Starter quiz
- At the beginning of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', who is Demetrius in love with?
- Titania
- Helena
- Hermia ✓
- no-one
- Hippolyta
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- After having the magical potion applied to them in Acts 2 and 3 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', who do Lysander and Demetrius fall in love with?
- Hermia
- Helena ✓
- Titania
- Bottom
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- In Act 2, Scene 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what do we learn about the character of Puck?
- He finds practical jokes funny. ✓
- He likes to trick people. ✓
- He makes Titania laugh with his practical jokes.
- Oberon doesn't like that he plays practical jokes.
- He has a reputation for causing mischief. ✓
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- A pupil said of Puck, a character in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': "Puck purposefully causes chaos amongst the Athenian nobles." How would you correct them?
- Puck tricks the nobles, just like he tricks Bottom.
- Puck obeyed Oberon's orders to create chaos.
- Puck created chaos, but only to make Oberon laugh.
- Puck was truly trying to help Helena but mistook Lysander for Demetrius ✓
- Puck tries to follow Oberon's orders, but accidently makes a mistake. ✓
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- Starting with the first plot point, order these events from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in chronological order.
- 1⇔Puck puts the magical potion on Lysander by accident.
- 2⇔Lysander falls in love with Helena and leaves Hermia alone in the forest.
- 3⇔Oberon realises Puck has put the magical potion on the wrong man.
- 4⇔Oberon applies the magical potion to Demetrius.
- 5⇔Demetrius wakes up and immediately falls in love with Helena.
- 6⇔Helena thinks Demetrius and Lysander are mocking her by pretending to love her.
- 7⇔Hermia feels betrayed by Lysander and Helena.
- In Act 3, Scene 2 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', when Oberon realises that Puck put the magical potion on the wrong man, he orders Puck to find Helena "swifter than the ______ ".
- 'wind' ✓
Exit quiz
- In Act 3 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', how does Helena feel when both Demetrius and Lysander say they love her?
- happy
- beloved
- mocked ✓
- contemptuous
- remorseless
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- In Act 3 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', how does Hermia feel when both Demetrius and Lysander say they love Helena?
- abandoned ✓
- determined
- contemptuous
- remorseless
- betrayed ✓
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- In Act 3 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what does Puck want to do after he realises the Athenian nobles' love lives are in chaos?
- tell Oberon
- apply the love potion to the women
- nothing
- watch ✓
- restore order
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- In Act 3 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Oberon accuses Puck of creating the chaos amongst the Athenian noble people on purpose. Is this a fair accusation?
- No - Puck made a genuine mistake. ✓
- No - Puck tried to follow Oberon's orders carefully. ✓
- No - Oberon gave conflicting orders about Demetrius and Bottom.
- Yes - Puck wanted to cause chaos and is just sorry he got caught.
- Yes - Puck did what he wanted with the Athenians, just like he did with Bottom.
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- In Act 3 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', as Puck watches the Athenian nobles fighting, he says, "Lord, what ______ these mortals be!"
- 'fools' ✓
- In Act 3 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Puck says he enjoys watching the Athenian noble people in chaos. He calls it a "fond pageant" and a "______".
- 'sport' ✓
Worksheet
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Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Oberon and Puck have different reactions to the disorder amongst the Athenian nobles.
- Oberon tries to restore order immediately.
- Oberon blames Puck for the chaos.
- Puck enjoys the disorder, calling it “sport”.
- Arguably, Shakespeare presents Puck as a remorseless character who has contempt for the humans in the forest.
Common misconception
Puck tries to create more chaos after realising his mistake.
Puck is consistently shown to follow Oberon's orders in relation to the Athenian nobles, and to try and do so correctly. However, he does find it very funny, even though he didn't deliberately create the situation.
Keywords
Remorseless - without regret or guilt.
Restore - to return something back to its original state.
Pageant - a show.
Contemptuous - insulting.
Sport - in the context of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, it means an enjoyable hobby.
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