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 Action2. Unity of Place3. 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 24th, 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

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!”

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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. Dramatic2. Situational3. Verbal4. Cosmic