'A Midsummer Night's Dream': Puck's epilogue in Act 5
I can create a convincing interpretation of Puck's epilogue from Act 5 of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ through performance.
'A Midsummer Night's Dream': Puck's epilogue in Act 5
I can create a convincing interpretation of Puck's epilogue from Act 5 of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ through performance.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘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 by the play.
- Perhaps this epilogue acknowledges some of the fears that Elizabethans had about the potential dangers of the theatre.
- Some Elizabethans believed the theatres were a place of dangerous ideas and atmospheres.
Keywords
Epilogue - 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
Breaking the fourth wall - when a character in a play speaks directly to the audience, acknowledging the audience exists
Hierarchy - a system whereby people or things are ranked, with some being higher than others
Elizabethan - a person alive when Elizabeth I was on the throne (1558-1603); the first audiences of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ were Elizabethan
Censor - to remove parts of a text that you think shouldn’t be seen
Common misconception
It is not significant that Puck performs the epilogue. It could have been any of the characters.
There are many different ideas to explore in terms of why Puck performs this epilogue. It could speak to his centrality to the plot, his infamous reputation amongst the play's first Elizabethan audiences, and the way we should interpret key themes.
To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': Puck's epilogue in Act 5, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream': Puck's epilogue in Act 5, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 english lessons from the 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need access to a copy of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. However, the relevant extracts for this lesson can also be found in the additional materials.
Content guidance
- Risk assessment required - physical activity
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Starter quiz
6 Questions
obeys his commands
transforms his head into that o donkey
puts the magical potion on him by mistake
doesn't put the antidote on him
laughs at her distress
feels sorry for her when he sees her lying on the ground sleeping