Act II Commentary

Scene 1

The Cliffs Notes commentary pointed out that the language Shakespeare uses to describe the fairies' habitat conjures up beautiful images. I guess I see that now, but I didn't catch it on the first reading. I merely understood that the fairies dwell in the natural world. Forests, flowers, and fountains. Maybe I missed the explicit connection because I already think of these things as desirable.

Also pointed out is how the fairies and royalty are associated, in general, by Shakespeare's description. With a king, queen, and subjects (in addition to the description of the habitat resembling jewels and such), I guess this connection is somewhat obvious, but I didn't think of it in those terms while reading.

I enjoyed reading the fairy's description of Puck. Puck is such a lengendary character, but I guess I never really knew how so. Now I get it. He is blamed for things happening, when there is no other to blame. Kind of like Murphy. I didn't realize until later that he also goes by the name of "Robin Goodfellow." That was news to me.

Scene 2

Here, the commentary points out the changes in speech patterns. I guess I noticed some changes while reading, but didn't pay much attention. These speech patterns correlate with the pace of the action. Some are sleeping, some are running---constant contrasts. Another contrast is the mood of the various interactions of characters. Love, thwarted love, false love. Interesting.