A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Day 2 – Act 1

Characters: Athenians • Theseus- Duke of Athens • Hippolyta- Queen of the Amazons and betrothed (fiancé) of Theseus • Egeus- Father of Hermia; asks Theseus’ help for forcing Hermiato marry Demetrius • Lysander- beloved (boyfriend) of Hermia • Hermia- beloved (girlfriend) of Lysander • Demetrius- in love with Hermia • Helena- in love with Demetrius • Philostrate- Master of the Revels for Theseus

Supernatural Characters • Oberon- King of the Fairies • Titania- Queen of the Fairies • Puck, a.k.a. Robin Goodfellow, servant to Oberon • Titania's fairy servants who wait on Bottom: • Peaseblossom- Fairy • Cobweb- Fairy • Moth- Fairy • Mustardseed- Fairy

The Acting Troupe (Company) • Peter Quince- carpenter, who leads the troupe of actors • Nick Bottom- weaver; he plays Pyramus in the troupe's production of "Pyramus and Thisbe" and is transformed into a jackass or donkey (hence the name Bottom) • Francis Flute- the bellows-mender who plays Thisbe • Robin Starveling- the tailor who plays Moonshine • Tom Snout-the tinker who plays Wall • Snug-the joiner who plays Lion

Act 1 Scene 1 • As a class, we are going to read through Act 1 Scene 1 LISTEN UP! Click on the photo to listen to Act 1 Scene 1.

Act I.i • -Egeus, Hermia’s father, asks Theseus to help him force his daughter to marry Demetrius • Hermia’s 3 choices: 1. Marry Demetrius; 2. Join a convent; 3. Execution (death) • Hermia decides to run away with her beloved Lysander • Hermia and Lysander tell Helena about their plans to elope • Helena plans to tell Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander’s plans in order to win his love

The Love Game • Hermia is betrothed (engaged by arranged marriage) to Demetrius, but she loves Lysander • Hermia and Lysander love each other and plan to elope • Both Demetrius and Lysander love Hermia • Hermia does not love Demetrius • Helena loves Demetrius • No one loves Helena

Activity • Create a diagram outlining the relationships between the characters we have met thus far in the play. • Theseus and Hippolyta love each other and rule over all other mortal characters in the play. • Egeus wants his daughter, Hermia to marry Demetrius, but she wants to marry Lysander. • Demetrius and Lysander both love Hermia. • Helena loves Demetrius but he does not love her back. Theseus KING Hippolyta QUEEN Egeus DAD Hermia DAUGHTER Lysander Demetrius Helena

Act 1 Scene 2 I need 6 volunteers to read the following parts: • Quince • Bottom • Flute • Starveling • Snout • Snug

Act I.ii • The actors meet and discuss the roles they will play in the performance of Pyramus and Thisbe • Bottom wants to play all of the parts • They plan on meeting in the woods to rehearse the following evening

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Day 3 - Act 2

Act 1 REVIEW • Summary activity: give students a character, pair them up, and they write a dialogue explaining who they are, what they want and what their relationship is. • Connections between characters: • Theseus & Hippolyta • Egeus & Hermia • Hermia & Lysander • Hermia & Helena • Helena & Demetrius • Egeus & Lysander • Egeus & Demetrius • Theseus & Hermia • Hippolyta & Hermia • Egeus with Lysander & Demetrius

Act 2 Scene 1 I need 6 volunteers to read the following parts: • Puck • Fairy • Oberon • Titania • Demetrius • Helena

Act 2 Scene 1The Fairies in Modern English • PUCK • Hello, spirit! Where are you going? • FAIRY • I go over hills and valleys, through bushes and thorns, over parks and fenced-in spaces, through water and fire. I wander everywhere faster than the moon revolves around the Earth. I work for Titania, the Fairy Queen, and organize fairy dances for her in the grass. The cowslip flowers are her bodyguards. You’ll see that their petals have spots on them—those are rubies, fairy gifts. Their sweet smells come from those little freckles. Now I have to go find some dewdrops and hang a pearl earring on every cowslip flower. Goodbye, you dumb old spirit. I’ve got to go. The queen and her elves will be here soon.

Act 2 Scene 1 • ROBIN • The king’s having a party here tonight. Just make sure the queen doesn’t come anywhere near him, because King Oberon is extremely angry. He’s furious because she stole an adorable boy from an Indian king. She’s never kidnapped such a darling human child before, and Oberon’s jealous. He wants the child for himself, to accompany him on his wanderings through the wild forests. But the queen refuses to hand the boy over to Oberon. Instead, she puts flowers in the boy’s hair and makes a fuss over him. And now Oberon and Titania refuse to speak to each other, or meet each other anywhere—neither in the forest nor on the plain, nor by the river nor under the stars. They always argue, and the little fairies get so frightened that they hide in acorn cups and won’t come out.

