Svenja Stebler
8B English
Ms. Nickell
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 2
The sprites speak very poetically. Which image or images presented by the sprites do you
remember best? What make the images memorable?
I remember that when the fairy and Puck were speaking about all of the tricks that puck uses
to do on other people. The fairy tells Puck what kind of tricks he plays on people. Then Puck tells
what sort of tricks he does to make Oberon laugh. Shakespeare used Literary Techniques to make the
whole situation between them more interesting by having a word game. One of the reasons why it
makes the images memorable is because during that time, you really have to read carefully to be
sure that you understood it right. You have to read through it at least three times until you even
understand what they are talking about. One of the literary terms that is being used is the couplet,
which means that there are two lines with rhyming ends. “And on her…. Pour the ale. The wisest…
saddest tale” (II.1, 50- 51) Another type of literary device that is being used is a simile: “Neighing in
likeness of a filly foal;” “In very likeness of a roasted crab;” (II.1, 47+49).These lines are not directly a
simile but if you would change the sentence to how we would say it today, it would work as a simile:
Neighing like a filly foal and Looking/acting/etc. like a roasted crab. The last literary technique that I
found was alliteration. Alliteration was being used a lot: “And bootless make the breathless
housewife churn,” (II.1, 37) “… make the drink to bear no barm,” (II.1, 38) “When I a fat and beanfed horse beguile,” (II.1, 46) “… in likeness of a filly foal;” (II.1, 47). Those were all of the Literary
Techniques in those two speeches.
Why are Oberon and Titania fighting?
Oberon and Titania are fighting over a little Indian Boy who lost his mother while she was
giving birth. Because Titania was her best friend, she now wants to take care of him and feels that it
is her responsibility to do so. Oberon on the other hand is really jealous that the Indian Boy is getting
more attention than he is. This fight is causing all of the seasons to change, for this they also both
blame each other which is giving them another reason to fight.
How does Oberon intend to blackmail Titania into giving him what he wants?
Oberon intends to blackmail Titania by:
“She shall pursue it with the soul of love.
And ere I take this charm from off her sight –
As I can take it with another herb –
I’ll make her render up her page to me.” (II.1, 182- 185)
Oberon’s plan is to make her fall in love, then take the spell back off with another herb. With that, he
will threaten her that it she doesn’t give up the Indian boy, he’ll put her back into love with the
creature that she was in before. That way he thinks that she will give in to him.
By the end of Act 2, what is similar about the following pairs: Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and
Helena, and Oberon and Titania?
By the end of Act 2, by all three couples one of them love the other one but that one doesn’t
love the other one (No.1 love No.2 but No.2 doesn’t love No.1) (Hermia loves Lysander, Lysander
loves Helena, Helena loves Demetrius, Demetrius loves Hermia, etc.). Example/Proof of Lysander not
liking Hermia but Helena:
“Not Hermia but Helena I love” (II.2, 119)
Another similarity is that all of them cannot get what they want: Lysander wants Helena but
Helena doesn’t want him, Demetrius wants Hermia but Hermia doesn’t want him, etc. Oberon wants
Titania to give him more attention and he can only to that if he takes the Indian Boy away from her
but Titania doesn’t want to give him. The last similarity is that when the couples talk to each other,
the last word of the line rhymes. This is most probably to make it more romantic and more effective
in what they are trying to say.