Skip to main content

What are the main conflicts of each act in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

In Act I, Duke Theseus directs Hermia to marry Demetrius. He has her father Egeus’s permission, but Hermia and Lysander are in love. The duke says she must marry the man of her father’s choosing, die, or “live a barren sister all [her] life.” Adding further conflict to this lovers’ conundrum is Helena, who adores Demetrius. Meanwhile, Peter Quince casts his play Pyramus and Thisby. There are a few small conflicts about who will play whom, but the main tension in this act is between the lovers and the law.

Act II introduces the fairies and the clash between Queen Titania and her husband Oberon, who quarrel over the possession of “a little changeling boy.” Titania says that their argument is disrupting nature’s cycles: “this same progeny of evils comes / From our debate, from our dissension.” Oberon puts a love potion in his wife’s eyes as she sleeps, and, mistaking him for Demetrius, Puck enchants Lysander. Helena pursues Demetrius, to his chagrin, before stumbling across Lysander. When he wakes up, he falls in love with Helena and abandons Hermia.


In the third act, the rude mechanicals struggle over their lines until Puck creates supernatural conflict by transforming Bottom’s head into an ass’s. Titania wakes to fall for him, creating great amusement for Puck and Oberon. Puck attempts to right his mistakes by giving Demetrius the love potion. Unfortunately, this leads to one of the play’s biggest conflicts. Demetrius and Lysander fight over Helena, Helena believes they are mocking her, and Hermia attacks Helena for stealing her lover. Puck eventually causes them to sleep and removes the love potion from Lysander’s eyes.


Act IV offers resolutions to the conflicts. Titania fawns over Bottom before falling asleep. Oberon then returns her to her normal self and plans to reconcile with her, having taken the changeling during her enchantment. Theseus and Hippolyta find the lovers while hunting in the woods, and the duke overrules Egeus’s arrangement with Demetrius, who is now in love with Helena. The players mourn Bottom’s disappearance and their ruined play, but a restored Bottom returns and brings them cheer.


Act V concludes the play with a performance of the ridiculous Pyramus and Thisby before the nobles. The conflicts here are mostly subtle and internal. Theseus and Hippolyta disagree about whether the lovers’ fantastical tale is true, and Philostrate discourages Theseus from choosing the rude mechanicals’ play as entertainment. The viewers then comment on the terrible production, to which Bottom feels the need to respond, while on stage. The lovers go to bed, the players are “made men,” and the fairies bless the couples.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can you analyze the poem "Absolution" by Siegfried Sassoon?

Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and... Sure! Siegfried Sassoon fought in World War I and was wounded in battle; he spent much of his life speaking out against war, and these pacifist feelings are easy to see in his poems. This one, "Absolution," was published in 1917, the same year that Sassoon was hospitalized for what we know today as post-traumatic stress disorder. "Absolution" is a short poem that contains three stanzas of four lines each. The word "absolution" means "forgiveness," and the v...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more