Mr_Shank

The last two acts were filled with drama.  In act four we had Hero dying and friends being torn apart by love, when as in act 5 the friar and Hero’s friends help to unite the couple again and Beatrice and Benedick also get married.  Like in Romeo and Juliet the Friar helps to save the day in Much Ado About Nothing, too.  What do you guys think of this matter? 

Do you think this was one of Shakespeare’s signature details to put in a story, have a friar and let him help? 

 Or do you think that because friars are also monks that it is just their normal instinct to help people in need?

At the end of Act 4 scene 1 Beatrice and Benedick are left alone in the church.  Beatrice tells him how much she loves and, but also how he must kill Claudio to avenge Hero.  I have seen this happen before in movies, when the two lovers are finally together but the one wants the other to do something bad to their own friend.  Sometimes it didn’t turn out well and other times it, like in the musical WICKED.   Glinda is married to Prince Fiyero who is in love with Elpheba (Wicked Witch of the West).  Glinda and the rest of Oz want him to defeat her, while he wants to be with her.  This story does have a happy ending, Fiyero turns into the scarecrow and is with Elpheba in the end, while everyone else, including Glinda, thinks she is dead.

Can you guys think of any examples of where else you have seen this sort of thing happen?

I personally just want to say thank you, Leah, Alex, and Julian You guys have been an awesome blog group to work with this year and I will miss seeing you guys in English class next year. 

Thanks again: D

Rebecca Krick

Yay! Last post!

For this week’s quote, I choose the last line of the play in which Puck says:

If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.

So, what do you think Puck is telling us here? And how does this connect back to what happened in the rest of the play?

That’s All Folks!

~Sarah L.

Alright as you have read the ending to the book you see that a fairy tale ending has occurred.  Beatrice and Benedick actually get married, and Hero and Claudio mistake fixed itself.  Did you like the drama though?  I think Shakespeare used a great amount of drama and he kept the reader interested by playing these little kid games.  What I mean as a kid game is how he tricked Beatrice and Benedick and how he set up the plan for Claudio to marry Hero.

Much Ado About Nothing 2

That’s right we are continuing the book.  We know we can not write as good as Shakespeare, but I think the play should not end.  Let’s strat with Beatrice and Benedick.  Would they really stay together in your mind?  I think not because they don’t seem to be nice couple at all.  They seem to call each other names, and this could turn out to be a relationship where he gets mad because she asks him to do all this stuff.  In the story I would have her boss him around for a little bit.  Then out of nowhere I would have Benedick disguise himself as someone she may not know.  He would kidnap her where then he may be able to put some fright in her eyes and cause her to appreciate Benedick instead of taking advantage of him.  That is what I would do because that’s what would make me interested.  What would you do?

Next lets talk about the marriage of Claudio and Hero.  We see that they try to trick Claudio and say Hero is dead but she is really not.  I feel this is wrong, as faking death and making someone sad is not a good trick.  But we all know it turned for the best as they were married and go on to live a happily life after all.  In book 2 I think they would not be the main part of book 2.  They would fall off because they are a great couple.  They seem to me to be really happy, and I cannot see them fighting at all.  Do you guys have any ideas?

Lastly lets talk about Don Jon.  To me this guy played the spoiler role the whole entire play.  In the end he gets caught.  He did make the play exciting, but it was wrong.  Does this guy have a heart?  I think he is more jealous than anything.  So in book 2 we would find him a girl.  This will be great.  She will be a nice girl, who is really interested about his past.  To find out about his past she talks to the prince, Claudio, and Benedick.  She hears of him being a wedding crasher, but his plan had failed.  She is angered by this, so she repeats the plan with the two of them.  He shows him up at the weeding, and makes him feel very horrible.  The wedding ended, and they would be back to gether in another 2 months or so.  Then they would talk about how love is a very important thing, and not just an emotion you can toy around with.  He would learn his lesson and they would marry.  What is your guys idea?

Lastly the ending.  There willm not be a book 3 so it has to end.  Of course everybody is happy except for the Beatrice and Benedick, but they end up to be friends because they realize it was not a good idea to be together.  Anyways then together they should have a visit off into some place where they should all live, and they all could help rule that part.  It sounds like a picture perfect ending to me!  Any other things that you guys think is better?

Themes of this story:

1.  First I feel that love was a big part.  The author showed us that love is something more than emotion and it should not be messed with.  Also it showed us that some are in love but are afraid of admitting it.

