Act+2+Questions

media type="file" key="MSND ACT II SFX DF MG.mp3" width="240" height="20" By Michael Griffin and Devon Fang

Act II, Scene 1 10. What does the reader find out about the current relationship between Oberon, King of the Fairies, and Titania, Queen of the Fairies, from Puck and the first fairy? The readers find out that Oberon and Titania have been having many arguments over the last few weeks, and they argue whenever they meet.

11. How have Oberon and Titania been involved in the past with Theseus and Hippolyta; why have they come to Athens? Titania accuses Oberon of having affairs with Hippolyta, but then Oberon rebuts with accusations of Titania having affairs with Theseus. They have come to Athens together to watch Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding.

12. What effect has their quarrel had on nature, on the seasons, on humans? According to Titania, whenever they fight, wind blows in vain, the water from the sea has dried up, fogs have begun to fall in the land, rivers overflow, making plowing farms useless, and people have started to randomly grow beards. The seasons have been messed up, making it snow in the middle of summer, and make it hot during the winter.

13. Why won’t Titania give up the changeling to Oberon? Titania refuses to give the changeling to Oberon because when the changeling's mother died, Titania promised her that she would protect her child forever.

14. What does Oberon send Puck to find? Oberon sends Puck to find the magical flower that has turned purple from cupid's arrow of love, so he can get his revenge on Titania.

15. What are Oberon’s plans for Titania? Oberon plans to squeeze the juice of the flower onto Titania's eyelids, and then make the first thing that she sees when she wakes up a vile animal.

16. How does Helena react to Demetrius’s verbal abuse? When Demetrius abuses Helena with words, all she does is flip them around, and use them to tell Demetrius how much she loves him.

17. What is her response to his threats of physical abuse? When Demetrius starts to threaten Helena with physical abuse, she just ignored it and continued to tell him that she didn't care, as long as she could be with him.

18. In what way is Helena’s behaviour inappropriate for Athenian women? Helena's behavior is inappropriate for Athenian women because in the play, all women are meant to obey whatever the men tell them to do, but with Helena, she defies everything that Demetrius tells her to do, making her defy a man.

19. What does Oberon tell Puck to do about Demetrius and Helena? Oberon tells Puck to place some of the love flower's juice in the "Athenian man's" eyes, so Puck sets out to find the "Athenian man", not knowing Lysander was there as well.

Act II, Scene 2 20. Why does Oberon want Titania to wake and fall in love with some vile thing? Oberon wants Titania to wake up and love some vile thing because then later, when the potion wears off, she would be shameful for ever loving such a vile creature.

21. Why does Hermia insist Lysander sleep a little ways from her? Hermia insists that Lysander sleep a little ways from her because they are not married yet, so she wants him to lie further away, for her sake.

22. Why does Puck anoint Lysander’s eyes? Puck anoints Lysander's eyes instead of Demetrius' eyes because he sees an "Athenian man", lying at a distance from a woman, so he assumes that they are the two people who continue to argue.

23. How does Helena react to Lysander’s sudden love for her when he awakens? When Lysander awakens and tells Helena how much he loves her, she thinks that he is mocking him, because he has Hermia, which, in her opinion, is better than herself in every way. She thinks he's mocking her, so she becomes mad, but also sad at the same time, and runs off.

24. How is Hermia’s dream a reflection of reality? Hermia's dream is a reflection of reality because in the dream, Lysander was looking at her cruelly while her heart was being eaten, which would be proof that Lysander left her, even if it's only the effect of the potion, and not his actual love.