A Midsummer Night's Dream: Key Quotations (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)

Key Quotations

The assessment objectives for the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) IGCSE Literature in English state that you should demonstrate your knowledge of the content of the text by referring to the text in detail and using quotations from the text. 

It is important to remember that you can evidence your knowledge of the text in these two equally valid ways: both through references to it and direct quotations from it. 

Overall, you should aim to show a strong knowledge of the text, rather than just memorising and using quotations, as this will enable you to respond to the question effectively. It is the quality of your knowledge of the text that will enable you to select references effectively.

If you are going to revise quotations, the best way is to group them by character or theme. Below you will find definitions and analysis of the best quotations, arranged by the following themes:

• Love

• Dreams

• Order and disorder

Love

Love is a significant theme in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and drives the actions of the characters in the play, especially the four Athenian lovers. 

“Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth …”

– Lysander, Act 1, Scene 1

Meaning and context

• Lysander and Hermia have been informed by the Duke of Athens that they cannot marry:

  • Hermia’s father, Egeus, objects to the marriage and wants his daughter to marry Demetrius

• The Duke tells Hermia that either she must marry Demetrius or she must face the consequences of her disobedience

Analysis

• Lysander’s statement, now a famous proverb, is a reflection of the inherent challenges of love:

  • He expresses frustration and sorrow when he exclaims “Ay me!”, hinting at the depth of his love for Hermia 

• By using metaphoric language, when he compares love with the “course” of a running river, he suggests that love is often associated with obstacles and complications

• The choice of the word “smooth” contrasts with the disruption to their relationship 

• By commenting on the universality of their experience, that love “never” runs smoothly in “tales or history”, he appeals to the compassion and empathy of the audience and other characters; the challenges of love are not unique 

• Lysander’s words foreshadow the complications and misunderstandings that will unfold in the play:

  • This prepares the audience for the twists in the romantic relationships of the central characters

• Lysander’s acknowledgement of the challenges of love reveals his understanding of how complex love can be:

  • This sets him apart from other characters, who may have more naive views about love, such as Helena

• This quote aligns with one of the play’s most important themes, which is the unpredictable nature of love:

  • It reinforces the idea that love is subject to external influences and internal conflicts

“And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays” – Bottom, Act 3, Scene 1

Meaning and context

• Bottom’s head has been transformed into a donkey’s and Queen Titania has fallen in love with him, falling under the spell of Oberon’s potion

• Queen Titania declares her love for him and Bottom does not understand:

  • By stating that reason and love have little to do with each other, he implies that love can be illogical

Analysis

• By using personification, Bottom’s statement highlights a disconnect between reason and love in the play:

  • The phrase suggests that, in Bottom’s view, rational thinking and love have become estranged and are not often found together

• There is some irony to Bottom’s wise statement as he is not a character who is known for his intelligence, as he states later in the scene (and he is transformed into an ass)

• Bottom’s remark might reflect broader cultural attitudes during Shakespeare’s time:

  • It may be a commentary on the popular view that love is often irrational and uncontrollable

• The quote reflects the tension between reason and emotion, which is a theme that resonates throughout the play

“Jack shall have Jill,

Naught shall go ill

The man shall have his mare again,

and all shall be well”

– Puck, Act 3, Scene 2

Meaning and context

• Puck says this after he places the potion on Lysander’s eyelids to lift the enchantment 

• The four Athenian lovers have fallen asleep and Puck has been ordered to undo the enchantment so that Lysander is in love with Hermia again and Demetrius is in love with Helena

Analysis

• The use of rhyme contributes to a soothing and optimistic tone, which reinforces the idea of resolution and order being restored

• “Jack” and “Jill” alludes to the traditional nursery rhyme, which suggests a harmonious pairing, implying that love will find its way back to order:

  • The simplicity of the rhyme mirrors the idea that love and relationships have a predictable and comforting structure, much like nursery rhymes

• The assurance that “all shall be well” conveys the theme of the restoration of love, harmony and order:

  • It reflects the overall structure of the play, where the resolution of conflicts leads to a happy ending

Dreams

The idea of dreams is prominent throughout the play and its importance as a theme is underlined by its appearance in the title of the play itself. All the characters refer to their experiences in the forest as dreams to explain the illogical incidents that took place there.

