1) A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of William Shakespeare's most famous comedies, believed to have been written between 1590-1596. 2) Though set in Athens, the play reflects the pastoral environment and society of late 16th century Britain. 3) The plot involves magic and mistaken identities in the forest outside Athens, revolving around the intertwined romantic relationships between four young Athenian lovers and the fairy king and queen of the forest.

1. A Midsummer’s
Night Dream
http://www.cambio.com/2011/10/03/a-midsummer-nights-dream/#

2. Anachronistic: something
that is out of harmony
with the period in which
The Basics it is placed
Believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596, it is unknown
exactly when A Midsummer Night's Dream was written or first performed,
but on the basis of topical references and the reference to courtiers being
afraid of a stage lion (this may allude to an incident in Scotland in August
1594), it is usually dated 1594 or 1596.
Some have theorised that the play might have been written for an
aristocratic wedding (for example that of Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley),
while others suggest that it was written for the Queen to celebrate the
feast day of St. John. No concrete evidence exists to support this theory. In
any case, it would have been performed at The Theatre and, later, The
Globe.
Although notionally it is set in Athens, the play could almost be set in a
pastoral British environment. Many of Shakespeare’s comedies are set
abroad or in fictional realms. Some people believed this was helpful
because it prevented Shakespeare from upsetting anyone in Britain and
negated any censorship. Even though the play is set in Greece, it still
contains many images, words and ideas from British society of the time.
This can make some concepts anachronistic.
Like the model set in previous centuries. Shakespeare realised that the
best kind of comedy is generated by a series of mix-ups where disorder is
rife and life is turned upside down. All of his comedies look at the
foolishness of human beings.

3. Midsummer Day
June 24th is the Feast of the Nativity of St John the
Baptist. It falls only three days after the Summer
Solstice, the day on which the sun reaches its highest
glory, and thereafter begins to decline. Anciently, it was
a fire-festival of great importance when, through
countless centuries, the sun was ritually strengthened by
bonfires burning everywhere on Midsummer Eve, by
torchlight processions through the streets, or by flaming
tar-barrels.
Midsummer’s Eve, June 23rd, is believed to be the most
magical night of the year. It was believed that on
Midsummer Night that the fairies and witches held their
festival. To dream about Midsummer Night was to
conjure up images of fairies and witches and other
similar creatures and supernatural events.

4. Shakespeare’s Language
Because Shakespeare wrote nearly four hundred
years ago, some of the conventions that he uses
in his plays are unfamiliar to modern audiences.
Shakespeare's writing falls into three categories:
1) Rhyming Verse
2) Blank Verse
3) Prose
MSND is 80% verse, 20% prose. There are fairly
high incidents of rhyme, including deliberately
bad rhyme in ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’.

5. Shakespeare’s Language
1. RHYMING VERSE (“poetry” as we generally think of it):
There is a distinct rhythm, and the ends of sentences or
phrases rhyme (usually an exact rhyme, but sometimes
words are used that almost rhyme).
In general, comedies use rhyming verse throughout the
dialogue, and fairies and witches always use it to cast spells
or weave enchantments. When characters in a play speak
rhymes they do it to emphasize what they're saying, to
reflect the language of love or to make the speech light-
hearted or comic.
Romeo: If I profane with my unworthy hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this—
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

6. Shakespeare’s Language
2. BLANK VERSE:
Lines written in a poetic meter but the ends of sentences or
phrases do not rhyme.
Shakespeare's blank verse is usually in iambic pentameter;
which means that there are five measures (pentameters)
and two syllables within each measure, with the accent (or
emphasis) placed on the second syllable. [Note: "penta"
means "five" and "meter" means measure; iambic refers to
where the accent is placed]. Thus, there are generally 10
syllables to a Shakespearean line of blank verse; this is
considered "regular". It is important to realize that
“iambic” is the natural rhythm of the English language. If
you are a native English speaker, you will automatically
emphasize every second syllable.
‘I think I’d like to have a cup of tea.’ Is this the sort of thing we
say every day? Write it out in the same way as the examples on
the previous page. Is it iambic pentameter?

7. Shakespeare’s Language
The placement of punctuation, choice of words, the sound of words (harsh
consonant sounds vs. soft vowel sounds), help keep regular blank verse
lines from sounding alike.
All of the lines below have ten syllables, with the accent on the second
syllable of each meter, but they sound very different when pronounced
out loud.
First, divide the lines into five meters. Then speak
each line out loud. Keeping the accent on the
second syllable, experiment with how much
A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse! emphasis you place on each word. See if the
emotion changes with more or less emphasis. For
instance, in the first line, the word “horse” is
She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd. always the accented syllable (the second syllable
in a meter). But you might not place equal stress
Methought I heard a voice cry, "Sleep no more!" on the word all three times.a What willstress, and
the first two "horses" have medium
happen if
the last gets a heavy emphasis. How does this
As I do live by food, I met a fool, make the speaker feel? Or, how do you feel if you
place the most emphasis on the first "horse", then
less on the second and even less on the third?
Tis but thy name that is my enemy Experimenting with the amount of stress is a
great way to start exploring what the character is
going through in the moment.

8. Shakespeare’s Language
Irregular Blank Verse:
Although most of the lines in Shakespeare are written in regular
blank verse, there are many which have more or less than 10
syllables. The reasons for adding or taking away syllables, or
reversing the accent often help to clarify meaning, add emotional
weight, or allow room for a change of thought.
Some lines begin with the accent on the first syllable, which is
determined by the sense of the line. These are called trochaic
measures:
Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling,
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel…
OTHER CLUES TO UNDERSTANDING MEANING, EMOTION AND MOTIVATION:
Once we know the basic rules of verse, we can look at lines or
sections of text and use other information to find out more about
its meaning.

9. Shakespeare’s Language
3. Prose has:
• Run-on lines (unlike iambic pentameter)
• No rhyme or metric scheme
• The qualities of everyday language
You can easily spot dialogue written in prose because
it appears as a block of text, unlike the strict
rhythmic patterns of Shakespeare’s verse.

10. Shakespeare’s Language
Shakespeare used prose to tell us something about his characters
by interrupting the rhythmic patterns of the play. Many of
Shakespeare’s low-class characters speak in prose to distinguish
them from the higher-class, verse-speaking characters. Many short,
functional lines like “And I, my lord,” and “I pray you leave me” are
written in prose to give the play a sense of realism. In some longer
speeches, Shakespeare allowed the audience to identify more
closely with his characters by using the everyday language of the
time. Shakespeare used it to create comic effect. Some of
Shakespeare’s low-class comic creations aspire to speak in the
formal language of their superiors, but do not have the intelligence
to achieve this and therefore become objects of ridicule. It can also
suggest a character’s mental instability.
In Shakespeare’s day, it was conventional to write in verse, which
was seen as a sign of literary excellence. By writing some of his
most serious and poignant speeches in prose, Shakespeare was
fighting against this convention. It is interesting that some plays like
Much Ado About Nothing are written almost entirely in prose – an
exceptionally brave move for an Elizabethan playwright.

11. Homework:
1. Research and make notes on
Shakespeare’s sources for the story
and characters in MSND.
Ensure you research fully e.g. if the source of part of the story
is another text or a historical event you will need to research
that text/event too.
2. What was happening in 1594-1596?
What were the issues, ideas and
interests for British society at this
time? Warning!
There will be a test on
the characters, plot
and themes in MSND
on Friday. You must
score at least 85%