1. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare This play was written and performed around 1595-96 for a royal wedding. It is a romantic comedy.

2. Comedy Think about some romantic comedies that you’ve seen. What are some elements of this type of story? How do they start? What happens in the middle? How do the stories usually end?

3. Setting Athens, Greece The setting of this play is a mythical version of ancient Athens and Duke Theseus’s palace where law and order abide. Woods outside of Athens Magical fairies roam the woods, ready to make mischief on humans and create chaos.

4. Characters: Plot Strands Theseus and Hippolyta : Duke and Queen of Athens Hermia, Lysander, Helena, Demetrius: Four young lovers The Tradesmen: a.k.a. The Rude Mechanicals Oberon, Titania, Puck: Kink and Queen of the Fairies, and the king’s assistant

5. Symbols/Motifs Moon: night/ confusion… “lunacy” (“Luna” is Latin for moon) Dreams/Sleep: illusion, the fickle nature of love Athens: law and order The Woods: imagination, dreams, chaos Day/Night: order/chaos

6. What techniques and dramatic elements does Shakespeare use in this play? Shakespeare uses; -humor to mock people’s common assumptions about love. -figurative language to explore the complexities of human emotions - dramatic irony to heighten the sense of comedy and humor in the play -soliloquy by major characters to draw the audience into central ideas and themes

7. Theme: LOVE What is the true nature of love? Is love constant and unchanging, or changeable and fickle?

8. Who said that? “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Lysander What might love be compared to in this quote? What might this say about the nature of love? List as many different types of love as you can.

9. Types of Love: Define Romantic Love Platonic Love Unrequited Love Blind Love Love at First Sight Unconditional Love

10. A Midsummer Night's Dream: Introduction HermiaLysander HelenaDemetrius Hermia and Lysander are in love Hermia’s father (Egeus), however, insists that she marry Demetrius. Hermia’s friend Helena loves Demetrius. Who do you think Demetrius loves?

11. From there... One summer night, two pairs of young lovers and a group of amateur actors wander into the fairies’ mad world. The magic begins….. When Hermia and Lysander sneak off to the forest to elope, Demetrius and Helena follow. Meanwhile, Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies, are having a quarrel. The results for innocent human bystanders are disastrous—and hilarious!.

12. A Midsummer Night’s Dream How will the fairies affect the situation of Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius? Can love triumph over magical mischief as well as more ordinary obstacles?