Act 2 Scene 1 • FAIRY • Unless I’m mistaken, you’re that mischievous and naughty spirit named Robin Goodfellow. Aren’t you the one who goes around scaring the maidens in the village, stealing the cream from the top of the milk, screwing up the flour mills, and frustrating housewives by keeping their milk from turning into butter? Aren’t you the one who keeps beer from foaming up as it should, and causes people to get lost at night, while you laugh at them? Some people call you “Hobgoblin” and “sweet Puck,” and you’re nice to them. You do their work for them and give them good luck. That’s you, right?

Act 2 Scene 1 • ROBIN • What you say is true. That’s me you’re talking about, the playful wanderer of the night. I tell jokes to Oberon and make him smile. I’ll trick a fat, well-fed horse into thinking that I’m a young female horse. Sometimes I hide at the bottom of an old woman’s drink disguised as an apple. When she takes a sip, I bob up against her lips and make her spill the drink all over her withered old neck. Sometimes a wise old woman with a sad story to tell tries to sit down on me, thinking I’m a three-legged stool. But I slip from underneath her and she falls down, crying, “Ow, my butt!” and starts coughing, and then everyone laughs and has fun. But step aside, fairy! Here comes Oberon. • FAIRY • And here’s my mistress, Titania. I wish he’d go away!

Act II.i • Oberon and Titania have had an argument because Titania refuses to give up the changeling (Indian child) • To get revenge on Titania, Oberon asks Puck to gather “love juice” to make her fall in love with a hideous creature • Oberon has seen Helena and empathizes with her (feels sorry for her), so he asks Puck to make Demetrius fall in love with Helena…but things do not go as planned

Act 2 Scene 2 I need 9 volunteers to read the following parts: • Titania • First Fairy • Second Fairy • Oberon • Lysander • Hermia • Puck • Helena • Demetrius

Act II.ii • Titania falls asleep and Oberon anoints her eyes with the “love juice/dust” • Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and sprinkles the “love juice/dust” onto his eyes • Meanwhile, Helena follows Demetrius through the woods • Demetrius threatens Helena and tells her to leave him alone because he does not love her • Helena loves Demetrius and refuses to give up on love • When Lysander wakes up, he sees Helena and instantly falls in love with her • Helena thinks Lysander is making fun of her and runs away; Demetrius follows her • Hermia awakes and finds herself abandoned by Demetrius

Watch Part 1 of the Cartoon Video

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Day 5 - Act 2 REVIEW

Act 2 Review • Skim over Act 2 again and count ALL the references to “NIGHT.” • Next, complete the chart identifying images that you have found related to “NIGHT.” Spangled starlight NIGHT

Act 2 REVIEW • Personal Response • The spirits speak very poetically. Which image or images presented by the spirits do you remember best? What makes the images memorable? • Analyzing Literature • Why are Oberon and Titania fighting? • How does Oberon intend to blackmail Titania into giving him what he wants? • By the end of act 2, what is similar about the following pairs: Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, and Oberon and Titania? • How would you describe the character of Puck? What kind of mood does he create? • How might the magical herb described by Oberon act as a metaphor for the way infatuation operates in real life? Explain your answer.

Act 2 REVIEW • Literature and Writing • In act 2, Shakespeare sets up a number of unresolved situations. Identify these situations, and discuss various possible outcomes for each. You may work with a partner, but each student needs to record his/her predictions and outcomes. • After we finish the play, we will revisit your predictions and see how close you were to predicting the actual outcomes.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Day 6 - Relationship Exercise

Relationship Role Plays • You will be divided into pairs. • Each pair will be assigned a couple: • Holly & Luke • Helen & David • Holly & Helen • Luke & David • Each pair will be responsible for creating a history of their relationship: • How and when dif you meet? • What do you like about each other? • What do you do as hobbies together

Relationship Role Plays • Holly and Helen have been best friends since elementary school. They grew up in the same neighborhood, and treat each other like sisters. When Holly fell in love with Luke, Helen was a little envious of Holly's relationship, but she was also happy for her friend. • Holly wanted Helen to be as happy as she was, so she set Helen up with Luke's friend, David. David and Helen went out for a few months, but then David broke it off. Helen was distraught. She didn't know why he would dump her; he had said that he loved her. • This morning at school, Helen overheard one of David's friends say that David was in love with Holly.

Relationship Role Plays • You will remain with your partner to write a scene: • Scene 1 - Luke & David • Luke confronts David about his feelings for Luke’s girlfriend, Holly. • Scene 2 - Holly & Luke: Holly asks Luke to help her convince Helen she doesn’t like David. • Luke wants to go confront David • Scene 3 - David & Helen: • Helen must convince David to stay in their relationship • Scene 4 - Helen & Holly: Helen confronts Holly about David • Holly must convince Helen that she is not interested in David.

