NAME: PERIOD: DUE DATE: 5/20/14 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT S DREAM Directions: Complete all of the following assignments included in this packet by the due date. Record the number of points you have earned for each assignment listed below. Also, record a total where noted. If you have assignments that do not have a stamp, but have been completed, deduct half the number of points from your score for that assignment. BEING ABSENT DOES NOT BUY YOU EXTRA TIME WHEN ALL OF THE DUE DATES ARE PROVIDED IN ADVANCE. IF YOU WARRANT EXTRA TIME DUE TO SEVERE SICKNESS OR OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES, TALK TO YOUR TEACHER ASAP. Date Assignment Points Earned PRE-READING 4/28 Play Overview n/a n/a 4/28 Scene Question Assignment Overview n/a n/a READING ACT I 4/29 Read Act I.i/Scene Questions 1-7 10 5/1 Read Act I.ii/Scene Questions 1-7 10 5/2 Development of Drama 10 ACT II 5/5 Read Act II. i/scene Questions 1-7 10 5/6 Read Act II.ii/Scene Questions 1-7 10 5/7 Character Development 10 ACT III 5/8 Read Act III. i/scene Questions 1-7 10 5/8 Read Act III. ii/scene Questions 1-7 10 5/9 Read Act III. iii/scene Questions 1-7 10 5/9 Figures of Speech 10 ACT IV 5/12 Read Act IV. i/scene Questions 1-7 10 5/12 Read Act IV. ii/scene Questions 1-7 10 5/13 Dynamic and Static Characters 10 ACT V 5/14 Read Act V. i/scene Questions 1-7 10 5/14 Read Act V. ii/scene Questions 1-7 10 POST READING (Final Exam) 5/16 Citations for play and film 10 5/16-19 Watch Film -- n/a 5/20 Part I: Short Answer Questions -- n/a 5/20 Part II: Essay -- n/a 5/20 Part III: Objective Test (70 questions) -- n/a TOTAL 160 Points Possible
PREREADING PLAY OVERVIEW Watch the Video SparkNotes of A Midsummer Night s Dream on YouTube. Answer the following questions: SCENE QUESTION ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW Each day that we read, you will be responsible for answering seven questions. The questions are the same for each scene. By the end of the play, you will have answered the seven questions ten times each, and will turn in your work in a packet. Use complete sentences, and always cite your quotations. Label each group of questions in the packet by the ACT and SCENE which they match. 1. In five sentences, describe what happens in this scene. 2. What is the setting of this scene? 3. Who are the major characters in the scene? 4. Take a six line section of the scene, and translate it into modern English. You must write the original lines, with the new translation below it. The six lines can all be said by one character, or they can be a dialogue between multiple characters. 5. Find one example of a literary device in the scene. Write the quotation and explain which device you think it is and why, as well as the effect that device has on the drama or comedy of the scene. In other words, why did Shakespeare choose to use a simile, metaphor, allusion, etc. there? (Simile, metaphor, hyperbole, idiom, irony, personification, symbolism, allusion, etc.) 6. Find an example of dialogue that tells us something about the emotions, abilities, physical appearance, etc. of that character. Explain how the lines characterize that person. 7. Complete a meter analysis on one line of iambic pentameter (mark the stressed and unstressed syllables). Extra Credit Question: Find an example of an aside, a soliloquy, or a staging note and explain in practical terms why the play employs it the way it does. For example, if you find an aside, explain why that line must be said as an aside for the plot to make sense. Or if you find a strange exit of a character, explain why that character had to leave. Is he changing his costume? Does he play two parts? DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMA 1. Setting is not only the physical location of a story, but also the mood or atmosphere, and time. What is the geographical setting of the play? What is the general mood or atmosphere? How can you tell? What is the time of year? 2. Character: We also meet several characters in this act. Fill in the empty boxes in the table below with information about the characters we have met so far. An example has been done for you. Character Current Situation Place in Society Relationship to Other Characters Theseus Preparing to marry Hippolyta The Duke of Athens. Wellrespected authority figure as the Duke and as a man. Queen of the Amazons Hold authority over other citizens in Athens. Egeus Hermia s father Forced into engagement with a man she does not love
