Hi everyone, it's Mr. Chandrapala with you again today I'm really looking forward to getting into our lesson.

We're gonna be having a look at the character of Puck, who is one of Shakespeare's most famous comedic characters, but really interesting because it really depends on how you want to read him.

Some people view him as being an incredibly malevolent character.

A lot of people view him as being quite mischievous.

I think that the truth lies somewhere in between.

But I'm really looking forward to hearing all of your fantastic ideas.

Let's jump into today's lesson.

So as ever, we are going to start off with our outcome, which is so that we can explain how Puck is introduced and common Elizabethan beliefs about this character.

Our key words for today are mischievous, which just means to be naughty or badly behaved, malevolent, which means to be cruel, malicious or evil.

These are the two ways that Puck is often described and it really depends on the sort of evidence or the way that we interpret the evidence that we are presented on him.

The concept of folklore, which is a really fantastic idea for us to be aware of, also great Taylor Swift album.

Folklore is just the stories and traditions that are passed down from generation to generation.

These are not written down but are told verbally.

We often are exposed to folklore.

They are stories that we are usually quite well acquainted with and that sort of oral tradition means that they are something that people are able to access quite easily.

We're going to be looking at the concept of foreshadowing, which is an indication or clue of a future event in a story, and we will be having a, we need to have an awareness of the word Elizabethan, which is just a person who is alive when Elizabeth I was on the throne.

Or it can also be used to describe culture.

So this as an Elizabethan play in some ways.

And the first audiences of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" were Elizabethan.

So we're going to start off by looking at the character of Puck by thinking about his two names.

So I'm just gonna give you a quick summary of Puck's role in "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

So at the very start when we meet Puck, he gets a magic potion for his master Oberon and Oberon uses that magic potion Titania.

Puck also uses the magic potion on Lysander, having been told to use it by Oberon on another person.

He is meant to use it on Demetrius, uses it on Lysander by mistake, and so there is some significant complication in the way that the text moves from that.

Puck transforms Bottom's head into that of a donkey, which makes Titania fall in love with him.

Puck puts the magic potion then on Demetrius, who he should have put it on at the first place.

Oberon then asks and gets the boy he wants from Titania.

Titania Oberon removes the magic potion that he had asked Puck to put Titania, and then Puck on Oberon's orders removes the magic potion from Lysander.

It's really clear then that Puck is involved in a lot of what happens over the course of the comedy.

But is it all good? Do we think that Puck is presented as a mischievous character or a malevolent one? I want you to look at just these pieces of evidence that we've got over the course of the text in terms of the events that he's involved with, and I want you to come to your own judgement on that.

Is he mischievous or malevolent? You may want to debate this with the person next to you and maybe use evidence to support your view.

You may want to write down your justification.

So I think that Puck is because, and then use particular pieces of the text to support.

But I'm going to ask you to pause the video now and to start doing that, when you are done hit play.

Some lovely ideas there, everyone, some really careful consideration of Puck's presentation.

And I think that, I definitely heard some people saying that he is malevolent, he is used by Obreron to do all sorts of things that are really problematic, but then also he is maybe mischievous.

Maybe the fact that no real harm comes of it is maybe an argument for him being sort of a character that maybe does things that are potentially a little bit dangerous but otherwise fairly harmless still.

It's worth saying that the word Puck comes from Elizabethan folklore.

It was a general time for a mischievous fairy but it could also connect to the more malevolent creatures associated with the devil.

Shakespeare's character is referred to as Puck throughout the play, but he is also sometimes called Robin Goodfellow, including crucially in the cast list for the text.

Robin Goodfellow was a well-known figure in Elizabethan folklore too, Robin Goodfellow was known for being mischievous but also helping with people's housework in exchange for a small fee of bread and milk.

So here if we have puck being called Robin Goodfellow, it sounds that actually he is maybe more mischievous and actually maybe the relationship that any character may have with him is slightly more transactional than him being just outright dangerous or threatening.

But why do we think Shakespeare gave the single character two names? How does it complicate our understanding of him? If Puck is something that we associate with the supernatural, someone associated with the devil and therefore more malevolent and Robin Goodfellow is a more mischievous creature, why do we think that Shakespeare's done this? How is that meant to impact the way that we read Puck or react him on stage? Pause the video now and discuss again with your partner.

Maybe jot down some key ideas into your notes and when you're ready, hit play.

Some absolutely cracking ideas there from everyone and I really love the evaluation depending on your view of it, some of you were using that idea of Robin Goodfellow to back up your viewpoint that actually he is mischievous and you know, really allowing that to further develop.

Others of you really challenging the idea that yes, he's more the malevolent figure definitely linked to the supernatural or the devil because of sort of the more troubling things that he's involved in.

Puck is in first introduced in Act Two, Scene One when a fairy meets him in the forest, The fairy says "You are that shrewd and knavish sprite called Robin Goodfellow, are not you that fright maidens of the villag'ry, mislead night wanderers laughing at their harm.

