Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 4 and 5

Today’s Review what happened in act 4 Goals: Focus Questions Review what happened in act 4 Preview what will happen in Act 5 Watch Video version with Act 5 How would you sum up the Athenian attitude towards the play-within-a-play? By the end of the play, the Athenians from the city and the fairies, and the actors are all brought together and resolution is achieved. What are some of the issues and conflicts that get resolved, and how?

Act 4 Review Let’s check in with Bottom and Titania #beastiality Well, they’re all lovey-dovey on each other, Bottom is ordering fairies around #boss Then they both fall asleep. #givemesomehay Oberon and Puck come by and Oberon has already taken the changeling #thiefinthenight Now Oberon he feels sorry for Titania #sorrynotsorry #noreallysorrynow Oberon tells Puck to give Bottom back his original head, so that when he wakes he can return to Athens

Act 4 Review Let’s check back in with Theseus, Hippolyta, and Egeus! They’re out and about this morning ready to go for a hunt #nothinbutahounddog But then who do they see? Well it’s our happy lovers! All sleeping next to each other. #Ispywithmylittleeye Egeus is furious, but as they wake the lovers, they learn of Lysander’s plan (elopement) and of Demetrius’s changed heart (in love with Helena again) #ithinkiwanttomarryyou Theseus finally realizes he’s the Duke of Athens and do whatever he wants, so he overrules Egeus and that pesky “ancient law” and decides that the four lovers will join in marriage on… his own wedding day! #ruletheworld #spreadlovenothate

Act 4 Review Of course, all the lovers are ecstatic, but there’s something weird… they all had a strange dream, and they all had the SAME strange dream that night. #itwasonlyjustadream As everyone proceeds back to Athens (and daylight, and reason) Bottom wakes up, returned to normal, and asks when his cue is to come back on stage. #ioverslept When he realizes he’s not at rehearsal, he recalls the strange dream he had. It was so marevelous, he will have Quince write down the dream as a song called “Bottom’s Dream” and sing it in front of the Duke after their performance. #originality

Act 4 Review Back in Athens, the mechanics are all boo-hooing about Bottom being missing, since he’s the only man who could ever play Pyramus. #nobodycanreplaceme When they learn that there are TWO more marriages taking place, they feel terrible that they just missed out of making a lot of money. #screwed Suddenly, Bottom appears. #savetheday Bottom says he can’t talk about what happened but then talks about what happened and then says that the Duke wants to see their play over the others. #allidoiswin

Act 5 Before you Read: Have you ever seen a live performance that was so badly presented, it was entertaining? A live theatrical performance is a two-way relationship between performers and the audience. No performance is ever the same! Write down a list o fways in which the performers affect the audience. Then next to the list, jot down typical audience reactions to performances.

Act 5 Comic Preview: Preview the scene by reading the comic and responding to the following questions: