Study Questions & Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Discuss the
role of the play-within-a-play in Act V of
A Midsummer Night’s
Dream. Does the Pyramus and Thisbe story have any relevance
to the main story, or is it simply a comical interlude? What effect
does the craftsmen’s production of their play have on the tone of
A
Midsummer Night’s Dream as a whole?
2. How does
the play’s broad frame of reference heighten its use of contrast
as an atmospheric device? More generally, how does Shakespeare use
contrasting tones and characters in the play?
3. How is
A
Midsummer Night’s Dream structured? Is there anything unusual
in its treatment of the five-act dramatic form?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Though Bottom often steals
the show in performance, Puck is usually considered the most important
character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Comparing
Puck to Bottom, why might Puck be considered the protagonist? In
what way does Puck’s spirit dominate the mood of the play? In what ways
does the comedy surrounding Puck differ from that surrounding Bottom?
2. Compare and contrast the Athenian
lovers with the craftsmen. In what ways are the dispositions of
the two groups different from each other? Are they the same in any
way?
3. What role do Theseus and Hippolyta
play in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? What is the
significance of the fact that they are absent from the play’s main
action?
4. It has been argued that the
characters of the Athenian lovers are not particularly differentiated
from one another—that Hermia is quite like Helena (even down to
her name) and that Demetrius resembles Lysander. Do you think that
this is the case, or do you think that the lovers emerge as individuals?
If you believe that these characters are quite similar to one another,
what do you think Shakespeare’s intent was in making them so?
