Fools in love - Midsummer Posting #6

This is the 6th posting for A Midsummer Night's Dream and is due before the end of the day on Wednesday, April 22.

Throughout Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, we've seen a variety of characters acting in some foolish ways, mostly as a result of their emotions. Such behavior mirrors many of the same foolish behaviors you probably experience almost everyday. In an earlier post, you were asked to respond which character acted the most foolish. This response requires you to provide an example of some real-life love-inspired foolish behavior you've experienced.

What is an example of some real-life foolish behavior caused by love? How have people you know acted like a "fool" in love? What happened? How is the behavior you've seen typical of human behavior? How does it connect to A Midsummer Night's Dream? What is it that we can learn about human nature from such behavior?

To earn full credit, your response should fully answer the prompt questions and be relatively free of sloppy mechanical and grammatical errors. Proofread what you write before you post.

Lovers, madmen and poets - Midsummer posting #5

This is the 5th and final posting for A Midsummer Night's Dream and is due before the end of the day on Friday, April 10.

This will be a longer, more formal answer so make sure it's written with minimal errors and you fully answer all parts of the prompt.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare presents us with an unusual and fantastic series of events as fairies and mortals mix in the mysterious woods just outside Athens. The four lovers and Nick Bottom each undergo their own experience with the fairy world. However, different characters provide varying takes on the night's strange happenings. Consider the following three reactions/explanations by different characters:

• Nick Bottom awakes from his dream, his "most rare vision," and offers one explanation at the end of Act IV, scene 1.
• At the beginning Act V, Duke Theseus explains to Hippolyta what he thinks of the situation in the woods.
• And finally, Puck re-appears with his own suggestion for the audience in the closing lines of Act V.

Of the three reactions/explanations, choose one that you believe the most significant or closest to how you might try to explain what happened in the woods. Whom do you believe the most? Bottom, Theseus, or Puck? What is it about their explanation that makes sense to you? Why? Point to specific lines from the play to help make your point.

The power of love - Midsummer post #4

This is the fourth Midsummer post and is due before class starts on Tuesday, April 7.

In the middle of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the four Athenian lovers have found themselves all mixed up due to the love spell two of them are under. As a result, they bicker, beg, fight, plead for love, and do many seemingly "crazy" things all in the name of their love. During the mayhem, Puck shouts "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" The lovers don't notice it, but for any outside observer - like the fairies who take on the role of an audience in this scene - the foolishness is readily apparent.

So far in the play, what do you think has been the most "foolish" thing one of the lovers has said or done? Now think about people you know in your life: is the Midsummer lover's "foolish" action realistic for someone under the spell of love? How is the lover's action like or not like people you know? What does Shakespeare seem to be saying about the power of love?

Reminder: Your responses need to be in complete sentences and relatively free of mechanical and spelling mistakes. Many of you have gotten pretty sloppy with your responses.

Midsummer Post #5: 'Lord what fools these mortals be!'

This is the fifth Midsummer post and is due before class starts on Thursday, April 19.

In the middle of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the four Athenian lovers have found themselves all mixed up due to the love spell two of them are under. As a result, they bicker, beg, fight, plead for love, and do many seemingly "crazy" things all in the name of their love. During it all, Oberon and Puck watch the mayhem their love spell has created. Puck tells Oberon, "Lord, what fools these mortals be!" He's referring to the lovers, of course, but Shakespeare also seems to be making a point that humans in general are capable of doing and saying some crazy things because of love. The lovers don't notice it, but for any outside observer - like the fairies who take on the role of an audience in this scene - the foolishness is readily apparent.

So far in the play, what do you think has been the most "foolish" thing one of the lovers has said or done? Now think about people you know in your life: is the Midsummer lover's "foolish" action realistic for someone under the spell of love? How is the lover's action like or not like people you know? What does Shakespeare seem to be saying about the power of love?

Midsummer Post #3: To whom would you give advice?

This is the third Midsummer post and is due before class starts on Friday, March 30.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, we encounter four lovers. Each has a unique dilemma, some more serious than others. There's Hermia and Lysander, who love each other but can't be together. There's Helena, desperate for Demetrius's love and willing to do almost anything. And there's Demetrius, who has Helena's love, but would rather have Hermia's.

Imagine for a moment these four characters are regulars in the BHS commons. You are their friend, and they need your advice about what to do with their love life. Who would you give advice to, and what would you tell them? Choose one of the four lovers and write a note to them with your best friendly advice about their situation.

Start your letter, "Dear ____" ...

Don't hold back. The person you are giving advice to relies on you for being honest and upfront with them.