A Welcome Note From AHHS:
Welcome! We are thrilled to have you and your students join us for
Imagination Fort Worth’s Student Matinee production of A Midsummer
Night’s Dream. Our goal is to engage students with the work on a variety
of levels through the live performance and the activities in this guide.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, all the characters are engaged in a kind of
wonder of what is real and what isn’t— first believing one thing and then
another, all the while passionately pursuing famously elusive things:
family harmony, love, or fame. Since this is a comedy, all’s well in the end,
but the journey is all about experiencing real and powerful human
emotions while traveling through the realms of the insubstantial. Our
version is set just after the American Civil War, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Read the plot summary on the following pages or watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdcKPQY8b2U
PLOT SUMMARY
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was written between 1594 and
1598. It has three interlocking plots, all involving marriages.
The first is the planned marriage between Duke Theseus and
the Amazonian queen, Hippolyta; the second involves a mad
scramble between four young lovers who fall in and out of love
with each other in the depths of the forest; and the third
involves the marriage between Titania and Oberon, two fairies
who reside in the forest of Athens.
The play’s first scene shows us Hermia, a spirited young
woman who refuses to marry Demetrius, the man her father
(Egeus) has chosen for her. Egeus calls on Athenian law, which
states that a girl must accept her father’s choice of a suitor or
else face death. Theseus feels sorry for Hermia and gives her
another choice—to live forever as a virgin and worship the
goddess Diana.
PLOT SUMMARY
Hermia is not fond of either choice, and decides to elope with
her lover, Lysander, to the forest. She tells her friend Helena of
the plan that she and Lysander have hatched; and Helena,
recently rejected by the man of her dreams, Demetrius, decides
to use the information to try to win him back. She reveals to
Demetrius Hermia’s plans, but the information does not have
the effect she plans: Demetrius, closely followed by a lovelorn
Helena, pursues Hermia and Lysander into the forest.
Next is the storyline shared by Oberon and Titania, the King
and Queen of the fairies in the forest. Titania has refused to
give up to Oberon her Indian changeling boy, whom Oberon
wishes to have as his henchman. To punish her, Oberon orders
the fairy Puck to wipe a love potion from a purple flower on
Titania’s eyelids while she is sleeping, so that when she wakes,
she will fall in love with the first vile creature she sees.
PLOT SUMMARY
The two plots converge when Oberon witnesses Demetrius
cruelly insulting Helena, who is still in hot pursuit of him.
Oberon orders Puck to wipe the potion on Demetrius’ eyes
while he sleeps, so that when he opens his eyes he will see
Helena and fall in love with her. But Puck makes a mistake,
putting the potion on Lysander’s eyes instead. When Lysander
awakens, he happens to see Helena run by, and falls in love
with her! Oberon sees this and commands Puck to put the
flower potion on the right young man’s eyes. Puck finds
Demetrius asleep, puts the love potion on, and sure enough he
wakes up just as Helena arrives— pursued by Lysander—and,
of course, immediately falls for her as well!
Both young men are now in love with Helena, and Hermia can’t
believe it, since neither young man wanted Helena at all before
the night set in.
PLOT SUMMARY
In fact, Helena herself can’t believe it and thinks the boys are
playing a cruel joke on her by only pretending to be in love.
After enjoying the confusion for a while, Oberon orders Puck to
undo his mistake, and, once the lovers fall asleep on the forest
floor, he reapplies his potion so Lysander falls back in love
with Hermia.
Things move from the sublime to the ridiculous when Titania
awakens from a sleep in which she has been “treated” to
Puck’s love potion. She falls in love with an ass! “Ass” is
another word for a donkey or a foolish person, and in this case
the ass is Bottom, one of the “rude mechanicals” who are busy
rehearsing a play they want to perform at Theseus’ and
Hippolyta’s wedding.
PLOT SUMMARY
Puck’s mischief has been getting out of control, and he has
transformed Bottom’s head so that when Titania opens her
eyes to the vision of Bottom, she is in love with an ass!
Eventually, however, all the plots untangle and everything
works out. Oberon gets the changeling boy he wants and all is
well between the fairies. When Theseus and Hippolyta come to
the forest for a morning hunt, they awaken the four young
lovers. Since Demetrius no longer loves Helena, Theseus
overrules Egeus’ edict and declares that Lysander should
marry Hermia and Demetrius should marry Helena. The lovers
decide that they must have been caught in a dream, and, at the
wedding feast, they all sit merrily and watch the ridiculous
version of the tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe put on by the
rude mechanicals.
Before viewing the play here is what to watch for:
Look for how all three groups of characters intertwine in the story.
How are they all getting their hearts’ desires?
How does magic help the lovers?
How are the fairies being portrayed?
How is the audience asked to use their imagination to create the world of
this play?
Look for moments that you recognize in modern life:
Are the characters acting like people would today? Why or why not?
Be Funny-Make them laugh and they’re on your side.
Here is how Shakespeare sets out to make you laugh in Midsummer:
Mistaken identities: Puck disguises himself, falling in love with the wrong person / animal
Multiple, intertwining plots: Plots involving the Mechanicals, the Mortals, and the Fairies
Suspension of natural laws: Magic as a real force in the forest
Turning things upside down: Women pursue men, people live in the forest rather than in
civilization, unschooled men and women attempt to perform a play
The element of marriage: The play culminates in three marriages which provide occasion
for celebration and entertainment
Language: Misuse of words or meanings, clever use of insults, complex imagery
Puck’s Page:
“I am that merry wanderer of the night.”—Puck, Act 2, scene 1
The character of Puck is based in the myth and folklore of fairies.
