Act Two: Themes and Motifs

Before Act Two…

Before we delve into Act Two, let’s first take the time to understand this module’s main focus; answering the question “what do themes and motifs mean?”. Officially, the term ‘theme’ refers to a main idea that reappears throughout a narrative while being expressed in numerous ways. ‘Motif’ is a term that refers to the dominant idea itself; if the theme is an idea that is expressed, then motif is the idea without the narrative background. Sometimes, students confuse ‘themes’ with ‘topics’ because of their similar definitions. Remember, topics refer to ideas that are expressed through one-worded answers; themes explore a wide range of expressions for that idea in relation to human expderiences, especially as expressed through literature [Source].

A Quick Activity: Exploring Themes through Fables

The difference between themes and topics can best be described through examples and explorations. Fables can be an easy and quick way of exploring these concepts. Fables usually depict certain morals through animal characters and short adventures. In fact, Fables can actually be a helpful tool for understanding the difference between topics and themes. Follow our link and choose one fable to read. Once it has been read, return to this webpage to answer the following guiding questions:
–> What happened?
–> What did the character [or characters] learn?
–> What is a one word topic that can be applied to the fable?
–> What can the readers apply to their lives?

Activity 2: Love as a Theme

Now that you’ve read Act Two, something that you should have noticed is that Shakespeare is extremely fond of love as a theme. However, the play seems to have vastly different ideas about what love means, especially in relation to the character that’s experiencing it [Source]. In order to fully understand A Midsummer Night’s Dream and its expression of love, you’ll need to think about specific characters and their connection with love [Source].

Your job is to choose one of the four lovers and to brainstorm the many ways in which love is expressed by that specific character. Once you’ve created your brainstorming document, you’ll be tasked with turning your ideas into a cohesive paragraph. Your paragraph should describe how love is expressed by your chosen character and how it affects their actions throughout Act One and Act Two. Feel free to use quotations to support your ideas! At the bottom of this page, you should also write down any thematic statements you believe represent A Midsummer Night’s Dream so far [Source].