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?

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Act 2 Journal Topics

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Act 2 Journal Topics

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

1. Puck possesses the magic flower that has the power to make someone fall in love with the first person he or she sees.  What would you do with such a flower?  Write the different ways you could use this flower for fun, pranks, or to heal broken hearts.  Choose one scenario and write a dialogue between the lover and the recipient.

2. “Be it cat, or bear, or boar with bristled hair...wake when something vile is near.”  These words are spoken by Oberon out of spite and jealousy as he places the “love potion” on Titania’s eyelids.  How do you feel about Oberon playing this trick to get what he wants?  Have you ever tried to manipulate someone to get what you wanted?  How did you feel, and what were the consequences of your actions?

3. Pretend you are one of the fairies attending to Titania’s sleep.  Write a lullaby for the queen using images from nature that are soft, soothing, and serene.  Include metaphors and similes that complement your wooded surroundings.  Remember, you must impress the queen!

4. Oberon plans for Demetrius to fall in love with Helena, but it is Lysander who awakens bewitched.  We’ve all had experiences where something we planned didn’t work out how we wanted.  While Oberon had the magic flower to remedy his situation, real life doesn’t offer such simple solutions.  Write about a time when something didn’t work out for you as planned.  What caused your plans to fail?  Did things eventually turn out better or worse?  Looking back, is there another plan of action you could have taken?  If you had the magic flower to fix your situation, how would you have used it?

5. Though it is clear Demetrius loves Hermia and not Helena, Helena continues to pursue him.  Even after Demetrius tells Helena he will leave her alone in the woods “at the mercy of the wild beasts,” she still follows him.  Human nature sometimes makes us want things we can’t have.  Why do you think not being able to have something makes it more desirable?

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Act 1 Journal Topics

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Act 1 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 entering your comments (blog as Anonymous too). Your blog number will be M for Munsterman, your language arts class period, and your Chromebook number. Ex. M912

1. According to Lysander, “The course of true love never did run smooth.”  Agree or disagree with this quote by providing supporting evidence from the play, real life, TV shows, songs, and/or movies.

2. Helena tells her best friend’s secret to Demetrius - that Hermia and Lysander are eloping.  Was it wrong of her to do this?  Write about a time you told a secret.  How did you feel?  Did the person whose secret you told find out?  What were the consequences of this act?

3. Hermia and Lysander believe they have no choice except to run away together so they can get married.  Discuss the pros and cons of running away from a problem.  What would you do in Hermia’s and Lysander’s situation?  Do you think they’re making the right choice?  What are some other options they could consider, if any?

4. Hermia takes control over her life when she refuses to marry Demetrius and runs away with Lysander.  Helena, on the other hand, follows Demetrius, hoping he will return her affections after hearing of the elopement.  Discuss these two women according to their decisions.  Is it better to make your own fate or trust that things will eventually turn out the way you want them?  What do Hermia’s and Helena’s actions reveal about their personalities?

5. Hermia takes a big risk by running away with Lysander.  Under Athenian law, she could be put to death by disobeying her father!  Write a letter from either Hermia or Lysander to Egeus, Hermia’s father, trying to convince him to let Hermia and Lysander marry.  In the play, Demetrius had formerly “wooed” Helena, and then deserted her.  Can this information be used as a way to make Egeus realize that perhaps Lysander is a better match for his daughter?

Short Stories

Short Stories by Mrs. Munsterman's 2nd, 5th, and 9th Period Students

Using your blog number (Ex. M712), post a quick summary of your short story. You must also post the title of your story and a link to it.  *Make sure to set your privacy rights of your story to Anyone with the Link/Can View.

Library/SSR (Reading Workshop)

After reading your book during Reading Workshop/SSR, please answer the following questions.  Steps:  Click to type in a post. Make sure to answer your blog by typing in your blog number (Ex. M912).  Remember, this number will correspond with your LA class period and your Chromebook number.  Then, Comment as:  Anonymous.  Make sure to post Anonymously, and make sure to include your number; so I know whose post it is when I am grading it.

What is the title of your book?  

Who is the author?  

Would you recommend this book to someone else?  Why or why not?

Tell me a little about the plot of your book.  If you had to write a quick summary of what has happened in your book so far, what would you write?  Make sure to include some information about the setting, characters, conflict, etc.

Reading Workshop - Monday, May 12, 2014

After reading your book during Reading Workshop/SSR, please answer the following questions.  Click to type in a post. Make sure to answer your blog by typing in your blog number (Ex. M912).  Remember, this number will correspond with your LA class period and your Chromebook number.  Then, Comment as:  Anonymous.  Make sure to post Anonymously, and make sure to include your number; so I know whose post it is when I am grading it.

What is the title of your book?  

Who is the author?  

Would you recommend this book to someone else?  Why or why not?

Tell me a little about the plot of your book.  If you had to write a quick summary of what has happened in your book so far, what would you write?  Make sure to include some information about the setting, characters, conflict, etc.