"Titania, High Queen of the Faeries" by Howard David Johnson
I am glad I own a copy of Shakespeare’s works in which I don’t mind penciling in thoughts and opinions in the column! I find it easy to refer back to these notes. 
A quick summary of the latter three acts reminds us of the pompous Bottom’s head being turned into the head of an ass; of Titania’s succumbing to the power of the cupid-struck flower and falling in love with Bottom; of the confusion brought about by Puck’s mistake where the young pairs of lovers are concerned, and the eventual righting up of all mistakes/wrongs by Oberon, the fairy king, once he gets his Indian boy.
I would like to begin with my thoughts on the whole Oberon-Titania affair. In his dealings with the young lovers, Oberon comes across as a compassionate fairy. But what he does to Titania is quite miserable. The fact that he pities Titania towards the end of his prank is quite completely cancelled out, in my opinion, by his having acquired her Indian boy anyway. I find the dynamics between them rather off; even as I do the dynamics between Theseus and Hyppolyta. If I hadn’t known that Hyppolyta was an Amazon princess, I would never have realised that she was a warrior from all that takes place in the play. She could so easily have been an older version of a very complying Helena. Perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration, because she really never seems to posses an opinion save for some quite useless remark on our giftless actors in the play at the end of this play. Titania too, seems to submit quite tamely to Oberon’s ‘conquest’. I’m not sure that this really says anything about Shakespeare’s opinion about women. I have heard/read that Shakespeare was a writer who knew how to portray his women as the real thing(s). Having read The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth I suspect that ‘perhaps’ it is true. But, I’m beginning to wonder if I should reserve that opinion until I re-read these plays, for in A Midsummer Night’s Dream the women come out as being completely tame and submissive toward their men, and quite catty towards their own sex.
Consider Hermia. She seems quite the fire-cat when Lysander starts abusing her and proclaiming that he is in love with Helena. She is all geared to tear Helena’s eyes out. But come morning, everything is as a dream, and all is forgotten quite easily by these two women toward their swain. And talking of the swain, does it disturb any of you that Demetrius is still in love with Helena only because of the love dew? It makes me feel quite uneasy, and sorry for Helena. It’s disturbing, isn’t it, when love is forced and not a choice?
At this point someone could stop me and tell me that I was quite missing the point with Shakespeare, and did I enjoy his poetry? Hmmm… I can’t say I enjoyed it all of the time. In fact, I found a few parts just a bit tedious to read…especially the quarrel between the young men over Helena. However, it struck me how the ‘speech’ of the fairies were so different from that of the nobility, not to mention the rather obvious difference between these two sets and the poor actors’ guild. There is something so light and tripping about Puck’s speeches, don’t you think?
And what did you guys think of the last scene in the play? I felt quite sorry for Quince & Co. …but it was also so very amusing. I think it was the place where I chuckled the most. I have to admit that the remarks by Theseus, Demetrius and Lysander annoyed me. But I had to try and imagine the scene as it would be played and couldn’t help thinking of a bunch of friends and me going to the cinema and having fun critiquing what we would consider a silly movie; and at the end of it all coming out having had more fun at the movie’s expense because of the opportunity to make fun of something ridiculous. Still, I liked their (Quince & Co’s) play… especially the part of Wall! Lol! I can imagine the Elizabethan spectators rolling off their chairs or on the ground, clutching their sides and laughing hysterically at this comedy (tragedy!) of Pyramus and Thisby.
In these final acts I recognised only one other sentence that is quite well-known today –
Lord, what fools these mortals be! (Act III, Sc II)
Did any of you recognise any other phrase/sentence that is commonly known today, though might not be understood to be from Shakespeare?
I also spotted a verse that seemed to describe the title of this play so aptly!
And think no more of this night’s accidents
But as the fierce vexation of a dream. (Act IV Sc I lines 68-70)
And just another quote that struck me…I believe it is quite a famous/oft quoted Shakespearean passage:
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet,
Are of imagination all compact:
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold;
That is the madman: the lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt;
The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And, as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination
That, if it would but apprenhend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy:
Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush suppos’d a bear?
So now, I open the floor to you guys.
- What is your opinion of Oberon’s prank and that of Puck’s?
- Do you think Demetrius is still under the influence of the love dew when he wakes up in the morning and is still in love with Helena? What is your opinion about this?
- What do you think of the portrayal of the women characters in general?
- Do you have a favourite character in this play? If so, who and why?
- Which is your favourite part of this play? Why?
- Do you have any favourite quotes you’d like to share?
- Anything else that the above questions and my post have not considered?
Risa, I’ve been very bad at following the group this month, but will try to do better in February! My thoughts on Midsummer Night’s Dream: http://thesleeplessreader.com/2012/01/30/a-midsummer-nights-dream-by-william-shakespeare/.
