Name: Christine Date: August 5, 2023 Period: ______

Close Reading Organizer - Act 1, scene 2

Directions: Read each summary entry and think about which themes listed in the Themes Key apply
to it, then color in those themes in the Theme Tracker. Next, write a few sentences of Analysis to
explain how the themes you chose apply to each summary section.

Themes Key
1 Love
2 Plays Within Plays
3 Dreams
4 Men and Women
5 The Supernatural

Summary Theme Tracker Your Analysis

Elsewhere in Athens, a group of

common laborers including Snug (a
joiner), Bottom (a weaver), Flute
(a bellows-mender), Snout (a
tinker), and Starveling (a tailor)
meet at the house of Peter Quince,
1 2 3 4 5
a carpenter. They are meeting about
the play they hope to perform as
part of the celebration for Theseus
and Hippolyta's wedding: The most
lamentable comedy and most cruel
death of Pyramus and Thisbe.

As Quince tries to conduct the This emphasizes on the fact that

meeting, Nick Bottom constantly
interrupts with advice. Quince calls
out each man's name and his role in
the play. Bottom is to play Pyramus.
Bottom asks if Pyramus is "a lover or
a tyrant" (1.2.21). When Quince says
a lover who dies for love, Bottom
boasts about the tears he'll draw
from the audience, though he adds
he'd be even better as a tyrant.
Hermia is not the only one who
needs to face the decision to either
die or marry a person she is not
interested in – putting a spotlight on
the continuous tradition of marriage
1 2 3 4 5 in the Athens that is not so friendly
towards women.

1
Name: Christine Date: August 5, 2023
Quince continues to call out names
and roles. Flute is slated to play the
part of Thisbe, but Flute doesn't
want to play a woman's part because
he has a beard growing. Quince
decides that Flute will play the role in 1 2 3 4
a mask. Bottom again interrupts,
asking to be allowed to play Thisbe
as well as Pyramus, and showing
how he can speak like a woman.
Quince says no.
Quince continues handing out parts.
Starveling: Thisbe's mother.
Snout: Thisbe's father. When
Quince announces Snug will be the
lion, Bottom begs to be allowed to
play the lion. He brags about how
loud he'll roar. After Quince objects
that he might scare the ladies and 1 2 3 4
get them all hanged, Bottom
promises to roar as gently as a dove
or nightingale. Quince again says
Bottom can only play Pyramus, at
which Bottom goes into extended
thought about what color beard he
should wear.
To ensure privacy, Quince asks
them all to meet him in the forest
1 2 3 4
near the palace that night. There,
they will rehearse.
Period: ______
This suggests the low position of
women – they were not allowed to
perform in plays, reflecting on the
lack of rights women have in
general. Instead, it will all be done
5 by men, who can take absolute
control over women.
The fact that they were considerate
enough about whether if Bottom’s
scream will scare the ladies levitated
the position of women after
describing how low it was previously
– showing how after all, women still
receive care from others despite all
5 the unfairness they need to face in
their life. To some extent, it
eliminates part of the empathy side
of the audience – telling them that
women were not as pathetic as they
thought.
5