ࡱ > ) + ( !` bjbj\\ 4 > > \ $ h Z h ; ; P | | | | | | V q @ k " f 0 0 , F ( | ; ; r D A Midsummer Nights Dream Act 4 Interpreting Meanings 1. Identify as many sources of humor as you can in the first part of Act 4.1 with Bottom, Titania, and the fairies. Reread Oberon's speech in Act 4.1, beginning, "Welcome, good Robin." What mixture of motives does this speech reveal? How does Titania's reaction when she awakens foreshadow the reactions of the mortal lovers when they wake up later in Act4.1? In Act 4.1, several characters refer to the approaching dawn. What symbolic significance might this detail of setting have for the plot as it unfolds in this act? Explain how the long speech of Demetrius in Act 4.1reveals him as a dynamic character. How does Bottom's soliloquy at the end of Act 4.1 echo the themes of illusion and dreaming that we have heard about before in this scene? The very brief second scene seems necessary for one of the subplots, in that it reunites Bottom with his friends and prepares for the play-within-a play in the final act. This scene is also enjoyable because it further characterizes Bottom. At this point in the play, how would you compare the characters of Bottom and Puck? 7 ; * + U X D G ¸§¸¸¸ hO\ hme CJ OJ QJ ^J aJ h`{ hme ;OJ QJ ^J h`{ hme CJ OJ QJ ^J aJ hme OJ QJ ^J h`{ hme OJ QJ ^J h