Those that hobgoblin call you and sweet Puck, you do their work and they shall have good luck." So if we're just unpacking this a little bit, that shrewd and knavish spirit just means mischievous and villainous spirit, what cruel things though does the fairy say that Puck does? What kind of things does the fairy say that Puck does? Pause the video now and using this text from Act Two, Scene One, lines 33 to 41 said by the fairy, what cruel things can we see that the fairy associates with Puck? What kind of things does Puck seem to do? when you've gotten your ideas, write them down into your notes and then hit play.

Well done everyone, yeah, so the fact that Puck is able to mislead night wanderers and laughs at their harm definitely suggests that there is a cruelty to Puck, whilst the fact that he is willing to wish good luck and do work for those that call him sweet Puck definitely suggests that he has the opportunity or the ability to be kind as well.

Jun says though, "I can't decide if the actors should be laughing and joking when they deliver these lines or whether they should be scared.

And I definitely understand Jun's confusion there.

There is definitely that sort of ambiguity in how we're meant to read this.

I want you to turn to the person next to you and decide perform these lines.

Maybe if you're working in a three or working in the power rather, one of you could deliver the lines in quite a scared manner and one of you could then deliver the lines in quite a jovial, joking manner and actually decide which one you think is better.

Pause the video now and practise saying it in each of those different ways, even if you're doing it independently.

Remember the play is meant to be delivered, it's meant to be performed.

That's how we get the real meat out of it.

And when you have done that, hit play.

Some fantastic performances there everyone, I loved the way some of you were almost cowering in fear when when delivering that line about Mislead night wanderers laughing at their harm.

I really thought that that was fantastic.

Some fantastic choices of hand direction there.

So we're just gonna have a quick check for understanding here.

True or false? Puck and Robin Goodfellow are two different characters, thinking about what we have already discussed so far, just very quickly true or false in three and two and one and we can see that it is in fact false.

Puck and Robin Goodfellow are two names given to the same character.

Can we justify the answer? Is it because Elizabethans would've known him as Robin Goodfellow, but a more modern audience thinks of him as Puck? Or is it the fact that Shakespeare uses two different names, both of which have different associations? So our reaction to this character is ultimately more complex.

Pause the video again, select A or B, and when you're ready, hit play.

Yes, absolutely, we know all of that context would've been something that that Elizabethans were aware of.

They were aware of the concept of Puck and Robin Goodfellow and instead therefore Shakespeare uses the two different names because it complicates our relationship with him relationship, our associations of this character.

So we're just going to practise applying our knowledge here by answering the questions in full.

I want you to use the key words, folklore, malevolent, mischievous, and Elizabethan as part of your answers.

So the four questions I want you to answer in full sentences in your notes.

What did the word Puck mean to an Elizabethan audience? What were common Elizabethan beliefs about Robin Goodfellow? Why might Shakespeare refer to his character as both Puck and Robin Goodfellow? And what does the fairy say about Robin Goodfellow in act two scene one? Pause the video now and you're going to be answering those four questions in your books using one or more of keywords in each of your answers.

Really pleased to see so many of you going back to the text and making sure to reference as much as you can and then also trying to make sure that we're really accurate with the context that we're using, really careful application of our knowledge, which is definitely gonna put us in good stead as we keep moving forward.

Great work everyone.

Let's take some feedback.

So I'm gonna show you one of Jun's answers for question four specifically, which is why might Shakespeare refer to his character as both Puck and Robin Goodfellow? So Jun put, Shakespeare might have used both names so that his first Elizabethan audiences would've had a more complicated reaction to the character.

They would've thought of puck as being connected to the devil, but Robin Goodfellow as having more positive connotations.

This means that they might interpret Puck in different ways at different points in the play.

What I really like about this response from Jun is the fact that he's using full sentences and then also including key words talking about Elizabethan, making sure that he's talking about the supernatural.

Maybe he could have also included the word folklores there as well.

All I would like you to do is to pick up a different colour pen and I want you to self-assess your answers, making sure that you have written in full sentences and underlining where you have included those keywords.

If you have realised you could include a keyword or include even more keywords as part of your answers, please add them in a different colour pen to what you initially wrote in.

Pause the video now.

Complete that self-assessment and when you're ready, hit play.

Some excellent reflection there everyone, really pleased to see that people are writing in full sentences and making sure to link to those key contextual key words.

Let's keep moving.

We're now looking at how Puck is introduced in the play and exploring that.

So after the fairy introduces puck in act two, scene one, that Puck introduces himself saying he is out and about at nighttime, he makes Oberon smile and laugh When he plays practical jokes, he sneaks into people's drinks and makes them spill them and he sometimes pretends to be a chair when someone sits on him, he disappears and they fall down.

I feel like I have been the recipient of some of Puck's cruel machinations at times.

I'm very clumsy and spill my drinks over.

Maybe I should blame him for all of my misfortune.

How do any of these ideas though foreshadow Puck's actions later in the play? Pause the video now and have that discussion.