Lysander Wants to marry Hermia, thought she does not love him; once vowed love to Helena, but has since changed his mind. In love with Demetrius, though he does not love her A carpenter and the leader of an amateur acting troupe Apparently none, though he would say we was quite important. 3. Conflict is the problem or problems faced by the characters, and is the driving force behind the plot. Conflict often plays a key role in the theme, since once a conflict is resolved, the characters (and the audience) learn a lesson. In Act One, we are given a sneak peek into what will become the major conflicts of the story. So far, what do you think might be potential conflicts within the play? CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT Read the following quotes and answer the questions that follow. Sometimes the quote will be sufficient to answer the questions; other times, you might want to return to the play and read a little before or after to aid your understanding. 1. and then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,/ And waxen in their mirth, and sneeze, and swear / A merrier hour was never wasted there (Act II.i.55-57). a. Who said this and to whom? b. Does the speaker symbolize someone or something else? How? Explain. c. What does this speech reveal about the speaker? d. What are the speaker s motivations? In other words, what does the character want and why? e. What might you assume are some of his character traits? What adjectives might describe this character? Support your answer with evidence from the play. 2. I ll met by moonlight, proud Titania (Act II.i.60) a. Who says this and what is the situation? b. Is this section dialogue, dramatic monologue, or soliloquy? How do you know?
c. What does it reveal about the relationship between two characters? 3. And this same progeny of evil comes / From our debate, from our dissension; / We are their parents and original (Act II.ii.115-117). a. Who is the speaker? To whom is he/she speaking? b. What does the speech reveal about the influence of these two characters upon the plot? c. What does this quote reveal about the internal conflict of the speaker? 4. Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, / For I am sick when I look on thee (Act II.i.212). a. Who is the speaker and to whom is he/she speaking? b. What does the speech reveal about the speaker s personality? c. What does the speech reveal about the intensity of the conflict between the two characters? 5. For as a surfeit of the sweetest things / The deepest loathing to the stomach brings, / Or as heresies that men do leave / Are hated most of those they did deceive, / So thou, my surfeit and my heresy, / Of all be hated, but the most of me! (Act II.ii.143-148) a. Who says this to whom? b. Is this section dialogue, dramatic monologue, or soliloquy? How do you know? c. What does it reveal about love being a good or bad thing? d. To what is the character comparing love? In your opinion, are these comparisons appropriate? Why or why not? 6. Your virtue is my privilege. For that / It is not night when I do see your face, / Therefore I think I am not in the night, / Nor does this wood lack worlds of company, / For you in my respect are the world. / Then how can it be said I am alone, / When all the world is here to look on me? (Act II.i.220-226) a. Who is the speaker? To whom is he/she speaking? b. Put what the speaker is saying into your own words (paraphrase). c. What about the nature of love does this speech reveal?
d. How accurate are the impressions the speaker has about his or her beloved? Explain. e. With which character does Shakespeare want the audience to sympathize? How do you know? Do you think most audiences would be sympathetic towards this character? Why or why not? FIGURES OF SPEECH Answer the following questions on the use of various figures of speech found in Act III. Figures of speech are words/phrases that carry more than their literal meaning. There are often used to lend emphasis or to help clarify meaning in literature. Among the many kinds of figures of speech are metaphor, simile, hyperbole, and irony. 1. A metaphor is a figure of speech through which a comparison is made between two seemingly unlike objects in order to show similiarity. a. What do you think an extended metaphor is? b. What type of extended metaphor is the situation of Pyramus and Thisbe? c. In your opinion, why does Shakespeare choose to present this metaphor in a comical, even ridiculous way? 2. Hyberbole is a figure of speech which grossly exaggerates something in order to enhance its meaning. Hyperbole is often used in drama in order to add emphasis to a point a character makes. a. Find a line from Act II which illustrates the use of hyperbole and include the correct citation: b. Who is the speaker and what is the situation? c. How effective is the use of hyperbole in this instance (how does it help the speaker to deliver his/her message)? 3. Both metaphors and similes are means of comparison. A simile uses like or as in the comparison, but a metaphor states the comparison directly. a. When Hermia says to Demetrius, Out, dog, out cur! What is she comparing Demetrius to? What type of comparison is this?
