Documentation for the interdepartamental task 2015-16, "A Midsummer Night's Dream". IES Pedro Floriani, Redondela. Departements of Philosophy and English. School Library. 1st Bacharelato

1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by William Shakespeare

2. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I
THE
CHARACTERS

3. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:

4. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
Some noble women and men from Athens
The queen of the
Amazons, the Duke
of Athens and some
young people.

5. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
Some noble women and men from Athens
Hippolyta and Theseus
Theseus fought
against Hippolyta
and her Amazons.
Now they are going
to marry and seem to
have made it up
but… have they
really?

6. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
Some noble women and men from Athens
Hermia and Lysander
Hermia and
Lysander are a
young couple in love.

7. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
Some noble women and men from Athens
Hermia, Lysander,
Demetrius and Egeus
But Demetrius loves
Hermia too and her
father, Egeus, has
promised her to him.

8. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
Some noble women and men from Athens
Helena and Demetrius
Meanwhile, Helena,
Hermia’s friend,
loves Demetrius,
who despises her.

9. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
A group of craftsmen
They want to act in
a play at the royal
wedding.

10. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
A group of craftsmen
Quince
Peter Quince is the
nominal leader of the
craftsmen.

11. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
A group of craftsmen
Bottom
But Bottom thinks
that HE is the big
star and wants to
play all the roles.

12. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
The fairies
They are the spirits
of the woods: animal
and vegetal.
But… BE
CAREFUL! Where
there are fairies
there’s always
trouble!

13. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
The fairies
Titania and Oberon
The queen and king
of the fairies.
They are very upset,
fighting over a boy
they both want as a
servant.
This is like the story
of Ganymede!

14. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
The fairies
Puck
Robin Goodfellow
(Puck) is a
“mischievous” spirit:
even when he wants
to help all he does
ends up in disaster.

15. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
And the characters in the play
The play is the sad
story of Pyramus and
Thisbe.
A doomed love,
similar to Romeo and
Juliet.

16. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
And the characters in the play
Thisbe and Pyramus
Flute and Bottom,
two of the
craftsmen, play the
unfortunate lovers.

17. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
And the characters in the play
Lion
Snug plays a
fearsome lion.

18. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
And the characters in the play
The moon
Starveling, with a
lantern and a dog, is
“the man in the
moon”.

19. In A midsummer night’s dream
we meet several groups of people:
And the characters in the play
And a wall
And Snout is a wall.
Thisbe and Pyramus
try to talk and kiss
through a hole in it.

20. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
II
SOME REMARKABLE
SITUATIONS

21. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
The law of Athens
Theseus tells Hermia that
she must obey her father
and marry Demetrius or
become a nun.

22. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
The enchanted wood
So Hermia and Lysander
run away, far from
Athens. Helena and
Demetrius go after them.
But they all get lost in a
wood full of fairies and
magic.

23. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
The juice of the pansy
Oberon tells Puck to use
the pansy’s magic and help
the mismatched couples
but he only makes
everything worse.

24. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
Titania loves an ass
Puck also gives Bottom an
ass’s head.
Oberon had put the
pansy’s juice on Titania’s
eyes so she falls in love
with the beast! – A nasty
trick to make her forget
the little servant boy.

25. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
The lovers fight
Now everything is wrong.
Oberon decides to put the
lovers to sleep and fix
everything while they are
sleeping.
He also cures Titania.

26. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
The fairies make up
Titania and Oberon make
amends and want to bless
Hippolyta and Theseus’s
marriage. They’ll dance at
their wedding and in their
palace so the queen and
king will love each other
and live happily ever after.

27. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
III
THEMES AND
SYMBOLS

28. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
Midsummer’s eve
June, 23 is the longest day
of the year.
Nature is in full bloom
and all cultures celebrate
rites of fertility and
transformation.
http://www.amazon.com/Midsummers-Eve-500-Piece-Puzzle/dp/B000OAY1YW

29. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
Night and day, darkness and light
Light and day are symbols of
reason and knowledge.
Night and darkness are
symbols of passion and
instinct.
As two sides of the same
reality, they symbolize the
interdependence of reason
and passion.
https://pixabay.com/p-297261/?no_redirect

30. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
Dreams
In this play, problems are
solved during dreams. They
may get worse for some time,
but they wouldn’t be solved
by reason.
Therefore, aren’t dreams more
real than reality itself?
https://pixabay.com/es/mariposa-bokeh-magic-sue%C3%B1o-sue%C3%B1os-407746/

31. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
Magic
Some flowers, like pansies,
have the power to make
people fall in love.
Magic is what links all the
themes in this play.
http://orig01.deviantart.net/6f98/f/2012/177/f/a/poses_with_roses_magic_pen_2_by_alrine21xe-d550c1c.jpg

32. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
The supernatural world
Though people don’t know it,
evereything in the play is
caused by supernatural
powers: they make the right
couples, they give them an
ass’s head, they dance in the
palace to make Hippolyta and
Theseus end their fights. . .
https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6073/6081237977_d0cbbc8dc8_b.jpg

33. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
The wood
The wood is the place outside
the town where laws don’t
apply.
When the young lovers arrive
there, rules change and so
they can solve their problems,
joining «the right Jack with
the right Jill.»
https://pixabay.com/p-945405/?no_redirect

34. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
Law and Order vs. Instinct and Chaos
Hippolyta and Theseus, and
Titania and Oberon, are
mirrored couples – they
represent opposite sides of the
same themes: The town, with
its law and order, against
nature with its instincts and
chaos.

35. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
The play within the play
«Pyramus and Thisbe»
reflects many situations in
«reality»: the hardships of
love, the influence of the
night and the moon . . .
Maybe life is only a play some
higher powers write, watch
and even laugh at while we
act the roles.https://www.google.es/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjysZGVw7XJAhVMSRoKHZP
EAVkQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Falexbrn%2F3735287592&psig=AFQjCNHzAQrNHQfH2HqoWGw
2RxSsKwZdDg&ust=1448882526034742

36. THEMES AND SYMBOLS
Gender issues
In AMND there are many
oppositions between women
and men.
Against Shakespeare’s time’s
social rules, women here
stand their ground, give their
opinion and are not humble or
submissive.

37. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
By William Shakespeare
IES Pedro Floriani, Redondela
Department of Philosophy
Department of English
School Library Project 2015-16: THE LIGHT
All images used for educational purposes only.
Please contact us through http://avellanacova.blogspot.com.es/ to claim Copyright Ownership.
All references to filmic version: The Globe production:
Shakespeare's Globe on Screen: A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2014.