introduction to main facts and plot

1. MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S
DREAM
Introduction

2. Learning Objectives
• Identify the key facts in the play
• Identify the main parts of the play

3. Paraphrase
Thou hast by moonlight at her window sung
With feigning voice verses of feigning love,
feigning = pretending
You’ve pretended to be in love with her, singing fake love songs
softly at her window by moonlight

4. Key Facts
FULL TITLE · A Midsummer Night’s Dream
AUTHOR · William Shakespeare
TYPE OF WORK · Play
GENRES · Comedy; fantasy; romance;
LANGUAGE · English
CLIMAX · There is no real climax. The conflicts of the play are all resolved
quickly by magic.
PROTAGONIST · the four lovers.
ANTAGONIST · the antagonist is not a person, but accidents and mistakes
stand in the lovers’ way.
SETTINGS · Combines elements of Ancient Greece Athens and the forest
outside its walls
THEMES · The difficulties of love; magic; fantasy and reality

5. Lysander Hermia Dimitrius
Egeus Theseus
Hippolyta
The play starts off with Egeus complaining about his daughter Hermia.
Egeus wants his daughter to marry Dimitrius, but Hermia wants to marry Lysander.
Egeus complains to Theseus, the Duke of Athens, who is going to marry Hippolyta.
Theseus tells Hermia she must listen to her father or else be punished.

6. Lysander Hermia
Helena
Lysander and Hermia decide to run away and get married.
Hermia tells her best friend Helena that she and Lysander are going to run away.

7. Helena loves Demetrius, but Demetrius want to marry Hermia.
Helena tells Demetrius that Hermia and Lysander
are going to run away to get married.
Helena hopes Demetrius will love her again.

8. Oberon
Titania
the prince
In the woods, Oberon, the king of the fairies, and Titania, the queen of the fairies, are
fighting over a young prince.
Oberon wishes to make him a knight, but Titania refuses to give him to Oberon.

9. Oberon
Robin Goodfellow
Oberon decides to teach Titania a lesson.
Oberon sends his servant, Robin Goodfellow, to find a magical flower.
The juice of this flower, when spread over a sleeping person’s eyelids ,makes that person
fall in love with the first thing he or she sees upon waking. .

10. In the meantime, Helena has told Demetrius about Lysander and Hermia and so Demetrius
follows them into the woods.
Helena follows Demetrius and he acts cruelly towards her
Oberon sees the couple and has an idea

11. Oberon
Robin Goodfellow
Robin Goodfellow brings Oberon the magical flower,
Oberon tells Robin Goodfellow to spread the juice of the flower on the eyelids of the
young Athenian .
He wants to make Demetrius love Helena.

12. Robin Goodfellow goes into the woods
and finds a young Athenian asleep in
the woods.
Lysander
Robin thinks that this is the young man.
He spreads the juice on Lysander’s eyelids.

13. Helena
Lysander
Lysander opens his eyes and sees Helena who is looking for Demetrius.
Lysander immediately falls in love with Helena.

14. Hermia wakes up and cannot find Lysander.
Hermia thinks Demetrius has killed
Lysander, and she runs away from him.

15. Oberon tries to fix Robin Goodfellow’s mistake and
he spreads the juice of the flower on Demetrius’s
eyelids.
Demetrius opens his eyes
and falls in love with Helena

16. Both Demetrius and Lysander
hate Hermia and poor Helena
thinks they are all three playing
a trick on her.
Goodfellow needs to fix his
mistake so he causes them all
to get lost in the woods and
while they are asleep he
spreads the juice of the flower
on Lysander’s eyes.

17. Lysander wakes up, sees Hermia and falls in love with her again.
Lysander marries Hermia and Demetrius marries Helena.

18. the actors
Goodfellow
Bottom
Meanwhile there are some actors rehearsing in the woods and the naughty
Puck, Goodfellow, has put a donkey’s head on Bottom, one of the actors.

19. Oberon spreads the juice of the flower on Titania’s eyelids
Titania
Bottom
Titania’s wakes up, sees Bottom, and falls in love with him.

20. Oberon takes the prince.
Titania’s wakes and sees how silly she has been.
Titania’s wakes and Oberon
make up.

21. List of Characters
The Athenians
Theseus – Duke of Athens
Hippolyta – Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus
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
The Fairies
Oberon – Titania's husband and King of the Fairies
Titania – Oberon's wife and Queen of the Fairies
Robin Goodfellow/Puck – servant to Oberon
Peaseblossom – fairy servant to Titania
Mustardseed – fairy servant to Titania
The Mechanicals (An acting troupe)
Nick Bottom – wears the head of a donkey and is loved by Titania

22. HomeWork
Read lines 20-45 and answer the question
Your answer must be an essay with the necessary evidence and
explanation:
Why has Egeus brought his daughter and the two men before the duke?