Choose one of the prompts below and write a 250-350 word essay that directly addresses the question. You may use your copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for this section of the test; indeed, you must

Choose one of the prompts below and write a 250-350 word essay that directly addresses the question. You may use your copy of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for this section of the test; indeed, you must in order to find relevant quotes that support your position. Be careful not to spend all of your time searching, rather than focusing and writing.

Please double space the final draft.

1) What do you think Shakespeare is saying about the nature of young love in A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

2) What is the point of the play-within-a-play which takes up most of Act V? Explain why Shakespeare ends the play with this unusual performance.

3) In staging A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the director must decide whether to cast Hermia and Helena both as attractive, good-looking women; or, whether to portray Hermia as beautiful and Helena as comparatively plain. Which of these approaches would you favor? Explain your choice.

4) What is the classic definition of comedy and to what degree does A Midsummer Night’s Dream satisfy it?

CHOOSE ONE OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS