Flashcards for A Midsummer Night's Dream

Demetrius

Demetrius is one of the four young lovers at the center of A Midsummer Night's Dream, playing the dual role of both a barrier and a comical victim in the midst of the play's romantic turmoil.

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Helena

Helena is one of the four young lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and her journey revolves around unrequited love, damaged self-esteem, and eventual healing.

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Hermia

Hermia is one of the four young lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream and arguably the most rebellious of the group.

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Hippolyta

Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons and the bride-to-be of Theseus, Duke of Athens, in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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Lysander

Lysander is a young nobleman from Athens and one of the four main lovers in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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Nick Bottom

Nick Bottom is a weaver and the standout member of the "mechanicals" — a group of Athenian craftsmen rehearsing a play-within-a-play, Pyramus and Thisbe, to present at the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta.

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Oberon

Oberon is the King of the Fairies and the main force behind the plot in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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Puck (Robin Goodfellow)

Puck, often referred to as Robin Goodfellow, is Oberon's mischievous fairy servant and the main source of comic chaos in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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Theseus

Theseus, Duke of Athens, is the play's main authority figure — a ruler whose logical and orderly perspective frames and ultimately resolves the chaotic romantic and magical events of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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Titania

Titania is the Queen of the Fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and stands out as one of the play's most commanding characters.

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“The lunatic, the lover, and the poet / Are of imagination all compact.”

This famous couplet is delivered by Theseus, Duke of Athens, in Act V, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Theseus · Act V

“My Oberon! What visions have I seen! / Methought I was enamoured of an ass.”

This line is spoken by Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in Act IV, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Titania · Act IV

“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

This line is spoken by Lysander to Hermia in Act 1, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Lysander · Act 1

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

This famous line comes from Puck (Robin Goodfellow), the playful fairy servant of Oberon, in Act 3, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Puck (Robin Goodfellow) · Act 3

“If we shadows have offended, / Think but this, and all is mended.”

These opening lines of Puck's closing epilogue are directed at the audience at the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

Puck (Robin Goodfellow) · Act V, Scene 1 (Epilogue)

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”

These lines are delivered by Helena in Act 1, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as she bitterly contemplates why her beloved Demetrius has chosen Hermia over her.

Helena · Act 1

“Though she be but little, she is fierce.”

This line is delivered by Helena in Act 3, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, referring to her childhood friend Hermia.

Helena · Act 3

“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, / Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.”

This lyrical couplet comes from Oberon, the King of the Fairies, in Act II, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Oberon · Act II

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on.”

This famous line comes from Shakespeare's The Tempest (Act IV, Scene 1), spoken by Prospero, rather than from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Prospero (The Tempest) / thematically echoed throughout · Act IV

“I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was.”

This line is delivered by Bottom the Weaver in Act IV, Scene 1, right after he wakes up from his enchanted sleep in the fairy forest.

Bottom (Nick Bottom, the Weaver) · Act IV

Bottom's Ass Head

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bottom's donkey head highlights the foolishness of human vanity and the ridiculousness of misguided desire.

The Enchanted Forest

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the enchanted forest outside Athens represents a space of imagination, desire, and transformation—a place where the strict social rules of the civilized world fade away.

The Love Potion (Flower Juice)

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the flower "love-in-idleness" represents the chaotic and uncontrollable side of romantic love.

The Mechanicals' Play-within-a-Play

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Mechanicals' amateur production of "Pyramus and Thisbe" reflects the powerful yet imperfect nature of theatrical creativity.

The Moon

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the moon stands out as Shakespeare's key symbol for the unpredictable, magical realm that shapes love and imagination.

Metaphor

Shakespeare fills the play with metaphors that connect love to instability and illusion.

Imagery

The play immerses the audience in a rich sensory experience with its floral, lunar, and animal imagery, bringing the enchanted forest to life.

Personification

Abstract forces are often depicted with human traits.

Irony

Dramatic irony fuels much of the comedy: the audience is aware that the lovers are under a spell, while the lovers themselves think their feelings are real.

Juxtaposition

Shakespeare frequently sets contrasting worlds against each other to create meaning.

Allusion

The mechanicals' choice of the play-within-a-play, 'Pyramus and Thisbe,' references Ovid's Metamorphoses, which also inspired Romeo and Juliet.

Blank Verse

The noble and fairy characters primarily use unrhymed iambic pentameter, giving their speech a sense of elevated seriousness, even when their words are absurd.

Rhyme Scheme

Shakespeare uses rhyming couplets and quatrains to create a sense of enchantment and ritual.

Pun

Wordplay is embedded throughout the text.

Symbolism

The juice extracted from the flower 'love-in-idleness' is the main symbol of the play.

Conceit

Helena's extended comparison of herself to Demetrius's spaniel is a clever metaphor that illustrates the dynamics of unrequited love through the master-dog relationship: 'I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius, / The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.'