I recognised “apple of his eye” – do you know if he coined the term or was it in use before? Also wondered about “like a child on a recorder” but then (that you Google!) I found out that a recorder can also be “a simple wind instrument with finger holes and no keys”
1. What’s the best way to describe Oberon’s actions… childish? “You don’t give me what I want?! Then you’ll be sorry!” It’s beneath him, but on the other hand, they’re fairies, probably thousands of years-old and bored out of their wits! But had to smile at Puck’s mischievousness:
“You are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery,
Skim milk, and sometimes labor in the quern,
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn,
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm,
Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?”
So it was you all along, Puck!
2. A loose end that needed to be nicely tied, even if a contrived? I prefer to believed that he’s a good match for Helen and just never had the opportunity to *really* see beyond” stalkerish” nature.
3. Passive. I agree with you regarding Hyppolyta: she didn’t sound like a warrior at all. I’m tempted to believe that her character is only an Amazon Princess to demonstrate a powerful women being “tamed” by a man. It’s my first Shakespeare so I hope he’s not always like this.
4. I liked Helena. She’s obsessive and grovels a bit too much, but she does know how to curse!
5. I liked the preparations of the play, when they’re deciding what to do to make sure the audience in not frightened by the lion and Pyramus’ death. So funny and witty. You can tell Shakespeare had fun writing it, he was probably chuckling to himself.
6. Two. 1st when Titania describing how she got the little Indian boy:
“When we have laugh’d to see the sails conceive
And grow big-bellied with the wanton wind”
2nd when Lysander is trying to calm Hermia down:
“Ay me, for aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth.”
7. Shakespeare knows how to insult!: “You minimus, of hind’ring knot-grass made”, “O me, you juggler, you canker-blossom, you thief of love!”, “Farewell, thou lob of spirits”, “This palpable-gross play”.
Lol! You’re really taken in by all the cussing, aren’t you? I recall how when we were studying this same play for a postgraduate class, all the guys were dutifully noting down all the cuss phrases and then spouting them outside of class. It was hilarious!
You say, I’m tempted to believe that her character is only an Amazon Princess to demonstrate a powerful women being “tamed” by a man. It’s my first Shakespeare so I hope he’s not always like this. — This reminds me of Taming of the Shrew where the them is about taming a woman. I wonder what Shakespeare’s aim was… at least, what his thoughts on women really were…
Thanks. here is my final review of the play: http://wordsandpeace.com/2012/01/30/review-5-2012-a-midsummer-nights-dream/
Hi Risa, thank you so much for introducing the world of Shakespeare in a bit-size version… I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, although I have to admit watching the play adds more depth into the analysis. As to your questions:
1. I find Oberon’s prank childish at best, almost blackmail at worst. Puck’s on the other hand, I find cute…
2. This is actually one of my objections to the play – I do believe he’s under the influence but, given that all ends well, we have nothing more to discuss (this is actually my second objection)
3. Slighly sexist from Shakespeare that women would be “things” to belong either to fathers or husbands…
4. Puck, no question about it (He’s played by S. Tucci in the 1999 movie, what can I do…)
5. I liked the ending which makes it certain that the audience will leave in great spiritis, and I also like the ingenuity of having a play within a play
6. Again, the ending telling the audience that if they didn’t like the play, pretend that it was all a dream…
My thoughts on the play:
http://talethreecities.blogspot.com/2012/01/mid-summer-nights-dream-read-long.html
I’ve been having fun, too, Patty! Though I wasn’t able to follow through with the several posts unfortunately.
Well, I suppose Puck’s was a mistake…but he really is ripe for mischief. I have a feeling, even if he was clear about the whole thing, he would have repeated his ‘mistake’ just to have fun. Sounds like a puckish kind of thing to do, right?
The whole ‘play within a play’ concept was not entirely new or exclusive to Shakespeare. In fact, Shakespeare himself lifts this out of Ovid. I found an interesting article regarding this HERE.
thanks for the info Risa – I’m reading everything about him at the moment
I’ve posted my final thoughts on the play here:
http://shereadsnovels.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/a-midsummer-nights-dream-by-william-shakespeare/
Hi. I’m rather late in posting but here are my answers to some of the questions:
1. I agree with the rest here that Oberon’s prank was childish. They could always share the boy but he went through great lengths to acquire the boy as his own.
2. Sadly, I think that Demetrius is still under the love potion. Its sad but at least no one is fighting over the other anymore. But still, sad.
3. Rather uneven? I agree with the opinions about Hippolyta here as she does not seem to do anything befitting of a warrior queen. If not in actions then in words. However, I liked that we show a sweet Hermia but then we also find that she is rather feisty.
4. I dunno. I have a soft spot for Helena though but I just disliked her obsessive pursuit of Demetrius. And Puck is rather fun.