2.  Mixed identities also played a role in this.  They were always devising plans to switch roles and trick one another.  I think this is important because this is how the drama occurred.

Those are the only ones I can think, do you guys have any others?

-Alex

Act 4 starts off with Jaques and Rosalind, Ganymede, arguing about Jaques mood. Rosalind eventually wins and Jaques leaves. Orlando shows up late for his love meeting with Rosalind, Ganymede. They talk about there love and Orlando wonders what will happen if he tries to kiss his love and she rejects him. She says just to talk about it, but Orlando thinks that he will die if she rejects him. Rosalind says that that’s just silly. Orlando then requests to leave to go with Duke Senior. Rosalind then tells Celia that her love for Orlando has grown considerably. Then Jaques and some of Duke’s Senior men kill a deer and talk about its horns. In the next scene Orlando is 2 hours late from getting back to Rosalind and Celia. That’s when Silvius came with a letter from Phoebe to Ganymede, Rosalind. They thought the letter was first an angry one but then it started to compare Ganymede to a god. Rosalind sent back a letter saying that he will never love Phoebe until she loves Silvius. Oliver then enters and tells them a story about how Orlando saved him from a lion and a snake. He then says that he got bite by the lion and started to bleed heavily, he then went to the duke and that’s where he spent the last minutes of his life. Rosalind, hearing this, passed out. When she came to, she merely said that she was playing the part of the girl who Orlando has been “wooing”. (WWWHHATT?!?! that didn’t sense to me at all, why would he fall for that?!?) Act 5 starts up with Audrey and Touchstone walking through the forest, they are talking about there delayed marriage. Then William shows up, he exclaims that he indeed is in love with Audrey, Touchstone basically tells him to back off his women. The next scene starts off with Orlando and Oliver having a conversation about Oliver being in love with Aliena and Orlando’s love for Rosalind. (Soooo apparently that whole “Orlando’s dead thing” was just an act to see how Ganymede would react, there taking this stuff to seriously). Anyway, then Ganymede asks why he can’t take Rosalind’s place, Orlando admits he has helped but he just can’t wait until he has the chance to try and marry her. Phoebe and Silvius then enter, they have a conversation about Ganymede and how Phoebe wants to marry him. Ganymede promises to marry all of them if they all go to Oliver’s wedding, they agree. Then Touchstone is off with Audrey, they meet some of the Duke’s pages and they sing a song. Touchstone didn’t really like the song. The next day at the church Duke Senior really wonders if Ganymede can do everything that he promised. Celia and Rosalind disappear into the forest and come back out undisguised. Phoebe sees that the man she loves is actually a women, so she says that she’ll marry Silvius. Then all the couples get married; Orlando and Rosalind, Silvius and Phoebe, Oliver and Celia, and Audrey and Touchstone. They have a great wedding feast. Jaques returns and tells them that Duke Frederick has left to lead a solitary life at the monastery, everyone is happy and Jaques says that he too is going to live in the monastery. They all live happily ever after.
 

Question: How comes when everyone found out that Ganymede was actually Rosalind no one was really that surprised?

Words

prithee-pray thee

censure-strong expression of approval

emulation-effort or desire to excel others

entreaty-earnest request

videlicet-to introduce examples

Adam Lough

I thought this play was great throughout.  These tweo scenes added more drama with Claudio stopping the wedding, Lenarto saying that Claudio has killed Hero, and Beatrice and Benedick being married.   In the end every thing turned out how I wanted it to.  Hero, Claudio, Benedick, and Beatrice were all happily married.

“Tush, tush, man; never fleer and jest at me: I speak not like a dotard nor a fool, as under prilege of age to brag what I have done being young, or what would do were I not old.  Know, Claudio, to thy head, thou hast so wrong’d mine innocent child and me that I am forced to lay my reverence by and, with grey hairs and bruise of many days, do challenge thee to trial of a man.  I say thou hast belied mine innocent child; thy slander hath gone through and through her heart, and she lies buried with her ancestors; O, in a tomb where never scandal slept, save this of hers, framed by thy villlany!” (Act V, scene i)  This is said by Lenanato to Claudio.  I picked this quote because it shows Lenarto’splan in action.  In this plan Leonato wants Claudio to feel bad about killing Hero and change his mind about her.  To do this he says that Claudio has killed her from the grief that he caused her.  It also gives the reader how much he loves his daughter.  He loves her so much that he challenges Claudio, a much younger man to a dual to kill his daughter’s fake killer.  In the quote Leonato expresses his anger towards Claudio for accusing Hero of being unfaithful.  You can not blame Claudio for this.  He was mislead by Don John.  He than tells Claudio that Hero has died because what he has done to her.  This plan works great.  Claudio is upset at what he did to Hero.  Because of this Leonato gets Claudio to tell everybody that Hero was innocent.  Than he is told to marry Leonato’s nees in place of Hero, but it is actually Hero.  Do you guys think that it was right for Leonato to lie about Hero’s death? Why or why not?  I believe that it was reasonable because everything worked out in the end.  Claudio found out that Hero was not unfaithful and the two were happily married.

