2. William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born
in 26 April 1564. He was one of the
most famous English poets and
playwrights. He is widely known as
a tragedy writer. But he also wrote
lots of comedies such as ‘As You
Like It’ , ‘The Comedy Of Errors’ and
‘Twelfth Night’.
3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the
strangest and most delightful plays of
Shakespeare.
The play demonstrates Shakespeare’s
expansiveness of his imagination and his
knowledge about Greek mythology. (Theseus,
for instance, is based on the Greek hero of the
same name, and the play is prepaered with
references to Greek gods and goddesses.
5. SUMMARY
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play by
William Shakespeare. Believed to have been
written between 1590 and 1596, it portrays the
events surrounding the marriage of the Duke
of Athens, Theseus, and Hippolyta. These
include the adventures of four young Athenian
lovers wich controlled and manipulated by
the fairies and a group of six amateur actors.
6. What type of play is it?
It is definitely a comedy as the jokes Puck
plays on some characters are quite funny.
This is when he makes Bottom face of one
of an ass
It also could be a romantic play as well as
with everyone falling in love with each
other.
It’s a supernatural play , as most of the
main characters are magical fairies
7. CHARACTERS
The Athenians
Theseus – Duke of Athens
Hippolyta– Queen of the Amazons
Egeus – father of Hermia, wants her to marry
Demetrius
Hermia – in love with Lysander
Helena – in love with Demetrius
Lysander– in love with Hermia
Demetrius – in love with Hermia at first but later
loves Helena
8. Fairies
Oberon – Titania's husband and King of the
Fairies
Titania – Oberon's wife and Queen of the
Fairies
Robin Goodfellow/Puck– Oberon’s servent
9. Exposition : The king is having four days of celebration before
his big wedding.
The exciting force : Hermia’s father wants her to marry
Demetrius but she wants to marry Lysander as they are in love
Rising action : Her father takes her to the king to be punished
(as it was the law to marry your fathers chosen man). The king
stated that she had till the end off his wedding to decide over
Lysander or Demetrius
Turning point : Lysander and Hermia decide to run away to
the forest.
Catastrophe : Titanium wakes up and sees Bottom falling in
love with him , as Puck had placed the magical love potion on het
eyelids .
Conflict : When both Lysander and Demetrius love Helena , and
them rejecting Hermia. The two young men will then fight for
Helenas love , but puck realising it had gone to far makes them
chase each other further into the forest, and therefore they are both
10. Quotes
So quick bright things come to confusion.
—Lysander speaks to Hermia of the fragility of happiness.
("Confusion" means darkness and destruction.)
my heart / Is true as steel
—Helena's description of the strength of her unswerving love for
Demetrius.
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.
Helena, scene i
11. Comprehension Questions
1) In what year was Shakespeare born?
(A) 1563
(B) 1616
(C) 1564
(D) 1615
2) Which man does Hermia’s father want her to marry?
(A) Lysander
(B) Demetrius
(C) Theseus
(D) Philostrate
3) Where do Lysander and Hermia plan to be married?
(A) Theseus’s palace
(B) Lysander’s aunt’s house
(C) The temple of Diana
(D) A forest glade
4) Whom does Demetrius love at the end of the play?
(A) Titania
(B) Hippolyta
(C) Helena
(D) Hermia