A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare
Table of Contents
Discussion Questions
Study Questions
1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in three different locations. What are these locations? How do they differ? What type of atmosphere is created in each of the different settings, and how does this come across?
2. One of the play’s major themes is love, and this theme is explored through the various relationships of the couples in the play. What aspects of love are presented in each of the different pairings?
3. In what ways do Theseus and Hippolyta parallel Oberon and Titania? What are the differences between the two couples? How do their similarities and differences contribute to the overall structure and atmosphere of the play?
Essay Topics
1. The characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream have various ways of speaking. What are some of the characteristics of how the four young lovers speak? Of how Bottom speaks? Of how Titania and Oberon speak? Analyze the language of the play. How do specific differences in the use of language work to define the characters and create the various worlds of the play?
2. Of all the happy couples at the end of the play, Demetrius and Helena stand apart because Demetrius alone is still under the spell of the love potion. In your opinion, does this render their love false, or is it just as valid as the love between the other couples? In forming your opinion, consider what the play has to say on the whole about love. Using examples from the text, write an essay defending your stance.
3. Analyze the function of the craftsmen’s production of “Pyramus and Thisby” in Act V. How does this play-within-a-play parallel the themes of the outer play? What contrasts does it offer? Using examples from the text, explain how the play-within-a-play fits into the overall structure of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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