Despite being one of Shakespeare's most popular works, A Midsummer Night's Dream can be a tough play to follow. It contains four plots, and as Puck's work unfolds, things can get a little strange. With the help of these activities, your students will master this comedy and become pros with Shakespeare!
Student Activities for A Midsummer Night's Dream
Essential Questions for A Midsummer Night's Dream
- What are the different types of love? Could you list them?
- Would you go against your family to follow your heart?
- What are the qualities that make a good friend?
- Consider illusions and reality.
- What do we need to see with our own eyes to believe, and what do we believe without seeing?
- What do we see, but not believe?
- How does this translate to our actions when we are in love?
- We cannot touch love, or taste love, or even see love; how does the illusion of love create our reality?
A Midsummer Night's Dream Summary
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare is a fanciful comedy centered around Puck (also called Robin Goodfellow), a magical fairy-like creature. The play begins with the Duke of Athens preparing to wed the Queen of the Amazons. During preparations for the festival, two young men, Demetrius, and Lysander meet a young nobleman’s daughter, Hermia. Both men fall in love with her, but her father only gives her permission to marry Demetrius. However, it is Lysander that Hermia loves. She makes plans to run away with Lysander and tells her best friend, Helena. Unbeknownst to Hermia, Helena is in love with Demetrius, and plans to tell him in hopes of winning him over.
Meanwhile, Puck is sent on a quest by Oberon, King of the Fairies, to find a magical Cupid-like flower so that he can punish Titania, the Queen of the Fairies, and force her to give him a changeling for his servant. When the flower is sprinkled on a sleeping person's eyelids, they will fall desperately in love with the first thing they see when they wake up. Puck uses the flower on Titania, who wakes up to see a hapless basket-weaver and actor, Bottom, whose face has been turned into that of a donkey. Due to the mischievous nature of fairies, issues again arise when Puck tries to intervene with the predicaments of Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander, who have all run away to the forest. After sprinkling dust in each of the men's eyes, they both fall in love with Helena, forgetting Hermia. This creates intense jealousy between the women, and renewed rivalry between the men, who challenge each other to a fight to win Helena.
After some time, Puck is forced to fix his mistakes. However, while rectifying things, Demetrius truly falls in love with Helena. At this time, the Duke of Athens arrives, finding the lovers in the woods, and is told the story. He insists that they are all wed during his wedding ceremony. After the wedding, Bottom's troupe performs a comical version of a play, Pyramus and Thisbe. In the end, only Puck remains on stage. He begs the audiences' forgiveness for his embarrassing mistakes and prays everyone remembers the play as if it were only a dream.
Don’t Let the Fun Stop! Check Out Our Other Lesson Plan Ideas
- This play actually contains FOUR plots! Track what the plots are, and when they intersect. Storyboard these four plots and track how they come together.
- Depict 50 lines from a scene as a storyboard.
- In a group, read about Pyramus and Thisbe, or the story of Theseus, and create storyboards to present to the class that demonstrate an understanding of the references to these stories in the play.
- Visually depict a major soliloquy or monologue from the play.
How To Make Shakespeare More Accessible to Young Readers
Have a No-Fear Policy
Sometimes students are so worried about the word Shakespeare that they won't even get into the play because they think it is too hard. Just ensure students that there is a LOT they can understand, and work hard to make these connections with them.
Explain the Plays in Age-Appropriate Terms
The language of Shakespeare can be difficult for students to understand, so spend some time clarifying ideas for the students. You can help them get engaged in a text, and then their enthusiasm can carry them.
Allow Students to Reflect with Storyboards
Students learn best by doing, and storyboards are a great way for them to activate learning. By looking at story elements through the lens of pictures and descriptions, students are able to break down tough ideas into more manageable concepts.
Frequently Asked Questions about A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
Why is it important for students to study William Shakespeare?
Some people think that Shakespeare can be too difficult for students, but reading Shakespeare is going to teach young people about the human condition. Shakespeare's plays are filled with love and hate, life and death, and everything in between. In addition to being well-written plays to be studied, they will teach students how to be human.
What is a soliloquy?
A soliloquy is a speech that a character says alone on stage that offers insight into that character's thoughts and feelings, and other elements of the play. Shakespeare uses soliloquies to dig deeper into background, emotions, etc.
How does A Midsummer Night's Dream depict illusions vs. reality?
A Midsummer Night's Dream has four different story lines, and just like the title implies, one of the main plots deals with dreams and reality. Through the action of the characters, Shakespeare shows that things are not always what they seem!
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