Relationship Role Plays • Re-read Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 128-251 and answer the following questions: • 1. What are the similarities/differences between the role play and the scene? • 2. How do the characters handle the situation? • 3. How would you handle it? • How would Helena be different if she were alive today? What about Hermia? Lysander? Demetrius? • 4. Journal writing – choose a character and write an entry in his or her journal about this situation. Make sure to include your thoughts and feelings towards the person you love and what the law is doing to keep you apart, or help you get together.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Day 7 - Character REVIEW

Character REVIEW • Each group will be given a character in the play. Your task is to create a poster outlining all the character traits that you know about that character. • Please make sure that you add EVERYTHING you know about that character…do not leave anything out. • These posters will stay in the classroom to help you while we read the play. • At the end of the play, we will add to the posters.

Act 3 Scene 1 I need 12 volunteers to read the following parts: • Quince • Bottom • Flute • Starveling • Snout • Snug • Puck • Titania • Peaseblossom • Cobweb • Moth • Musterseed

Act III.i • The actors discuss how they will perform the play Pyramus and Thisbe for Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding • They are worried about offending the people of the Court, so they decide to omit the death scene and decide the lion will not roar • Puck watches the actors and finds that Bottom is acting like an ‘ass,’ so he puts a false head of a jackass onto Bottom which scares the other actors away. • Puck then leads Bottom to Titania who falls in love with him as soon as she awakens

This is CRAZY!!!

Act 3 Formative Writing Exercise • Bottom says, “…reason and love keep little company together nowadays.” Why is this such an apt statement at this point • in the play?

Act 3 Scene 2 I need 6 volunteers to read the following parts: • Oberon • Puck • Demetrius • Hermia • Lysander • Helena

Act III.ii: Oops he did it again • Puck tells Oberon about his success with making Titania fall in love with Bottom • Oberon realizes Puck’s mistake with putting the love potion in Lysander’s eye, so Oberon corrects the mistake by puting the love juice/dust on Demetrius to make him fall in love with Helena • Now both Lysander and Demetrius love Helena and no one loves Hermia (Role Reversal & Turning Point) • Helena thinks that Lysander, Demetrius and Hermia are playing a cruel trick on her • Hermia gets upset at Helena for stealing her love, Lysander • Puck distracts the four lovers and corrects his mistake by putting the love juice/dust on Lysander so he will fall back in love with Hermia when he awakens.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Day 10 - Act 3 REVIEW

Act 3 Performance Activity • A Modern Version You will be working in groups of four. Decide who will play which character. Then read the brief description of your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Finally, rehearse your scene showing its importance to the character you are portraying. Characters: Hermia Helena Demetrius Lysander

Hermia • Hermia is madly in love with Lysander. So you flee to the woods to run away together and elope. • One night, you wake up from a bad dream and Lysander is no longer in love with you; he now loves your best friend, Helena. • This confuses you greatly and of course, upsets you. • You run after Lysander to try and figure things out, but end up in a huge argument with Helena. • Your task is to re-enact these actions expressing your true feelings for all that is happening to you.

Helena • Helena is madly in love with Demetrius, however, sadly, Demetrius does not love you back; he loves Hermia (your best friend). • You run off into the woods chasing after Demetrius who fled to the woods after Hermia. • One evening, you stumble upon Lysander in the woods. You are not sure if he is dead or sleeping, so you try to wake him. When Lysander wakes, he falls in love with you because of a love potion he was given by Puck. • This confuses you greatly as you do not understand why the sudden change. • In trying to rectify the situation, Oberon gives Demetrius the same love potion so that he will fall in love with you. This excites you, but confuses you as well, because you thinks he is mocking you.

Demetrius • Demetrius is in love with Hermia but Hermia is in Love with Lysander. • However, you have Hermia’s father’s permission to marry his daughter as well as the Court’s consent…therefore, when you hear the news that Hermia and Lysander are running away together to elope, you run after them to get what you believe to be yours. • Helena is madly in love with you and she follows you into the woods. She professes her love to you but you just want her to leave you alone. Oberon, king of the fairies, overhears this and puts a spell on you so that you will love Helena back. • Your task is to re-enact these actions expressing your true feelings for all that is happening to you.

Lysander • Lysander is in love with Hermia and she returns his love, however, her father did not give you consent to marry his daughter. He wants Hermia to marry Demetrius. • So, in order to be with the woman you love, you devise a plan to run away together into the woods and elope. Your plan seems to be working, until Puck messes up and makes you fall in love with Helena. • Helena runs off after Demetrius, and you run off after Helena. Then, the woman that you used to be in love with, runs off after you, resulting in a confusing love triangle. • Then, to make things worse, Oberon, puts the same spell on Demetrius, causing him to fall in love with Helena too! • Now the woman you used to love is upset because you now love her best friend. And, you now have competition for Helena’s love.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Day 10 - Act 1-3 REVIEW

See REVIEW PowerPoint

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Day 12 - Act 1-3 TEST

A Midsummer Night’s Dream