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A Midsummer Night's
Dream portrays a complex tangle of relationships. Said of the
Folger production, the play is about the "ridiculousness of
love." Do you agree? Why or why not? What evidence from the
play supports your opinion?
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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?
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Though Bottom often steals
the show in performance, Puck is usually considered the most important
character in A Midsummer Night's Dream. How would you describe
the character of Puck? What kind of mood does he create?
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Some critics see Bottom
as a fool. Others think he is wiser than he appears. What is your
opinion of Bottom? (Might he be the antithesis of Theseus's character?)
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Discuss the connection
between the "real" world and the fairy world. How do the
two interact? To what effect? What is the impact on the fairy world
on the tone of the play as a whole?
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Many contemporary productions
of the play cast the same actor in the role of Theseus and Oberon,
and also of Hippolyta and Titania. What does this suggest about
the functions of these characters in the play? How are the Hippolyta
and Titania similar and/or different? Theseus and Oberon?