Name ___________________________________________ Period __________
Act Two
Standards Focus: Character Development
A character’s words can reveal many things, including his or her own traits and the
relationships that exist between him or her and the other characters in the story. This is
especially important in a play which gives little or no exposition but rather, reveals
character through dialogue.
Directions: Read the following quotes and answer the questions that follow. Sometimes
the quote will be sufficient to answer the questions; other times, you might want to read
a little before or after the quote to aid in understanding it.
1. “and then the whole quire hold their hips and loff, / And waxen in their mirth, and neeze,
and swear / A merrier hour was never wasted there.”
A. Who said this?
B. To whom was it spoken?
C. Does the speaker symbolize someone or something else? How? Explain.
D. What does this speech reveal about the speaker?
E. What are the speaker‘s motivations? In other words, what does the character want,
and why?
F. What might you assume are some of his character traits? In other words, what
adjectives might describe this character? Support your answer with evidence.
2. “Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.”
A. Who says this?
B. What is the situation?
C. Is this dialogue, dramatic monologue, or soliloquy? (If you are not sure what this
means, please refer to the Elements of Fiction section) How do you know?
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Name ___________________________________________ Period __________
D. What does it reveal about the relationship between the two characters?
3. “And this same progeny of evil comes / From our debate, from our dissension; / We are
their parents and their original.”
A. Who is the speaker?
B. To whom is he or she speaking?
C. What does the speech reveal about the influence of these two characters upon the plot?
E. What does this quote reveal about the internal conflict of the speaker?
4. “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, / For I am sick when I look on thee.”
A. Who is the speaker?
B. To whom is he or she speaking?
C. What does the speech reveal about the speaker‘s personality?
D. What does the speech reveal about the intensity of the conflict between the two
characters?
5. “For as a surfeit of the sweetest things / The deepest loathing to the stomach brings, /
Or as the heresies that men do leave / are hated most of those they did deceive, / So
thou, my surfeit and my heresy, / Of all be hated, the most of me!”
A. Who says this?
B. Is this dialogue, dramatic monologue, or soliloquy? How do you know?
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Name ___________________________________________ Period __________
C. What does it reveal about love being a good or a bad thing?
D. To what is the character comparing love? In your opinion, are these comparisons
appropriate? Why?
6. “Your virtue is my privilege. For that / It is not night when I do see your face, / Therefore
I think I am not in the night, / Nor doth this wood lack worlds of company, / For you in
my respect are the world. / Then how can it be said I am alone, / When all the world is
here to look on me?”
A. Who speaks this?
B. To whom is he or she speaking?
C. What is the speaker saying this short speech?
D. What about the nature of love does this speech reveal?
E. How accurate are the impressions the speaker has about his or her beloved?
Explain.
F. Which character does Shakespeare want the audience to is to be sympathize
with? How do you know? Do you think most audiences would be sympathetic
towards this character? Why or why not?
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream Literature Guide