-Julian Garcia

The last two Acts (4 and 5) were very interesting.  They made for a very mysterious end to the book and then it had a happy ending.  The plan that the Friar concocted with Leonato and Hero reminds me of the plan the the Friar made with Juliet.  In both situations it was to help the case of their marriage.

In what ways are the plans from Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing similar? Different?

Well, first off I would like to say that it is just super that this is our last and final blog, and I also would like to congratulate anyone reading this blog for making it through Mr. Shank’s class alive. Ok, now I will actually start to write about what changes the characters have gone through in these last two acts of the book.

Well, so far in this play we’ve seen Petruchio go through some changes, such as how he had acted before he had met Kate and after he had met Kate. In this final portion of the book we see however that he is much more cunning and ingenious than we have thought from what we have seen of him so far. Well, what I mean by this is that we did realize that by him acting out that he must have had a greater scheme to accomplish, but now in these last two acts we see that he was actually misbehaving to get Kate to learn how to listen to him. Then at the very end we can see that Petruchio’s plan to calm down Kate had actually worked and had taught her how to not be such a “w”itch. So my question for you is as follows. Do you think that Petuchio’s plan would have worked as fast as it did, and that Kate would cave that fast? Or, do you think that Shakespeare was just tired and wanted to finish the flippin’ play? You tell me.

Although, in these last two chapters we also see some other characters become more cunning. I shall be describing how Lucentio has changed since we have seen him from the beginning of the play. Well, at first Lucentio had started his little charade out of pure love at first sight and the reader would imagine it as being very “sweet”. However as we see in these last two acts, he becomes desperate when he is willing to find a fake dad to support the marriage between him and Bianca, and then it becomes less “sweet” and more desperate and pathetic. It’s not only Lucentio that is more cunning though, he has also brought Biondello and of course Tranio into his little circle of lies. Then the peak of their punishment for lieing was when the real Vincentio finds them and flips crap. So my question for you is as follows. Do you think there is any girl (or guy) out there that would make you willing to go to all of the same lengths that Lucentio had just to get her to be yours? Please elaborate.

Of course what kind of idiot would I be to forget the character that has gone through the most changes since the last portion we read; Kate. When we had first met Kate she had been a bitter “w”itch that was destined to be alone forever, but due to her father and his big pockets a man had actually wanted to marry her despite all of her flaws. Then we also see these two progress through the play from a mutual dislike from first meeting, to a one sided attempt at love, to finally a mutual agreement of listening to one another. This truly shows how characters can change throughout the course of a work of literature and how other characters play a big part in certain character’s development. So my question for you is as follows. What do you think of Kate now? Do you think she would now be a worthy person to marry after she has been married to Petruchio for this short amount of time? It would just be super if you told me.

Well, since I have already taken the liberty do describe one sister’s changes throughout the play I might as well describe the other sister’s development through the course of the play. Well at first we had seen Bianca as this naive girl who had everything she wanted, money, a hooked up family, and of course, guys galore (jk). Then we see that she starts to get angrier as her sister still has yet to find someone suitable and then decides to fall for Lucentio after Kate has been married to Petruchio. This is interesting because out of all of the guys that she could have she chooses the guy who was creepy enough to pretend to be a tutor just to get inside of her house to meet her. Then as we see that at the very end of the story that when the men make bets on who will come first, and astonishingly Kate wins. So my belief is that Bianca was only needed to help extentuate the changes that Kate went through throughout the story. So my question for you is as follows. Do you think that Bianca will turn into what Kate once was because Kate had turned into what Bianca once was? Or, do you think that maybe Bianca may turn out to be a real “w”itch? You can tell me now that my blog is over.

So I would first off like to thank everyone in advance for commenting on my blog, as I always do, then I would like to restate my previous fact that it’s great that we all survived Mr. Shank’s class this year. Now all we have to look forward to is Mrs. Cipher next year. woohoo (unexitedly).

