A Midsommer Nights Dream Flashcards
Play Setting
Ancient Greece/ Renaissance England
Locations within the play
- Athens
- Bottom’s play within a play
- The woods outside of Athens
What is the Lambic Pentameter
Iambic pentameter is meter that Shakespeare nearly always used when writing in verse (poetry).
What is the Lambic Pentameter rhythm
- 10 Syllables on each line
- 5 pairs of alternating under stressed and stressed syllables
- ba/BUM ba/BUM
What is Romantic Comedy
Its usually a love affair that involves a beautiful and idealized heroine, the course of this love does not run smoothly but it overcomes all difficulties to end in a happy union
What is a Satiric Comedy
It ridicules political policies, or philosophical doctrines or attacks the disorders of society by ridiculing the violators of morals or manners
What is a Farce Comedy
It is a type of comedy that is designed to bring the audience to hearty laughter/ belly laughter in the theater
Spring Comedy
- existent society remains
- critisism of society without change
- existent society is replaced with happy society
- Happy society resists change
- Reflective and idyllic view
- Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation
Summer Romance
- Young and innocent
- Youthful innocence of inexperience
- Completion of an ideal
- Happy society resists change
- Reflective and idyllic view
- Society resists to exist beyond contemplation
3 stages of a Shakespearean Romantic Comedy
Stage 1: Both a young guy and girl love each other but their love is blocked by their parents and there is a fear of death. An absurd or unpleasant situation will come up
Stage 2: Complications follow from stage 1. There usually is confused identity, magic or unusual events .
Stage 3: The plot twists are straigned out and eveyrthing becomes right in the end. The opening situation is corrected through some gimmick in the plot ( love potion ). Harmonious unions and it usually involves a parade of couples getting married at the altar
Main feature of a Shakespearean Romantic Comedy
- courtship and young lovers drive main plot
- Multiple plot lines that encourages a varied treatment of experiencing love
- stronger female roles
What are the major themes of the play
Love and Marriage
Order and Disorder
Appearance and Reality
Creative imagination
How are the major themes represented in the play
Love and Marriage: Act 5 scene 1, 3 weddings and fairy blessings bring all to a happy conclusion
Order and Disorder: Act 1 scene 1, Theseus describes hermia’s punishment if she disobeys him making the livers escape to the woods
Appearance and Reality: Act 3 scene 2, Pucks mistake brings the lovers into great confusion
Creative Imagination: Act 4 scene 1, Tatiana wakes up from her fantasy
What is a motif
(Recurring elements and patterns of imagery in A Midsummer Night’s Dream which support the play’s themes)
Major motifs shown throughout the play
Nature
The Moon
Sleep and dreams Eyes Plays,
rehearsals and roles/ parts Magic
