Hi everyone, my name is Mr. Parkland.

I'm really looking forward to working with you today.

We're gonna be talking about the patriarchal world of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." And though you may have already come across the word patriarchy before, I think this is a really important term to revisit because it's actually a really important concept for us to be able to understand when we are discussing not just literature, not just books, but actually just the way that we see society even today.

It has really impacted the way that we see the world and I think it's a really important topic for us to get into.

Let's start.

So today our lesson outcome is to be able to explain how the patriarchy is presented in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." So our key words include patriarchy, which is a society in which men hold the power, the laws and structures of that society often prevent women from having power.

We're gonna be thinking about key quotations within the text, which are just words from the text.

And we're be working on the skill of analysis, which in English means looking at a text closely and considering what it means, what it might mean, and why it was written in a particular way.

When we're talking about patriarchy, there is often a significant amount of conflict, which means that there is usually a serious argument.

And because we're looking at a play, we're thinking about the specific dialogue within the play, which means the words that the characters say.

So we're gonna start off by just recapping the patriarchal world of Athens.

After greeting Duke Theseus, Egeus's first lines of dialogue in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" are, "Full of vexation come I, with a complaint against my child, my daughter, Hermia." Why do we think Egeus is so angry? So full of vexation? Pause the video and just remember what we've already talked about before about his relationship with Hermia and what he wants for her.

Why is he so angry at this point? Maybe talk to the person next to you, maybe jot down your own ideas.

Pause for now, and when you're ready hit play.

Well done everyone, some really good ideas there.

Let's take some feedback.

So Egeus speaks for 23 lines and he's furious at his daughter for wanting to marry Lysander, rather than Demetrius.

Demetrius is the man that Egeus has chosen for her.

He therefore ends with this speech, "Be it so she will not here, before your grace, consent to marry with Demetrius, I beg the ancient privilege of Athens.

As she is mine, I may dispose of her, which will be either to this gentleman or to her death." Really harsh words from Egeus there.

let's have a look at what he's actually saying.

I want you to discuss these two questions.

What is Egeus threatening to do when he says, "I may dispose of her either to this gentleman or to her death?" And why is he able to threaten Hermia in this way? Pause the video now and discuss using these pieces of quotations, these pieces of evidence, to help answer those two questions.

When you're ready, hit play.

Really lovely ideas there everyone.

So we've got the idea, the fact that she is being threatened by having to marry Demetrius as Egeus commands, but also that if she doesn't, she will be put to death.

The third option that Theseus sort of comes up with is that she will be sent to a nunnery, she will be made into a nun.

And why is he able to threaten Hermia in this way? Well, because Egeus even asks for the ancient privilege of Athens.

In Athens, it's a patriarchal society, so he has more power, he is able to make command of what will happen to his daughter.

Theseus supports Egeus and tells Hermia, "Be advised, fair maid, to you, your father should be as a God." And that she must obey her father or choose "To die the death or to endure the livery of a nun." So let's just check our understanding, let's discuss these two questions.

Why does Theseus think Hermia should obey her father? And how does Theseus threaten Hermia? Hermia is in a really difficult position here, but we need to understand how.

Answer those two questions, either discussing with your partner or taking notes and then when you're ready, hit play.

Some lovely ideas there everyone, some really good discussions.

Let's make sure we've got a pen in our hand so that if there's anything that I add here that we're just adding it to our notes really quickly and carefully.

So why does Theseus think Hermia should obey her father? Well it's in that line, isn't it? "To you, your father should be as a God." He's comparing her father to her should be like a deity, like someone that she has to listen to.

If we think about the connotations there of the God, we're thinking about someone who is all powerful, who maybe has created us, who we're meant to beg forgiveness from.

So that's really problematic.

And then how does Theseus threaten Hermia? Well, either to die the death, so totally agreeing with Egeus's first proposition, or as I mentioned earlier, endure the livery of a nun.

So she will have to become a nun if she refuses to listen to her father.

Really difficult position for Hermia and really reinforcing this idea that it is a heavily patriarchal society and she's not given a huge amount of choice.

So we're just gonna consider the opening of the play and discuss in what ways is Athens presented as a patriarchal society? As we can see, we've got this timeline here with our three quotations.

"Full of vexation come I, with complaint against my child, my daughter Hermia.

"As she is mine, I may dispose of her, which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death." "And to you, your father should be as a God." I'd like you to discuss in your pairs or again taking notes in what ways is Athens presented as a patriarchal society? Pause the video now and start looking at those key quotations to help you.

Some lovely initial ideas there everyone.

We're going to just make sure that we're checking our understanding here.

So true or false, does Theseus actually think Egeus is a God? Pause the video now.

True or false? Think about that simile.

"To you, your father should be as a God." Is he saying that Egeus is actually a God? True or false? Really careful understanding their everyone, really pleased to see how carefully people were considering that quote.

We know that it is false.

