ANSWERS TO KEY QUESTIONS (ACT 4 SCENE 1&2)

Act 4 Scene 1

A)
- She is adoring
-She tries to make him comfortable, caresses his cheeks, adorns his head with flowers & kisses his cheeks (lines 1-4)
-She embraces him in her arms & unabashedly proclaims her love for him (lines 40-45)
-Note her besotted description of Bottom ‘amiable cheeks’ ‘sleek smooth head’ ‘fair large ears’ ‘gentle joy’ ‘sweet love’
- She is also very attentive.
- Asks Bottom if he would like to hear music (line 28) or if he wanted something to eat (line 31)


B)
- He does not respond directly to Titania’s questions nor does he take her up on her offers to put him at ease.
- He seems more keen on to have the fairy Peaseblossom scratch him than having Titania embrace him lovingly.
- His requests are bland/pedestrian/base and he is more concerned with making himself comfortable/satisfy himself.


C)
i) His surroundings are magical /ethereal, his attendants are beautiful/graceful/delicate/exotic but his requests are crass/vulgar/coarse/prosaic- he wants to fairies to scratch him, prefers to eat oats and peas and wants crude musical instrument to listen to.
ii) Overall effect is comic. Titania’s fawning over him seems all the more pathetic/absurd/ridiculous.
iii) The same. He is courteous, but indifferent.


D)
•He has got what he wanted- Titania has surrendered the changeling child (lines 59-60)
•She has changed her attitude (line 58)
•He feels that she has suffered enough and pities her predicament.
•He feels she has learnt her lesson.
•He feels disgraced by her shameful behavior(?)- Line 49
•He is jealous(?)- Line 49
•He is ashamed/ thinks he has gone too far(?)


E)
-She is so infatuated with Bottom that she no longer cares about what happens to the changeling child.
-The love potion has rendered her placid; she is more agreeable with Oberon’s plans.
-She feels the force and justification of Oberon’s rebuke about falling in love with an ass (line 50) and is shamed by his taunts.
-She now considers Oberon’s request reasonable.


F)
Yes- the lovers awake confused/puzzled/bewildered and find it difficult to distinguish dream fro reality.
• Note the use of words such as ‘seem’ ‘like’ ‘methinks’ ‘seems double’ and
• Demetrius’ lines ‘Are you sure / That we are awake? It seems to me / That yet we sleep, we dream.


G)
i) Initially, we can imagine Titania being in a half-daze/ bewildered state. She seems unsure whether her experiences have been real or merely a dream. After Oberon points out sleeping Bottom, she registers shock, amazement, disgust (and shame?)
ii) Her present abhorrence / loathing / disgust is in stark contrast to her previous fawning / adulation of Bottom.


H)
-It is a dramatic ploy to account for the fact that neither Bottom nor the lovers are awakened by the music or dancing. They ‘sleep’ a charmed sleep; likened to being under a spell.
-The music also signals the new ‘amity’ or reconciliation between Titania & Oberon. Music here is probably soothing, calming and has such an effect on the sleeping mortals who will wake up refreshed and reconciled.

I)
• The dance symbolizes the reunion of Titania & Oberon.
• Significance? When they quarreled, Oberon refused Titania’s offer to ‘patiently dance in our round / And see our moonlight revels’.
• Here, the music, the holding hands and the dancing signify the personal reconciliation coupled with the restoration of harmony to the previously tumultuous world of man.


J)
•The fairies’ music (calm / soothing / soporific / lulling / enchanting)
•The hunting horn ‘blaring’
Effect?
•It dispels the magic-like / dream-like atmosphere quite effectively.
•Attention is now drawn away from the world of fairies and to the world of men as represented by the appearance of Theseus and his train.

K)
‘the musical confusion / of hounds and echo in conjunction’
‘I never heard / so musical a discord, such sweet thunder’
• Concord comes from discord. The discordant sound of the hounds come together harmoniously during the hunt. This mirrors the way the discord in the last two acts have been resolved
(THINK quarrel between Titania & Oberon and confusion between amongst the young lovers.)
There is still a sense of incongruity. Although the sounds of the baying hounds are harmonious, the unrestrained nature of the animals, the excitement of the pack and their frenzied cries still evoke the impression of roaring noise / tumult/ confusion.Hence, there is a suggestion of the thin line that exists between order/disorder, concord/discord, dreaming/being awake etc. Impressions are subjective and open to interpretation.


L)
Theseus definitely says this in a teasing manner.He was probably trying to put the couples (rudely awakened by the blaring of the hunting horn) at ease. He is not chiding them and has no intention of embarrassing them, probably.


M)
Refer back to answer to question K. Music as a symbol of resolution of previous conflicts.


N)
Lysander- half asleep, half waking- I truly cannot say- But, as I think…And now I do bethink me
Demetrius- …I know not by what power- plus lines 187-195


O)
i) He is similarly testy/ irascible/ impatient/ intolerant.
ii) - He is the only discordant note in an otherwise harmonious scene.
- He insists on revenge / retribution (“I beg the law, upon his head.”)
even while the rest embody a sense of reconciliation
- He is the only main character without a love partner.


