A Midsummer Night's Dream Act I Scene II

In the beginning of this scene we're introduced to the characters Quince, Snug, Bottom, Flute, Snout, and Starveling. They're all getting together to create a play for the Duke's wedding day. Quince, who is the director, first announces that they are going to be playing Pyramus and Thisby, which is a play about two lovers who die in the end, it's similar to Romeo and Juliet. As Quince begins reading off who will play what role he first gives Bottom (who will play a more major role later in the actual play) the role of Pyramus. As he lists off each person's role he gets to Flute, who he gives the role of Thisby, but Flute voices his objections to playing a woman. Bottom then cuts in, saying that he will play both roles at once, but Quince will have none of that and keeps Flute as Thisby. And then finally he gets to Snug, who must play the role of the lion, but Snug isn't sure that he will be able to fulfill the role. Bottom cuts in once again, saying that he can play the lion too. But, again, Quince tells him that he can play no part except Pyramus, and reluctantly, Bottom agrees. They then agree to meet later in the woods, where no one will be able to see or hear them rehearsing. And this is where both the second scene and first act end. Although it may seem like not much happened in this scene it does play (pun intended) a pivotal role in the rest of the play. Once again, feel free to ask any questions you might have, or make a request for the next play.

A Midsummer Night's Dream Act I Scene I

Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour

Draws on apace; four happy days bring in

Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow

This old moon wanes! she lingers my desires,

Like to a step-dame or a dowager

Long withering out a young man revenue.

The first act of A Midsummer Night’s Dream begins with these words. I know that they might seem like a bunch of mumble jumble, but I promise you that they are decipherable. In the beginning of this scene Theseus is telling Hippolyta how anxious he is for their wedding (nuptial hour), and basically he’s also telling her how much he wants her. Yes, Shakespeare does have many sexual references, you just have to catch them. She responds by telling him that four days will go by quickly. Theseus then goes on to say many other pretty things about their wedding and to Hippolyta.

Then comes Egeus,  Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius. Hermia, Egeus’s daughter, has disobeyed him by refused to marry Demetrius because she is in love with Lysander. Since Theseus is the duke, Egeus comes to him with complaint against her, saying that either she marries Lysander or he may invoke his rights as her father and dispose of her. Theseus says that either she marries Demetrius, forfeit her life, or become a nun.

After Theseus, Demetrius, and Egeus leave, Lysander and Hermia tell each other how much they love each other, and then begin formulating a plan to run away together and get married. It is then that we are introduced to Helena, who is in fact in love with Demetrius, who wants nothing to do with the poor girl. Helena is very melancholy and obviously jealous of Hermia’s hold on Demetrius.

Hermia and Lysander then decide to tell her about their plan to elope, and then they leave her. She’s still sad and jealous about Demetrius’s love for Hermia, and so she comes up with the idea to tell him where Hermia and Lysander have gone in the hope that it will win his heart.

And that’s the first scene in Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or email me at peacelayi@gmail.com

Introduction to Shakespeare

I decided that instead of simply diving right into A Midsummer Night's Dream I would first give you a little introduction to Shakespeare. First let's define what types of plays he wrote. The Shakespearian definition of a type of play is different from our modern definitions. A Shakespearian comedy doesn't necessarily mean that it's funny, technically all it means is that it ends in marriage. A Shakespearian tragedy means that it ends in death, and lastly a Shakespearian romance is what we today would call fantasy. Therefore A Midsummer Night's Dream would be classified as a romantic comedy. Now that you have those basic definitions let's move on to discuss more about what makes Shakespeare Shakespeare. Shakespeare was very careful when he wrote his plays. You know those incredibly long sentences he's famous for? Those are there for a reason; it's meant to make an actor read the line faster so that he/she can get the whole sentence in without taking a breath. This is a reason Shakespeare is not meant to be read; you can miss a lot of the meaning when you simply read it instead of seeing it in action. Shakespeare did not write his plays with the intention that people would read them, he wrote with the intention that people would watch and listen to them. If watching the play is not an option I would recommend reading it aloud, since that is also a way to help you grasp exactly what it is he's saying. Another strategy towards understanding Shakespeare is to simply read the last words of each line. After you've read a page and then gone "what the heck did he just say?" go back and read the last words of each line, it could help you grasp the meaning. I know that I've only skimmed the surface of a Shakespeare play, but that's all the introduction I'm going to give you for now. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or email me at peacelayi@gmail.com.

In The Beginning...

I'm sure it was the title of this blog that originally drew you in. You were probably wondering who could possibly claim to have the entire works of Shakespeare contained onto one blog. And you're right, I don't, at least not yet. But I can assure you that by this time next year I will have the complete works of Shakespeare posted on here...or at least I'll be close. My goal is to give my readers a study guide, an overview of each Shakespeare play. My goal is to post an overview of a scene each day, but I can't guarantee I'll have the time for that. Hey, I'm a college student, which means my list of duties is incredibly long; studying, homework, laundry, parties, hanging with friends, shopping...yeah, it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. So cut me some slack, I do enjoy my social life and would like to keep at least some semblance of it alive. But I will try to post everyday, and my hope is that I'll end up spending about a week and a half on each play, but we'll see if it actually turns out that way. So when I miss a day just remember that you were forewarned, and please don't bite my head off for it. I love my followers, let's keep the relationship a good one. I don't want to have to file any restraining orders or kick anyone off my blog. You might also get the occasional update on my life, or an inner reflection. If you want to read more of that you can check out my other blog One Of Us. Unless anyone has any other requests I'm going to start with A Midsummer Night's Dream since it's one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, along with being one of my personal favorite plays by him. And for future reference, feel free to make requests for plays you would like me to do, and I'll do my best to fulfill your requests. My policy is first come, first serve, so if you're doing Hamlet for a school project I'd suggest making an early request. I hope you all enjoy this blog as I go through all of Shakespeare's many, many works. Oh, and just so you know I am including his more famous sonnets in this (no I will not include ALL of his 150+ sonnets in this), so if there are any particular ones you want me to cover ask me.