Here is a look at how Puck has been seen and described throughout history.
Prior to Shakespeare, who may have been influenced by the Welsh Pwca, Puck
and Robin Goodfellow were considered separate creatures. Now they are
considered the same creature. Parallel words exist in many ancient languages—
puca in Old English, puki in Old Norse, puge in Danish, mostly with the original
meaning of a demon, devil or evil and malignant spirit. Because of this it is
uncertain if the original puca came from Scandinavia, Germany or Ireland.
Puck used his shape-shifting to make mischief. For example, the
Phouka (Ireland) would turn into a horse and lead people on a wild
ride, sometimes dumping them in water. The Welsh Pwca would
lead travels with a lantern and then blow it out when they were at
the edge of a cliff.
After you have seen the play discuss the following questions.
Is Shakespeare trying to say something about
how humans behave by using the fairies as he does?
Do the fairies represent something about human nature?
What do the mechanicals seem to mean in this play?
Which of the characters do you like the best?
Why?
Did the setting and costumes of the characters make sense to you?
Do you believe in fate?
Or can people make their own destiny? Explain.
What kind of picture do you think Shakespeare is trying to paint?
Did you recognize any parts of this story from modern
movies or books, or your own life?
Your turn! Reflect, review and write about!
Which character would you want to play and explain why?
Did you like the use of physical comedy?
How would you feel if you could not marry the one you love?
What would you or could you do?
Are there still places that have arranged marriages?
After the Civil War why was their so much anger?
What was a ‘woman’s’ place during war?
Young men often went to war by the time they turned 12 or 14 years of age, young
women were often married at 14 or 16 , how would that impact you if you were
alive during that time period?
What do you think would be the hardest part of living during that war?
Have you ever done something- “Puckish”? What was it and who to?
In this production we are setting the
play in the time period of just after
the Civil War, where tensions are
stormy and the emotions run high.
Shakespeare originally set it in
Greece. But, we are setting it in
Atlanta, Georgia. One might think
things have changed since ancient
Greece, however there are quite a
few similarities when it comes to
love, a woman’s place and who has
rights to make choices.
A Brief History of the Civil War:
The Civil War (1861-1865) resolved two
fundamental questions left unresolved by the
American revolution: whether the United States
was to be a dissolvable confederation of
sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a
sovereign national government; and whether this
nation, born of a declaration that all men were
created with an equal right to liberty, would
continue to exist as the largest slaveholding
country in the world.
Northern victory in the war preserved the United
States as one nation and ended the institution of
slavery that had divided the country from its
beginning. But these achievements came at the
cost of 625,000 lives.
A Brief History of the Civil War:
The Civil War started because of uncompromising
differences between the free and slave states over
the power of the national government to prohibit
slavery in the territories that had not yet become
states. When Abraham Lincoln won election in
1860 as the first Republican president on a
platform pledging to keep slavery out of the
territories.
Seven slave states in the deep South seceded and
formed a new nation, the Confederate States of
America. Eventually four more slave states
seceded and joined the Confederacy. By the end
of 1861 nearly a million armed men confronted
each other along a line stretching 1200 miles from
Virginia to Missouri.
A Brief History of the Civil War:
For three long years, from 1862 to 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's
Army staved off invasions and attacks by the Union Army commanded by a series
of ineffective generals until General Ulysses S. Grant came to become in charge
of all Union armies.
By the spring of 1865 all the principal Confederate armies surrendered, and when
Union cavalry captured the fleeing Confederate President Jefferson Davis in
Georgia on May 10, 1865, resistance collapsed and the war ended. The long,
painful process of rebuilding a united nation free of slavery began.
In 1862, a British magazine called
Punch published a Midsummer Night's
Dream inspired political cartoon
commenting on the US Civil War.
The cartoon depicts Oberon as
President Lincoln and Titania as the
State of Virginia. A young slave boy is
the Changeling, over whom Lincoln
and Virginia are fighting.
Why does this analogy work?
Create a map of the characters from this complex tale, show
how their stories overlap by showing direction. Below are two
examples of how to create a character map.
Another great way to get to know the characters in this
complex tale is to create character cards. Look at the
examples below and then make your own!
In this production a classic tale was re-set in a new era. Choose one of
your favorite books, plays or movies (like “Alice in Wonderland” shown
below) and depict the characters in a new time period or setting.
Create a collage of your favorite characters, quotes or ideas
in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
$25,000+
$10,000-$24,999
Sid W. Richa rdson Founda tion
Arts Council of Fort Worth & Ta rra nt County
Rosentha l Founda tion
Community Founda tion of North Texa s
Willia m E. Scott Founda tion
Ellison & Edwa rd La sa ter Trust
Texa s Commission for the Arts
Texa s Educa tion Agency
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
$500 - $9,999
Armstrong Founda tion
Arts Council of Northea st Ta rra nt County
Ba tes Conta iner
BBVA Compa ss Founda tion
Jill Bla ck
Colonia l Country Club Cha rity
Communities Founda tion of Texa s
Fort Worth Convention a nd Visitors Burea u
Frost Ba nk
Ma ry Potishma n La rd Trust
Ja ck La rson
Mollie & Ga rla nd La sa ter Trust
Rozell Spra yer Ma nufa cturing
Rya n Founda tion
Sertoma Club of Downtown Fort Worth
Joe P. Stra in
Ta rget Founda tion
Texa s Associa tion of Pa rents & Educa tors of the Dea f
Virginia Street Smith Trust
Wells Fa rgo Founda tion