Hello, my name is Ms. Grant.

I'm so glad you've decided to learn with me.

Today, we are looking at "A Midsummer Night's Dream." And our focus today is going to be looking at Puck's epilogue, and analysing some of the language in there.

Puck's epilogue coming at the end of the play, where we see this character speak to the audience, and apparently apologise if the play has caused any offence.

I cannot wait to look in more depth at this epilogue with you, and hear all of your fantastic ideas.

I'm gonna be your support and guide as we work through today's lesson together.

Let's get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you are going to be able to explore the language of Puck's epilogue, linking it to other moments in the play.

Now, I love looking at individual moments in a play, really, really nice that we are going to get to return to the epilogue today and really think, "Well, what is he saying here?" But I also love looking at one moment of a play or a text in relation to another and being able to make links between them.

It really helps me to develop ideas that I have in my paragraph, and it also gives me a bit of a chance to show off my fantastic knowledge of the play.

So you are going to be able to do this by the end of today's lesson.

You're going to be able to show off your fantastic knowledge of the play by linking two different moments together.

So some key words which are gonna help us unlock our learning today and gonna be referenced throughout.

We've got epilogue.

Now this is a speech or piece of writing that comes at the end of a text and makes a comment on what has happened in the story.

So we're really gonna focus today on Puck's epilogue, which is at the end of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." He comments on the story saying that he, "Apologises if it has caused any offence." Breaking the fourth wall.

This is when a character speaks directly to the audience, acknowledging that the audience exists.

And now Puck's epilogue breaks the fourth wall, he talks to us, to the audience.

Foreshadow.

This is a hint or indication of what will happen later in a story.

It is a technique that you might have seen lots of writers use, and certainly Shakespeare uses it in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Perceptive.

This is thoughtful, noticing small details.

We are gonna be perceptive readers of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" today, noticing small details in the epilogue and linking them to other moments in the play.

We are gonna do some perceptive analysis of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." And finally, methods.

The tools a writer users to create their work.

For example, characterization, setting, language choices, and foreshadowing.

So methods can sometimes seem like quite a strange word.

I remember coming across it for the first time thinking, "I'm not quite sure what this means." But it's just the tools that the writer has used to create their work.

So the easiest way is to look at it is to think of examples that you know.

So foreshadowing is a method that we're gonna look at today in a little bit more detail, but any language choice, characterization, setting.

These are all examples of writer's methods as well that you can talk about when you are looking at their work.

So these words today are gonna help a lot our learning, they're gonna be referenced throughout.

Our learning outline for today.

We're gonna start by comparing Puck in Act 2, Scene 1, and Act 5, Scene 1.

So, this will help us do some perceptive analysis because we're gonna make some really careful links between these two scenes.

And then in our second learning cycle, we are gonna practise some perceptive language analysis.

So let's get started with comparing Puck in Act 2, Scene 1, and Act 5, Scene 1.

Now we first meet Puck in Act 2, Scene 1, and a fairy says to him, "Either I mistake your shape and making quite, or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite called Robin Goodfellow." And a "Shrewd and knavish sprite," that means a mischievous and villainous fairy.

Now I'd like you to discuss, what does this introduction tell us about Puck, and how does it foreshadow Puck's role in the play? So foreshadow, one of our keywords today.

How does it give a hint or indication of Puck's future role in the play? So pause the video, and discuss this question, these two questions, pause the video now.

Welcome back.

I can already tell that you're gonna be fantastic perceptive readers of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" because of all of the brilliant ideas you've got just from those three lines.

So what does this introduction tell us about Puck? Well, most people said we know already from this moment, from this introduction, that he really loves practical jokes and we see this throughout the play.

So, his love of practical jokes is foreshadowed in this moment with the fairy.

But people also said, "Well, he obviously has an incredibly powerful reputation." This fairy just meets him in the forest and says, "Ah, you are Robert Goodfellow, I know about you." So that strong reputation of Puck as a practical joker is also seen here.

And then engaging with this idea of foreshadowing.

Well, if we know he likes playing practical jokes, if we know he's a bit mischievous, a bit villainous, we can maybe see this.

This is foreshadowing some of his role in the rest of the play.

So the mischief he plays with Bottom or with the four Athenian lovers, but maybe the villainous side comes through in his engaging with Oberon's plot with Titania.

So lots of ideas about Puck's role in the play foreshadowed in this moment with the fairy.

Now, Puck has the final words of the play in an epilogue, during which he breaks the fourth wall.

His last lines are, "To the audience, give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends." So this epilogue making a comment on what has happened in the rest of the play, and he spends a lot of the epilogue apologising if the play has caused offence and saying that he will make it up to us.

And he breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the audience.

So he is saying to the audience, "I will make it up to you if we have caused any offence." We've got these last two lines.

