A Midsummer Night's Dream Script Analysis

Gracie Ruiz
July 2, 2019
THP217
SCRIPT ANALYSIS
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
THE BASICS
1. Who?
characters:
Puck Titania Oberon Lysander
Demetrius Hermia Helena Egeus
Theseus Hippolyta Nick Bottom Peter Quince
Francis Flute Robin Starveling Tom Snout Snug
Philostrate Peaseblossom Cobweb Mote
Mustardseed
2. What?
the play:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare
3. Where?
setting:
City of Athens
Magical Fairy Forest, lies beyond the city walls
4. When?
time period:
Influenced by the Elizabethan time period
5. Why?
shakespeare’s intent:
Based on his own life experiences and observations
Created for an aristocratic wedding Queen Elizabeth was in attendance
He wanted to contrast his tragedies and exaggerated love stories
Wanted a more light-hearted play
MORE IN-DEPTH
1. What is the plot?
● Theseus and Hippolyta are preparing for their wedding
● Philostrate is tasked with finding entertainment for the event
● Egeus bring Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius into Theseus’s court
● Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius (who is in love with her), but she is in love with
Lysander
● Egeus wants her to be killed if he disobeys his wishes
● Theseus tells Hermia she has until his wedding to make a decision
● Hermia and Lysander run away to elope, having to pass through the woods first
● Hermia and Lysander tell Helena of their plan
● Helena (who is in love with Demetrius) tells Demetrius of their plan
● Demetrius and Helena follow them into the woods
● The woods host the fairies and the band of actors who were hired to perform at the
wedding
● Oberon and Titania are arguing over who gets claim over an Indian boy
● Oberon, upset with Titania, tasks Puck to get a magical flower to make her fall in love
with the first thing she sees
● Puck completes the task, and Oberon then tells him to use the potion on Demetrius
● Puck accidentally uses the potion on Lysander, and then tries to correct his mistake by
putting it in Demetrius’s eyes
● Both Lysander and Demetrius end up in love with Hermia
● Hermia thinks they are mocking her, Helena becomes jealous
● Hermia and Helena fight, Lysander and Demetrius fight
● Puck confuses them and they end up separated in the woods
● Titania falls in love with Bottom, a member of the acting troupe who Puck transformed
to have a head of the ass
● Oberon takes the Indian boy from Titania while she is under the spell
● Theseus and Hippolyta enter the forest and take the four lovers back to Athens
● Demetrius and Helena are together while Lysander and Hermia are together
● They have a group wedding and watch the actors perform their play
● The fairies bless the couples and Puck addresses the audience
2. What is the theme?

