A Midsummer Night's Dream

Knowledge Organiser Focus: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

I should already know: KeyKey words Words • Ancient Athens in Greece soliloquy - a speech in a play that the character speaks to himself or herself or to the audience, rather than • Shakespeare and the Shakespearian to the other characters era, 16th century • The form of a play script severe – very strict or harsh

conflict – a serious disagreement, battle or struggle between two sides or ideas. I will learn: unrequited love – If a person loves someone who doesn’t love them back, the person’s love is unrequited • Life in Ancient Athens, Greece; Shakespearian England; the form of a play to mock – To mock someone is to make fun of them script; the effects of a love chaos – a situation where there is no order and everyone is confused potion, what unrequited love is, who: Helena, Lysander, to resolve – to solve a problem or difficulty Hermia and Demetrius us Vocabulary I should already know: Greater Depth Challenge • How might the reactions of • Subject verb agreement, Character, author, act, scene, page, glossary, authorial modern readers be different to intent, analytical paragraph, topic sentence, quotation. comma after where it Shakespearian readers? happened , two sentences of • How would a Shakespearian speech within a regular audience be kept interested Grammar I should already know: sentence, writing at least two without the modern paragraphs about four ideas • Composing a topic sentence; the subject; subject technologies of lighting and verb agreement; the past simple tense special effects. • Consistent use of past simple tense This will help in the future: • Selecting the correct pronouns including he, she and it Further Reading • Capital letters and full stops and correcting run on sentences BBC bitesize • Y8 study of The Tempest • Identifying when it happened https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z • Y9 study of Romeo and Juliet • Indent new paragraph ksycdm • GCSE English Literature • Inferring missing events The Shakespeare Stories by Andrew Shakespearian play study • Writing two paragraphs about two ideas and including speech Mathews and Tony Ross. Plot Summary Who loves Whom Characters Act 1: Hermia and Lysander love each other but are Hermia Theseus Oberon not allowed to marry so decide to run away to the The duke of Athens. He is a strong The king of the fairies who controls forest to get married in secret. Demetrius wants to Lysander Demetrius and strict ruler of the city. the love potion. marry Hermia. Helena loves Demetrius. They follow Hermia and Lysander into the forest. Helena Hippolyta Titania Theseus’s bride. She was a fearless Act 2: In the forest, Oberon and Titania are arguing. The fierce queen of the fairies who warrior. Oberon sees Demetrius and Helena arguing and Hermia falls in love with Bottom when the commands Puck to use the potion on the Athenian Egeus love potion is put on her. man to make him fall in love with Helena. However, Lysander Demetrius Hermia’s stubborn father who wants Bottom the first Athenian man Puck sees is Lysander, so he her to marry Demetrius or be put to A weaver and actor who has his puts the love potion on him. Lysander falls madly in Helena death. head turned into a donkey. Titania love with Helena. Hermia falls in love with him when she is Act 3: Puck sees Bottom in the forest and transformed Egeus’s daughter who is in love with under the love potion’s influence. his head into a donkey’s head. He puts the love Hermia Lysander. potion on Titania, who falls in love with Bottom. Puck Puck Oberon’s mischievous servant who puts the love potion on Demetrius so that he falls in Lysander Demetrius Lysander puts the potion on people’s eyes. love with Helena. As a result, both men love Helena He is in love with Hermia and runs so there is chaos. Puck eventually drops a herb in Helena away to the forest with her. Lysander’s eyes to put him back to normal. The Love Potion Demetrius The love potion is made from a flower Acts 4 and 5: Oberon finds Titania and Bottom and Hermia decides that he has had enough fun. Puck drops a He wants to marry Hermia and is in the forest. The flower is magical herb in her eyes, she wakes and leaves with Oberon. disgusted by Helena’s love for him. because Cupid hit it with his arrow The lovers return to Athens where Bottom and the when he was aiming at a young girl. Lysander Demetrius Helena other actors perform their play at the wedding of the When the potion is put on characters’ Hermia’s friend who is desperately in three happy couples: Theseus and Hippolyta, eyes, they fall in love with the first love with Demetrius. Lysander and Hermia and Demetrius and Helena. Helena person they see. It is very powerful. Background Information Key words Shakespeare went to a grammar school soliloquy - a speech in a play that the character speaks to himself or herself or to the audience, rather where he was taught Ancient Greek. than to the other characters The play is set in Ancient Greece and follows severe – very strict or harsh the rules of a comedy from Ancient Greece. conflict – a serious disagreement, battle or struggle between two sides or ideas. When the play was written, Elizabeth 1st was unrequited love – If a person loves someone who doesn’t love them back, the person’s love is unrequited Queen. She decided not to get married which many people disagreed with. to mock – To mock someone is to make fun of them Many Elizabethans believed in and feared chaos – a situation where there is no order and everyone is confused magic. to resolve – to solve a problem or difficulty Cupid is the ancient god of love. He is usually presented as a baby whose ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Knowledge Organiser arrows make people fall in love. Plot Summary Who loves Whom Characters Act 1: Hermia and Lysander love Hermia Theseus Oberon The duke of The king of Lysander Demetrius

Helena Hippolyta Titania Theseus’s The fierce Act 2: In the forest, Oberon and Titania are Hermia Egeus Lysander Demetrius Hermia’s stubborn Bottom A weaver and Helena Act 3: Puck sees Bottom in the Hermia Hermia Egeus’s Puck Oberon’s Lysander Demetrius Lysander He is in love with Helena The Love Potion Acts 4 and 5: Oberon finds Hermia Demetrius The love potion is He wants to marry

Lysander Demetrius Helena Hermia’s Lysander and Hermia and Demetrius and Helena. Helena Background Information Key words Shakespeare went to a soliloquy -

The play is set in severe – conflict – When the play was written when unrequited love –

to mock – Many Elizabethans believed chaos – to resolve - Cupid is the ancient god ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Knowledge Organiser