'A Midsummer Night's Dream': Puck's epilogue in Act 5 | English

Starter quiz

In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', how does the character of Puck help restore order in Act 3?
- He removes the magical potion from Titania.
- He removes the magical potion from Demetrius.
- Her removes the magical potion from Lysander. ✓
- He removes the magical potion from Helena.
- He removes the magical potion from Bottom.
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', how does the character of Puck create chaos?
- He brings the Athenian nobles to the magical forest.
- He makes Bottom fall in love with Titania.
- He disobeys Oberon, focusing his energies on Bottom rather than Lysander.
- He puts the magal potion on Lysander by accident. ✓
- He transforms Bottom's head into the head of a donkey. ✓
The first audiences of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' were Elizabethan. Elizabethan society was intensely hierarchical. What does this mean?
- They cared about how hard you worked rather than titles, money and status.
- Some people were considered more important than others. ✓
- They believed in the supernatural, and that fairies were superior to them.
- It was a very ordered society where status was important. ✓
- All humans were equal, but God was at the top of the hierarchy.
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Puck interacts with most of the characters in the play. Match each character to Puck's involvement with them.
- Oberon
  
  ⇔
  
  obeys his commands ✓
- Bottom
  
  ⇔
  
  transforms his head into that o donkey ✓
- Lysander
  
  ⇔
  
  puts the magical potion on him by mistake ✓
- Demetrius
  
  ⇔
  
  doesn't put the antidote on him ✓
- Helena
  
  ⇔
  
  laughs at her distress ✓
- Hermia
  
  ⇔
  
  feels sorry for her when he sees her lying on the ground sleeping ✓
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', why is Titania and Bottom's relationship an example of disorder?
- Titania is a fairy, Bottom is a human. ✓
- Titania is meant to be in love with Puck, not Bottom.
- Bottom's transformatin makes him monstrous. ✓
- They are of differing status. ✓
- Titania is presented as a character who isn't meant to love anyone.
In Act 3 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', why does Puck want to watch the Athenian nobles in chaos?
- He considers it a form of entertainment. ✓
- He knows he can wait for them to sort themselves out.
- He deliberately created this chaos and feels proud watching it unfold.
- He says it is a hobby of his to watch distress. ✓
- This is how he makes Oberon smile.

Exit quiz

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' ends with a speech or piece of writing that comes at the end of a text and makes a comment on what has happened in the story. This is called an ______.
- 'epilogue' ✓
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', how does Puck's epilogue in Act 5 break the fourth wall?
- He acknowledges the play is offensive.
- It ends the play.
- It rhymes.
- He acknowledges the existence of the audience. ✓
- It has quotations in it.
'A Midsummer Night's Dream's' first audiences were Elizabethan. Why did some Elizabethans think the theatre was dangerous?
- It breaks the fourth wall.
- It saw large, and sometimes unruly crowds, gather. ✓
- Plays sometimes contained dangerous ideas. ✓
- Elizabeth I was against the theatre, so it was a treasonous act.
- Some play's jokes were rude, immoral and ungodly. ✓
Elizabeth I was on the throne when 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was first performed. She enjoyed the theatre, but also controlled it. What measures did she put in place so that the theatre was 'safe'?
- She banned comedies which presented disorder.
- She didn't allow theatres to be built inside the city of London. ✓
- She only allowed one theatre to be built in London.
- She made every play have an apologetic epilogue.
- She appointed a Master of Revels who could censor plays. ✓
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Puck begins his epilogue, "If we shadows have ______, Think but this, and all is mended".
- 'offended' ✓
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' ends with an epilogue from the character of Puck who apologises for any offence caused in the play, and asks those who are offended to think of the play as a "______".
- 'dream' ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ ends with an epilogue given by the character of Puck.
Puck’s epilogue breaks the fourth wall and offers to make “amends” for any offence caused by the play.
Perhaps this epilogue acknowledges some of the fears that Elizabethans had about the potential dangers of the theatre.
Some Elizabethans believed the theatres were a place of dangerous ideas and atmospheres.

Common misconception

It is not significant that Puck performs the epilogue. It could have been any of the characters.

There are many different ideas to explore in terms of why Puck performs this epilogue. It could speak to his centrality to the plot, his infamous reputation amongst the play's first Elizabethan audiences, and the way we should interpret key themes.

Keywords

Epilogue - a speech or piece of writing that comes at the end of a text and makes a comment on what has happened in the story
Breaking the fourth wall - when a character in a play speaks directly to the audience, acknowledging the audience exists
Hierarchy - a system whereby people or things are ranked, with some being higher than others
Elizabethan - a person alive when Elizabeth I was on the throne (1558-1603); the first audiences of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ were Elizabethan
Censor - to remove parts of a text that you think shouldn’t be seen