Statements and Responses

“We dislike Bottom because he is a bossy, big-headed show-off”

– Joo Hwee and Nurashidah (4e5)

We agree that Bottom is a bossy, big-headed show-off because he acts as if he knows everything but he actually doesn’t. For example, he tries to be knowledgeable by quickly concurring with Quince that Pyramus and Thisbe is “a very good piece of work”, but later reveals his ignorance when he asks “What is Pyramus, a love or a tyrant?” However, we do not dislike Bottom because his behaviour cannot be helped as he is a foolish man. Furthermore, as he is surrounded by other simple men who look upon his words with awe and admiration, going as far as to believe that they could not do the play without Bottom, we cannot hold it against him for his irritating behaviour because he does not even know that his actions are annoying.

“Lysander is obviously a better person than Demetrius.”

- Chuluan (4e3) and Dayana (4e4)

Lysander is better than Demetrius in many ways – he is loyal to one person, Hermia. The only time he betrayed Hermia was when he was under the effect of the love potion and could not control himself. Morally, Demetrius is worse as he led Helena on and won her heart but did not remain true to her and fell in love with Hermia. Even when both men are interested in Helena, Lysander attempts to comfort Hermia while Demetrius ignores her. (need evidence for this.- Ms Shen) Furthermore, he does not try to force Hermia’s love against her will but won her over by honest means, for example through love tokens and poems. However, Lysander has one thing against him – he asked Hermia to elope with him, encouraging her to go against her father.

“Hermia is deeply in love with Lysander.”

- Jia Min, Li Ling (4e5)

Hermia is indeed deeply in love with Lysander. She is willing to go against her father’s will and disobey the law in Athens, despite knowing the consequences. She gave up everything in Athens in order to elope with him, showing her true commitment and love for Lysander. Furthermore, when she discovered that Lysander had fallen in love with Helena, she was noticeably devastated and fell out with her best friend, Helena, because she thought that Helena had seduced Lysander away. Even when Lysander had rejected her and insulted her several times before going off to fight with Demetrius, she did not blame him and even prayed for his safety.

“Lysander is WRONG to encourage Hermia to disobey her father and elope with him.”

- Steffi (4e3) and Rachel (4e4)

We disagree with this statement because Lysander did this out of love. The couple love each other deeply and if Hermia obeyed her father, she would not be happy with Demetrius. We do not see how it could be wrong to try to achieve your own happiness in order to avoid terrible consequences such as becoming a nun or being put to death. It would be better for Lysander and Hermia to elope and be condemned as fugitives than to have Hermia suffer for the rest of her life. As such, we believe that Lysander’s actions were just and loving in order to save Hermia from her fate.

“Helena’s decision to tell Demetrius about Lysander and Hermia’s elopement may be necessary to the plot of the play, but makes no sense from her personal point of view.”

- Fahima (4e3) and Azrayna (4e4)

By telling Demetrius this, it would only allow Demetrius to chase after Hermia. This would only reduce Helena’s chances with Demetrius. Also, Helena and Hermia are best friends, and what Helena had done would ruin Hermia’s trust in Helena. As the play is a comedy, it might make sense for the audience to realise Helena’s stupidity in doing this.

On the other hand, it may be possible that the reason why Helena told Demetrius was because she thought that Demetrius would thank her for it and fall in love with her. Her motives could also be fuelled by jealousy – Hermia could have her “happily ever after”, while Helena was left with a man that did not love her. It is also possible that Helena had some moral integrity and wanted to stop Hermia from going against her father’s wishes (But why not just tell the Duke, or Egeus directly? - Ms Shen)

“Theseus is a wise, tolerant and caring ruler.”

-Daniel (4e5), Khairul (4e3), Chee Hoe (4e5)

Theseus tried to get the best life for Hermia, trying to convince her that marrying Demetrius, not going against her father’s decisions is the best, showing that he is wise. He is a caring ruler as he found chances to let Lysander console her after meeting with Egeus and Demetrius, placing himself in the shoes of the couple. Theseus even gave Hermia time to think about her decision of going against her father’s will and die, marry Demetrius or become a nun. This showed his tolerance.

However, Theseus’s behaviours are not all positive. His wife-to-be was won over by sword – this does not show the beginning of a caring relationship. Furthermore, although he knew that Demetrius had previously loved Helena, he approved of having Hermia marry Demetrius.

