Titania! By: Lily and Taylor

Titania is loving, stubborn and bossy. These traits are shown throughout the book.  In Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 125-143, her loving nature is shown. She explains to Oberon how she promised the little boy’s mother that she would love and protect him. Furthermore, in Act 2, Scene 1, Line 64, Titania says’ “I have forsworn his bed and company.” Her stubborn ways are shown in this moment, because she refuses to spend time with her husband, just because they are having an argument. Finally, in Act 2, Scene 2, Lines 1-8, Titania’s bossy nature comes out. She tells her fairies what to do and she is quite clear on what she wants them to do and how she wants it done.

Lysander the Lion Hearted

Lysander, who is he? Persistent, passionate, desperate, and lustful? These are the four character traits that we think best represent our character. We constantly see these traits expressed through Lysander throughout the play. An example of his persistence can be found on 1.1.101-112, where Lysander is arguing with Egeus about why he is good enough to marry Hermia, his one and true love. In Lysander's eyes, marrying Hermia before she is wed to Demetrius, is his first and utmost objective. In addition to his persistence for Hermia, Lysander is also fiercely passionate towards her. In 1.1.130-131 & 134-137, Lysander expresses his passion for Hermia by comforting her in her predicament with her father. Sneaking away from Athens, to be eloped in anther city, Lysander expresses his lust for Hermia in 2.2.47-48 & 51-58, as they prepare to lie down for the night. This could also be an example of his persistence, for he is trying desperately to "get in bed with Hermia"  That is until Puck/Robin comes along and messes it all up. Placing the nector love potion Lysanders eye's, after mistaking him for Demitrius, Lysander falls madly in love with Helena and leaves Hermia. Concluding the wild fight that insuses between the four lovers, Oberon sets all right be placing the nector love potion on Lysander, restablishing  his love of Hermia. Despite his flaws, Lysander is a good hearted man, who loves with all his heart Hermia.

Helena (Evan W. and Hannah H.)

Helena is a character in A MidSummer Night's Dream.  Shakespeare presented her as a desperate, jealous, and negative character.  In act two scene two (lines 100-105), Helena is negative about herself, claiming that she is as ugly as a bear.  Act one scene one (lines 232-257), Helena shows how she envies Hermia, wishing to be as pretty and loved as her.  In act two scene one (lines 210-217), Helena desperately begs Demetrius to use her and love her.  Throughout the play, Helena wants Demetrius so badly.  She speaks in iambic pentameter and repeats "not" and "you" a lot.  When she uses the word "not," it shows how negative her character is.  Also, when she continuously repeats the word "you," she shows she is not vain of herself, but she thinks very little of herself.

The Nobles' Characteristics

By: Rhett and Alondra



                          The Nobles are have different traits that set them apart from most of the characters in the play. For instance, the Nobles display their wise thinking, eagerness towards getting things done, and how they are critical thinkers. Thesus shows his wise characteristic when he replies to Demetrius. Thesus says to him that they (Hermia and Demetrius) should not wed if they do not like each other which is not a good sign to Hermia's father Egeus. "Fair lovers, you are fortunately met. Of this discourse we more will hear annon. Egeus, I will overbear your will, For in the temple by and by, with us, These couples shall eternally knit." Then Thesus also shows that he is quite eager to marry Hippolyta, "O, methinks how slow This old moon wanes! She lingers my desires Like to a stepdame or a dowager." The Nobles are also very critical thinkers. This is showed when Thesus also states that, " The kinder we, to given them thanks for nothing. Our sport shall be to take what they mistake; And what poor duty cannot do." They all speak in Iambicpentameter and have the following motivations: Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius. Thesus wants to get married to Hippolyta right now, so he may fornicate with her. Hippolyta wants to have a glorious wedding and doesn't want to have sexual intercourse before they are married.

Demetrius, What a Character!

       Overall Demetrius is a relatively simple character to understand. Demetrius almost always talks in trochaic pentameter, as one can see in line 4.1.170, and he has rhyming skills. He refined speech shows that he is a high class character in the play. Demetrius is not necessarily mean, but is a blunt man. He tells Helena that he has no love for her and will never have love for her straight to her face (2.1.218-9). Although this makes Hermia sad, it is only the truth. Shakespeare also portrays him as an ignorant character. He looks straight through Helena towards Hermia although Helena is thought of as one of the prettiest girls in Athens (1.1.233-4). Through Demetrius' dialogue it is evident that he is very headstrong. A great example of this is in Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 45-46, he never gives up on Hermia until he is changed by Oberon's potion. Through all of this Demetrius acts upright or aboveboard. He never rapes Hermia or tries to kill Lysander, although it was well within his power (3.2.77). Through out the whole play Demetrius only wants his love, Hermia, at first, and then later Helena. Although Demetrius is relatively easy to understand that doesn't mean he isn't an important or influential character.

