AMSND+Act+4

**Ana and Brianna**
 * __"A Midsummer Night's Dream"__**

__** Act IV, Scene 1 **__ He adjusted very well, and seemed happy with the attention. He also seemed used to having the fairies do things for him, and relies on them. He feels sorry for Titania because of who he made her fall in love with. He avoids answering her question completely and changes the subject. They are in the woods to celebrate the May morning, and hunting to prepare for the wedding later on. His first explanation what that they were there to celebrate the May morning also. His explanation is that he now loves Helena, and it is natural to be with her. He compares his feeling for Hermia to an illness because, like a sickness, his love for Hermia has melted away. Also he is saying that his unpleasant feeling for Hermia are like an illness. He decides that they are going to have a triple wedding. After all the magical things that happened, they probably couldn't be sure what was real and what was not. He is going to write a ballad called 'Bottoms Dream' about his night in the woods and perform it for the Duke.
 * 44. How has Bottom adjusted to the attention of Titania and her fairies? **
 * 45. What is Oberon’s reaction to Titania’s infatuation with Bottom? **
 * 46. What sort of explanation will Oberon make to Titania’s question about what happened to her? **
 * 47. Why are Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus, and the others out in the woods so early in the morning? **
 * 48. What is Theseus’s first explanation of why the young people are asleep in the woods? **
 * 49. What explanation does Demetrius make? Why does he compare his love for Hermia to an illness? **
 * 50. What is Theseus’s decision concerning the four young people? **
 * 51. Why can’t the young people be sure whether they are awake or dreaming? **
 * 52. Bottom believes he too has had a dream. How is he going to use that to entertain the Duke? **

__** Act IV, Scene 2 **__ They think he's great, and think very highly of him now that he is gone. They most regret not making the money they would have had by performing the play. So they can get there in time to perform the play.
 * 53. What opinion do the other artisans now have of Bottom since they think he is lost? **
 * 54. What do they most regret losing by not being able to perform the play? **
 * 55. Why must the artisans hurry to the Duke’s palace? **

**Extending the thought process.** ====** a) The fourth act opens and ends with Bottom at center stage. What is your opinion of Bottom’s character? How might he be the antithesis, or opposite, of Theseus’s character? ** We view Bottom as a stuck up man who treasures attention, Bottom also is the comic relief character, sweetening the mood of the play. Bottom is the opposite of Theseus because Theseus is a much more serious character where he has the responsibilities of a Duke, whereas Bottom is a laid-back man. ==== ====** b) How do most of the dreamers respond to the dream experience upon waking? Which character is changed permanently by the dream experience? ** The dreamers are not quite sure if they are awake because things are going so well for them (they get to live). Demetrius says "Are you sure that we are awake? It seems to me that yet we sleep, we dream." (Page 77). We think that Demetrius was the character who was permanently changed, because he now loves Helena. The other characters come out of the dream more or less the same. ====

====** c) In this act, several characters look back at prior infatuations with disbelief. What do you think Shakespeare is saying about love and infatuation? ** We think that Shakespeare is telling us that people view their lover differently when they are together and separated. They view them for who they really are when they are no longer together, like when Titania loved Bottom when she was under a spell, and when she is broken from that spell she views Bottom as a vile thing. When they no longer are in love with them they view them in reality rather than in a dream. ====

== Act 4 Podcast: Bottom decides to commission Peter Quince to write a ballad called “Bottom’s Dream.” On your own or with a partner, imagine that you have been asked to write the lyrics and compose the musical accompaniment. Remember that at the beginning of act 4, Bottom told the fairies that he likes to listen to the “tongs and bones” (act 4, scene 1, line 30). Tongs were pieces of metal struck against each other and bones were actual bones. These instruments were used in comical or in less sophisticated musical performances. Write the poetry for the ballad ( a minimum of 2 stanzas, 4 lines each), then put it to music! == media type="file" key="AMSND Act 4 Bottom's Dream.mp3" width="240" height="20"

My singing, lovely singing awoke the fairy queen. She smiled softly at me Her face was but a dream.
 * Bottom's Dream **

She brought me up to her loft, And called for her fairies. She stroked my hairy face, While her train fed me berries.

We were left all alone, With her arms about me as I yawn. I fell into a gentle sleep, And woke up the next dawn.

Her arms no longer there, And I'm bearing no more hair. What a fantasy did I bear, with fairies and magic and all that flare.