Watching exercise A Midsummer Night's Dream

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Watching exercise

Which character from A Midsummer Night's Dream are you?

Follow the link on the next slide to find out. 

www.folger.edu

Which character from A Midsummer Night's Dream are you?

The Many Plots of A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

The Many Plots of A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Teaching Tips

All you need is love

Note: This activity can be completed individually or in pairs.

There are four main plots that makeup the A Midsummer Night’s Dream—and there is one emotion that connects them all: love. Instruct students to watch the five videos in this media gallery.

Then distribute the Love and Plot in A Midsummer Night’s Dream handout and tell your students to watch the videos again. As they watch, they should record how love impacts each plot (e.g., Athenian court, the lovers, the fairies, and the rude mechanicals).

Order or Chaos?

Ask students to compare the order of the Athenian court to the chaos of the forest. Encourage students to use examples from the video and the play.

Then tell students to write an argumentative essay about which society they would prefer to live in. Instruct students to use evidence from the videos and play to support their argument.

The Many Plots of A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

Resource 1

• In the Overview video (resource 1), host Hugh Bonneville describes the many plots in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 
• What are they?
• Follow the link (next slide) and watch resource 1. 
• After watching, return to this LessonUp lesson and fill in your answer. 

www.pbslearningmedia.org

In the Overview video (resource 1), host 1. Hugh Bonneville describes the many plots in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
What are they?

1. The Athenian Lovers' Plot

This central plot involves the romantic entanglements of four young Athenian lovers:

Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father, Egeus, insists that she marry Demetrius, who is in love with her.

Helena, who is in love with Demetrius, is heartbroken because he does not return her affections. To escape the pressure of Athenian law, Hermia and Lysander flee to the forest, where they plan to marry. Demetrius follows them, and Helena follows him, hoping to win his love.

2. The Fairy World Plot

This plot involves the fairy characters who live in the forest, led by the fairy king Oberon and queen Titania. They are engaged in a quarrel over a young Indian boy whom Titania refuses to give up. Oberon, seeking revenge, orders his servant Puck (or Robin Goodfellow) to use a magical flower to cause Titania to fall in love with the first creature she sees. Oberon also wants to use the flower to make Demetrius fall in love with Helena, since he is currently in love with Hermia. However, Puck mistakenly applies the magic to the wrong lovers, leading to confusion and chaos.

3. The Mechanicals' Plot

A group of Athenian tradesmen, known as the "mechanicals," prepare a play to perform at the wedding of the Duke, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. The group includes:

Peter Quince (the director),

Nick Bottom (the overconfident actor who is transformed by Puck into a donkey),

Francis Flute, Robin Starveling, Tom Snout, and Snug.

Their play, Pyramus and Thisbe, is a comic and somewhat absurd tragedy, and their rehearsals and antics provide much of the humor in the play.

4. The Marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta

The final plot revolves around the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Their wedding is the occasion for the events in the forest to unfold, and it provides a backdrop for the lovers' stories to resolve. Theseus’ rule is also a source of the law and order that contrasts with the chaotic and magical elements in the forest.

The Plot Connections:

The lovers' plot is driven by misunderstandings, jealousy, and magic, with Puck’s mistakes leading to comedic situations before the couples are properly matched.

The fairy world plot centers around Oberon and Titania’s quarrel, the magic flower, and the chaos it creates, affecting the human lovers.

The mechanicals' plot serves as comic relief with their bumbling preparations for their play, which parallels the larger themes of love and mistaken identity.

The Theseus and Hippolyta plot serves as the framework for the play’s conclusion, where order is restored, and all conflicts are resolved at the royal wedding.

In the end, all the plots come together when the lovers return to Athens, the fairies disappear, and the mechanicals perform their play for Theseus and Hippolyta, concluding the play with celebration and joy.

www.pbslearningmedia.org

The Many Plots of A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

Resource 2

• Why does the host Hugh Bonneville say “a worrying beginning for a comedy” in the Lovers, Part I: The Athenian Court video? 
• What’s worrying? 
• What do Shakespeare’s comedies do for female characters?

Why does the host Hugh Bonneville say “a worrying beginning for a comedy” in the Lovers, Part I: The Athenian Court video? What’s worrying? What do Shakespeare’s comedies do for female characters?

The Many Plots of A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

Resource 3

• In the Lovers, Part II: The Plan video, how do the scenes (and text) examine what’s happening between Hermia and Helena?

In the Lovers, Part II: The Plan video, how do the scenes (and text) examine what’s happening between Hermia and Helena?

The Many Plots of A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

Resource 4

• In the Fairies video, Diane Purkiss says that Shakespeare's fairies serve a darker purpose. What type of mischief does she say they get into?

In the Fairies video, Diane Purkiss says that Shakespeare's fairies serve a darker purpose. What type of mischief does she say they get into?

The Many Plots of A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

Resource 5

• What does Gail Paster say that Shakespeare was trying to show in the scenes with the Rude Mechanicals?

What does Gail Paster say that Shakespeare was trying to show in the scenes with the Rude Mechanicals?

Continue with homework:

Study vocab lesson 4

Do § 2.4: ex 1-6, 8-11, 13-16