4. Irony is the use of words to express something different from and often opposite to literal meaning. a. Bottom says, You see an ass-head of your own, do you? / This is to make an ass of / me. How is this statement ironic? b. How does the use of this irony affect the audience? c. Why do you think that Shakespeare desired this effect? DYNAMIC AND STATIC CHARACTERS Act IV, though not the end of the play, helps create pictures of the characters as they end their adventure. In every literary work there are characters that change, called dynamic characters, and characters that generally stay the same, called static characters. Each has their purpose: dynamic characters are usually used to show how a theme can change or affect a person, while a static character serves as a stereotypical or broad character type (i.e. they might represent the law, the powers that be, etc.). Examine the following speeches and/or actions and try to decide whether the character has changed or not and for what purpose. You may wish to refer back to the beginning of the play as a point of comparison. 1. Titania: Come, my lord, and in our flight, / Tell me how it came this night / That I sleeping here was found, / With these morals on the ground (Act IV. a. Is Titania a dynamic or static character? Explain your reasoning. b. In what ways has Titania changed? Are her changes significant or minor? c. What in particular, from this quote, gives you this impression? d. What, in your opinion, is the purpose of this change (or lack of change)? 2. Hippolyta: I was with Hercules and Cadmus once, / When in a wood of Crete they bay d the bear / With hounds of Sparta. Never did I hear / Such gallant chiding (Act IV a. Is Hippolyta a dynamic or static character. Explain your reasoning. b. What was her attitude toward her future husband at the beginning of the play? (Remember that the relationship between Hippolyta and Theseus was brought about when Theseus won Hippolyta in war.) c. How has her attitude changed throughout the play? d. What purpose does Hippolyta s character serve, taking into account how much she did or did not change throughout the play? 3. Egeus: Enough, enough, my lord; you have enough. / I beg the law, the law upon his head. (Act IV
a. What kind of person is Egeus (both now and at the beginning of the play? b. What larger social element does he seem to represent? c. What seems to be the significance of the fact that he is overridden by the powers of love? d. What does this say about Shakespeare s view of love; is it positive or negative? Explain. 4. Demetrius: The object and the pleasure of mine eye, / Is only Helena. To her, my lord, / Was I betrothed ere I saw Hermia; / But like a sickness did I loathe this food; / But, as in health, come to my natural taste, / Now I do wish it, love it, long for it, / And will evermore be true to it (Act IV a. Aside from the obvious transfer of his affection, how has Demetrius changed? b. What good qualities has true love brought out in Demetrius? c. How does his change reflect on the theme of the difficulty of love? 5. Bottom: I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man s hand is not able to taste what my dream was (Act IV a. Is Bottom and dynamic or static character? Explain your reasoning. b. What human traits does he seem to represent? c. What seems to be Shakespeare s opinion of these traits? d. How do these traits reflect the theme of love? POSTREADING CITATIONS You are required to cite both the play and the film adaptation. Use the examples to help you determine how to do it. Play: Film:
FINAL EXAM 1. Short Answer Questions a. Purpose of the play b. Is it meant to be taken seriously? c. What purpose does the workmen s play serve? 2. Essay Question: a. After reading MSND, what do you think Shakespeare believes about the nature of love? What is his overall message to readers and audience members about the subject of love? Cite examples from the text to support your ideas. 3. Objective Questions your packet and essay will be turned in before you begin this portion of the test.