Introduction to Shakespeare Knowledge Organiser

Plot: Act I: Theseus, the Duke of Athens is preparing to marry Hippolyta. Egeus wants his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius. Hermia is in love with Lysander. Hermia and Lysander run away into the forest outside of Athens to marry in secret. Bottom and the other craftsmen are rehearsing in the woods to put on a play at the Duke’s wedding. Act II: Titania and Oberon meet in the woods and argue about the young Indian prince that Titania has. Oberon orders Puck to put cast a love spell on Titania as revenge. Oberon puts the pansy juice onto Titania’s eyes as it is believed to be a love potion. Puck also puts the love potion in Lysander’s eyes by mistake as he thinks he is Demetrius. Act III: The actors are rehearsing their play in the woods. Puck puts the head of an ass on Bottom. Titania wakes up and falls in love with Bottom because of the love potion that Oberon put in her eyes. Both Demetrius and Lysander fall in love with Helena because of the potion. Oberon is angry with Puck for causing trouble. Puck sprinkles the juice into Lysander’s eyes so he will fall in love with Hermia again. Act IV: Titania is still in love with Bottom. Oberon orders for the spell to be removed from Titania’s eyes and Puck to change Bottom back to a human. Act V: Theseus and Hippolyta’s guests are waiting for entertainment at their wedding. Theseus decides on the play he wants to see performed by Bottom and his craftsmen. The men perform an awful and funny version of the story of Pyramus and Thisbe.

Themes: Love: Lots of the characters in the play experience difficulties in their relationships. Love connections Key Characters: change throughout the play due to the use of potions. • Theseus- The Duke of Athens (Ruler of Athens) • Egeus- The father of Hermia Magic: The fairies’ magic brings about many difficulties • Hermia- The daughter of Egeus and in love with Lysander within the play. The power of love is presented as • Lysander- The man loved by Hermia supernatural (symbolised by the love potion) which • Demetrius- The man that Egeus wants to marry Hermia helps to create the fantasy world in the play. • Helena- A close friend of Hermia and in love with Demetriuss • Puck- A mischievous fairy who causes much of the confusion Dreams: Dreams are used to explain lots of the strange • Oberon- King of the fairies things that happen in the play. Puck tells the audience • Titania- Queen of the fairies at the end of the play, if they have been offended, they • Bottom- A weaver by trade he ends up being transformed should remember it was all a dream. Introduction to Shakespeare Knowledge Organiser

Author, Themes and Context: Texts that we will study: Author – William Shakespeare. Born 1564, died 1616. Was born in Stratford- Upon Avon. Sonnet 18 - one of the best-known of the sonnets comparing a young man to a summer's day. Poetry – 154 love sonnets Fun Fact: Shakespeare created over 1,380 characters. Sonnet 130 - mocks the conventions of the showy and Plays : Fun Fact: Shakespeare coined many new flowery courtly sonnets in its realistic portrayal of his words and created “knock, knock” jokes. mistress. Tragedies – Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Hamlet - The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, and Titus Andronicus. often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by Comedies – All’s Well That Ends Well, As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, Cymbeline, William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. Love’s Labour’s Lost, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of It is Shakespeare's longest play with 30,557 words. Windsor, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Julius Caesar - The Tragedy of Julius Caesar is a history The Tempest, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Noble play and tragedy by William Shakespeare first performed Kinsmen, and The Winter’s Tale. in 1599. It is one of several plays written by Shakespeare Histories – Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, based on true events from Roman history, such as Henry VI Part 3, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II, and Richard III. Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. Taming of the Shrew - The Taming of the Shrew is a Stylistic Features and Symbolism: comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been Blank verse – non rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter (iamb= a beat du duh; pent written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a = five) framing device, often referred to as the induction, in Soliloquy – Where a character speaks their thoughts aloud to the audience which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker Tragedy – A type of drama involving catastrophe and death named Christopher Sly into believing he is actually a Comedy – A type of drama involving love, confusion and happy endings nobleman himself. History – A type of drama reflecting the life of a historical figure Sonnet – A traditional love poem of 14 lines A Midsummer Night’s Dream - A Midsummer Night's Jacobean – Describing England during the reign of James I (1603 – 1625) Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare in Elizabethan – Describing England during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603) 1595/96. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage Shakespearian – Describing England during the life of William Shakespeare ( 1564 – 1616) of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta.