By William Shakespeare

1. A Midsummer Night's Dream By William Shakespeare

2. Essential questions… • How do we act when we are in love? Why? • Which emotions “from the heart” are the strongest? Which reveal our true selves? • How effectively does Shakespeare use humor to make his ideas known about human behavior?

3. Getting started on Midsummer… • The play is about people in love. • There are three intertwined plots in the play • There are two settings for the play Let’s try to figure this out…

4. Was Shakespeare really funny? • Yes. • His humor appealed to people of all tastes and classes • Midsummer contains all kinds of humor – slapstick, wit, sight gags, puns…

5. More about Shakespeare’s humor • Shakespeare uses humor, satire and parody to express his ideas about our universal human experiences.

6. Need to know points: Midsummer • The play was first performed between 1595 and 1596 • Like R&J it explores love, but is a comedy, not a tragedy • Shakespeare explores the complex nature of the human heart • Midsummer mocks many aspects of human behavior

7. The Globe Theatre See it in Google Earth See it in 3-D English 10 - Mr. Miller

8. What’s really happening in Midsummer? • Shakespeare uses different kinds of humor to mock people’s common assumptions about love • Shakespeare uses numerous examples of figurative language to explore the complexities of human emotions • Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to heighten the sense of comedy and humor in the play • Shakespeare uses soliloquies by major characters to draw the audience into central ideas and themes • Shakespeare portrays human relationships in several different lights in order to illustrate the changing and complex sides of human emotions

9. Read the shortened version of the play’s beginning…