P)
- His love for Hermia is melted like snow.
- It now seems like a toy which, as a child, he was obsessed with but now recognizes it as being trivial / trifling.
- Like a sick man rejects his usual healthy diet, so her rejected Helena. Now that he is well, he has reverted to his ‘natural taste’. The 1st comparison stresses the way his infatuation with Hermia has completely disappeared.
2nd suggests the childishness of his infatuation3rd reflects the unnatural & unhealthy nature of his previous obsession.


Q)
i) We now see him in a more favorable / sympathetic light.
He humbly and freely confesses his fault of forsaking Helena (…To her, my lord, / Was I betrothed ere I saw Hermia) and vows to be true to Helena henceforth.ii) In one sense, this is highly ironic because, strictly speaking, Demetrius is the only character that is still under the spell of Puck’s love juice.
However, this is quite cynical. If we accept that Demetrius was behaving irrationally because of his obsession with Hermia, then we could view Puck’s love potion as having a restorative effect.Instead of making him deluded (as Lysander was when he fell for Helena), it brings Demetrius to his senses. Demetrius’ speech (lines 160-176) is obviously heartfelt. The sincere, simple style is in stark contrast to his previous contrived declarations of love which sounded too exaggerated to be true.


R)
i)Theseus had previously insisted that he was powerless to change the law, but now, he overrides it.
ii)Theseus’ decision to be compassionate or merciful instead of ‘siding’ with Egeus and dispensing strict justice is consistent with the specific dramatic context and overall spirit of the play. This is Theseus’ eagerly awaited wedding day with Hippolyta and it should not be marred by the tragic forced separation of other lovers. Instead, the weddings of Demetrius/Helena and Lysander/Hermia reinforce the prevailing sense of harmony, pomp and celebration.

-Also, as a romantic comedy, we expect a happy ending and a sense that ‘all’s well that ends well’
- Another reason could be that the situation has now changed considerably. Initially, both Egeus and Demetrius insisted upon their ‘rights’ over Hermia. Now, Demetrius has renounced his claim and declared his love for Helena. Hence, all the lovers are now content with their respective partners. Only Egeus remains an unreasonable obstacle to the lovers’ happiness. Hence, Theseus’ decision to overrule Egeus now seems fair and reasonable.
- Also, we must remember how Egeus’ insistence that Lysander be punished comes before Demetrius’ declaration of love for Helena. This announcement would come as a major shock to Egeus who assumed that Demetrius would be on his side: ‘They would have stol’n away, they would, Demetrius, / Thereby to have defeated you and me- / You of your wife, and me of my consent, / Of my consent that she should be your wife.’ (lines 156-159)
Although Egeus is not given any more lines after Demetrius’ speech, we can imagine him being flabbergasted by what he has just heard. He might een shrug his shoulders and bemusedly accept Theseus’ decision, realizing that there is no point in pursuing his claim without Demetius’ compliance.


S)
i)Our experiences seem remote and vague/ indistinct, like distant mountains appear to transform/dissolve into cloud (Demetrius)
I seem to have double-vision (with the suggestion that everything is blurred / confused / unreal) (Hermia)
I feel like I have found a jewel (Demetrius) which I would like to keep but am afraid may not be rightfully mine (might be taken away from me) (Helena)
ii)They are all confused/bewildered/ unsure whether their experiences were real or merely dreams.


T)
Based on what he says and his reaction, we can fairly deduce that Bottom still thinks that he is still at the rehearsal.


U)
•‘Vision’ suggests something extraordinary / rare / mystical involving a revelationary insight. It also suggests a vivid experience.
•Bottom (typically, but also, this time, accurately) conceives his experience as being no ordinary dream but a unique and profound experience.
•Oberon uses the word in 3. 2. 378
•Titania uses the word in 4.1.76
•Puck uses the word in 5.1. 418


V)
•We can imagine him either
-Feeling about for/ touching his ass’s head / ears / nose
OR
- re-enacting the embrace of Titania / his manner with his fairy attendants


W)
i)Bottom (typically) has comically transposed the sense impression.
ii)It reflects his own uncertainty regarding the credibility, nature and meaning of his experience.
- He is disoriented and confused. Although Bottom says he will get Quince to portray his dream in a ballad, we see that he is actually incapable of articulating (or understanding?) his experience.
Indeed, he ironically insists that it would be both foolish and impossible to try and describe his dreams in words.
Just how much Bottom is ‘awake’ to the rarity of his vision and changed by it is open to question, although it must be said that the audience are more amused than moved by his waking reaction and he himself appears unaltered by his experience.



X)
Similarity
Both are confused / bewildered / unsure whether their experiences were real or dreamed.
They are unsure whether they are still asleep or awake. (Refer to answers N, S & W)
Difference
Bottom views his vision in a more profound / mystical / revelationary light (see answer to U) and regards himself as a unique and privileged individual


Act 4 Scene 2

A)
He is anxious / tense / concerned / agitated.



B)
i)He enters energetically / purposefully / enthusiastically and speaks heartily / cheerfully with his usual exuberant / irrepressible / genial self-confidence.
ii)They are happily surprised and wholly relieved / elated. We could imagine the men rushing towards Bottom and embracing him warmly.



C)
No. he is supremely confident / hearty / foolish
(“…if I tell you, I am no true Athenian- I will tell you everything, right as it fell out.”)
He is also vociferous and conceited / assertive (notice the way in which he immediately takes charge and issues orders).