Starter quiz
- What type of texts did William Shakespeare write?
- books
- speeches
- plays ✓
- poems ✓
- sermons
-
- Whilst books are usually divided into chapters, what are plays divided into?
- sub-headings
- iambic pentameter
- scenes ✓
- stanzas
- acts ✓
-
- All of Shakespeare's plays are divided into acts. How many acts is each divided into?
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5 ✓
- 6
-
- Shakespeare wrote a number of comedies. Which of the following of Shakespeare's plays are comedies?
- 'Romeo and Juliet'
- 'Hamlet'
- 'As You Like It' ✓
- 'Twelfth Night' ✓
- 'The Comedy of Errors' ✓
-
- 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a Shakespearean comedy. What common features do Shakespearean comedies share?
- often end in marriage ✓
- often include the death of the villain
- often include disguise ✓
- often include misunderstandings ✓
- often include songs ✓
-
- The title of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' could tell us something about what to expect in the play. What inferences could we make about this title?
- The characters in the play will all be asleep
- The play might explore the power of imagination ✓
- The play can only be performed in the summer
- We perhaps shouldn't take what we see too seriously - it is a dream ✓
- Strange things could happen, just like they do in a dream ✓
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Exit quiz
- 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is set in two different places. What are the two settings?
- the stage
- a magical forest ✓
- the Globe
- Athens ✓
- England
-
- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', who does Egeus want his daughter, Hermia, to marry?
- Theseus
- Lysander
- Demetrius ✓
- Oberon
- Bottom
-
- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', why is Helena so unhappy at the beginning of the play?
- Her father, Egeus, wants her to marry Lysander
- She is sad that her friend, Hermia, is leaving Athens
- She is in love with Demetrius, who doesn't love her back ✓
- Theseus says she must become a nun if she doesn't marry Demetrius
- Oberon has put a magical potion on her eyes and she is in love with Bottom
-
- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', why is Oberon so angry with Titania?
- because she is in love with Bottom
- because she won't give him his fairy kingdom back
- because she is in love with Demetrius
- because she used the magical potion on him
- because she won't give him the little boy she is looking after ✓
-
- In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what does Puck to do Bottom?
- makes him fall in love with Titania
- turns his head into a donkey's head ✓
- turns him into Oberon's servant
- makes him get the boy from Titania and give him to Oberon
- makes him perform a play to the noble Athenians
-
- Match the Acts from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to their plot points.
- Act 1⇔Hermia and Lysander run away from Athens. ✓
- Act 2⇔Oberon and Titania fight. Lysander falls in love with Helena. ✓
- Act 3⇔Titania falls in love with Bottom, Demetrius with Helena. ✓
- Act 4⇔The love potion is removed from Lysander and Titania. ✓
- Act 5⇔The poor Athenians perform a play to the rich nobles. ✓
Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is a Shakespearean comedy.
- There are three sets of characters in the play.
- The play starts and ends in Athens; in the middle, the play is set in a magical forest.
- The play ends with a number of marriages.
- A summary of the plot helps us understand some of the play’s main themes.
Common misconception
The magical potion is removed from everyone's eyes at the end of the play.
Demetrius still has the magical potion on his eyes. This is why he is in love with Helena.
Keywords
Midsummer - the middle of the summer.
Theme - the main ideas in a text which are explored in a number of different ways.
Act - the way in which a play is divided (like a book is divided into chapters); all of Shakespeare’s plays have five.
Shakespearean comedy - a play designed to make you laugh, often involving misunderstandings and ending in marriage.
Athenian - someone from Athens.
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