A Midsummer Night’s
Dream
Learning Objective:
An introduction to the plot,
characters and themes within a
Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Key words:
plot
theme
Here are some clues about what the play is about. In your
book, write down what springs to mind when you see the
image or read the word. You can use bullet points or mind
maps.
dream
midsummer
night
Can you make a prediction about what A
Midsummer Night’s Dream may be about?
LO:
An introduction to themes within a Midsummer Night’s Dream and to watch
The Animated Tales for a plot overview.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Midsummer night is the
night before the 24th June
and in Shakespeare’s day it
was always celebrated with
festivals, dances, pageants
and general merry making!
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The characters in the
pageants were fairies,
goblins, witches and devils
who could cast spells,
change people into birds or
animals and do all kinds of
other extraordinary things.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare followed the
custom of his day by setting
the play in a fairy world.
Most people at the time
believed in witchcraft and
the supernatural.
An Enchanted Wood
The play takes place in a wood
near the city of Athens in
Greece. It is unlikely that
Shakespeare ever went to
Athens himself but he will
have studied Greek and
Roman history at school.
Summary
The play revolves around the adventures of
four young lovers, a group of amateur actors
and their interactions with the fairies who
inhabit a moonlit forest.
LO:
An introduction to themes within a Midsummer Night’s Dream and to watch
The Animated Tales for a plot overview.
Summary
The story takes place in Midsummer and is a
complex joke featuring Hermia & Lysander and
Helena & Demetrius.
LO:
An introduction to themes within a Midsummer Night’s Dream and to watch
The Animated Tales for a plot overview.
Summary
Their romantic trickeries are confused and
complicated still further by entering the forest
where Oberon, the King of the Fairies and his
Queen, Titania, live.
LO:
An introduction to themes within a
Midsummer Night’s Dream and to watch
The Animated Tales for a plot overview.
Summary
Puck is a major
character who is
full of mischief
and tricks.
Summary
Other visitors to the enchanted forest include
Bottom the weaver and his friends Snug, Snout,
Quince and Flute, the amateur dramatists who
want to rehearse their terrible but hilarious
version of the play ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’.
LO:
An introduction to
themes within a
Midsummer Night’s
Dream and to watch The
Animated Tales for a plot
overview.
Bottom
The film
He is one of The Mechanicals.
partwatch
of the
WeHe
willisnow
thecompany
first few minutes of the film.
producing a play for Duke
Theseus’
wedding.
He isand
an Hippolyta are planning their
As the
film begins,
Theseus
over-confident fool!
wedding.
As
they
are
Duke
and
Duchess,
it
will
be
a
lavish
Puck plays a trick on him and
ceremony.
gives him the head of an ass!
Titania then falls in love with
for of
a all
short
while!
In thehim
middle
of this
planning, Egeus comes to see
Theseus with a problem. His daughter Hermia doesn’t want to
marry Demetrius, the man that he has chosen for her!
The director has decided to set his version of the play in
Victorian times.
Lesson 2
The Characters
L.O. By the end of the lesson, I will have
developed my understanding of the mortal
characters.
What’s going on?
Demetrius
Hermia
Helena
Theseus is trying to arrange his own
marriage, without having to worry
about this problem!
Lysander
Egeus is angry because
his daughter won’t marry
the person that he has
chosen for her. Context
– fathers had complete
responsibility for their
daughter’s decisions,
until they were married –
and her husband got to
have that responsibility.
human
Weak?
What is a mortal?
No powers
Do you think the
mortals in the
play know about
the fairies and
their plans?
Puck
Oberon’s jester; a
mischievous fairy who
likes to play tricks on
people.
Hermia
She is a beautiful young
woman! She is in love
with Lysander and is
willing to disobey her
father and run away
with him.
Lysander
A young man of
Athens. He is a
romantic – and very
much in love with
Hermia. They run off
together!
Demetrius
A young man – also in
love with Hermia. He is
engaged to her. He is
angry with Lysander
for trying to steal her!
Helena
She is Hermia’s good
friend. She lacks confidence
about her looks and doesn’t
think she can compare to
Hermia. She is in love with
Demetrius!
Oberon
He is the King of the
Fairies – married to
Titania. He is a powerful
fairy, who is used to
being obeyed.
Titania
She is the beautiful Queen of
the Fairies (married to
Oberon).
