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Year 8 - English

Understanding the genre of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils read and explore Shakespeare's comedy 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. They focus on the character Puck and the theme of the supernatural, and analyse their role and importance at different points in the play. Finally, they plan and write an essay about Puck and the supernatural.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain how you know that 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is a comedy.

Key Notes

  • The First Folio divides Shakespeare's plays into tragedies, histories and comedies.
  • An additional genre - tragicomedies - has been used to describe plays which combine both tragic and comic elements.
  • Shakespearean comedies usually focus on love, and end in marriage.
  • The plots of comedies are often intricate and include a number of surprises and plot twists.
  • Shakespearean comedies often include slapstick humour.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • genre: the style or type of text: for example science fiction
  • Shakespearean comedy: a play designed to make you laugh, often involving misunderstandings and ending in marriage
  • intricate: complicated
  • slapstick humour: physical comedy, sometimes violent but intended to make people laugh
  • First Folio: the first collection of most of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623 (seven years after his death)

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • If a play is a comedy, it won't have any moments of sadness in it.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

The First Folio divides Shakespeare's plays into tragedies, histories and comedies. An additional genre - tragicomedies - has been used to describe plays which combine both tragic and comic elements.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'genre'

the style or type of text: for example science fiction.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: If a play is a comedy, it won't have any moments of sadness in it. Correction: When thinking about genre, we consider the overall tone, plot and features of a play. However, many comedies have moments of sadness, just as many tragedies have moments of humour.

More Lessons In This Unit

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