Name: ____________________________
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Essential Questions
What are the different types of love?
Is love blind?
Would you go against your family to follow your heart?
What are the qualities that make a good friend?
What makes something funny?
Is it appropriate to find humor in something that is tragic?
Can dreams alter the effect of reality?
What is the difference between sight and perception?
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Themes
Universal ideas explored in a literary work.
Symbols
Objects, characters, figures and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Quotes
What are your favorite quotes from the play and why?
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Introductory Response
“ To you your father should be as a god/ One that composed your beauties; yea, and
one/to whom you are but as a form in wax/ By him imprinted,
and within his power/ To leave the figure or disfigure it.”
1. As Theseus, the Duke of Athens, addresses Hermia, he tells
her that “to you your father should be as a god.” What does he
mean by this, and why does he say it?
2. Do you agree with his sentiment? Why or why not?
3. Have your parents ever prevented you from taking part in an
activity that you really, really, totally wanted to do that you were
convinced was your decision, not theirs? What was it?
Act 1 Scene 1
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the
mind,/ And therefore is winged Cupid painted
blind;/… And therefore is Love said to be a
child,/ Because in choice he is so oft
beguiled.”
Vocab: Please define the following words:
Dowager – Solemnities – Vexation – Filched
– Entreat – Abjure – Tempest – Avouch –
Visage – Beguiled – Perjure
Summary:
1. Why does Egeus come before Theseus? What does he demand, and how does
Theseus respond?
2. What do Hermia and Lysander decide to do together? Who does Hermia tell of
their plans? What results, and why?
Analysis:
1. Check out Helena’s quote above. What is she talking about, and how does it
relate to the story?
2. Do you agree with her sentiment? Why or why not?
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Act 1 Scene 2
1. Why has Peter Quince’s company met?
2. Pick three adjectives to describe Nick Bottom. Each adjective must be supported
by a passage and an explanation.
Adjective
Passage
Commentary
3. Where does the company agree to meet again?
Act 2 Scene 1
1. What is the fairy doing in the woods?
2. Who does the fairy serve?
3. Who does Puck serve?
4. Why are their masters quarreling?
5. Pick three adjectives to describe Puck. Each adjective must be supported by a
passage and an explanation.
Adjective
Passage
Commentary
Vocab: Please define the following words:
Lamentable – Gallantly – Whither – Pensioner – Perforce - Beguile
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Act 2 Scene 2
“One turf shall serve as pillow for us both; One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and
one troth.”
Please respond with complete sentences.
1. What does Lysander want to do with Hermia?
2. How does she respond to this request?
3. What does Oberon ask Puck to do? Why?
4. What does Puck actually do?
5. What is the result of Puck’s action?
6. How does Helena respond to Lysander?
Choose 3 adjectives to describe two of the
following three characters. For each adjective,
please select one passage to illustrate the adjective
and provide commentary on the passage:
Hermia – Lysander – Helena
Vocab: Please define the following words:
Troth – Tarry – Beshrew - Flout
Writing Assignment:
Pick one of the following characters that we have been examining during the course
of our study of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Please craft 1 paragraph describing
that character. Be sure to include:
 A clear topic sentence
 At least two pieces of textual evidence
 Commentary on each piece of your evidence
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Act 3 Scene 2
“ Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
Summary: Answer with complete sentences.
1. What does Hermia accuse Demetrius of?
2. Why does Demetrius call Hermia a murderer?
3. How does Oberon know that Puck has made a
mistake?
4. What does Oberon decide to do as a result?
5. How does Helena react to her little predicament?
6. Summarize the argument between Helena, Hermia,
Lysander and Demetrius. Who accuses whom of what,
and what is the result of their fight?
7. How does Puck react to the whole fiasco?
Vocab: Please define the following words:
Consecrated – Asunder - Shrewishness – Flout –
Officious - Abate
Act 4 Scene 1
“ Are you sure that we are awake? It seems to me that yet we sleep, we dream.”
In Act 4, Scene 1, virtually all the play’s conflict is resolved with shocking speed.
Oberon lifts the spell from Titania, Demetrius falls in love with Helena (thanks to
the fairies) and Theseus proclaims that his wedding that evening will also be the
wedding of each couple.
Pick an experience that you’ve had that happened so fast or so strangely that it felt
like a dream. What happened? Describe, in roughly one paragraph (or more) your
experience. As you do so, choose at least one passage from the text that describes or
relates well to your experience and include it in your description.
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List of Supplemental Books
In addition to our reading of MND, please feel free to find these books in the
library! They are books inspired by Shakespeare set in modern life!
A Mid-Semester Night's Dream- Margaret Meachem
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
The Iron King- Julie Kagawa
Magic Street-Orsen Scott Card
This Must Be Love Tui T. Sutherland
Ariel by Grace Tiffany (The Tempest)
The Loser's Guide to Life and Love by A. E. Cannon (Midsummer Night's Dream)
Lady Macbeth's Daughter by Lisa Klein (Macbeth)
Enter Three Witches by Caroline B. Cooney (Macbeth)
Ophelia by Lisa Klein (Hamlet)
Dating Hamlet by Lisa Fiedler (Hamlet)
Shylock's Daughter by Mirjam Pressler (Merchant of Venice)
Romeo and Juliet Together (And Alive!) At Last by Avi (Romeo and Juliet)
Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper (Romeo and Juliet)
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt (multiple plays)
King of Shadows by Susan Cooper (historical)
Swan Town by Michael Ortiz (historical)
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