M ID SUMMER NIGHTS DREAM Notes!!

T HE S ETTING Ancient, mythological Athens and a nearby forest Old customs apply: Women are ruled by their fathers until they marry and they are ruled by their husbands Fairies exist alongside humans. They can’t be seen but have magical powers and make mischief for humans

T HE P LOT The main plot is the love triangle (square?) between Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena There are 3 sub-plots: Wedding of Hippolyta and Theseus Quarrel between Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the Fairies) Putting off a play by the Labourers

T HE C HARACTERS : M AIN Theseus --Duke of Athens: Getting married to Hippolyta The man in charge Egeus (Hermia’s father) goes to him because his own daughter won’t listen to him She is in love with Lysander, but Egeus insists she marry Demetrius (who is rich and also loves Hermia) Theseus’ rule is law and must be obeyed

Egeus —Hermia’s father: wants his daughter to marry Demetrius Thinks nothing of Hermia’s feelings Is willing to see her die if she won’t obey him (and Theseus backs him up)

Hermia —Beautiful, short, daughter of Egeus Loves Lysander and wants to marry him Pleads her case to Theseus, but she is ‘only a woman’ and has no rights Plans to meet Lysander in secret in the forest where they will run away and get married, defying her ruler (Theseus) and her father (Egeus)

Helena —Hermia’s best friend and in love with Demetrius Hermia tells her about her plan to run away with Lysander but she doesn’t want to see her beloved Demetrius embarrassed Tells Dem about Hermia’s plan in the hope he will finally love her A kind of pathetic, stalker character. Jealous of Herm and takes lots of crap from Dem

Lysander—The love of Hermia’s life Risks all to meet and run away with her Stands up to Theseus (Duke) and Egeus (father) because he loves her Falls victim to an accidental spell by the fairies in the forest which causes him to give all his love to the wrong woman (NOT HERMIA!!)

Demetrius —The supposed son-in-law Loves Hermia. Egeus (her dad) wants her to marry him Helena is madly in love with him but he wants none of it! Falls victim to a spell by the fairies who take pity on poor Helena and pursues her like mad (you can bet she doesn’t know how to take his sudden change of heart!)

T HE C HARACTERS : T HE F AIRIES Oberon—King of the Fairies Jealous that his wife (Titania) is spending so much affection on her ‘adopted’ Indian child demands that she give up the child proving HE is more important—after all, he IS the man. (What a jerk...) When she refuses he vows to play a prank on her to get even. He gets his BFF Puck to do his dirty work...

Titania—Queen of the Fairies Adopted an Indian child from a dying woman and devotes all her time to him Becomes victim of a spell (ordered by her hubby) to make her fall in love with the first thing she sees—no matter how ugly Hilarity ensues...

Puck—Fairy prankster who loves to make mischief Oberon’s right-hand-man Puts a spell on Lysander (wrong guy!) then Demetrius (right guy!) then Titania (see above!) then Bottom (see below!) The unifying character between all the plots

T HE CHARACTERS : T HE L ABOURERS Bottom—working class guy determined to put off a play for Theseus’ and Hippolyta’s wedding Arrogant and funny. Thinks he can play ALL the parts in the play Organizes the other labourer’s to rehearse but becomes victim of a spell by Puck Turns into an ass-head who Titania falls in love with (hilarity ensues...)

T HEME : LOVE NEVER RUNS SMOOTH -distances us from emotions of characters It makes fun of afflictions and torments of those in love Eg. Helena and Hermia catfight Tone is silly/ light-hearted This allows us to enjoy the comedy and not be lost in tension of the outcome

T HEME IS DEVELOPED THROUGH : Idea of love out of balance” Ex. HermiaHelena LysanderDemetrius Poor Helena!!

