Humanities › Literature 'A Midsummer Night's' Dream Quiz Check Your Knowledge Share Flipboard Email Edwin Henry Landseer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Literature Classic Literature Study Guides Authors & Texts Top Picks Lists Terms Best Sellers Plays & Drama Poetry Quotations Shakespeare Short Stories Children's Books By Lily Rockefeller Literature Expert Master of Studies, University of Oxford Bachelor of Arts, Brown University our editorial process Lily Rockefeller Updated January 10, 2020 1. Which character represents the forces of disorder most? Theseus Puck Hermia Demetrius Correct Wrong Answer: B. Puck, as the rambunctious jester of the king of the fairies, is suggested to be the force behind the world’s chaos. 2. The play’s emphasis on eyes does all of the below except: Suggest how beauty is in the eye of the beholder Tell us that we cannot trust our own perception Suggest how we are always being observed Remind us that we are watching a play, and invite us to consider that we are always acting Correct Wrong Answer: C. Although obedience and control are big themes in the play, surveillance does not enter into the plot. 3. Judging from the themes of the rest of the play, why might Shakespeare have chosen the setting for the play to be in the city of Athens and the forest surrounding it? Athens is known historically to have honored a fairy couple named Oberon and Titania The forest near Athens is famously easy to get lost in The city represents order, and the forest chaos The city represents the burgeoning capitalism of Shakespeare’s time; the forest, a pre-modern barter trade Correct Wrong Answer: C. The orderliness of Athens, led by the powerful and lawful King Theseus, is shown to stand in opposition to the chaotic events that occur in the forest, as emphasized by Puck’s unruly nature. 4. How are Helena and Hermia similar? They are both known for their height They both challenge traditional female gender roles They are similarly confident in their value as lovers They are both in love with Lysander Correct Wrong Answer: B. Helena and Hermia are interesting female characters, as they both resist obeying the men in their lives; Hermia goes against her father’s orders to marry Demetrius, and Helena attempts to woo Demetrius, instead of letting him woo her, as was traditional. (D is also wrong, as Lysander is the one briefly in love with both of them, not the other way around.) 5. Why might Shakespeare have opened the play with Egeus’ complaint against Hermia? To emphasize Hermia’s lack of respect for her father To introduce Egeus as one of the play’s central characters To introduce early on the theme of passionate love defying all societal expectations To introduce early on the theme of children disobeying their parents Correct Wrong Answer: C. Hermia’s defiance of her father is a central plot point for the continuing theme of the chaos of love and its occasional incompatibility societal order. 6. The play-within-a-play literary device achieves all of the above EXCEPT… Emphasizing that even in real life we are always acting Enhancing the play’s comic nature Reinforcing the theme of foiled perception Point out Bottom’s implicit similarity to Pyramus Correct Wrong Answer: D. As a hilariously bad actor, Bottom cannot hide the fact that he is clearly a poor fit for the role of heroic Pyramus. 'A Midsummer Night's' Dream Quiz You got: % Correct. Great work! You clearly understand the key events, characters, and themes in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream. If you need a refresher, be sure to read the overview of the play. Share Your Results Share Flipboard Email 'A Midsummer Night's' Dream Quiz You got: % Correct. Study the key events, characters, and themes in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the following resources: Act-by-Act Summary of A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream Character Analysis A Midsummer Night's Dream Themes Share Your Results Share Flipboard Email