A Midsummer Night's Dream - Act 5 Journal Topics

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Act 5 Journal Topics

Please pick one journal topic and answer that topic using complete sentences.  Use evidence from the play when appropriate.

1. The “actors” in the play The Most Lamentable Comedy, and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisby are extremely nervous about performing for the duke and duchess.  Write about a time you had to perform or speak in front of an audience.  How did it feel to be in front of a crowd?  Is there a “secret” you can share that could help others cope with this situation?

2. Of the three marriages that take place at the end of the play, which do you see as being the most stable? Why?  Considering the events and dialogue between these characters in the story, list the positive and negative qualities of all three future marriages.

3. It is obvious throughout the play that Pyramus and Thisby will be a hilarious, amateurish production.  Write a review of the worst movie, TV show, or book you have seen or read.  Discuss the characters, situations, and settings, and how they contributed to making the story so disappointing.  When you are done, share your review with another person.  Does this person share your opinion?

4. Write a dialogue on the cast of Pyramus and Thisby after they perform their play and are on their way home from the palace.  Will their interpretation of the play’s success be different from that of the duke and the duchess?  What will each character say about his or her individual performance?

5. The wedding guests make fun of the play Pyramus and Thisby because it is melodramatic and ridiculous, yet the “lovers” in the play aren’t much more ridiculous than those in the audience.  Referring back to particular events in the story, discuss which lovers appear the funniest and why.  Why do you think love makes people do funny, outrageous things?  

Act 4 Journal Topics - A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Act 4 Journal Topics

Please pick one journal topic and answer that topic using complete sentences.  Use evidence from the play when appropriate. Make sure to use your blog number when posting (M for Munsterman, LA class period, Chromebook number - Ex. M912).

1. Oberon decides to repair the “mistakes” he and Puck made with the magic flower.  If you had a magic flower that could correct the problems of the world, what would you fix?  Discuss two or three changes you would make and how they would affect society.

2. Lysander and Hermia disobey Athenian law by running away to get married.  Is it ever okay to break the law?  Is so, under what circumstances?  Were Lysander and Hermia justified in their actions?  If you were a judge, would you convict them?  Why or why not?

3. Egeus is very angry with his daughter for disobeying him.  Think about and write down his reasons for being angry, and then discuss whether these reasons are justified.  How did the status of women during this period in Athens affect the course of women’s lives?  How might the father/daughter relationship be different today?

4. When Titania refuses to give Oberon the Indian child, Oberon manipulates her in order to get his own way, and places her in an awkward, embarrassing situation.  List several compromises and/or solutions Titania and Oberon could develop to solve their dilemma.

5. In all respects, Titania and Bottom are opposites.  Bottom is a common, uneducated Athens citizen, and Titania is a beautiful fairy queen, capable of supernatural powers.  Yet, because of the magic flower, Titania falls in love with Bottom.  Do you believe that opposites attract, or do you think people who fall in love are very similar?  Which type of relationship do you think is better?  More exciting?  Comfortable?  Which might last longer?

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Act 3 Journal Topics

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Act 3 Journal Topics

Please pick one journal topic and answer that topic using complete sentences.  Use evidence from the play when appropriate.

1. Puck joyously turns Bottom into a creature with the head of a donkey.  If you had the power to turn people into creatures, animals, or plants, how would you use it?  Who would you change, and into what would you change him or her?  Write a short fictional account of one magical change you would make and its comical consequences.

2. There are many, many stories and fairy tales of a “beauty” falling in love with a handsome prince, but there are fewer about a “beauty” falling in love with a “beast,” like Titania and Bottom.  Compare and contrast the first type of story to the second.  Though Titania is meant to look silly by falling in love with the “lowly” mortal, is there a message in this that goes beyond the comic element?  If so, what do you think that message is?

3. Titania falls hopelessly in love with Bottom after Oberon places the flower juice on her eyelids.  What would happen if Oberon refused to release Titania from the spell, or if he lost the flower and couldn’t change her new love interest?  Write what might happen between Titania and Bottom if their love endured.  Would they marry?  What difficulties might they face?  Would they be accepted among the fairies?

4. Hermia feels great anguish and jealousy because Lysander suddenly proclaims his love for Helena.  Write about a time you felt jealous over a friend’s or family member’s attention.  What makes people jealous?  What are the best ways to deal with jealous feelings?

5. In order to decide who gets to be with Helena, Demetrius and Lysander challenge each other to a duel.  Do you think this is a logical way to make a decision?  What are its advantages?  Disadvantages?  What other ways could they have come to a decision?  Demetrius and Lysander never stop to ask Helena whom she prefers.  What does this say about the status of women in Athenian society?