She is strong and
independent. Oberon and
Puck trick her into loving
Bottom with the love potion.
Class Tasks:
• Watch film extract of Act
One Scene One.
I will use my knowledge and understanding of the characters in Act One Scene One
to coach the characters.
Lesson 3
I will use my knowledge and understanding of the characters in Act One Scene One
to coach the characters.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Characters
hsutees
pihlytaoo
The Athenians
enboor
naittia
The Fairies
oesbpmsolsae,
obecwb,
eesusdrdmta
and oetm
cupk
eugse
mtobto
leehan
meihar
erydnlsa
smeidtiu
cnuqie
The Mechanicals
gnsu
elftu
tnuso
etlgsnairlv
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Characters
Theseus
Hippolyta
The Athenians
Oberon
Titania
The Fairies
Peaseblossom,
Cobweb,
Mustardseed
and Mote
Puck
Egeus
Bottom
Helena
Hermia
Lysander
Demetrius
Quince
The Mechanicals
Snug
Flute
Snout
Starvelling
lovemadly
Lysander
butwith
my
IIam
in love
My daughter Demetrius
isfather
disobeying
saysbut
I must
marry
he only
has
me and won’t
I eyes
am follow
madly
inbest
loveShould
with Hermia
Demetrius.
for mymy
friend.
I love but
wishes. I don’t
her
father
want to
will
letand
herbemarry
abandon
myonly
heart
Demetrius
too
much
to
lose her but angry
Iobey
can’t
Demetrius.
let father?
her
What
do?
my
Orcan
follow
with
him.
Should
IIbe
disobey me like
this!with
my
heart
andHermia?
choose a
angry
nunnery or death?
Imagine that you are an
agony aunt and one of the
characters has written to you
asking for advice.
I will use my knowledge and understanding of the characters in Act One Scene One
to coach the characters.
I am looking forward to hearing from you
The statements above apply to formal and informal letters. Draw the
table below in your book and sort the boxes above into the correct
column.
Informal Letters
Formal Letters
I will use my knowledge and understanding of the characters in Act One Scene One
to coach the characters.
Write a letter advising them what
they should do in their situation.
Remember:
• To lay it out like a letter
• To have a friendly tone
• Not to persuade – just offer
impartial, helpful advice!
I will use my knowledge and understanding of the characters in Act One Scene One
to coach the characters.
Date
Bad Leaders
LO: I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
Starter: Using no more than 50 words,
explain what has happened in the
story so far.
Must
Should
Could
I can state my
opinion about
the leadership
qualities of the
characters.
I can explain my
opinion about
the leadership
qualities of the
characters and
give examples.
I can evaluate,
compare and
contrast the
leadership qualities
of the characters
using examples.
I can participate
in a group
speaking and
listening activity.
I can take a
variety of roles in
my group.
I feel confident in
taking a variety of
roles in my group.
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
Sum up what you know so far
about the play in exactly sixty
words! You must include the
names of all the characters.
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
Explain everything you know about the story so far. You must use
exactly sixty words. Fill each box with one word. You must use all
of the boxes. You can use the same word twice!
So far you have met the Athenian
noble characters.
This lesson, you will get to know
The Mechanicals and The Fairies.
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
The Mechanicals
“The Mechanicals” are a group of
skilled manual workers who try
their hand at acting. He is likely to
have encountered these types of
people when he was growing up
in Stratford.
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
All over Athens, events are being
planned to celebrate the Duke’s
wedding. The Mechanicals
represent the ordinary folk in
Athens. They decide to try out
acting and to write a play about
the tragedy of two lovers.
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
http://www.youtube.com/user/shakespeareani
mated?gl=GB&hl=enGB#p/search/1/eCZndWMALOo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjHklvgLaN4
LO:
An introduction to themes within a Midsummer Night’s Dream and to watch
The Animated Tales for a plot overview.
The Mechanicals
The
Mechanicals
were
What
do
you
notice
• Peter
Quince
– A Carpenter (wood)
Class
Activities:
designed
to provide
a lot
about
The
Mechanicals
their
names?
• Snug – ofA comedy
joinerin(wood
no nails)
the play,–they
Compare
represent
them
normal
to
the
•Watch
extract
about
The
were traditionally
played(fabirc)
• Nick Bottom
– A Weaver
names
people
the
society.
other
Mechanicals.
by
clowns,ofin
see
if you
can
• Francis
Flute
–
A
bellows
mender
work
out why…
characters.