LAST BLOG EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations class, we did it.

 ct Four: Scene 1
     Everyone is gathered at the church for Claudio and Hero’s wedding. Claudio tells Friar that he is not going to marry Hero. Don Pedro also joins in on Claudio’s side, saying that he saw Hero hug another man the night before. Hero faints, and Don John, Don Pedro and Claudio all leave. Beatrice tries to help her, but Leonato, believing the men, says that Hero should die for what she did. The Friar then tells everyone to stop, saying that he thinks that Hero is actually innocent by the way that she had reacted.
              QUESTION: What was your first reaction to hearing the idea that Hero wasn’t going to marry Claudio?
     When Hero had awakened, she said that she was not with a man. Leonato said that if she was lying he would hurt her, vice versa to Claudio and Don Pedro. The Friar told Leonato to pretend that Hero was dead and that she died out of shame, so that people would honor her and feel bad, especially Claudio. Benedick said he would keep this a secret.
     Soon later after everyone leaves the scene, Benedick and Beatrice confess their love for each other. Benedick tells Beatrice to make him do something to prove it. She told him to kill Claudio. At first he declined, saying he would never do that, but Beatrice then accused him of not loving her. Therefore, Benedick said he would challenge Claudio.
                    QUESTION: Could you believe that their plan worked!?  I never thought it would…

Act Four: Scene 2
     Dogberry had taken Borachio and Conrad to the Town Clerk and is interrogating them. The Sexton takes charge and orders the watchman who arrested them to step forward. He says that he had overheard the two discussing the plot against Hero’s reputation. The sexton says that they cannot deny it. He then tells the two that Claudio had accused Hero for this at the wedding and she had died out of humiliation. The men were then ordered to be taken to Leonato.

Act Five: Scene 1
     Antonio is trying to comfort Leonato. Leonato says that he will make the men suffer. Claudio and Don Pedro arrive, and Leonato challenges Claudio to a fight. Antonio joins on Leonato’s side. Don Pedro refuses to fight. Antonio and Leonato leave, angry. Benedick then arrives. He challenges Claudio, but they think it is a joke. Benedick tells them that Don John has left Messina, and tells Claudio that they will meet later to fight.
     Dogberry and Verges come in to the scene, and this reminds Don Pedro that Don John had left. Don Pedro goes up to the prisoners and asks them why they had been arrested. Borachio tells him the whole story. Leonato then arrives with the Sexton, who has told Leonato of what happened. Furiously Leonato accuses Borachio, Don Pedro and Claudio of killing his daughter. Claudio and Don John try to plead innocent, but they remember that they have mistaken Hero for cheating too. They say that they will tell the whole city of Hero’s innocence. Claudio further promises to marry Leonato’s niece, whom he tells Claudio is his sole heir. Leonato then asks what Margaret’s role in the scheme was. They say she was innocent, but they are going to ask Margaret anyway. 
                      QHESTION: What do you think Margaret would have said if you asked her what had happened?

Act Five: Scene Two
     Benedick had written a poem with Margaret for Beatrice. He then tells Margaret to go get Beatrice. Beatrice comes and they talk about love. Soon after Ursula comes in and tells them to come quickly because they proved that Hero was wrongly accused. 
                                 

Act Five: Scene Three
     A bunch of the men go to visit Hero’s gravestone. Soon Don Pedro leaves, taking Claudio with him to Leonato’s house.

Act Five: Scene Four
     Leonato sends the woman into their chambers and orders them to come out masked when they are called for. Antonio said he would pretend that Hero is his daughter so Claudio will believe he is marrying Hero’s cousin. Benedick asks Leonato if he could marry Beatrice at the same wedding ceremony. Leonato says yes. Claudio and Don Pedro then come, as the women come out wearing masks. Claudio asks who he should marry, and Antonio gives him Hero. She unmasks herself for Claudio to see.
      At the wedding Benedick asks Beatrice if she loves him, and she responded with, “Why no, no more than reason” (5.4.74). Soon they then realize that everybody has been setting them up. Claudio and Hero watch this take place, and Claudio gives Benedick sonnets that he and Beatrice wrote so they could prove they loved each other. Benedick and Claudio reconcile their friendship and tell Don Pedro to find himself a wife so he is not alone. A messenger arrives at the very end and informs them that Don John has been captured and brought back to Messina. 
                                  QUESTIONL: Will Claudio and Hero ever get married, do you think.
                                                 

Let me know if you need any words cleared up!