"Give me your hands if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends." Now I'd like you to discuss, what are some of the differences between how he's introduced and his last lines of the play? So I've got those lines from the fairy where he's introduced that we just looked at, "Either I mistake your shape and making quite, or else you are that shrewd knavish sprite called Robin Goodfellow." What's the difference here between how the fairy introduces him, and then Pucks last lines in his epilogue to the audience? Spend some time on this question so that you're really unpacking the differences.

Pause the video, and discuss this question now.

Some really beautiful perceptive discussions there, where you are noticing small details from Act 2, Scene 1, and comparing it to Act 5, Scene 1.

Really, really well done.

So some differences that I heard, a really nice one to consider immediately, the idea of the drama.

So the fairy is speaking to Robin Goodfellow, to Puck, there's a dialogue between them, but actually in the epilogue Puck is speaking to the audience, he's breaking the fourth wall.

So really thinking about Shakespeare's dramatic methods there, which was really nice to hear.

But the biggest idea that I had lots of people talking about is the idea that fairy is saying, "Puck, you really enjoy playing practical jokes on people.

You are mischievous, you enjoy humiliating people.

I know your reputation." But in Act 5, Scene 1, we've got seemingly, perhaps, maybe a very different Puck who is saying, "I'm very, very sorry if the play has caused offence.

I want to be your friend, and I will make sure that everything is okay." So we've got these two very different presentations of Puck, whether we believe him in the epilogue, which some people got onto a really nice discussion about how sincere Puck is actually being is a different matter.

But there are some very different presentations of Puck in this epilogue to how he's introduced in Act 2, Scene 1.

So check for understanding so that we can really make sure that we've got that perceptive understanding of the differences between Puck's epilogue in Act 5, Scene 1, and his dialogue with the fairy in Act 2, Scene 1.

So, what are some of the differences? You've got four choices there.

I would like you to read through each choice and then select your responses.

Pause the video, and complete this task now.

Well done for reading through those four statements really carefully and considering, "Well, what are the differences between Puck's epilogue in 5:1 and the dialogue with fairy in 2:1? And you are absolutely right, it is B, C, and D.

I'd just like to consider A, and consider why that is not an accurate response.

So it says in Act 2, Scene 1, Puck is breaking the fourth wall, rather than speaking to the audience like he is in his epilogue.

Now we want to focus on this key phrase, "breaking the fourth wall." That means that puck is speaking to the audience, and in Act 2, Scene 1, he's not speaking to the audience, he's speaking to the fairy.

So that is why A is an inaccurate response.

Okay, I would like you to reread the dialogue between the fairy and Puck in Act 2, Scene 1, it's lines 32 to 58.

So we've looked at a short section of it, you are gonna read a longer section now, and I'd also like you to reread Puck's epilogue, which is in Act 5, Scene 1, it's lines 414 to 429.

Now these extracts can also be found in your additional materials if you do not have your copy of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to hand.

And after you have reread these two key moments for the character of Puck, I would like you to complete the Venn diagram.

So you're gonna think of some similarities between Puck's presentation in Act 2, Scene 1, and Act 5, Scene 1.

And you are also going to focus on all of the differences between Puck's presentation in Act 2, Scene 1 and five, Scene 1.

Now we've already started doing that because we've discussed a lot of these ideas in our learning cycle, but you are now going to look at slightly longer sections of the text in order to complete a really detailed Venn diagram.

So enjoy that rereading, enjoy returning to the text, because that will enable you to have a really perceptive reading of it and creating this Venn diagram.

And I will see you back here shortly.

Pause a video and complete the tasks now.

Welcome back, well done for such a clear, careful, and interesting rereading of these two key moments for the character of Puck.

And it was lovely to see people creating such perceptive Venn diagrams, picking out some key differences and some key similarities.

Now, here is one of Aisha's ideas about the differences.

We can see her Venn diagram here.

She says, "Puck's presentation in Act 2, Scene 1.

Puck's love of humiliation and harm emphasised.

For example, he likes to mislead night wanderers, laughing at their harm." Now, Aisha's got a really clear idea.

So Puck's love of humiliation and harm, I emphasise in Act 2, Scene 1, and she has justified it with a quotation to prove that idea.

"Mislead night wanderers, laughing at their harm." That's one of the, that's one of the things the fairy says about Puck, that "He has a reputation for misleading night wanderers and laughing at their harm." Now I'd like you to self self-assess your own ideas using that checklist.

So making sure that you've got lots of clear ideas for the similarities and for the differences, and that you do have short quotations to prove those ideas.

And this Venn diagram is gonna be so helpful to you in learning cycle two.

So really spend a lot of time self-assessing your ideas, making sure that they're strong, powerful, and clear to you.

So pause the video, and self-assess using the checklist.

Pause the video now.