Let's just justify our answer because that simply can be quite tricky.

Is it because Theseus thinks that Egeus is acting like a God because he wants to have the power of life and death over Hermia? Or is it because Theseus thinks Hermia should think of Egeus as a God because he is her father and therefore she owes him her duty? Pause the video again and select A or B.

Really fantastic understanding there, I'm really pleased with the way that people were checking back through their knowledge just to make sure that they were really clear about what they were looking at.

So you are absolutely right.

Theseus thinks Hermia should think of Egeus as a God because he's her father and she owes him her duty.

It's less to do with the fact that actually Egeus has power of life and death over her, although through the threat he is making to her, there does seem to be that undercurrent as well.

So we're just gonna practise our understanding here.

Izzy is analysing one of the quotations.

She said the patriarchy is most powerfully presented when Egeus says, "Full of vexation come I, with complaint against my child, my daughter Hermia." Egeus focuses on his own anger first and Hermia his own daughter is the last thing he mentions.

He also repeats that she is my child and my daughter, showing that he believes he owns her, almost as if she is his property.

So let's just think here, how has Izzy analysed this quotation? You may want to jot down some ideas or you may want to start discussing with the person next to you.

I want you to think about the way that she's focusing on specific language, my child, my property.

What could she even do further to develop her explanation, her analysis? Once you've finished, unpause the video, and we'll go through it.

Great ideas everyone, some really careful understanding, some really careful consideration of that focus on my child and my daughter.

So Izzy looks at the language closely, writing two sentences about the way in which Egeus's power is presented.

What I'd like you to do now is to analyse which quotation you think most powerfully presents the patriarchy.

So I've got here, "Full of vexation come I, with was complaint against my child, my daughter Hermia," which is very similar to what Izzy has chosen.

"As she is mine I may dispose of her, which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death," or, "To you your father should be as a God." I want you to choose any of those quotations, maybe one of the last two, bearing in mind that we've already had discussions of each of these and you had a discussion earlier about all three of these at one point, and I'd just like you to focus, what is this showing and what does this maybe represent? What key part of the quotation would you focus on to show how powerful the patriarchy is? Pause the video now and start that discussion.

When you're ready, hit play.

Fantastic, some really keen ideas and I love seeing how developed her explanations was, how developed her analysis was.

Let's have some feedback.

So Aisha wrote, the patriarchy is most powerfully presented when Egeus says, "As she's mine, I may dispose of her, which will be either to the gentleman or to her death." Egeus makes clear he thinks Hermia is his property by saying, "She is mine." And the word dispose shows he feels he can do anything he likes with her.

Even though Hermia is his daughter, he's happy to hurt her emotionally by making her marry someone she doesn't love.

He's also happy to physically hurt her by killing her.

Aisha here has analysed a quotation in a number of sentences, looking at words and phrases and explaining what they can mean.

I want you to consider your own analysis.

Have you explored what your quotation can mean in more than one sentence? Have you really developed your explanation as far as you possibly can? Pause the video now and start to self-assess your work and if you think you could develop it further, maybe add on in another colour pen.

Lovely reflection there everyone, I was really pleased to see that so many of you were picking out specific parts of the quote you had already chosen to actually develop a little bit further, maybe even focusing on key words.

Great stuff, it's really gonna help us for the next part of the lesson.

We're now gonna have a look at how does Shakespeare present the patriarchy? So just as Act One begins with a conflict, so does Act Two.

The play moves from the patriarchal world of Athens to the magical forest, which is still quite patriarchal.

This time, the conflict is between Titania, Queen of the Fairies, and Oberon, King of the Fairies.

Why are Titania and Oberon in conflict? Think back to your knowledge of the play so far.

What has been the major issue of discussion for them? Pause the video and see if you can work that out.

Really good memory, really good checking back of your notes from previous discussions.

We're gonna have a look at the first dialogue between Titania and Oberon, who are fighting over the fate of a particular individual.

Oberon says, "Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania." Titania.

"What, Jealous Oberon? Fairies, skip hence, I have forsworn (refused), his bed and company." Oberon.

"Tarry, rash wanton, am I not thy Lord? Titania.

"Then I must be thy lady." Oberon.

"Why should Titania cross her Oberon? I do but beg a little changeling boy to be my henchman, his servant.

Give me that boy and I will go with thee." Titania.

"Not for thy fairy kingdom." It's important for us to have a look here at this line, "Tarry, rash wanton," which is really Oberon saying to Titania, "Wait, disobedient woman." It's interesting because Sofia looks at this line and says, "This dialogue emphasises their equality, not the power of the patriarchy," which is an interesting idea.

There is definitely evidence to be found for that because Titania and Oberon are in conflict, which may suggest that they actually have an equal standing.

What specifically could have led Sofia to this conclusion? Pause the video now and see if you can find any quotes to support Sofia's idea.