•Class Discussion
• Tom Snout – A tinker (metal)
• Robin Starvelling – A tailor (clothes)
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
Questions:
1) Who acts as the leader in the
rehearsal?
2) Evaluate the effectiveness of Quince’s
leadership. What makes him a good or
bad leader?
3) Which character is the biggest threat
to Quince’s leadership. Explain your
answer.
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
The Fairies
Read “Act Two”
The fairies have the most power in
from
Graphic
the play. However, that does not
always mean
that they make good
Shakespeare.
leaders.
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
Questions:
1) Are Titania and Oberon good leaders?
2) What has happened as a consequence
of their bad leadership?
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
As you’ve probably gathered there is a
lot going wrong in Athens at the
moment…
• The Mechanicals rehearsal is a disaster
• Nature is upside down because Titania and
Oberon won’t stop fighting
• The lovers are mismatched and lost in the
wood
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
Date
Bad Leaders
LO: I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
LO: I will develop my own competence in leadership and
coaching in a group speaking and listening activity.
Extension: Using no more than 50
words, explain what has happened in
the story so far.
Must
Should
Could
I can use my
competence in
leadership to
explain how I
would direct the
scene if I was in
charge.
I can apply my
understanding of
the scene, and
my competence
in leadership, to
explain how I
would direct the
scene if I was in
charge.
I can evaluate,
compare and
contrast,
different ways
that you could
direct the scene.
I will use my competence in leadership to explain how I would direct Act Three
Scene Two.
Class Reading
I will use my competence in leadership to explain how I would direct Act Three
Scene Two.
For each of the lovers,
pick out a key quote that
expresses their emotion.
Highlight these on your
sheet and label them.
I will use my competence in leadership to explain how I would direct Act Three
Scene Two.
As the director, it would be your job to
instruct the actors on the following
things:
•Facial expression
•Tone of voice, including volume and pauses
•Body language/gestures
•Props
•Position on stage
•Lighting and sound
I will use my competence in leadership to explain how I would direct Act Three
Scene Two.
Fill in the table explaining what your
instructions would be for each of the
lines the actor has to say.
I will use my competence in leadership to explain how I would direct Act Three
Scene Two.
Paragraph One: Introduction – A brief
description of the scene.
Use your table as a plan for your reading
Paragraph Two: Hermia.
assessment.
Paragraph Three: Helena.
Paragraph Four: Lysander.
Title: How I would direct Act 3 Scene 2
Paragraph Five: Demetrius.
Paragraph Six: Conclusion
I will use my competence in leadership to explain how I would direct Act Three
Scene Two.
Must
Should
Could
I can use my
competence in
leadership to explain
how I would direct the
scene if I was in
charge.
I can apply my
understanding of the
scene, and my
competence in
leadership, to explain
how I would direct the
scene if I was in
charge.
I can evaluate,
compare and contrast,
different ways that you
could direct the scene.
I will use my competence in leadership to explain how I would direct Act Three
Scene Two.
Character
Emotion
Quotation
Tone of
Facial
Expression voice,
volume and
pauses
Hermia
Helena
Demetrius
Lysander
Props
Position
on Stage
Lighting
and Sound
Date
The Athen’s Chronicle
LO: I will demonstrate my competence in coaching and
leadership by working as a group to create The Athens
Chronicle.
Extension Task: What would be the
headline story for The Athens
Chronicle?
Must
I can show some
demonstration of
leadership and
coaching in a
group task.
Should
Could
I can confidently
demonstrate
leadership and
coaching in a
group task and
reflect on my
competence
development.
I can
demonstrate my
competence in
leadership and
coaching in a
variety of ways
and evaluate my
competence
development.
I will demonstrate my competence in coaching and leadership by working as a
group to create The Athens Chronicle.