Egeus is an unreasonable father.

- Shafiqah (4e3), Nazura (4e5)

We agree that Egeus is unreasonable as he forced Hermia to marry Demetrius when she did not love him. There seems to be no reason behind his decision as both Demetrius and Lysander have equal status in terms of wealth and breeding. Egeus was even willing to “dispose” of his daughter if she did not obey him, either through marriage to Demetrius or death.

“We dislike Helena because she spends too much time either complaining or feeling sorry for herself.”

- Aqilah and Amalina (4e5)

The reason why Helena is disliked may be because she uses self-pity to get her way. She wallows in self-pity only when she can’t defend herself. She doesn’t try to make the best out of a situation and constantly points out her own flaws. For example, she kept comparing herself to Hermia, claming that she was ugly and no man would ever be attracted to her.

On the other hand, Helena had ever right to feel this way. Her one true love decided to push her away and love her best friend. She feels the competition and this has driven a wedge in their friendship. Since Hermia has Demetrius’s love, it’s normal for Helena to feel that she is exaggeratedly uglier and stupider. She is trying to make sense of a situation that changed so drastically that she can only cope by believing that she must not have deserved his love in some way. Therefore, it is not fair for us to dislike her because she has every right to be depressed.

“Egeus regards Hermia as his personal property to dispose of as he sees fit.”

- Zhi Ren (4e3)

Firstly, Egeus wanted to marry off Hermia to Demetrius but Hermia did not want to marry Demetrius. When Hermia disagreed with her father, Theseus gave her three choices which was to either marry Demetrius or die or become a nun. This shows that Egeus does not regard Hermia as his daughter but regards her as his personal property has he has no thoughts for her feelings, allowing her to have such terrible alternatives just so she will marry the person HE wants her to marry, against her wishes.

“We are meant to hold the craftsmen in contempt for being so dull-witted and ridiculous.”

- Wee Siang (4e4)

Firstly, we should not display contempt to people who, although screwed up the play, nonetheless put in their utmost efforts and managed to finish the play without any major faults. (That’s debatable…- Ms Shen)

Also, their being “dull-witted” is not their fault, as the environment they mature in affects their intellectual and emotional aspects. Hence, we are not in a position to despise or show contempt towards the craftsmen, even though they are dull-witted and ridiculous.

However, the modus operandi of Shakespeare, ultimately, is to show the reader their dull-wittedness and ridiculousness. However, we are not meant to hold them in contempt even though they contradict their statements and display absurd logic (thinking that they need the real moon in the play). I believe their purpose is just to provide comic relief and in Bottom’s case, provide a much rounder aspect and wholesome experience to the play as the play would otherwise only be a tale about four lovers.

“Hippolyta is being forced to marry Theseus”

- Tiara (4e4)

From this statement, we can actually agree and disagree. From the book, Theseus wooed Hippolyta “with [his] sword” and “won [her] love doing [her] injuries”.

We can say that Hippolyta must have been willing to marry Theseus, perhaps on the basis that he had defeated her fairly in a battle, she being an Amazon Queen (who surely had good fighting abilities). As such, it could be said that her agreement to the marriage might have been out of respect, honour and duty to Theseus.

However, there is the possibility that Hippolyta had no choice but to marry him – in a battle, the victor usually decides the outcome of the loser. Furthermore, Hippolyta did not seem to encourage Theseus’s fervour for her, and counselled patience in waiting for their wedding day – which could be seen as a subtle hint of her reluctance to marry.

“Hermia is a weak-willed, submissive character.”

- Khairul (4e3) and Danial (4e5)

We disagree as we feel that Hermia is a strong, dominant character. She does not give up on what she wants, and does not back down even when the alternative is bad. She tells Theseus that she would rather be a nun than marry Demetrius, and in doing so, is “made bold” and stands up for her love. She does not give in to her father’s wishes, and instead planned to run away with Lysander. Furthermore, when Lysander rejected her due to the effects of the love juice, she stood up for herself against Helena and even wanted to fight with her. She even refused Lysander’s advances, showing that she cared about her own principals of modesty and human decency – throughout the play, Hermia does not give in easily to anyone or any situation.