Really good work there everyone, I was really pleased to see that people were finding specific quotes and then actually extending a little bit further and explaining why those quotes, even analysing why those quotes were showing that actually they are quite equal.

The issue is that despite Titania's power, Oberon does get the boy from her.

Oberon uses a magical potion to get what he wants, saying, "Having once this juice I'll watch to Titania when she is asleep.

And drop the liquor, the potion, of it in her eyes.

The next thing then she waking looks upon, be it lion, bear, wolf or bull or meddling monkey or busy ape, she shall pursue it with the soul of love and ere I take this charm from off her sight.

I'll make her render, give up, her page to me." So I want us to discuss here, do you think this plan shows off Oberon's power or his powerlessness? There are two ways of definitely viewing this.

Pause the video and see if you can have that discussion amongst yourselves.

You may want to just note down some key ideas before hitting play.

Some lovely ideas there, everyone.

Let's go through it.

The fact that he has to rely on a potion could suggest that he is somewhat powerless, but also the fact that he's willing to torment Titania by doing this could suggest that actually he's abusing his power.

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

Why does Oberon say, "Tarry, rash wanton?" Is it A, because he wants to put the magical love potion onto Titania's eyes? B, because he thinks the boy is being disobedient? C, he thinks Titania is being disobedient? Or D, he considers Titania his equal? Pause the video now and select which option or options you think explain why Oberon says, "Tarry, rash wanton." When you're ready, hit play.

Some lovely ideas, I could definitely see people going back to their notes and actually sort of trying to develop different interpretations.

We've gone for, it shows that he thinks Titania is being disobedient.

That idea of rash wanton, meaning disobedient woman, suggests that he thinks that he has a right to control or command Titania.

So we're just gonna practise our understanding here, focusing on the opening of Act One and Act Two.

And we're gonna complete this table.

I want you to use the prompts to guide your analysis and you should use quotations from over the course of the lesson to help you.

So on the one hand, we've got the patriarchy is presented as powerful.

For that you could consider the language of Theseus, Egeus and Oberon.

The punishment Hermia faces, what Hermia has to do to avoid punishment, and what happens to Titania over the course of the play.

That suggests that they patriarchy is powerful and you are going to explain and use those to guide your analysis.

You are going to pick a particular quote and use those quotes to support the idea that the patriarchy is presented as powerful.

Alternatively, your other topic sentence, if you go for a different interpretation, is that the patriarchy is presented as powerless.

And here you could consider Hermia and Titania's disobedience, how Hermia escapes punishment, Titania's language or Oberon's plan.

Pause the video now and see which one you more agree with, maybe you want to do a paragraph on each, but I'd say focus on one, find evidence and really analyse the evidence that you go for.

Pause the video now and do this in your notes.

Some really careful consideration there, everyone.

And I really like the way that people were actually checking back over the course of the lesson and actually really making sure that they understood the language that we'd seen presented for each of our male speakers and even Titania within the play.

There's definitely a couple of ways, different ways of interpreting this.

Let's take some feedback and see how this could be improved even further.

So as we're going through, I want you to have a different colour pen in your hand so that you can add any notes.

This is what Sofia has produced.

She was arguing that the patriarchy is presented as powerless and she said, "Well, Oberon needs a magical potion to overpower Titania and he has to put it on her eyes when she is asleep, he knows he can't control her, so it has to resort to trickery and distraction.

It is almost as if Shakespeare is saying Titania is more powerful than Oberon when she's not under a spell." That's a really interesting viewpoint from Sofia and I could definitely see that argument.

I want you to self-assess, making sure each of your ideas is developed in a number of sentences.

So making sure that we're not just having one idea, but actually really exploring it further, really developing it.

What you may also want to do is to make sure that you've got a quote, which Sofia hasn't gotten here yet.

If you can find a quote to support your idea, make sure you bring that in in a different colour as well.

Of course, once you include a quote, make sure to analyse it.

Pause the video now and see if you can bring that in.

Some really good work there everyone.

I was really pleased to see that so many of you had done as Sofia had and made sure to focus on a particular plot point, but I'm so glad that so many of you actually extended beyond and included a specific quotation.

It shows you've got a really good understanding of the text so far and is really gonna help you further down the line as we move through the unit.

Great stuff.

So we're approaching the end of our lesson for today, and we're gonna be summarising the patriarchal world of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." So we've covered how Athens is a patriarchal society, a society where men have more power over women and actually use that power to control.

We've spotted how Egeus believes he has the right to kill his daughter, and actually Theseus even backs him up on this, saying that Egeus should be as to Hermia as a God.

In Act One and Act Two, we see that both begin with a conflict and that centred around that idea of patriarchy.

And it could be argued that Titania is presented as Oberon's equal.

Oberon has to use a magical love potion on Titania in order to get what he wants, suggesting that they are equals.

You've worked really well over the course of this lesson and I've been really impressed with your understanding.

Thank you so much for all of your hard effort today, and I really look forward to working with you again soon.

Bye for now.