Midsummer Night's Dream

Question 1: Identify the play that your chosen monologue comes from and summarise its plot.
You should make specific reference to where your chosen monologue fits in the play.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the comedic play begins with Theseus, the lord and Hippolyta, the
Amazon Queen preparing for their wedding. Egeus, Helena’s best friend, Hermia’s father enters with
Demtrius, the man who Hermia is in an arranged-marriage with and the same man who made Helena in
love with him. Lysander, the man whom Hermia is in love with enters. Egeus complains to Theseus,
Lysander is a cheating man who claims Helena is in love with Demetrius. Eventually, Hermia refuses the
marriage and agrees to become a nun instead. Hermia and Lysander explain their plan to run away and get
eloped to Helena who tells Demetrius in hopes he’ll stop loving Hermia but herself instead. The start of the
next scene Oberon, the fairy king asks Puck, his servant if his prank on Titania, the fairy queen succeeded.
Puck explains he cast a spell on Bottom, an actor to turn into a donkey and made Titania fall in love with
the donkey from a love potion. Meanwhile, the same love potion makes Demtrius, and Lysander who the
love potion wasn’t meant to be on hypnotises them to ask Helena to be with them, after Hermia arrives the
attention falls on Helena since the men are both in ‘love’ with Helena. Being extremely insecure, she
thinks they are playing a prank on her and therefore empties out her feelings, her monologue starts after
she thinks she’s being tricked since both the men are meant to be in love with Hermia instead of Helena.
The monologue specifically begins after the two men confess their ‘love’ for Helena when Hermia enters
feeling betrayed just like Helena.
Question 2: Analyse a key emotion within your chosen monologue and explain how it is revealed
through language. Use the PEEL/PETAL paragraph structure to answer this question in detail.
Helena, a woman of many insecurities ultimately feels betrayal after she sees Demetrius, her crush and
Lysander, her best friend, Hermia’s lover confessing their ‘love’ for her, believing it’s a prank she blames
Hermia, when it was Puck, a fairy who accidentally placed a love potion on the wrong person, thus
disobeying Oberon, the fairy king’s orders. After Helena makes an appearance in the forest beside Athens,
she is instantly asked numerous questions by Lysander and Demtrius all hinting at one message, “Helena, I
love you”. Unbeknownst to the love potion placed on Lysander and Demetrius to love Helena she is utterly
disorientated until the emotion shifts to betrayal after Hermia arrives at the scene. A clear example of this
is the quote, “We, Hermia, like two artificial gods, … Had been incorporate.;”, the metaphors and simile
contradict the numerous fun times to depict how close the two girls were at the time when they were young
and innocent best friends who would be able to hang out together when they did not have to worry about
marriage and love. Therefore, overall, it is direct that in Helena’s monologue she feels betrayal as a key
emotion due to the actions of a love potion when she assumes the wrong information that which Hermia,
Demtrius, and Lysander played a prank on her.
Question 3: Evaluate your performance and reflect on two choices you made to convey the tone
of the monologue. Use the PEEL/PETAL paragraph structure to answer this question in detail.
Two choices made in the performance included are the body language and the tone of voice. The tone of
voice was used for the emphasis on the important and dramatic part to add more importance and
recognition. This was used so that the audience would see the emotions present in Helena’s voice as she
would say it so that they can understand partly how she must’ve been feeling. The slight pauses as well
contributed to show the hurt, while the louder words / sentences expressed the betrayal and anger that
Helena had. The uses of the facial expressions were used so that more emotions were seen such as
confusion which turned into disgust for Hermia to convey the way at which Helena thinks of Hermia now
since she never would’ve thought that her own best friend would stoop that low for a prank which she
knew would hurt her extremely bad. The ‘o’ faces showed shock while the other expressions were Helena
thinking back for a second to wonder why Hermia would do this foul act in her opinions. Thus, the use of
facial expressions and tone of voice were applied, creating a new perspective on Helena’s monologue
compared to what you would read when you first examine it.

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Question 1: Identify the play that your chosen monologue comes from and summarise its plot.

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