Cambridge IGCSE · Literature in English (0475)

William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Practice Questions

5 multiple-choice questions marked as you go, and 5 written questions with worked solutions. All on William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

10 questions22 marksFree, no account

Question 1

1 mark

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, who is the King of the Fairies who orchestrates the trickery involving the magic flower juice?

Question 2

1 mark

What is the primary dramatic function of the Mechanicals (e.g., Bottom, Quince, Flute) in A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Question 3

1 mark

Consider the "play-within-a-play" (Pyramus and Thisbe). How does the language used by the Mechanicals during their performance contrast with the language used by the Athenian nobles watching them?

Question 4

1 mark

In Act 1, Scene 2 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which character is assigned the part of Thisbe in the mechanicals' play, despite his protest that he has "a beard coming"?

Question 5

1 mark

In Act 1, Scene 1, Theseus uses a specific metaphor to describe the power Hermia's father has over her. He says she should view her father as "a god; / One that compos'd your beauties". What is the intended effect of this imagery?

Question 6

2 marks

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which character does Oberon command Puck to find in order to obtain the flower known as 'love-in-idleness'?

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Question 7

5 marks

Explain the dramatic purpose of Titania's infatuation with Bottom (transformed with an ass's head) in Act III, Scene I of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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Question 8

2 marks

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which character is the father of Hermia and insists that she marry Demetrius against her will?

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Question 9

3 marks

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the character of Nick Bottom undergoes a physical transformation when Puck gives him the head of an ass.

(a) Describe the immediate reaction of Bottom’s companions (the Mechanicals) when they first see his transformation during their rehearsal in the woods.
(b) Explain how Bottom’s behavior toward Titania and the fairies (Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed) demonstrates his lack of self-awareness or his vanity.

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Question 10

5 marks

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the "play-within-a-play" performed by the Mechanicals serves several dramatic purposes.

(a) Identify the title of the play the Mechanicals are rehearsing and the occasion for which it is being prepared.
(b) Analyze how Shakespeare uses the Mechanicals' fears about frightening the ladies in the audience to create humor.
(c) Discuss how the themes of Pyramus and Thisbe parallel the experiences of the four young lovers in the main plot.

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