Well done for giving that self-assessment the time it deserves, making sure that you have a brilliant Venn diagram, which as I say, you're going to be able to rely on in the second half of our lesson.

So we're now going to move on to the second half of our lesson, perceptive language analysis.

Now you've already done quite a lot of the hard work, because you have selected your quotations from Act 2, Scene 1 and Act 5, Scene 1, you've reread those two key sections.

So now it's just about drawing all of these things together so that we can create a really cohesive paragraph plan to how we would analyse the language from these two moments in the play really perceptively.

So Jacob considers this question, how does Shakespeare present Puck in the epilogue of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"? So a really nice question about an interesting character, an interesting moment in this play.

Now I'd like you to discuss, what ideas do you have in response to this question? So if you were presented with this question, just like Jacob has been, what ideas would immediately spring to mind when you saw this question? So pause the video, and just have a quick discussion.

What ideas do you have in response to this question? Pause the video now.

Some really nice ideas of being being talked about here.

So some people saying, "His insincerity, the fact that we can't believe him when he's apologising in his epilogue." Other people saying that, "His love of mischief is being really emphasised because I really think he's laughing at the audience when he's apologising for the play." But some people saying, "No, no, no, Puck is essentially a harmless character.

He's a figure of fun.

He also restores orders.

So actually his truthfulness and his desire to be friends would be emphasised in this epilogue." So lots of different contrasting ideas about how you might interpret this moment in the play.

Now, one of Jacob's ideas was reassuring.

He says that Puck is reassuring in his epilogue.

And he forms his idea into a topic sentence.

So rather than just having an adjective, he actually wants to form it into a topic sentence that could start a paragraph.

And he writes, "Shakespeare presents Puck as reassuring in the epilogue." So really nice clear topic sentence there, using Shakespeare's name, using that verb, presents.

We've got the character there, and really nice to mention the epilogue as well.

So it's very clear that Jacob is answering the question that he has been posed.

Now I'd like you to discuss, how would you form your ideas in two topic sentences? And I want you to aim for about three.

So pause the video and think, 'Well, what are all the ideas that I came up with there?" Maybe you heard some other interesting ideas that you would like to form into topic sentences.

But I would like you to think how would you form those ideas into topic sentences, just as Jacob has done.

So pause the video, and discuss the question now.

Welcome back.

It was really nice to hear all of those ideas, which I heard during that initial discussion formed into clear, coherent topic sentences using Jacob's as a model.

Now Jacob's target is to explore language in a perceptive way, so to notice small details about language.

And to explore language in a perceptive way, you should select quotations that are rich in methods.

So really considering what choices did Shakespeare make to present his ideas? What language choices did he make? What dramatic choices did he make? And I want to look and explore, and write about those methods.

And also to explore language in a perceptive way, you should make connections between quotations from across the play.

Now this second idea, the idea that you'll make connections between quotations from across the play.

I remember first learning about this idea, and for me it was really a light bulb moment thinking I'd always spent a lot of time just including one quotation in a paragraph and thinking, "Well, I don't have that much to say about it." So my paragraphs were always quite short, and the idea that I would include multiple quotations in a paragraph really helped me to develop the length and the depth of my paragraphs.

So that was really a light bulb moment for me.

And if so far you've thought, "Well, I'm just gonna focus on one quotation per paragraph." I'd really like you to invite you to think about the idea of using multiple quotations per paragraph.

Now, here is Jacob's plan.

He's got his topic sentence and he now knows he wants to explore language in a perceptive way, that is his target.

So let's have a look at his plan, and see whether he's actually achieved that target.

So he is written in his topic sentence.

"Shakespeare presents Puck as reassuring in the epilogue." And then he is got two notes, two bullet points.

Now the first bullet point looks at Act 5, Scene 1, at the epilogue.

And he selected some short quotations.

"All is mended," "We will mend," "Robin shall restore amends." And his note is, "It repeats the idea of making up for any offence, it's reassuring to the audience." So linking to his topic sentence there.

And then his second bullet point, he wants to, "Contrast to Act 2, Scene 1, where his ability to transform himself into a roasted crab, a foal, and a stool is not reassuring.

Therefore, how far should we trust Puck's epilogue?" So really nice two bullet points there in order to create a developed paragraph.

Let's look at why these bullet points are so powerful.

Well, the first thing is that he's selected short quotations.

He's obviously relied on his Venn diagram from learning cycle one in order to make sure he's got his quotations at his fingertips, and that he can really look at the links and differences that he wants to draw out.

So, "All is mended," "We will mend," "Roasted crab, foal, stool," nice short quotations, and lots of them that he can put into his paragraph.

He's got a focus on methods, so he's looking at Shakespeare's use of repetition, the idea that, "All is mended," "We will mend," "Robin shall restore amends." That is three times that he's repeated the idea that he will make it up to us.

