Understanding and Answering Exam Questions – Section A: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

From the OCR support material:

In Section A, character-based or thematic questions have a fairly standardised format, using a quotation which offers a statement or proposition. Candidates are specifically asked to evaluate the question’s proposition: it is assumed they will try to reach a conclusion.

In this first section candidates are offered a choice of two questions on each text. One question is generally focused on one or more named characters, while the other may well be about a theme or concern of the play, or about dramatic effects.

Questions have a standard format: the words ‘exploring’ and ‘considering’ are interchangeable, and the phrase ‘evaluate this view’ can appear at the beginning or end of the prompt.

The key terms in the question fall inside the quotation: the purpose of the more general prompt is to guide the candidates towards the wider area of the text under discussion. For high marks, candidates must give full consideration to both parts of the question.

Before writing questions, a setter will probably have created some kind of map of what he or she sees as key concerns of the text: this might be a ‘mind map’ of key issues and oppositions. Once this first phase is complete, the next stage is to formulate a proposition which will provoke and stimulate candidates creatively. It will almost certainly not be a ‘real’ critic’s view: many are too extreme or too provocatively worded to be a useful catalyst for an examination answer. The setter needs to say something which the candidate will recognise and be able to think about as a view: the statement should not be so obvious that candidates feel obliged simply to agree, or devastatingly surprising, so that they are utterly unable to bring experience to bear on their discussion. What is wanted is to make the candidate think ‘I can do something interesting of my own with this’

Below are two possible questions on Antony and Cleopatra. Use the comments about the way the questions are constructed to help you plan your answers on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Practice Questions:

‘The play’s central argument depends on a contrast between doting and true love.’ By exploring the different kinds of relationship presented in this view, evaluate this view.

‘Oberon and Titania are concerned not with mischief but with order.’ By exploring the ways in which the fairies try to establish order in the play, evaluate this view.

‘Bottom has been closer to the centre of this play than any other character.’ By looking at the character of Bottom and his experiences in the play, evaluate this view.

‘Pyramus and Thisbe is an exaggerated view of the main action’. Evaluate this view by examining the relationship of the play within a play to the main action.

‘Theseus is a contradictory character’. By analysing the contribution of Theseus to the play, evaluate this view.

‘Puck makes us aware of the darker side of life’. By considering Puck’s dramatic presentation within the play, evaluate this view.

‘It is impossible for a modern audience to fully relate to the themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ By considering the main themes of the play, evaluate this view.

‘Bottom is presented as an unsuspecting hero.’ By exploring Bottom’s dramatic presentation within the play, evaluate this view.

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream is pure comic fantasy, untouched by any element of the tragic.’ Considering Shakespeare’s dramatic presentation of comedy and tragedy, evaluate this view.

‘Bottom may be foolish, but he is also the hero of the play.’ By analysing Bottom’s contribution to the play, evaluate this view.

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not one play but an unsatisfactory combination of three.’ By exploring the different plots of the play, evaluate this view.

‘The play reinforces male superiority.’ Evaluate this view by examining the ways in which Shakespeare presents the male and female characters and their interactions.

How do you answer this question?

‘evaluate’ = appraise, assess the worth of –y ou are being asked to offer a personal judgement of the viewpoint stated in the question.

Analysing the question:

Do you agree that this is the play’s central argument and that it depends on the contrast between ‘doting’ and ‘true love’?

How are these differences shown? What would be the best quotations to support your argument? What critics or performances could you cite in support of your view?

‘The contrast between the two settings of Athens and the woods is central to the play.’ By exploring the ways Shakespeare uses setting, evaluate this view.

‘The course of true love never did run smooth.’ By exploring the degree to which this theme is developed in the play, evaluate the truth of this statement.

‘Supernatural and imaginative elements are central to the dramatic success of the play.’ Evaluate this view, exploring the dramatic use Shakespeare makes of the supernatural and imaginative.

‘Shakespeare portrays Bottom as an admirable character rather than a fool.’ Evaluate this view, exploring Bottom’s dramatic presentation within the play.

‘Nothing would be lost if the craftsmen’s scenes were to be removed.’ By exploring the role of the craftsmen within the play, evaluate this view.

‘The female characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are easily and naturally subdued.’ Evaluate this view, exploring the dramatic presentation of the female characters within the play.

‘According to William Hazlitt, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream, when acted, is converted from a delightful fiction to a dull pantomime.” Evaluate this view, exploring the success of different productions of the play.

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not a play about individual characters, but about the relationships between them.’ By exploring the different relationships within the play, evaluate this view.

‘Theseus is confirmed as the ultimate figure of authority, reinforcing social hierarchy.’ Evaluate this view by exploring the role of Theseus with the play and the presentation of his authority.

‘Puck is the most important character in the play.’ By analysing the contribution of Puck to the play, evaluate this view.

"Reason and love keep little company together nowadays." By analysing the ways Shakespeare presents the relationship between reason and love, evaluate the truth of this statement.

‘The four young Athenian lovers in the play are interchangeable.’ By exploring the dramatic presentation of the lovers, evaluate this view.

‘The Mechanicals are a source of mockery through the entire play.’ Evaluate this view, exploring the dramatic presentation of the mechanicals within the play.

‘All the characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are changed for the better.’ By exploring the theme of transformation in the play, evaluate this view.

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream explores both the irrationality of love and its potential for “great constancy”.’ By exploring the presentation of love in the play, evaluate this view.

‘The roles of Theseus and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream provide a framework of authority and experience.’ By exploring the dramatic effects of the play, evaluate this view.