when she consulted her lover, Lysander, she was pleased that he also had an alternative option. Lysander suggested that he and Hermia both sneak out of Athens and leave to go get married in Lysander's aunt's house, far beyond the reach of Athenian law.

Act I, Scene 2 8. Why does Nick Bottom want to play all the parts?: Bottom wants to play all the parts because in his mind he is the best actor ever and he is so full of himself he thinks he can play all the parts in the play better than any of the other actors. He believes he can still play all the parts and make the play the best without the other actors. He thinks he can make the audience cry playing Pyramus, frighten them while playing the lion and do the entire play himself. When in actual fact he is but a lowely actor and overacts all his parts. He can barely play his own part so saying that he could play all the parts is but a dillusion of is own mind.

9. In what way is this scene funny? Why do you suppose Shakespeare included this scene?: This scene is indeed very funny because all of the actors are in essence terrible, non of them truely know how to act and are awful examples of actors. They are consantly mixing up their words and phrases saying things that mean the opposite of what they truely do. For example in one of Bottom's lines he confuses two phrases, and mixes two which commonly give example of gentleness, his line is sitting dove but instead combines that phrase with sucking lamb and says sucking dove. Also this scene tells the reader a little bit about all of the actors kind of like a intrduction to their personality's which to me can also be quite comicle as Bottoms character is naturally funny. I think Shakespeare included this in his play because first of all it gives a good insite into the characters personalities and establishes who they are as people which is important as characters such as Bottom are quite important over the course of the story. Also since this play is meant to be also funny this scene adds comedy to the play. Another reason shakespeare would have wanted to include this scene in the play is because in the scene it shows that the actors are all awful and shows how bad their play is going to be when it is performed for the Duke, and sets up the audience to realize that the actors doing their play is in essence a farce.

10. Where are the actors to meet the following night? Who else is meeting there at the same time?: The actors are meeting at the Duke's oak on the following night. The Duke's oak is in the Palace wood a mile outside of the major town of Athens. Lysander and Hermia plan to meet each other in the same wood as the actors on the following night as well.

11. How would you describe Bottom’s acting ability? What is Bottom’s own opinion of his acting ability?: Bottom's acting is not good at all. He is constantly messing up his lines and confusing his phrases to make them mean completely diffrent things. On several occasions Bottom says the exact opposite thing he means and also shows a lack of knowlegde of his character in the play he is playing. For example line 75 Bottom says "But i will aggravate my voice..." when in actual fact he meant to say he will moderate his voice. Also Bottom is constantely over acting his parts and making them too dramatical. So in my mind Bottom's acting ability is scarce and he in my opinion is talentless as an actor. Although Bottom's opinion of his own acting ability is the exact opposite of my own opinion. Bottom thinks he is the best actor that has ever lived and he thinks he can play all the parts and still be the best actor of all. He completely overestimates his own acting ability in thinking he is a world class actor; whereas the reality is he is not a very good actor at all.