The Mechanicals rehearsing

Act 3 Scene 1 – Key Scene

In this scene, the mechanicals meet for their second rehearsal and realise there are some problems with the play which they aim to resolve before they start rehearsals. They decide to do away with some of the characters in the play and instead have the actors play a wall, the moon and a lion.

Take a look at an extract from this scene. Using the following steps, remember to look at it line by line and if you’re looking at the scene for the first time don’t worry if you don’t understand everything at once.

• Look

  Take a look at the scene. Who has the most lines? Are they using prose or verse? Actors at the RSC often put the language into their own words to help them understand what they are saying. We’ve added some definitions (in black), questions (in red) and paraphrased some sections (in blue) to help with this. You can click on the text that is highlighted for extra guidance.

  Close

  Starveling

  I believe we must leave the killing out, when all is done.

  Close

  Pyramus and Thisbe is a tragic play. Why do you think Shakespeare includes this suggestion from Starveling? Look at the two short lines he has in this extract. What can you infer or learn about him from his contributions?

  Bottom

  Not a whit: I have a device to make all well. Write me a prologue, and let the prologue seem to say we will do no harm with our swords, and that Pyramus is not killed indeed.

  Close

  A plan.

  Snout

  Will not the ladies be afeard of the lion?

  Starveling

  I fear it, I promise you.

  Bottom

  Masters, you ought to consider with yourselves, to bring in — God shield us! — a lion among ladies is a most dreadful thing

  Snout

  Therefore another prologue must tell he is not a lion.

  Close

  Snout mentions the lion multiple times. Why does he, and the rest of the mechanicals, think the audience will believe there is a lion onstage? What does this reveal about them and their opinions of the ladies at court?

  Bottom

  Nay, you must name his name, and half his face must be seen through the lion’s neck.

  Close

  Look at the language used by Bottom and how each of his contributions start ‘nay, you must’, ‘why, then you may’, ‘some man or other must’. How does he come across in this scene and what is his role within the group?

  Quince

  Well, it shall be so. But there is two hard things: that is, to bring the moonlight into a chamber.

  Snout

  Doth the moon shine that night we play our play?

  Close

  What do you think about the mechanicals' plan to have people play the moon and a wall? Is it necessary for them? Why would Shakespeare choose to do this?

  Bottom

  A calendar, a calendar! Look in the almanac. Find out moonshine, find out moonshine.

  Close

  An annual calendar containing important dates such as astronomical data and tide tables.

  Quince

  Yes, it doth shine that night.

  Bottom

  Why, then may you leave a casement of the great chamber window, where we play, open, and the moon may shine in at the casement.

  Close

  Part of a window on hinges which opens like a door.

  Quince

  Ay, or else one must come in with a bush of thorns and a lantern. Then there is another thing: we must have a wall in the great chamber; for Pyramus and Thisbe, says the story, did talk through the chink of a wall.

  Close

  Quince is very practical, realising that they will need certain features in the space where they perform, including a wall. Look at the final line of the extract. How do you think Quince feels about the solution that the mechanicals put forward?

  Snout

  You can never bring in a wall. What say you, Bottom?

  Bottom

  Some man or other must present Wall: and let him have some plaster, or some loam, or some rough-cast about him, to signify wall.

  Close

  An actor must play the wall. And he should have some plaster, some soil, or some cement on him to represent a wall.

  Quince

  If that may be, then all is well.

  (Text edited by RSC Education)
• Listen

  Read the scene aloud. Are there any words or lines that stand out?
• Imagine

  Explore some images from past versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the RSC. Which sets and staging choices for the scene feel right to you?