Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

 3 Types: 1. Tragedies- involves a protagonist of high estate who falls from prosperity to desolation through a series of events and discoveries that occur as a result of their “tragic flaw”. 2. Histories- a play that represents events drawn completely or partially from recorded history. 3. Comedies- Shakespearean comedies usually have a happy ending, often involving marriages between the unmarried characters, and feature a more light- hearted tone and style than his other plays.

 Also known as the “three unities”, they are dramatic rules derived from a passage in Aristotle’s Poetics. In their neoclassical form they are as follows: 1. Unity of Action 2. Unity of Place 3. Unity of Time

 Unity of Action— a play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots  Unity of Place— a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place  Unity of Time— the action in a play should take place over no more than 24 hours.

 All action takes place in Athens, Greece & in a nearby wood—the wood can be pictured as a place of enchantment… the time of the play is centered around June 24 th, which was referred to as Midsummer Day in Elizabethan England. The feast of Saint John the Baptist fell on this merry day. Folklore stated that while the humans feasted and celebrated that day, Midsummer Night was when the fairies, hobgoblins, & witches held their own festivities!!!

 Reversal  An unfortunate happening that hinders something important; a set back.

 Aside  Dialogue intended for the audience to hear and supposedly not heard by the actors on stage

 Monologue  A long, uninterrupted speech by a character in a play  It is presented in front of other characters on stage

 Soliloquy  A speech in which a character is alone on stage and expresses their thoughts and feelings out loud.

SYMBOL  Any object, person, place, or action that has meaning in itself, but also stands for something larger than itself  Example: the cross is a symbol of Christianity, the American Flag has been a symbol of our country, of freedom, and of hope THEME  What is the “big picture” of the story?  A theme is a message or lesson on life, society, or human nature implied by a text.  Themes in MND:  Love & Marriage  Loss of Individual Identity  Dreams

Poetry Terms? Again? Let’s review some basic poetry terminology that will help you better understand Shakespeare’s plays…

IAMBIC PENTAMETER  Five feet of iambs in a line  Iambs are made of one breve followed by an ictus: ̆ ́ Unstressed and stressed syllables BLANK VERSE  Shakespeare’s plays are written primarily in blank verse, which is unrhymed iambic pentameter.

 However, sometimes he would write in  RHYMING COUPLETS ▪ Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme. ▪ Example: ▪ “O, teach me how you look and with what art You sway the motion of Demetrius’ heart!” - Helena

 Oxymoron  A figure of speech that combines obviously contradictory terms  Example: "A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus And his love Thisby; very tragical mirth. Merry and tragical! tedious and brief! That is hot ice and wondrous strange snow.“ ▪ Act V, Scene I

Antagonist Protagonist Conflict Figurative Language Imagery Metaphor Simile Character Motivation Four Types of Irony: 1. Dramatic 2. Situational 3. Verbal 4. Cosmic