the main ideas in a text which are explored in a number of different ways.

the way in which a play is divided (like a book is divided into chapters); all of Shakespeare’s plays have five.

a play designed to make you laugh, often involving misunderstandings and ending in marriage.

The plot of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

English

Understanding the genre of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

The patriarchal world of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

The presentation of Egeus in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Act 2, Scene 1: Titania and Oberon’s conflict

Model paragraphs about Act 2, Scene 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

The character of Puck in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

The character of Oberon in Act 2, Scene 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Exploring the character of Puck in Acts 2 and 3 of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Including context when writing about Puck in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

The significance of the magical forest in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

The impact of the magical potion in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

How is Puck presented in Act 2, Scene 2 of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’?

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Puck - obedient servant or irreverent joker?

Act 3 of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: disorder in the forest

'A Midsummer Night's Dream': How is Puck presented in Act 3, Scene 2?

Act 3, Scene 2 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': order is restored in the forest

How is Puck presented in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?

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

Analysing Puck's epilogue in Act 5 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Exploring key themes in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': love, power, disorder

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Shakespeare and the supernatural

'A Midsummer Night's Dream': powerful topic sentences about Puck

Creating an argument about the character of Puck in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Introductions to essays about Puck in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Analytical paragraphs: Puck and the supernatural in ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Conclusions to essays: Puck and the supernatural in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

'A Midsummer Night's Dream': reviewing and refining an essay about Puck

In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', pupils learn about marriage conventions within Shakespeare's patriarchal society. In 'Macbeth: Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian Villain', pupils explore the ways in which this female character subverts the expectations of women in her day and question whether modern and contemporary audiences are likely to sympathise with her. 

In 'The Tempest', pupils explore the ways in which Ariel and Caliban, as 'outsiders', might be perceived by modern and contemporary audiences. In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', pupils use context to develop their understanding of marriage rituals and attitudes to magic in the play. 

In this unit, pupils read and explore Shakespeare's comedy 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. They focus on the character Puck and the theme of the supernatural, and analyse their role and importance at different points in the play. Finally, they plan and write an essay about Puck and the supernatural.

'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Depiction or discussion of distress or humiliation e.g. bullying.

Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying

Depiction or discussion of violence or fighting, including threats of violence or the aftermath of violence.

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is set in two different places. What are the two settings?

In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', who does Egeus want his daughter, Hermia, to marry?

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 Helena so unhappy at the beginning of the play?

because she won't give him his fairy kingdom back

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', why is Oberon so angry with Titania?

makes him get the boy from Titania and give him to Oberon

makes him perform a play to the noble Athenians

In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what does Puck to do Bottom?

Hermia and Lysander run away from Athens.

Oberon and Titania fight. Lysander falls in love with Helena.

Titania falls in love with Bottom, Demetrius with Helena.

The love potion is removed from Lysander and Titania.

The poor Athenians perform a play to the rich nobles.

Match the Acts from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to their plot points.

What type of texts did William Shakespeare write?

Whilst books are usually divided into chapters, what are plays divided into?

All of Shakespeare's plays are divided into acts. How many acts is each divided into?

Shakespeare wrote a number of comedies. Which of the following of Shakespeare's plays are comedies?

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a Shakespearean comedy. What common features do Shakespearean comedies share?

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

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?

Starter Quiz

What type of texts did William Shakespeare write?