How do they foreshadow? Remember, how do they hint at things that happen later in the text? Once you've gotten your ideas, hit play.

Some really interesting ideas to from everyone.

Thank you so much for thinking about how this relates to him over the course of the play.

I'm just gonna have a quick check for understanding here.

What does Puck say when he introduces himself in act two, scene one? Is it A, that he and Oberon plan to trick Titania? Is it B that he's foreshadowing his later trickery? C, that he plays practical jokes or D, that Oberon thinks he is malevolent? Pause the video now, select A, B, C, or D.

And when you have chosen, hit play.

And well done, people making sure to check back in their notes and refer really carefully to their knowledge of Puck and we can see that it is the fact that he plays practical jokes.

The fact that he is able to make people fall over by pretending to be a chair and then disappearing, the fact that he slips into their drinks and makes people spill their drinks.

All of these are practical jokes.

This is him definitely being mischievous in his nature.

We're just gonna practise our application our knowledge around Puck.

I want you to go to the additional materials where you'll find act two, scene one, lines 43 to 58 where we have Puck introduce himself fully.

I want you to read that really carefully and once you have, I want you to match each of the bullet points that I've got down below to the lines they reference.

So I need you to select which lines reference he is out and about at nighttime, he makes Oberon smile and laugh When he plays practical jokes, he sneaks into people's drinks and makes them spill them and he sometimes pretends to be a chair.

When someone sits on him, he disappears and they fall down.

Once you have matched them, matched the lines from lines 43 to 58 to each of those things, I want you to explain how you would direct an act to deliver these lines.

And I want you to justify your choice and why you've done that.

I want you to use your key words.

So folklore, malevolent, mischievous, and foreshadow as part of your response.

Pause the video now, use the read through the text first, then jump up to the bullet points and then suggest how you would want an actor to deliver these lines.

Once you've done that, hit play and we'll take some feedback.

Cracking work there everyone, so really careful reading, I love seeing how many of you are starting to really get into the sort of nuts and bolts of thinking about this part of the text and the complexities of Huck's presentation and starting to really try to create really nuanced explanations on how actors should deliver these lines.

The fact that, trying to get that duality to him, the malevolent, mischievous nature within his characterization.

Let's take some feedback.

So if we start off by just the second, if we start off with the second task and matching each of the bullet points of the lines they referenced.

If you have got anything different, you may want to change your ideas in a different colour pen just so that they match ours here.

So in terms of him being out and about at nighttime, you could look at the line at two, scene one, line 43, I am that merry wanderer of the night, and then him making Oberon smile and laugh by playing practical jokes.

"I jest to Oberon and make him smile." The fact that he sneaks into people's drinks and makes them spill them "When she drinks against her lips, I bob and on her withered dewlap pour the ale".

and then sometimes pretending to be a chair.

So that's when he disappears, people fall down, "Then I slip from her bum, down topples she." Puck absolutely a real nuisance in my life I think.

We're now gonna have a look at Jun's answer for question three where he explains how he would direct an actor to deliver these lines and why.

Jun says he would direct the actor to say these lines with a malevolent attitude and tone.

Puck is talking about mischievous practical jokes, but I think it would be important to foreshadow his more malicious actions later in the play.

So Jun definitely kind of seeing him as being both of these things and they're kind of a link together.

For example, helping Oberon trick Titania is a more malicious act, a more malevolent act and eventually helps Oberon get to Titania to give him the little boy.

So we can see here in the words malevolent, mischievous and foreshadow that Jun has used not just one, not just two, but three of those key words that we were discussing earlier.

And he has justified his answer with reference to the play.

So going a little bit further and talking about how this links with our wider knowledge, remembering that timeline that we discuss right at the start of the text will Puck's involvement.

All I'd like you to do is to self-assess your own work and bracket it off where you have justified your answer with reference to the play and underline specific key words which link back to that initial task.

Once you have done that, hit play.

Some really careful considerations there everyone and I'm really pleased to see that all of you are being super reflective as we go back through the work.

Great stuff.

Let's move on to our final slide as we summarise our learning about the character of Puck, who is Oberon's servant and has two names, Puck and Robin Goodfellow, that really encapsulate the fact that Puck being linked more to the devil, this sort of more malevolent figure.

And then Robin Goodfellow, who is capable of doing very kind things, very generous deeds and is therefore maybe more mischievous than malevolent.

In the Elizabeth and folklore, Puck was a general term for a fairy, but was also connected with Malevolence and the Devil.

Whilst Robin Goodfellow was connected with practical jokes and helpfulness, but was also part of Elizabethen folklore.

When Puck is first introduced therefore, we are told about many of his practical jokes and we realised that he sort of exists as both a mischievous and malevolent force potentially in the play.

You've taken a lot of information on this lesson and I've been really impressed with the range of knowledge you've been able to show, some fantastic ideas over the course of the lesson and I've been really impressed by some of your directorial thinking in how you have been suggesting how people play the character of Puck.

I'm really looking forward to working with you again and I hope to see you again very soon.

Bye for now everyone.