But this is a contrast, this is a difference to Act 2, Scene 1.

So really nice focus on methods, and he's actually written down the methods that he's going to explore.

And then finally, perceptive links between quotations.

So he's got those links between Act 5, Scene 1, and Act 2, Scene 1.

He's really noted, "While there's a contrast here, therefore I'm noticing these small details between these two moments in the play." So it definitely is a perceptive analysis.

So Jacob should feel really, really proud of this plan that he has created in order to prove his topic sentence.

Now a quick check for understanding before we ourselves prepare to do some perceptive language analysis.

We've got two paragraphs here, one from Aisha and one from Jacob.

I would like you to read through both paragraphs really, really carefully, and then consider which pupil has the most perceptive language analysis.

So you're gonna pause a video, read through Aisha's response, read through Jacob's response, and then consider which pupil has the most perceptive language analysis.

Pause the video, and complete this task now.

Well done if you selected Jacob.

Jacob has got the most perceptive language analysis.

Let's have a look at why it is so perceptive.

So he starts off, "Shakespeare presents Puck is untrustworthy in his epilogue." So, nice, clear topic sentence there.

"He says, "Give your hands if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends." Puck restored order in Act 3 so perhaps we should trust him, but the word if suggests there is some doubt as to whether he's really a friend to the audience." Really nice looking at one word in that quotation for some developed analysis.

"This doubt is increased by calling himself Robin, a name which the fairy associated with being knavish in Act 2." So some lovely links between Act 2 and Act 5.

That is incredibly perceptive.

He has noticed a small detail there.

If we look at Aisha's paragraph, she says, "Shakespeare presents Puck as untrustworthy in his epilogue." Again, a really clear topic sentence.

"He says, "Give me your hands if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends." Puck restored order in Act 3, so perhaps we should trust him, but the what if suggests there is some doubt as to whether he want, whether he is a friend to the audience." So far so good.

She then moves into, "The command, give, shows us he wants us to applaud him, and, me, shows that he wants ownership over us." So Aisha's trying to look in more detail at some of the words in this quotation, but those single word analysis can sometimes be good, so that exploration of if has been really powerful.

You don't need to do it for every word in the quotation.

And if you don't think that it is particularly interesting, then you don't need to explore that single word.

It'll be better to think, "Now I want to move on to a different piece of analysis with a different quotation where I'm linking one quotation to the other." So you don't need to tear apart every single word in the quotation in order for it to be perceptive.

It is better to look elsewhere to consider how could I link this to another moment in the play in order to be perceptive? Okay, I'd like you to use Jacob's fantastic model to guide you to plan and write one paragraph about the presentation of Puck in his epilogue.

Now, you came up with three topic sentences earlier in this learning cycle, you just need to select one of them.

And then you are gonna create a plan as detailed as Jacob so that when you come to write your paragraph, it is very, very easy, because you have this fantastic plan that you can rely on.

It's really nice to see people, as I'm giving out these instructions, reaching for their Venn diagram from learning cycle one, because of course there are some brilliant quotations and ideas there that you will want to rely on in order to create your plan, and then write your paragraph.

So pause the video, give this activity the time that it deserves so that you can feel incredibly proud of the work that you plan, and then write.

Pause the video and complete this task, the planning and the writing.

Pause the video now.

Welcome back.

It was such a pleasure to see people planning so carefully using Jacob's model as a guide, using their fantastic ideas from their Venn diagram in order to support them, and then to see that real focus when you came to your extended writing.

It was also nice to hear some people saying how easy it was to write their paragraph when they had created such a careful plan.

We are going to read through your paragraphs now.

We're gonna do some self-assessment.

I would like you to identify where you have, well selected short quotations, a focus on methods, and perceptive links between quotations.

So three short, sharp self-assessment tasks here to look for your well selected short quotations.

Just identify where they are, where have you looked at methods? You remember that Jacob looked at repetition and contrast, you might have looked at something completely different.

And where have you got those perceptive links between quotations? Pause the video, and complete the self-assessment now.

Well done for completing that self-assessment so carefully.

Writing is always a three part process, the planning, the writing, and then the editing.

So really nice to see you engaging with that editing process, which is just as important as the other two parts as well.

I hope you feel really, really proud of that perceptive paragraph, where you've looked at language in Act 5, Scene 1, and linked it to Act 2, Scene 1.

In summary, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" ends with an epilogue given by the character of Puck.

Puck's epilogue breaks the fourth wall and offers to make amends for any offence caused in the play.

Puck's characterization in the epilogue could be considered different to his characterization in the rest of the play.

Perceptive analysis can involve making thoughtful connections between different moments in the text.

It has been such a pleasure to work through today's lesson with you, and I look forward to seeing you next time.