Robin "Watch out for this" Goodfellow

Vidya Sivaramakrishnan and Colin Sunderland

Puck, Oberon’s fairy henchman, has many comical attributes that cause pandemonium throughout the play. Some of those include cleverness, mischievousness, impertinence and strangely enough, obedience. The whole affair starts with Puck trying to follow Oberon’s instructions to put the love-in-idleness juice on Demetrius’ eyes. Unfortunately, Puck makes a mistake and puts the juice on Lysander’s eyes. This action causes much emotional agony among the four lovers, Demetrius, Helena, Lysander and Hermia. Puck is a troublemaker -- once Oberon points out his error, Puck puts the juice on Demetrius’s eyes too and then sits back to enjoy the comedic saga that unfolds. In 3.2.424-459, Puck demonstrates that he is clever by driving Lysander and Demetrius crazy by pretending to be both of them and getting both of them lost in the forest. For Puck knows that by getting Demetrius and Lysander in different parts of the forest Helena and Hermia, their respective lovers will follow them. The scene goes,

“Lysander: Where art thou, proud Demetrius? speak thou now.

Puck (who is speaking in Demetrius’ voice): Here, villain; drawn and ready. Where art thou?

Lysander: I will be with thee straight.

Puck (who is speaking in Demetrius’ voice): Follow me, then, to plainer ground.” (3.2.423-427)

Puck can also be a little bit sassy. He likes to talk back to Oberon, even though in the end, he will do what he says. For example when Oberon, who feels empathy towards Helena, because he knows what it is like to be in love and get no attention, instructs Puck to put the love-in-idleness juice on Demetrius’ eyes. The tone in this next quote is rather sassy.

“I’ll put a girdle round the earth in 40 minutes.” (2.1.181-182)

This means, “Be back in a flash,” but Puck is basically saying that he could run so fast that he could circle the globe in 40 minutes. Sarcastic? Think again.

Many of Puck’s attributes go hand in hand. Another attribute that fits smoothly into Puck’s character is mischievousness. When Puck accidently puts the love in idleness juice on the wrong person’s eyes, instead of desperately trying to fix the situation, he anticipates in amusement at the comedy that is going to unfold. If one were to dramatize this, the director would instruct the actor playing Puck to have a mischievous twinkle in eyes. This is like the glint knowing that you have put a cream pie in your arch-enemy’s locker. For example, after Oberon found out that he had accidently coated Lysander’s eyes instead of Demetrius,’ Puck says:

“Then will two at once woo one; that must needs be sport alone; and those things do best please me, that befall preposterously.”

Even though Puck might have many amusing qualities, he is, in the end, obedient. When Oberon told him to go put the juice on Lysander’s eyes, he went without complaining or asking why, like most of us curious people tend to do. For instance he says (in true Puck manner),

“I go, I go, look how I go, swifter than the arrow from the Tartar’s bow” 3.2.102-103

         Throughout the whole play, Puck speaks in verse, for the majority of the time it is trochaic tetrameter, but he occasionally switches to iambic pentameter, like in 3.2.102-103.

This shows Puck’s high intellect as a fairy, because only Oberon, Titania, and Puck speak in verse. In a Midsummer’s Night Dream, the characters who speak in verse are highly educated or have a astounding intelligence quotient, as in the case of Puck.

The many faces of Oberon

Samantha Babine and Culver Stedman

Oberon shows many different character traits when he is present in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The main traits that Shakespeare indirectly shows in the play are jealousy, being sneaky, and bossy. All of the three main traits are shown in the dialogue are in mostly Act 2 Scene 1. For example, Oberon shows how he is jealous of Titania and her obsession with the little indian boy and also Titania’s “love [for] Theseus.” (2.1.78). Oberon’s ability to be sneaky is shown when “[Titania] is asleep and [Puck] drops [love in idleness] in her eyes.” (2.1.184-185). He is bossy when he constantly commands Puck to pour the liquid into the lovers eyes. His main objectives are for Titania to love him back instead of Theseus, to have the indian boy as his servant and to make Demetrius love Helena back. As we were reading in the book we noticed that Oberon speaks in Iambic Pentameter and Trochaic Tetrameter which shows that he was raised in a higher class.

Oberon is man that looks for attention. He wants everything to go his way and that is one of the main reasons that makes him extremely bossy. Every character portrays different characteristics that make them unique and we feel like Oberon is a man who has very similar character traits to some of the other characters in the book.