The Mechanicals Flashcards
Who are they? [7]
- subplot of ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’
- used to add comedy to the plot
- Quince – director of the play
- Flute – mends bellows & plays Thisbe
- Snout – tinker & plays the wall
- Snug – joiner & plays the lion
- Starveling – the tailor & casts as the moon
What events are they involved in? [4]
- first appear in Act 1 Scene 2 to
discuss their rehearsals for the play: Pyramus and Thisbe - they bring comic relief to the events that have just happened (Hermia threatened with exile and Helena miserable over Demetrius not loving her) - Act 3 Scene 1, when Bottom is
transformed, and run away in fear from him - brings comedic relief and highlights Elizabethan beliefs of fairies causing mischief to humans - Act 3 Scene 1, they attempt to rehearse Snout playing the wall
- they perform the play in Act 5 Scene 1 - meant to be a serious tragedy but their lack of skills makes it humourous.
Which quote shows this:
- they confuse the genre of the play - calling it a sorrowful comedy when it is a tragedy
- “lamentable comedy” doesn’t make sense as it is an oxymoron - two opposing words
SAID BY QUINCE
“The most lamentable comedy and most cruel
death of Pyramus and Thisbe” – Quince – Act
1 Scene 2
Which quote shows this:
- comedic image of a man playing a woman
- could be argued it also mocks Elizabethan rules on men playing women and how ridiculous it was
SAID BY FLUTE
“Nay, faith, let me not play a woman. I have a
beard coming” – Flute - Act 1 Scene 2
Which quote shows this:
- comedic as it shows Snug does not
understand his part properly - highlights social class as they don’t understand the part of the lion properly - this would be funny to an Elizabethan audience as the noble would mock the lower social statuses
SAID BY SNUG
“Have you the lion’s part written? Pray you, if
it be give it me, for I am slow of study” – Snug - Act 1 Scene 2
Which quote shows this:
- comedy shown when the rehearsal is full of malapropisms, actors saying the wrong lines, and actors not understanding their cues of when to talk
- shows how ridiculous their production will be at the end of the play
SAID BY FLUTE AND QUINCE
“I’ll meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny’s tomb” –
Flute
“Ninus’ tomb. Why you must not speak that
yet” – Quince (Act 3 Scene 1)
Which quote shows this:
- they pity the loss of Bottom but it is comical
- they believe Bottom to be the best actor and best person which is ironic as to the audience he is harmlessly arrogant
- there are malopropisms and even in their sadness they are funny
SAID BY QUINCE AND FLUTE
“Yea, and the best person too. And he is a
very paramour for a sweet voice” – Quince
“You must say “paragon”. A “paramour” is,
God bless us, a thing of naught” – Flute (Act 4
Scene 2
What does this quote show? [2]
“The most lamentable comedy and most cruel
death of Pyramus and Thisbe” – Quince – Act
1 Scene 2
- they confuse the genre of the play - calling it a sorrowful comedy when it is a tragedy
- “lamentable comedy” doesn’t make sense as it is an oxymoron - two opposing words
What does this quote show? [2]
“Nay, faith, let me not play a woman. I have a
beard coming” – Flute - Act 1 Scene 2
- comedic image of a man playing a woman
- could be argued it also mocks Elizabethan rules on men playing women and how ridiculous it was
What does this quote show? [2]
“Have you the lion’s part written? Pray you, if
it be give it me, for I am slow of study” – Snug
- comedic as it shows Snug does not
understand his part properly - highlights social class as they don’t understand the part of the lion properly - this would be funny to an Elizabethan audience as the noble would mock the lower social statuses
What does this quote show? [2]
“I’ll meet thee, Pyramus, at Ninny’s tomb” –
Flute
“Ninus’ tomb. Why you must not speak that
yet” – Quince (Act 3 Scene 1)
- comedy shown when the rehearsal is full of malapropisms, actors saying the wrong lines, and actors not understanding their cues of when to talk
- shows how ridiculous their production will be at the end of the play
What does this quote show? [3]
“Yea, and the best person too. And he is a
very paramour for a sweet voice” – Quince
“You must say “paragon”. A “paramour” is,
God bless us, a thing of naught” – Flute (Act 4
Scene 2
- they pity the loss of Bottom but it is comical
- they believe Bottom to be the best actor and best person which is ironic as to the audience he is harmlessly arrogant
- there are malopropisms and even in their sadness they are funny
