The patriarchal world of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
I can explore how the patriarchy is presented in William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, focusing on the openings of Act 1 and Act 2.
The patriarchal world of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
I can explore how the patriarchy is presented in William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, focusing on the openings of Act 1 and Act 2.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Athens is a patriarchal society.
- Egeus has the right to kill his daughter.
- Act 1 and Act 2 both begin with a conflict.
- 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.
Keywords
Patriarchy - a society in which men hold the power; the laws and structure of that society prevent women from having power
Quotation - words from a text
Analysis - in English, this means looking at a text closely and considering what it might mean and why it was written in that way
Conflict - a serious argument
Dialogue - in a play, these are the words that the characters say
Common misconception
Titania seems to have some power, but Hermia has none.
Hermia defies her father by saying that she will marry Lysander, and refusing to marry Demetrius. She is also willing to leave her father, and the place she was born rather than obey her father.
To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: The patriarchal world of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: The patriarchal world of William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', 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.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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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 are found within the lesson slides.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
- Depiction or discussion of sexual violence
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
argue about who Hermia should marry
argue about who gets to be in charge of a little boy
argue at the beginning of the play because one doesn't love the other
argue over which man loves them and why