In at least three long paragraphs, compare and contrast the three different stories in “A Midsummer Nights Dream”: one is set in the city, another in the woods, yet another takes the form of a play-within-the-play. Explicate how the three stories structure the comedy by playing off each other.
In as many paragraphs as needed, identify the characters involved in physical affairs—love affairs, lust affairs, marital affairs. What couples are together at the start of the play; which couples form between the beginning and end of the play; which couples finish the play together? Who breaks up and pursues other characters? Which characters play match-maker by endeavoring to create couples? How does Shakespeare use sexual affairs to create comedy?
Within your favorite act of the play, paraphrase four pages from the story into at least one hundred of your own words. Why is it your favorite? How does your selection tie into the whole plot of the play? Identify the general plot and themes Shakespeare utilizes to deliver his overall central ideas.
