ANSWERS TO KEY QUESTIONS (ACT 3 SCENE 1)

Act 3 Scene 1

A) Objection 1: Pyramus’ suicide will be too shocking / disturbing for the ladies
Solution: to write Bottom a prologue assuring the audience that Pyramus is not really Pyramus but Bottom the weaver and that the suicide is not real but merely play-acting.

Objection 2: The lion will frighten the ladies
Solution: Ensure that half of Snug’s face can be seen below the lion’s mask and have him plainly announce his true identity so that everyone will understand that he is not a ‘real’ lion.



B) Rather than recognizing the absurdity of the discussion, Quince appears to genuinely share the concerns of his comrades. Since he seems deferential towards Bottom and accommodating in his response to his other suggestions, it is likely that his reaction is more positive than negative. Even if he is not enthusiastic, he will be compliant.



C) i) effect
ii) line 56- disfigure – figure (represent/symbolize)
line 77- odious-- odors
line 93- Ninny – Ninus




D) Problems:
i) to ‘bring moonlight’ into the great hall of the Duke’s palace where they will be performing
ii) to bring in a wall which is required as a ‘prop’ in the play.
Solutions:
i) Either: leave a window open so that the moon can shine through
Or: have an actor represent the man in the moon with a thorn brush or lantern
ii) Have an actor wearing a costume covered in roughcast to represent a wall on stage, using his fingers to signify the chink/hole.




E) i) With deference
They listen attentively to his criticism; are influenced by his points; solicit his advice (line 61); and appear impressed by his solutions.
ii) Some commentators have noted in consistency, confusion /contradiction in their approach. On the one hand they do not want the audience to ‘believe’ that Pyramus and the lion are real; on the other, they want to make the setting as ‘literal’ as possible by providing physical renditions of the wall and the moonshine. This could reflect a general ignorance of/insensitivity towards/ lack of thought about the nature and purpose of drama (which would include a suspension of reality and the flight of the imagination).
Alternatively, one could say that they are consistent in the sense that they have a very naïve view of drama- considering it as a ‘copy’ of real life rather than an interpretation of/exploration of experience. Their interpretation of reality is self-conscious and childlike requiring the audience to appreciate/admire rather than suspend belief.
Either way, we can say that the craftsmen have a very limited/ superficial/ restricted/ naïve appreciation of their theatrical medium and role.




F) i) Presumably, the craftsmen are rehearsing in a rather ridiculous, self-important, exaggerated fashion.
ii) He is contemptuous / scornful of the craftsmen whom he regards as
bumpkins. He is amused by their absurd attempts at acting. He might
consider them impudent./audacious for rehearsing ‘so near the cradle of
the Fairy Queen’ (although they are admittedly not aware of her presence, they might inadvertently disturb her sleep).




G) The content is absurdly contradictory (lily-white of hue/ color like the red rose), the language is stilted/ affected (brisky juvenal), the rhyme is trite, the superlatives are excessive (‘most’, ‘truest’, ‘never’), the comparison comical (‘as true as the truest horse’), and the words are wrong (‘Jew’, ‘Ninny’s’). It is very bad verse, deliberately.




H) i) Thisbe (Flute) has just compared Pyramus (Bottom) to a horse (in terms of dedication/faithfulness) and he enters (ironically) looking like an ass.
ii) Probably because of his asinine nature.




I) If the commas are omitted after ‘fair’, the adjective is yoked (attached to) Thisbe (ie: beautiful Thisbe) rather than linked to Pyramus.
‘If I were’ then becomes a reply to Thisbe’s previous remark that Pyramus is ‘As true a horse that yet would never tire’.
So, the new sense becomes:
‘If I were the most faithful man, it would only be to you and you alone.’
ii) By putting the comma after ‘fair’, Bottom changes the above to (presumably intending to do so) meaning to:
‘If I were handsome, I would only be yours.’
This is ironically appropriate given that Bottom’s appearance and the craftsmen horrified reaction.



J) He thinks that they are playing a trick on him. They are running away/ leaving him alone to frighten him.




K) i) The dramatic irony is obvious: Bottom believes that his fellow craftsmen are trying to make him, figuratively speaking, appear an ass when he is unaware that he looks like one.
ii) No. Witness his indignant reaction to his fellow craftsmen’s flight and his self-possessed manner with Titania, none of which suggests he is aware of his transformation.




L) The remark is absurdly incongruous— Bottom’s bestial appearance and discordant singing are the antithesis of angelic.




M) Words such as ‘much enamored’, ‘enthralled’, ‘fair’s virtue force’, ‘swear’, all underline the emphatic/ intense nature of her attraction to Bottom— the delusion is total and she is thoroughly captivated.
It is interesting that her physical infatuation with Bottom (‘Mine ear is much enamored’, ‘mine eye enthralled’) persuades Titania to imagine that Bottom is also virtuous and wise. In this sense, her behavior is a perfect illustration of Helena’s observation in Act 1 Scene 1 line 232-241 regarding the effects of dotage.




N) Present situation: Titania’s love is obviously irrational based on the
delusion caused by Oberon’s love juice.
Previous action: the various rash/ irrational actions of the young lovers due to:
- Helena’s infatuation with Demetrius
- Demetrius’ infatuation with Hermia
- Lysander and Hermia’s rash/reckless elopement
- The enchanted Lysander’s rejection/ desertion of Hermia and infatuation with Helena.

Theme: Unpredictable nature of Love. (‘Love and reason keep little company’)




O) The fairies will:
- Fetch Bottom jewels from the sea-bed
- Sing to him while he sleeps on a bed of flowers
- Dance for him
- Feed him with apricots, berries etc.
- Give him stolen honey stolen from the bees
- Light candles for him made from beeswax
- Fan him with butterfly wings
- Minister / attend to him/ obey him dutifully
The atmosphere created is exotic / luxurious / magical / ethereal / quaint.




P) (c) composed and self-assured
He speaks to them in much the same confident/ self-assured/ familiar/ self-possessed manner as he does with the craftsmen.
Is Bottom imperturbable/ unflappable because he is so thick-skinned / un-poetic/earth bound or is he merely putting his acting skills to good use?
It is worth mentioning that at least one critic has disagreed with the view that Bottom is composed and self-assured. He believes that Bottom should not be portrayed as oblivious/ insensitive to his predicament. In his view, whilst Bottom is trying to appear nonchalant, he is in fact unsuccessfully trying to cover up his nervousness and this should be made apparent in performance.




Q) Either i) despite her infatuation, Titania has had enough of Bottom’s foolishness by this time and does not want him to speak to Moth in a similar vein
Or: ii) The amorous/captivated Titania is keen to have Bottom all to herself and grows impatient with his prolonged pleasantries.




R) We might imagine Bottom behaving like a donkey throughout the scene, making unpleasant ‘hee-haw’ noises.




S) Bottom
Appearance: bestial, ugly, gross
Behavior: brutish, unrefined/coarse, noisy/clumsy
Language: mundane prose, trite, banal, colloquial

Fairies
Appearance: ethereal, enchanting, diminutive
Behavior: graceful, charming, lively/dainty
Language: poetic verse (Titania), beautiful, exotic, imaginative