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English Writing and Research > Midsummer Night's Dream > Flashcards

Midsummer Night's Dream Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

austerity

A

sternness or severity of manner or attitude

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2
Q

beguile

A

charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way

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3
Q

cloister

A

a covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, typically with a wall on one side and a colonnade open to a quadrangle on the other

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4
Q

dote

A

to be extremely and uncritically fond

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5
Q

extenuate

A

make (guilt or an offense) seem less serious or more forgivable

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6
Q

feign

A

pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury)

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7
Q

idolatry

A

extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone

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8
Q

reveling

A

enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way, especially with drinking and dancing

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9
Q

William Shakespeare

A

Widely regarded as the greatest writer in English Literature

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10
Q

What are the years that Shakespeare lived?

A

1563-1616

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11
Q

How many plays did Shakespeare write?

A

37

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12
Q

How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?

A

154

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13
Q

How did Shakespeare begin his career?

A

an actor

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14
Q

Stage celebrity

A
  • Actor for Lord Chamberlain’s Men (London theater co.)
  • Also principal playwright for them
  • 1599 Lord Chamberlain’s Men build the Globe Theater
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15
Q

What are the three genres that Shakespeare wrote in?

A
  • Comedies
  • Histories
  • Tragedies
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16
Q

Tragedy (Shakespeare)

A

Drama where the central character(s) suffer disaster/great misfortune

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17
Q

In many tragedies, what do downfalls result from?

A
  • Fate
  • Character flaw/Fatal flaw
  • Combination of the two
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18
Q

The Theater

A
  • Plays produced for the general public
  • Roofless…open air
  • No artificial lighting
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19
Q

What and where did the wealthy sit?

A

Wealthy got benches…sat around the top

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20
Q

groundlings

A

poorer people stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”)

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21
Q

Is there more interaction with the spectators today or in the past?

A

the past

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22
Q

Who were the uneducated/illiterate?

A

All BUT the wealthy

23
Q

What did the staging areas consist of?

A
  • Stage-platform
  • Dressing & storage rooms
  • second-level gallery
  • Trap door
24
Q

What was the second-level gallery for?

A

balcony scenes…think Romeo and Juliet

25
Q

What are the trap doors for?

A

usually for ghosts

26
Q

Where did the stage-platform extend into?

A

extended into the pit

27
Q

Where were the dressing and storage galleries located in?

A

in galleries behind & above stage

28
Q

What are the differences?

A
  • No scenery…usually just props
  • Settings- references in dialogue
  • Elaborate costumes
  • Fast-paced, colorful…it had to be
29
Q

Who could only be actors?

A

men and boys

30
Q

Who played the women’s roles?

A

Young boys whose voices had not changed

31
Q

What would it have been considered to be in a woman appeared on stage?

A

Would have been considered indecent for a woman to appear on stage

32
Q

iambic pentameter

A
  • iamb (unstressed, stressed)

- Pentameter- 5 stressed syllables

33
Q

prose

A

Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song

34
Q

What type of characters speak with a prose in Shakespeare’s plays?

A

Only characters in the lower social classes

35
Q

inciting moment

A

the first bit of action that occurs which begins the plot

36
Q

What is an example of an inciting moment?

A

Romeo and Juliet “lock eyes” at the party

37
Q

What are inciting moments often referred as?

A

“initial accident”

38
Q

denouement

A

The final explanation or outcome of the plot

39
Q

If a denouement was included in literature, when would it occur?

A

after the resolution

40
Q

soliloquy

A

Long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage

41
Q

aside

A

Words spoken, usually in an undertone not intended to be heard by all characters

42
Q

dramatic irony

A

A contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader/audience knows to be true

43
Q

verbal irony

A

Words used to suggest the opposite of what is meant

44
Q

situational irony

A

An event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience

45
Q

Consider the plot of “Pyramus and Thisbe.” Two lovers, with feuding families, ultimately take their own lives. Does this remind you of any other narrative?

A

Romeo and Juliet

46
Q

At the conclusion of Act 2, Scene 2, what does Hermia reveal about her dream? Why is this appropriate, in relation to the story? (2.2. 151-156)

A
  • Hermia reveal that she had a nightmare. She has a nightmare about a snake, who was eating her heart.
  • it symbolizes the situation that is taking place out of the lovers’ control
47
Q

Compare and contrast the lovers with the fairies, in Act 3, Scene 2. Who seems to be having more fun? Who is more miserable?

A
  • fairies are having fun

- the lovers are miserable

48
Q

What are the choices outlined for Hermia by Theseus?

A
  • she must marry Demetrius
  • she must become a nun
  • she will be sentenced to death
49
Q

What other choice does Lysander suggest to Hermia?

A

they elope

50
Q

Describe Theseus’s character. What sort of leader does he seem to be?

A
  • fair and understanding
  • he is flexible with time
  • traditional and conservative
51
Q

Why do you think Hermia desires to be with Lysander, rather than Demetrius?

A

When you are not forced ti love someone, you love that person more

52
Q

How did you feel when you read Helena’s decision to tell Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander’s plan? Why did you feel this way?

A
  • I think it’s a dumb plan

- It’s not going to work the way she expected it to

53
Q

Act One, Scene One in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, has often been described by scholars as the set up for a tragedy. What are some of the potentially harmful outcomes?

A
  • the lovers don’t end up together

- Hermia’s death

54
Q

Why do you suppose Shakespeare constructed his play, almost like a tragedy?

A

to surprise the the audience and to go along with the message

English Writing and Research (2 decks)

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