WE’RE DONE GUYS!
                                       How did you guys like the book… it didnt turn out to be too bad….

Also yes, my fonts had gotten mixed up editing this. Sorry!

-Leah Sevco!

Act 4

Scene 1

On the way to the country house Kate and Petruchio run into some problems.  We hear the story from Grumio when he goes ahead of them to make sure that the servants are prepared for their arrival.  He tells them that during the journey Kate fell in some mud, Petruchio becomes furious and their horses ran away.  During the meal Petruchio continues his rage by claiming that nothing is done right.  First it takes to long for the food to come and then he decides that he meat is burnt at which point he throws the food on the floor.  When asked why he is acting in such way he responds by saying that Kate deserves nothing but the best, when in fact all she wants is food.  They then wind up going to bed without any dinner.  Next, when Petruchio is alone he informs the reader of his plans.  He is going to continue this behaviour throughout the night by complaining about how the bed is not to his liking.  His reasoning for doing this is because he thinks that it is the best way to calm her down and teach her to listen to him.

Act 4

Scene 2

This scene takes place back in Padua where the suitors are still trying to court Bianca.  She has clearly chosen Lucentio and Hortensio is highly upset by this.  Tranio, makes things very convincing when he walks in on Lucentio and Bianca during their lesson by acting enraged and therefore removes himself from trying to court her, which Hortensio follows his action.  This leaves Lucentio with Bianca and no competition.  At this point Hortensio leaves to go to Petruchio because he wants to see how he is dealing with Kate, because he plans to marry a widow.  He wants to use Petruchio’s skills to help himself in the future.  Next, Biondello comes in to inform them that he found a man to play Lucentio’s father.  He cleverly tricks him into doing this favor for him.  He tells the man that the dukes of Mantua and Padua are fighting and therefore anyone from Mantua found in Padua was to be put to death.  Biondello is “kind” enough to not turn him in if he does that favor for him.

Act 4

Scene 3

Several days have past and Kate has been deprived or food and sleep.  Eventually Petruchio and bring her a meal at which point a tailor arrives, to fit them for clothing on their journey back to Baptista’s.  Petruchio is not happy with anything that Kate likes and then blames the tailor for terrible craftsmanship, at which point they make him leave (yet they do inform him in private that he will still be paid).  Petruchio next decides that they will leave so that they would arrive their by noon, in the clothes that they already have on.  Kate tells him that noon has already past, so Petruchio freaks out telling her that they will arrive at the hour that he decides they will arrive.  Again, back at Baptista’s house Tranio has made sure that the man planned to play Lucentio’s father, Vincentio, has his stories straight.  Then he is brought to Baptista to state that he approves of the union of Bianca and his son.  They then continue to decide all of the financial details of the wedding.

Act 4

Scene 5

This scene takes place between Biondello and Lucentio.  Biondello tells Lucentio (still disguised as Cambio) that Baptista wants him to take Bianca to dinner and that they are planning a fast marriage to elope.  Lucentio agrees to the plan at which point they go their separate ways to put the plan into action.

On the journey back to Baptista’s Petruchio continues to try to tame her by claiming that the moon is shining, yet it is midday.  When Kate claims that is the sun, he refuses to continue until she says that is is the moon.  she says that it is the moon, so that they can continue.  He then changes his mind and claims that it is the sun at which  point he decides that she is tamed.  At this point they run into Vicentio.  When they seem him Petruchio again goes back to his same ways in claiming that the man is infact a maid and that Kate should give her a hug.  She obeys, which is when Petruchio says that Kate is mistaken and that he is in fact a man.   The man turns out to be the real Vincentio so Petruchio informs him of his son’s plans to marry.  This causes things to be a little awkward between everyone as they continue their journey to Baptista Minola’s house.

Act 5

Scene 1

This is the act where all the fake identities start to cause some major issues.  While Bianca and Lucentio rush to the church to get married the real Vincentio arrives where he runs into the imposter Vincentio and Biondello. The imposter tries to get the real one arrested while Biondello pretends not to recognize him.  At this point Baptista and Tranio come out of the house.  The real Vincentio also recognizes Trainio in his son’s clothing causing him to be even more furious.  The entire crowd then turns against the real Vincentio by trying to escort him to jail.  When the newly weds arrive they realize that their plan is out and therefore Tranio, Biondello and the pendant flee.  Then, Lucentio tells everyone about his scheme was revolved around his love for Bianca.  The two fathers are upset by this and because of this they seek revenge on the men that fooled them.  Watching all of these procedings are Kate and Petruchio who stand in amazement.  Petruchio then asks Kate to kiss him right in the middle of the street and at first Kate refuses, but she eventually gives in after he threatens her.  At this point Petruchio finally seems pleased with her.

