Starter quiz
- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', which characters are supernatural?
- Theseus
- Lysander
- Titania ✓
- Puck ✓
- Bottom
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- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', who is Oberon's servant?
- Titania
- the little changeling boy
- Bottom
- Puck ✓
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- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what does Puck do to Bottom?
- puts a love potion on him
- makes him fall in love with Titania
- transforms him into an actor
- transforms his head into a donkey's head ✓
- transforms him into a fairy
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- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', who does Puck put the magical potion on?
- Titania
- Bottom
- Lysander ✓
- Helena
- Demetrius ✓
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- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Puck initially puts the love potion on Lysander. Why does he do this?
- he knows this will cause chaos and confusion
- Oberon tells him to do it to punish Helena
- Oberon tells him to use it on an Athenian man, but doesn't say which ✓
- he wants Hermia to experience love from Lysander and Demetrius, like Hermia does
- he deliberately disobeys Oberon because he is angry with him
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- Starting with the first plot point, pout the storyline of Puck from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' into chronological order.
- 1⇔Puck gets a magic potion for his master, Oberon.
- 2⇔Oberon uses the magic potion on Titania.
- 3⇔Puck puts the magic potion on Lysander (a mistake).
- 4⇔Puck transforms Bottom’s head into that of a donkey.
- 5⇔Puck laughs about Titania falling in love with Bottom.
- 6⇔Puck puts the magic potion on Demetrius.
- 7⇔Puck, on Oberon’s orders, removes the magic potion from Lysander.
Exit quiz
- Which words could describe the character of Puck in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
- folklore
- foreshadow
- mischievous ✓
- Elizabethan
- malevolent ✓
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- In Act 2, Scene 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', we meet Puck for the first time. Match what he says about himself to its modern meaning.
- I am that merry wanderer of the night.⇔I am out and about at night time. ✓
- I jest to Oberon, and make him smile[.]⇔I make Oberon laugh with my practical jokes. ✓
- I lurk in a gossip's bowl⇔I lie in people's drinks. ✓
- Then slip I from her bum⇔After pretending to be a chair, I disappear from under someone. ✓
- In Act 2, Scene 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', a fairy and Puck exchange dialogue. They speak about all the practical jokes Puck plays. What are some of the things he does?
- scares young women ✓
- tricks Oberon into trusting him
- makes people walk in the wrong direction ✓
- mild physical harm, like drinks being spilled, or falling over ✓
- puts love potions on people
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- One of the characters in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is called Puck. The word 'puck' had a known meanings for an Elizabethan audience. What were some of its associations?
- it was associated with love and marriage
- it was associated with Shakespearean plays
- it was connected with the devil ✓
- it was associated with fairies who completed housework
- it was a general term for a mischievous fairy ✓
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- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', the character of Puck has a second name: Robin Goodfellow. This name was known to Elizabethans. What would they believe this character was like?
- helpful ✓
- mischievous ✓
- malicious
- unhappy
- malevolent
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- ______ is the name for stories and traditions that are passed down from generation to generation; these are not written down, but told verbally.
- 'folklore' ✓
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Oberon’s servant has two names: Puck and Robin Goodfellow.
- In Elizabethan folklore, ‘puck’ was a general term for a fairy.
- Elizabethan folklore also connected the word ‘puck’ with malevolence and the devil.
- Robin Goodfellow is a name from Elizabethan folklore, a character connected with practical jokes and helpfulness.
- When Puck is first introduced, we are told about many of his practical jokes.
Common misconception
There is one interpretation of Puck (either malevolent or mischievous) and you have to work out which one is correct.
A play, and its characters, can be interpreted in many different ways. Different performances will draw out particular interpretations.
Keywords
Mischievous - naughty, badly behaved
Malevolent - cruel, malicious, evil
Folklore - stories and traditions that are passed down from generation to generation; these are not written down, but told verbally
Foreshadow - an indication or clue of a future event in a story
Elizabethan - a person alive when Elizabeth I was on the throne (1558-1603); the first audiences of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ were Elizabethan
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