The patriarchal world of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explore how the patriarchy is presented in William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, focusing on the openings of Act 1 and Act 2.
Key learning points
- Athens is a patriarchal society.
- Egeus has the right to kill his daughter.
- Act 1 and Act 2 both begin with a conflict.
- It could be argued that Titania is presented as Oberon's equal.
- Oberon has to use a magical love potion on Titania in order to get what he wants.
Keywords
Patriarchy - a society in which men hold the power; the laws and structure of that society prevent women from having power
Quotation - words from a text
Analysis - in English, this means looking at a text closely and considering what it might mean and why it was written in that way
Conflict - a serious argument
Dialogue - in a play, these are the words that the characters say
Common misconception
Titania seems to have some power, but Hermia has none.
Hermia defies her father by saying that she will marry Lysander, and refusing to marry Demetrius. She is also willing to leave her father, and the place she was born rather than obey her father.
Teacher tip
Consider how you want to read, engage and enjoy the sections from the text. Would acting out, or watching a clip bring the two conflicts to life?
Equipment
You need access to a copy of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. However, the relevant extracts for this lesson are found within the lesson slides.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of sexual violence
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', why is Egeus angry at the start of the play?
Q2.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what does the magical love potion do?
Q3.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', who does Titania fall in love with when under the influence of the magical love potion?
Q4.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', there is lots of conflict throughout the play. Match the pairs of characters with their conflict.
argue about who Hermia should marry
argue about who gets to be in charge of a little boy
argue at the beginning of the play because one doesn't love the other
argue over which man loves them and why
Q5.Starting with the first plot point, track Titania's storyline in chronological order through the play, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.
Q6.Starting with the first plot point, order the events of Act 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in chronological order.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Act 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Hermia is told she will be punished if she doesn't obey her father. What punishments could she face?
Q2.In what ways are the openings of Acts 1 and 2 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' similar?
Q3.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', how does Titania respond when Oberon asks her to give him the little boy she looks after?
Q4.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Athens is presented as a society, a society in which men hold the power and the laws and structure of the society prevent women from having power.
Q5.In Act 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Theseus tells Hermia that "To you, your father should be as a..."
Q6.In Act 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Egeus says of Hermia, "As she is , I may dispose of her".
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: The patriarchal world of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: The patriarchal world of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.