A Midsummer Night՚s Dream: Rising Action, Complications and Suspense

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Illustration: A Midsummer Night՚s Dream: Rising Action, Complications and Suspense

Who Are the Characters in this Play?

  • Theseus, duke of Athens
  • Egeus, Father to Hermia
  • Lysander
  • Demetrius
  • Hippolyta, queen of Amazons, betrothed to Theseus
  • Hermia, daughter to Egeus. loves Lysander
  • Helena, loves Demetrius
  • Oberon, King of fairies
  • Titania, Queen of fairies
  • Bottom, one of the actors
Illustration: Who Are the Characters in this Play?

Act I: Exposition

  • Theseus, duke of Athens, is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta.
  • Egeus comes to Theseus with his daughter, Hermia and two young men, Demetrius (who loves Hermia) and Lysander (who Hermia love)
  • Egeus wishes Hermia to marry Demetrius and asks for the full penalty of law to fall on Hermia՚s head if she disobeys
  • Theseus warns her that disobeying her father could result in her being sent to a consent or killed.
  • Hermia and Lysander plan to escape Athens the following night and marry in the house of Lysander՚s aunt.
  • They tell Hermia՚s friend Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius.
  • Helena tells Demetrius of the lovers plans.
  • Demetrius goes into the woods after Hermia and Helena follows him.
  • Hoping to regain his love, Helena tells Demetrius of Lysander and Hermia՚s plans and follows him into the woods

Rising Action

  • Fairies including Oberon, the fairy king, and Titania, his queen, and a group of Athenian craftsman rehearsing play are also in this forest
  • Oberon and Titania are fighting over a young Indian prince given to Titania by the prince՚s mother.
  • The boy is so beautiful that Oberon wishes to make him a knight, but Titania refuse Seeking revenge, Oberon sends his merry servant.
  • Puck to acquire a magical flower, the juice of which can be spread over a sleeping Titania to make her fall in love with the first thing she sees upon waking
  • The boy is so beautiful that Oberon wishes to make him a knight, but Titania refuses.

Complications and Suspense

  • Puck gets the flower
  • Oberon, having seen Demetrius act cruelly toward Helena, orders Puck to spread some of the juice on the eyelids of a young Athenian man.
  • Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and puts the love potion on his eyes.
  • Lysander sees Helena and falls deeply in love with her, abandoning Hermia
  • Titania wakes, the first person she sees is Bottom, whose head Puck has transformed into that of a donkey.
Illustration: Complications and Suspense

Titania wakes, the first person she sees is Bottom whose head Puck has transformed into that of a donkey.

Conflict and Climax

  • Puck has to undo his mistake Lysander and Demetrius both end up in love with Helena, who believes that they are making fun of her.
  • Hernia becomes jealous and challenges Helena to a fight.
  • Demetrius and Lysander nearly do fight over Helena s love, but Puck confuses them by mimicking their voices.
  • Demetrius and Lysander nearly do fight over Helena՚s love, Hermia becomes jealous
  • Hermia becomes jealous and challenges Helena to fight

Falling Action

  • Oberon obtains the Indian boy Puck spreads the love potion on Lysander՚s eyelids, and by morning all is well.
  • Theseus and Hippolyta discover the sleeping lovers in the forest and take them back to Athens to be married Demetrius now loves Helena, and Lysander now loves Hermia.

Resolution

  • After the wedding, the couples watch the craftsmen perform their play, a fumbling.
  • hilarious version of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe.
  • The lovers go to bed; the fairies bless the sleeping couples and then disappear.
  • Puck remains to ask the audience for its forgiveness and approval and to urge it to remember the play as though it had all been a dream.
  • A play within a play The couples watch the craftsmen perform their play, a fumbling hilarious version of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe.

Manishika