5. Helena pursuing Demtrius through the forest. I had fun reading that part because she just would’t give up that it became rather hilarious. The planning of the play was rather fun as well. Putting up two fingers to show a crack in the Wall was just too funny.
6. I liked Puck’s monologue in the end as well.
http://averydisorientedreader.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/a-midsummer-nights-dream-wrap-up-post/
Risa –
I keep coming back here intending to answer all these questions, but try as I might, I just can’t seem to work up the inclination. I think answering listed discussion questions just feels too left-brained for me. I like to talk about a play or book as I’m inspired, and having to fit my thoughts to prompts makes me feel all squirmy and confined. Sorry!! I had every intention of joining in, but I think I’m not right for this group – except to stop in now and then and offer a stray comment.
Just to say I loved this play, though!! I didn’t expect to, because I remember seeing it in kindergarten and finding it absolutely impenetrable and dull. I anticipated that I would hate drudging through it, but I laughed in so many places: particularly throughout Act 5, while Theseus is making editorial comments about Bottom’s play, and at the scene where Puck gives Bottom the head of an ass, and he starts craving oats. HILARIOUS!
Thanks for hosting, Risa!! I probably would have delayed reading this one, if not for this group. So thanks for that! I’m sorry I’m bowing out.
I’m not at all familiar with Shakespeare, and I think I want to experience him with a bit more freedom – like I would if I was attending a play’s performance. I want to laugh or be startled or be awed on my own terms, without necessarily dissecting and analyzing, right now. In a group like this, what would attract me is just sharing our individual responses and comparing notes – more the emotional reaction than analysis and answers to prompts. (I almost didn’t tell you that, but I remember, I think, that you are an Elinor, and I thought communicating this might be useful?) A lot of people probably prefer the prompts and a guided discussion, and would find my approach with Shakespeare sloppy and unsatisfying; you most definitely cannot please everybody. 
Cheers!!
(If it wouldn’t be disruptive, I still might pop in here now and then with a stray comment, since I’m stilling planning to read lots of the titles on your list this year, though likely not at the same time. If you’d prefer everyone just stick to the discussion list, let me know.)
Oh, and my post should go up live tomorrow, 2/7.
Pingback: Book #75: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare « A Room of One's Own
Alex pointed me in your direction, I hope you don’t mind my coming late to the party. I’m looking forward to joining in with Macbeth in a week or so.
I’m an English teacher, and I’ve taught MSND really often, and I’ve directed it several times, usually abbreviated versions for the 11-13 year old age range, but once in full with adults. That was an amazing production – outdoors, on midsummer night in a garden in Beijing with a multi-national cast in 20s costume. So it’s a play I know really really well.
I’d totally agree with others finding Oberon’s power game with Titania as difficult to accept in a modern context – and also Helena’s stalker passion for Demetrius and likewise his stalker passion for Hermia. However, I think the Oberon/Titania relationship is more complex than the one incident we see here – there are hints of mutual infidelity and recrimination, and also, the great speech that Titania makes in Act 2 about the terrible effects on the environment of their quarrel is fascinating because it’s clear that it isn’t simply this particular Indian boy occasion on which they’ve fallen out. But for me, the whole issue is about mastery in marriage, and the Indian boy is a Macguffin.
Egeus and the lovers are a long-standing trope in drama to set up conflict and confusion, and they all come straight out of the Greek/Roman comic tradition. Really, they’re there to give the actors some leeway for serious slapstickery and mistaken identities, and I find trying to delve any deeper just throws up the anomalies faster…I’d rather keep my willing suspension of disbelief and let them get on with being funny – I totally love the confusion scene when they are all racing round being in love with the wrong person, though I do feel so sorry for Hermia when she wakes up all alone.
The interesting thing is what Shakespeare does with the Rude Mechanicals – although he really does mock them, he does so affectionately and Pyramus and Thisbe is a wonderful piece of theatre. I really liked the way it was done in the US film, where Thisbe actually is incredibly touching.
Another external aspect of the poetry and the characters is that this is for me the play which really confirms that Shakespeare is exactly who we think he is – a guy from Stratford, the Warwickshire countryside, with a deep knowledge and understanding of his boyhood surroundings from Oberon’s glorious “I know a bank where the wild thyme grows” through to the distinct and vivid shorthand used to draw the 6 artisans who give us such a glorious laugh at the end of the play. There have been plenty of cuckoo people who say that the Shakespeare who wrote kings like Lear and Henry V could never have come from such a humble background, but actually, no courtier could ever have written such vivid salt of the earth types as Peter Quince and Nick Bottom.
I should have used your questions more closely when I was writing my post – I’ll try to do better next (this) month. http://www.exurbanis.com/archives/6071
Pingback: Inspiration and Us – Childhood Books – Shakespeare’s Stories. | loonyliterature