Understanding the genre of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how I know that ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is a comedy.
Key learning points
- The First Folio divides Shakespeare’s plays into tragedies, histories and comedies.
- An additional genre - tragicomedies - has been used to describe plays which combine both tragic and comic elements.
- Shakespearean comedies usually focus on love, and end in marriage.
- The plots of comedies are often intricate and include a number of surprises and plot twists.
- Shakespearean comedies often include slapstick humour.
Keywords
Genre - the style or type of text: for example science fiction
Shakespearean comedy - a play designed to make you laugh, often involving misunderstandings and ending in marriage
Intricate - complicated
Slapstick humour - physical comedy, sometimes violent but intended to make people laugh
First Folio - the first collection of most of Shakespeare’s plays, published in 1623 (seven years after his death)
Common misconception
If a play is a comedy, it won't have any moments of sadness in it.
When thinking about genre, we consider the overall tone, plot and features of a play. However, many comedies have moments of sadness, just as many tragedies have moments of humour.
Teacher tip
Consider if 'Macbeth' is the best comparison for your pupils in learning cycle 2. If they have studied another Shakespearean play in a different year, you might want to consider using it as an example instead.
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
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.How might we define Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
Q2.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', there are a number of sets of different characters. What sets of characters are there?
Q3.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', there is much chaos and confusion. Which characters are the source of the chaos and confusion?
Q4.Which characters marry each other at the end of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
Q5.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', which three characters have the magical love potion used on them?
Q6.Starting with the first plot point of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', put the plot points relating to the Athenian noble people in order.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The First Folio - the first collection of Shakespeare's plays published in 1623 - divides his plays into what categories?
Q2.A pupil said: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a tragedy." How would you correct them?
Q3.Shakespeare's plays are often defined by their genre. Match each genre to its key features.
Q4.In order to discuss the genre of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' accurately, you could use a number of key terms. Match the key terms to their definitions.
Q5.The first published collection of Shakespeare's plays is called the .
Q6.In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Titania falls in love with Bottom, who has had his head transformed into that of a donkey. Why does this plot point reinforce the idea the play is a comedy?
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Understanding the genre 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: Understanding the genre 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.