“May all to Athens back again repair

And think no more of this night’s accidents

But as the fierce vexation of a dream”

– Oberon, Act 4, Scene 1

Meaning and context

• Oberon speaks to Puck and tells him to restore Bottom’s head so that all the Athenians can wake up in the morning and return to the city

• He states that they will wake and believe the previous night’s incidents were just a dream

Analysis

• The call for a return to the city represents a desire to restore order and normality after the chaotic events in the forest:

  • Athens is symbolic as a place of reason, order and logic, which is contrasted with the unpredictability and chaos of the magical forest

• Oberon wants the Athenians to “think no more of the night’s accidents”, which suggests a desire to dismiss the fantastical and magical events that occurred in the forest:

  • The use of the word “accident” implies that the disruptions were unintended, reinforced by the choice of contrasting diction as Oberon wishes to “repair” his mistakes 

• Oberon wants the characters to view the night’s events as “the fierce vexation of a dream”:

  • The comparison to a dream reinforces the theme of dreams and the blurred line between reality and fantasy in the play

  • It suggests that the magical occurrences should be regarded as fleeting and unreal

• The use of the phrase “fierce vexation” acknowledges the tumultuous and irrational nature of the night’s experiences:

  • It recognises that the events were emotionally charged and challenging but in the morning they can be viewed from a more detached point of view

• Oberon’s words also align with the broader theme of the play, which is the restoration of order and harmony after a period of chaos and confusion

“I have had a dream - past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass, if he go about to expound this dream” – Bottom, Act 4, Scene 1

Meaning and context

• This quote is spoken by Bottom after waking up the morning after his magical transformation

• Puck has restored his head and Bottom believes that everything he experienced the night before was a dream

Analysis

• Bottom has acknowledged that he has had a “most rare vision” or dream that is beyond human comprehension:

  • The famous phrase “past the wit of man” conveys the idea that the dream is so extraordinary that it cannot be properly described or explained

• The irony in Bottom’s statement is evident as he calls humans “an ass” if they try to explain the dream, having just been transformed into a creature with the head of an ass

• Bottom’s struggle to explain his dream underlines the limitations of language when trying to convey the magical elements of the play:

  • It could also highlight Shakespeare’s own challenges when conveying the extraordinary and magical through the medium of theatre 

• Bottom’s experience and struggle to explain his experiences highlights the clash between the magical, irrational world of the forest and the rational, logical world of Athens:

  • The inability to articulate the experience emphasises the dreamlike quality of the magical experiences in the play

  • The frequent use of repetition of the word “dream” perhaps also serves to reinforce his dreamlike state  

Order and disorder

Order and disorder is an important theme and is evident through the juxtaposition of the two settings of the play: civilised Athens and the enchanted forest. Shakespeare also explores this theme through the disruptive presentation of love, finally resolved by the restoration of order at the end of the play.

“I am that merry wanderer of the night.

I jest to Oberon and make him smile

When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,

Neighing in likeness of a filly foal”

– Puck, Act 2, Scene 1

Meaning and context

• Puck introduces himself to a fairy

• He lists all of the mischievous things he does, including neighing like a young female horse to charm another, and reveals his role as a jester for Oberon 

Analysis

• Puck introduces himself as the “merry wanderer of the night”, which establishes the character as a mischievous figure, who playfully “jests” with the king of the fairies

• This description of Puck’s antics is infused with humour but also gives the audience an insight into his character and his role in the play:

  • His character and actions contribute to the themes of disorder as he can “beguile others

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!” – Puck, Act 3, Scene 2

Meaning and context

• Puck is speaking to Oberon while watching the four confused Athenian lovers in the forest

• He is watching Lysander pursue Helena while Demetrius is sleeping

• Demetrius, enchanted by Oberon, wakes and also declares his love for Helena

Analysis

• Puck makes this remark after observing the confused and irrational behaviour of the human characters in the play:

  • The context is specifically related to the tangled romantic relationships and mistaken identities caused by the magical enchantments that Puck placed on the male characters

• The term “fools” suggests that Puck is amused:

  • His perspective reflects the play’s broader theme that love often leads people to act in foolish ways 

• Puck’s playful nature is evident in his enjoyment of the chaos he has caused

• The quote has an ironic undertone, as Puck himself has played a significant role in creating the confusion among the four lovers through his magical intervention

• This quote suggests that human behaviour in matters of the heart can appear foolish from an outsider’s perspective