Love
Makes fun of the idea of love and relationships
Shows how things change when love is out of balance
Magic
The core cause of conflict
Also restores balance
Brings this world to life and shows the contrast between real/imaginary
Dreams
The impossible become reality
Time is simply a concept
Fantastical experience
Mischief
Puck messes around with the story
Shows that it is more lighthearted
Not a heavy tragedy
Transformation
Anything in the world can change
Mystical and magical for better or worse
3. What is the logic?
The story makes sense because it is established that this is a fantasy environment. Magic
and mischief happen and are explained throughout the story. Everything happens for a
reason and because of someone’s intentions such as jealousy. It has a beginning,
middle, end. It introduces all the characters thoroughly and can be easily followed.
4. What is the exposition?
what we knew before the play’s events :
Hermia and Lysander are in love
Theseus and Hippolyta are getting married
Egeus disapproves of Lysander
Helena and Demetrius were engaged at some point
Helena is Lysander and Hermia’s friend
The band of actors have been together for a while
Titania and Oberon have a power struggle
Magic exists in this world
5. What is the complication?
Hermia and Lysander are together but their relationship is not approved of
Demetrius is in love with Hermia, but Helena is in love with Demetrius
Oberon and Titania are arguing with each other
The love potion mixes up who is in love with who and creates an imbalance in the world
6. What is the tension?
The audience knows that the play is going to end up in an “all's well that ends well”
note, so there isn’t too much tension. It’s about enjoying the hilarity of the situation and
wondering who is going to end up with who.
7. What is the main question?
Is Puck going to reverse all his actions with the love potion and magic, or are these
events permanent?
8. What is the main action?
The main action are the couples being mixed around and Titania falling in love with
Bottom.
9. What is the cause of the action?
Puck using the love potion and his own fairy magic
Arguments and following love are the cause of going into the woods in the first place
10. What is the resulting action?
Puck eventually does reverse all of his actions and everything is returned to normal.
However, Demetrius is now in love with Helena instead of Hermia, so a slight change
was made due to the play’s events.
11. What is the conclusion?
The conclusion is that Demetrius and Helena get married, Hermia and Lysander get
married, Theseus and Hippolyta get married, the troupe performs their play, Titania and
Oberon are back to ruling over the forest, and no real harm was done.
12. Who is the protagonist?
It’s an ensemble play with no real protagonist. Instead there are three groups that are
focused on: the Athenians, the fairies, and the actors.
13. Who is the antagonist?
It’s an ensemble play with no real antagonist. Egeus begins the play disagreeing with
Hermia and Lysander’s decision that sets into motion them leaving into the forest and
the others following, but he doesn’t actively pursue them or affect the plot in any other
way.
14. Who is the most interesting character?
To me, the most interesting character was Titania, the fairies, and Puck. Their use of
magic, fun way of speaking, and Titania’s position of power was interesting to me. I was
more intrigued when they were a part of the story.
15. Where does the story take place?
The story takes place in the magical forest and the city of Athens.
STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
1. Foreshadowing
The main foreshadowing instance in the play is in a line that Lysander states towards the
beginning, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” The entire play is about love
and the twists and turns it could take.
2. Recurring motifs
Contrast and how opposites can differ. It’s more hilarious seeing two people who are
incredibly different and seemingly have nothing in common fall in love.
3. Repetition
The love potion is brought up multiple times and the true cause of the play’s events
4. Contrast
Contrast and how opposites can differ. It’s more hilarious seeing two people who are
incredibly different and seemingly have nothing in common fall in love.
some examples of contrast present are:
Beautiful Titania & Ugly Bottom
Tall Helena & Short Hermia
5. Visual effects
These can be used to show the difference between Athens and the magical forest. They
also can be present when magic is being used or the fairies are present at all.
PICK FIVE QUESTIONS FROM VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET

1. What is the mood of the play?
The play is more light-hearted and fun to follow. It’s a comedy and never takes itself too
seriously. Shakespeare was poking fun at some of his other love stories and tragedies, so
not even the author was taking things too much to heart. That’s not to say that he didn’t
put effort or thought into his writing, as it is evident that he did.
2. Who has power?
Puck has power with his fairy magic and the love potion.
Oberon and Titania have power of the fairies as King and Queen.
Theseus has power over Athens as a duke.
3. What is the music of the play?
I like to think of fantastical, sparkling, twinkling music for the fairies. A bit stereotypical
but still fun! Who wouldn’t want to be a fairy? Something like this:
https://youtu.be/U2_x4svbX_o , especially for the scene Titania is being enchanted to
sleep.
4. What does the play ask of the audience?
The play asks the audience to not take anything too seriously. Seeing Titania fall in love
with an ass can get too technical and weird if thought about long enough or too hard.
The logistics of a love potion can also spoil the fun if dwelled upon. Enjoy yourself and
simply have fun with this one.
5. How is the language?
The language is elegant and fun, as it is Shakespeare. Characters are a bit more dramatic
and eloquent and say their emotions often.
BRIEF CHARACTER ANALYSIS

TITANIA
The Queen of the Fairies
Beautiful, graceful, regal, stubborn, magical, powerful
Has fairies looking after her
Is regarded as a higher being than the rest
Serves as a stark contrast to Bottom when she falls in love with him
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What is the overall plot of the play?

What role does magic play in the story?

Gracie Ruiz

Demetrius Hermia Helena Egeus

Theseus Hippolyta Nick Bottom Peter Quince

Francis Flute Robin Starveling Tom Snout Snug

Philostrate Peaseblossom Cobweb Mote

2. What is the theme?

PICK FIVE QUESTIONS FROM VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET

BRIEF CHARACTER ANALYSIS

REFERENCE IMAGES / RESEARCH

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