UNBALANCED CONTINUED Imbalance of love for changeling boy Oberon's want for the changeling boy outweighed his love for Titania Titania and bottom Imbalanced due to appearance and their worlds Titania= fairy and beautiful Bottom= mortal and not so hot

C ONFLICTS CAUSING LOVE TO NOT RUN SMOOTH 1. Theseus and Hippolyta He TOOK her from home She was not happy with his pig like behaviour in Act I sc i Unimpressive hounds Not amused with play that HE picked 2. Hermia and Lysander Egeus did NOT approve of Lysander Lost in forest to go to aunt’s house Lysander’s love for Helena Lysander leaving Hermia in forest

3. Demetrius and Helena Unrequited love Nearly abusive Is he mocking me? 4. Helena and Hermia (friend love) Helena thought Hermia was mocking her Hermia thought Helena stole Lysander Catfight Name calling soon become physical 5. Hermia and Egeus (familial) He wanted her to DIE for disobeying (thanks, Daddy)

THEME: Don’t Take things at Face Value ( illusion vs reality ) Ideas?

THEME: Don’t Take things at Face Value ( illusion vs reality ) Titania and Bottom’s love (flower spell) Demetrius’ love for Helena (flower spell) Lysander love for Helena (flower spell) Puck leading boys astray Play within play Wall, lion and deaths are not real The mechanicals as “good” actors They mourned Bottom and said he was good, but he really isnt

Theme: Love can Make us do Foolish things More ideas?

Theme: Love can Make us do Foolish things “Lord what fools these mortals be”- Puck III ii Puck plays of “love game” with 4 lovers Oberon plays a game with Titania Game between Hippolyta and Theseus She CAN wait for the wedding Not impressed by him: play choice, behavior or hounds But she marries him

Demetrius and Lysander are foolishly in love with Helena Hermia is foolish enough to physically fight for Lysander Helena, blinded with love, tells Demetrius he can beat her and treat her like a dog Titania is foolish to be on love with a mortal let alone a donkey Oberon; obsession for changeling boy

MOTIF Moon Used to indicated passage of time In first scene with Theseus Puck often refers to it Dreams In title Theseus “four nights will quickly dream away the time” Hermia’s dream A REAL dream she awakes from That Lysander laughed at her while a serpent “ate at her breast” foreshadowing

Puck last speech He tells the audience if you didn't like the play, to pretend it was a dream Oberon Uses dream as to why this strange things are happening Act III, sc ii ln 385 Bottom When he was de-spelled (act IV, sc i) Uses a dream to explain what happened to him “man is but an ass if he go about t’expound this dream” He believes it should be used for a play

Demetrius After awakening, to explain the night’s events By the way, let us recount our dream It is significant that he believes it was a dream because he is still under the spell of the flower

Motif con’t Magic/Supernatural Flower (name? ) Puck and donkey head Fairy world itself Spell that induces love

Characters 2 worlds Fairy kingdom Human world

GROUPS OF CHARACTERS FAIRIES Oberon, Titania, Puck and fairies See them at night (WHEN we see them) In woods (WHERE we see them) HUMANS Theseus, Egeus, Hippolyta, Philostrate (the first ones we see) At day (WHEN we see them) Theseus’ castle (WHERE we see them)

LOVERS Demetrius, Helena, Hermia, Lysander Day and night Castle and woods MECHANICALS Bottom, Quince, Starveling, Snout, Snug, Flute Night Quince’s house, woods and then castle

2 Worlds Colliding Illusion and reality “bleed” into one another Ex.

2 Worlds Colliding Illusion and reality “bleed” into one another Ex. Bottom and Titania Bottom and puck Puck and two boys Bottom and fairies Fairies bless the castle

CONFLICTS? External Interpersonal Internal

I NTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS Hermia vs dad (marrying issue) Lysander vs Demetrius (in wood under spell) Hermia and helena in woods (fighting over name calling and the boys) Titania and Oberon (their fight causes issues in the human world) Any more?

I NTERNAL CONFLICTS Are there any?

E XTERNAL OR INTERNAL CONFLICTS ???

CHARACTERS