A Midsummer Night’s Dream BOTTOM (again)

Bottom Test What is Bottom’s full name? What is Bottom’s job? What acting role does Quince give to Bottom? What role does Bottom wish to play? How does Bottom say he could act the part of the lion? Who transforms Bottom into an animal? Which animal is Bottom transformed into? How do the other workmen react when Bottom reappears? Why does Bottom think they react like this? Write an adjective to describe Bottom’s personality in the play

Bottom Answers What is Bottom’s full name? Nick Bottom What is Bottom’s job? Weaver What acting role does Quince give to Bottom? Pyramus What role does Bottom wish to play? All of them How does Bottom say he could act the part of the lion? Roar as quietly as a dove or a nightingale (roar quietly/gently is fine) Who transforms Bottom into an animal? Puck Which animal is Bottom transformed into? Donkey or ass How do the other workmen react when Bottom reappears? They run away in a panic Why does Bottom think they react like this? To fool him; “…they make an ass of me” Write an adjective to describe Bottom’s personality in the play Judge if you think it is good!

Methods Write down the following language terms which describe some of Shakespeare’s methods. Discuss with a partner what you think they may mean. Prose Verse Pronouns Modal verbs Repetition Malapropism Simile Pun Irony Semantic field

Methods Write down the following language terms which describe some of Shakespeare’s methods. Discuss with a partner what you think they may mean. Prose: written continuously without line breaks Verse: written with line breaks, often governed by rhyme or rhythm Pronouns: replace nouns – I, you, he, she, they Modal verbs: show levels of certainty – must, will, can might, would… Repetition: a repeated word or phrase Malapropism: mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one Simile: comparison of two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’ Pun: play on words Irony: when the audience know something that the character does not/something that is the opposite of what you would expect Semantic field: group of words connected by meaning

Practise How might you annotate this section? What effects does the language have? Repetition: “I will roar”. Makes him seem egotistical/arrogant. Semantic field: “Lion”, “roar”. Shows he thinks lions are scary. Prose Verse Pronouns Modal verbs Repetition Malapropism Simile Pun Irony Semantic field

Our practice SQID Statement: In Act 3 scene 1, Shakespeare presents Bottom as being highly narcissistic and determined to be the centre of attention. Quotation: During the scene, Bottom says to Quince: “I have a device to make all well. Write me a prologue.” Inference: Shakespeare shows Bottom creating problems in order to present his own solutions, showing that he is trying to take charge of the situation. Developed analysis: He uses imperatives such as “Write me” to highlight Bottom’s wish to take control, which implies that he believes he is superior to everyone.

Monday: assessment Don’t panic Extract from the play (I’m not telling you!) Exactly like Heaney assessment Write SQID paragraphs Try to talk about language and context Shakespeare is harder: you will probably get a lower grade. This is fine. You have done really well!