Act 5

Scene 2

Everyone joins in at the end of the show for a banquet do to the three weddings.  The talk starts with some jokes about Hortensio which then continues to become worse and worse between the widow and Kate at which point Biance intervenes and calms them down.  They then leave to talk to eachother.  After they leave the men make a bet saying that however’s wife is obedient and comes first when asked wins.  Neither Bianca or the widow came right away, but Kate astonishes everyone and arrives right away.  She shocks even more when Petruchio states that he does not like her hat, so she gets rid of it.  To make things even more unbelievable she has this long monologue about women.  She states that she has realized that women should obey their husbands because they go through a lot of pain to make their lives wonderful.  She says that she was once like Bianca and the widow, but that something in Petruchio has made her realize her faults, and therefore she has changed.  The men then realize that they have been defeated and Petruchio wins the bet.  Petruchio and Kate then leave happily leaving the other two men in deep confusion

Words/expressions to know:

jades- worthless horses

‘rayed- dirty

horn- the symbol of the cuckold (the husband of a wife who is unfaithful)

jacks- menservants

jills- women sevants

miry- swampy

countenance-to show respect

swain- country bumpkin

unpinked- undecorated

soud- food

trenchers- wooden platters

bate- to beat wings

cullion- low fellow

marcantant- italian roe merchant

repute- consider

ruffs- wheel-like collars

farthingales- hooped petticoats

porringer- porridge bowl

custard-coffin- crust for a custard

quaint- elegant

affied- formally married

appendix- spouse

tarry- wait

break a jest- play a joke

untoward- stubborn

under my countenance- by exploiting my name

cosen- cheat

doublet- jacket

hose- pants

cony-catched- victimized

dotard- foolish old man

make cake is dough- I have failed

roundly- bluntly

galled- iritated

swinge me them- beat them

bauble- showy trifle

Questions:

1.  Do you think that Petruchio was right in the way that he tamed Kate or did he go too far?

2.  Do you believe that Petruchio’s ways of taming Kate would be affective in real life or do you see faults in it for the current time period? Explain.

3.  Will Kate continue to act in her angelic state or will she turn back to her old ways?

and just for fun…

4.  What was your favorite thing about this book and why?

wE aRe DoNe BlOgGiNg!!!!

~eRiN cAmPbElL =]

P.S. Mr. Shank I put a lot of work into this last post. ; ) haha

First off: LAST BLOG! FOREVER! Now that that’s out of the way, here is my actual post. This week we only read one scene, so this will probably be short.

Act V, Scene I

So the main drift of this scene was Bottom and co. performing their play about Pyramus and Thisbe and for the most part being mocked by the couples. But before that, there was an interesting quote from Theseus. As I mentioned in previous blogs, Theseus is the exact opposite of everything else that has been going on in the play: logical, down to earth, and sensible. Here is the quote:

More strange than true. I never may believe

These antique fables nor these fairy toys.

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 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 apprehend some joy,

It comprehends some bringer of that joy.

Or in the night, imagining some fear,

How easy is a bush supposed a bear!

(By the way, I don’t know why the quote is double spaced. Sorry! The blog hates me.)

Back to the discussion. Basically this quote is talking about how Theseus thinks that lunatics, lovers, madmen, and poets are all the same – they hallucinate, have overactive imaginations, and say crazy things. But if Theseus is in love, isn’t he calling himself crazy? Anyway, I was wondering what you all thought of this quote. Is there any truth to it, considering what has happened in the play? Also, how does this quote sum up the play in general? (Sorry if that question is a little confusing.) That’s really all I could find to write about for this post, unless you guys want to talk about all the grammatical errors made in the “play” the actors put on…

I’d also like you to think about the play as a whole. Not specific details out of the plot, but how the acts fit together. To put it simply, how is the play structured? (Which act is the climax, etc. And do NOT just say that there are five acts with scenes.) Also, how does the overall structure of the play contribute to its being put into the “comedy” category? (That question might be confusing too.)

Recap:

1. What did you think about Theseus’ quote?
2. Is there any truth to the quote, considering what happened in the play?
3. How does this quote sum up the play in general?
4. How is the play structured?
5. How does the overall structure of the play contribute to its being put into the “comedy” category?
6. What did you think of the play?

And that concludes my final blog.

Erin B