Shakespeare’s Comedies A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM INTRODUCTION

Let’s start with a quiz!  William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon- Avon, England, in the year 1564

 Shakespeare wrote three types of plays. What are they? Tragedies Comedies Histories

 The name of Shakespeare’s famous theater was The Globe

 Shakespeare wrote much of his plays in unrhymed iambic pentameter, also known as Blank verse

 Shakespeare has his characters speak in prose to show their Low social class / behavior

Comedies vs. Tragedies Why are tragedies considered tragic? Comedies, on the other hand, have happy endings. Comedies often include ◦ Greater emphasis on situations rather than characters ◦ A struggle for young lovers ◦ Deception (often mistaken identity) ◦ Multiple plots ◦ Different types of comedy, including slapstick, puns, practical jokes, and bawdy humor ◦ Pastoral setting ◦ Often ends with marriage

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Written early in Shakespeare’s career Intertwined plots: Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding; the artisans; the lovers in the woods Set in Athens, Greece Fairies, sprites, and laborers

AMND continued  What is Midsummer Night?  One of the nights of the year when sprites were powerful  Flowers gathered on MN were magical  People dream of their true loves; sometimes go insane

AMND continued  Important questions:  What is love?  How and why do people fall in and out of love?  Are lovers in control of themselves and their destinies?  Which is more real: reason or passion?

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream does not always do exactly what we might expect, and in this way it keeps its audience guessing…” -Catherine Belsey