T2 WEEK4 (2009) INSTRUCTIONS

Please take note:

- 4BN & GR will be carrying out the activity below in GROUPS. Please follow the standard groups that you work in for TKAM (Anacondas, Bumblebee, Cows, Dogs, Elephant, Frog, Goats, Hippos, Iguana)

- 4MD & RP will complete the activity INDIVIDUALLY.

(Lesson missed: 15 April 2009)

The questions and allocation of essay topics are as follows:

4BN & GR

(Bumble bee)

Give a detailed account of Theseus’s interview with Egeus, Hermia, Lysander and Demetrius in Act One. What particular aspects of each person’s character are revealed during the scene?

(Cows)

Show how the play examines the nature and consequences of infatuation.

(Dogs)

Discuss the role of the play-within-a-play in Act V of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Does the Pyramus and Thisbe story have any relevance to the main story, or is it simply a comical interlude? What effect does the craftsmen’s production of their play have on the tone of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as a whole?

(Anacondas)

‘Shakespeare’s women serve no real purpose in his plays. More often than not, they are used to ridicule the female species.’ Discuss.

(Iguana)

Does the play offer a charitable or cynical view of love?

(Elephant)

Show how the play explores the difference between illusion and reality.

(Frog)

‘The world of the woods may be magical but it is also mysterious and frightening’. Discuss.

(Goat)

Show how the border of reality and illusion is often blurred in the play.

(Hippos)

In what ways is the world of the woods different from the world of Athens in the play? Discuss the atmosphere and purpose of each setting.

4MD & RP

‘I never heard / So musical a discord,’ In what ways could Hippolyta’s lines be considered an appropriate comment on the play in general?

* Please plan your essay carefully and email the completed essay to me: meela_useen@yahoo.com.sg by Friday 17 April (9 pm)