Dramatic Monologue

Several speeches act as dramatic monologues, giving us a deep look into a character's inner thoughts.

course

The way or path something naturally follows; here it means the progress or running of love through life, suggesting love's journey is rarely easy or straightforward.

noun · Chapter 1

winged

Having wings; here describing Cupid, the Roman god of love, who is traditionally shown as a small boy with wings, able to fly and shoot arrows that cause people to fall in love.

adjective · Chapter 1

painted blind

Depicted in paintings and art as unable to see; the phrase means Cupid is traditionally shown blindfolded because love ignores reason and physical appearance.

phrase · Chapter 1

aggravate

Used here comically and incorrectly by Bottom instead of 'moderate' or 'soften'; he means he will adjust or lower his voice, but the word actually means to make something worse.

verb · Chapter 1

sucking dove

A blundered combination of 'sucking lamb' and 'sitting dove,' two proverbial images of gentleness; Bottom muddles the two phrases together, meaning something very soft and harmless.

phrase · Chapter 1

an 'twere

An archaic expression meaning 'as if it were'; used to introduce a comparison, equivalent to saying 'just as if it were' in modern English.

phrase · Chapter 1

thyme

A low-growing wild herb with small fragrant leaves and tiny flowers, found on grassy banks; here it sets the lush, sweet-smelling scene of the fairy bower.

noun · Chapter 2

oxlips

A wild spring flower similar to a primrose or cowslip, with clusters of drooping yellow blooms; used here to paint a picture of a richly flowered fairy resting place.

noun · Chapter 2

over-canopied

Completely covered overhead as if by a canopy or roof; here it means the bank is entirely roofed over by climbing plants growing above it.

adjective · Chapter 2

woodbine

A wild climbing plant, usually honeysuckle, that twines around trees and hedges; here it forms part of the natural canopy sheltering Titania's sleeping place.

noun · Chapter 2

musk-roses

A variety of wild rose with a strong, sweet, musky scent; here they are part of the fragrant, enchanted bank where Titania sleeps.

noun · Chapter 2

eglantine

The sweet-briar, a wild rose with fragrant leaves and pink flowers; an old poetic name for this thorny climbing plant used to evoke the beauty of the fairy woodland.

noun · Chapter 2

mortals

Human beings who are subject to death, as opposed to immortal fairies or gods; Puck uses the word to set humans apart from the fairy world he belongs to.

noun · Chapter 2

knavery

Trickery or dishonest mischief intended to deceive or make a fool of someone; Bottom suspects his companions are playing a prank on him when they run away.

noun · Chapter 3

stir

To move from a spot or budge; Bottom defiantly says he will not move from where he stands no matter what anyone does to frighten him.

verb · Chapter 3

Methinks

An archaic expression meaning 'it seems to me' or 'I think'; a single word used in older English where modern speakers would say 'I think' or 'it seems to me'.

phrase · Chapter 3

bottle of hay

A bundle or truss of hay; 'bottle' here is an old word for a bundle, so Bottom — now with a donkey's head — craves a tied bunch of hay as food.

phrase · Chapter 3

hath no fellow

Has no equal; an archaic idiom meaning nothing else can match or compare to it, used here by Bottom to praise hay as the finest thing imaginable.

phrase · Chapter 3

Methought

An archaic past-tense expression meaning 'it seemed to me' or 'I thought'; the old form of 'methinks' used when speaking about something that appeared to be true in the past.

phrase · Chapter 4

patched fool

A professional jester or clown, whose costume was made of patches of different coloured cloth; here it means a complete idiot or buffoon, someone who makes a fool of himself.

phrase · Chapter 4

offer to say

To attempt or presume to say something; an archaic use of 'offer' meaning to try or dare to do something, not to present a gift.

phrase · Chapter 4

undistinguishable

Impossible to make out clearly or tell apart; here it describes how things seen from far away lose their distinct shapes and blur together like clouds.

adjective · Chapter 4

lunatic

A person considered to be insane or mentally disturbed; in Shakespeare's time the word literally suggested the moon caused madness, and here it groups the madman with the lover and the poet as people ruled by imagination.

noun · Chapter 5

all compact

Entirely made up of or wholly composed of something; the phrase means that the lunatic, lover, and poet are all built entirely out of imagination, with nothing else driving them.

phrase · Chapter 5

shadows

Actors or performers, and by extension unreal or insubstantial beings; here the word refers both to the fairy characters and to the actors playing them, suggesting they are mere illusions.

noun · Chapter 5

slumbered

Slept lightly or dozed; Puck suggests the audience has merely been napping and dreaming, so anything that seemed strange or offensive was only part of a dream.

verb · Chapter 5

amend

To make better, repair, or make up for a deficiency; here it means that the audience's own imagination can fill in the gaps and improve a poor performance.

verb · Chapter 5