In today’s task, each table will work as a team to produce an
edition of The Athens Chronicle. You must each produce one
article for the newspaper. You must decide as a team what the
articles will be about. All of the articles must be about the recent
events in Athens as performed in Shakespeare’s play.. Below are
some examples you may want to use:
• Main story: The Royal Wedding
• Main story: Strange Events in the Weather
• Main story: Egeus’s complaint to Theseus
• A gossip column about the lovers
• A gossip column about Bottom and Titania
• Agony Aunt Page
• A review of Pyramus and Thisbe
• Bottom’s guide to acting
2
2
2
3
4
5
Inside Story
Inside Story
Inside Story
Inside Story
Inside Story
Inside Story
Inside this issue: This
is a contents page of
other news
 You might also want
to write: “Full story
on page…”
 You might want to
mention an article
for men, and an article to interest
women.
 This will get people
to pick it up, if
there’s something
that interests them
inside.
 You can mention
other stories that
are inside the paper
here.
Special points of interest:
1st December 2000
Volume 1, Issue 1
The detail
You must also use short sen-
There are lots of ways to
make your writing interesting. You could use bold subheadings to break it up and
make it easier to read.
Making it interesting
You need to use a colon to
introduce the speech and
make sure you put all the
actual word spoken in
speech marks.
...said: “…………………..”
This is where you can include interviews with people
who have something to say
about the news. You need to
set it out like this:
Finishing off
so you need to use lots of
superlative adjectives and
exaggeration.
You could have an expert’s
opinion. In this case, as we
have also looked at what
Puck is getting up to, you
You can use this space to
have another story, or to
write a little more on the
subject above, it it’s a very
important story.
You could write about what
the fairy said Puck had been
doing. You could also write
about the King’s party that
he plans to have that eve-
might like to use the space
to write a story about how
Puck has been causing chaos
in the Human World.
Secondary Story Headline
Then you can start to say
how the story came about,
by going back to the beginning and re-telling the events
from the start. This is where
people might lose interest,
How?
Why?
Where?
When?
What?
Who?
You need to answer the six
main news questions in the
first paragraph.
This story should be about
150-200 words long. You
need to present the information in a very structured way.
The first paragraph
Lead Story Headline
ning, like our newspapers
might write about a film premier or a star-studded event
that will be happening.
You need to leave some
space so that people don’t
think there’s too much to
tences and easy words, so
people don’t get bored by it.
Your paragraphs should only
be 2-3 sentences long. It is
perfectly acceptable in newspapers to have a paragraph
with only one sentence, if
the information in it is really
important.
You could include a picture
of the King or Queen, or
even the changeling child.
The Fairy Tribune
Fairy Kingdom Publications
Your homework task is to produce a teaching and
learning activity that would be appropriate for Year
6 students.
The activity should coach younger people. It should
teach them about A Midsummer Night’s Dream
and why it is still relevant to us today.
• A modern day story
• A board game based on the play
• A quiz
In your groups you must stage a Jeremy
Kyle Show with one of the following titles:
• My ex-boyfriend fell in love with my best
friend!
• My dad is forcing me to marry
• My husband won’t give me custody of our
adopted child
• My actors won’t follow instructions
Performance Time!
I will evaluate the leadership of a variety of characters.
Must
Should
Could
I can state my opinion
about the leadership
qualities of the
characters.
I can explain my
opinion about the
leadership qualities of
the characters and give
examples.
I can evaluate, compare
and contrast the
leadership qualities of the
characters with examples.
I can participate in a
group speaking and
listening activity.
I can take a variety of
roles in my group.
I can feel confident in
taking a variety of roles in
my group.
Show Schedule:
Jeremy Kyle introduces your main character and asks
them to explain their problem.
Jeremy Kyle introduces other characters one by one who
give their opinion on the problem.
Jeremy Kyle comes up with a solution and asks each
character whether they agree with it.
Step One: Decide which title to pick:
______________________________
Step Two: Decide who will play who:
Name
Character
Jeremy Kyle
Jeremy Kyle ends the show with a lasting thought.
Level 4: convey straightforward
ideas about characters and
situations, making deliberate
choices of speech, gesture,
and movement in different roles
and scenarios
Level 5: show insight into texts
and issues through deliberate
choices of speech gesture, and
movement, beginning to
sustain and adapt different roles
and scenarios
Level 6: demonstrate empathy
and understanding through
flexible choices of speech,
gesture, and movement,
adapting roles convincingly to
explore ideas and
issues
Level 7:explore complex ideas
and issues through insightful
choice of speech, gesture, and
movement, establishing roles
and applying dramatic
approaches with confidence