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Year 8

The presentation of Egeus in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

I can explain how Shakespeare presents the character of Egeus in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, including considering relevant context.

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New
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Year 8

The presentation of Egeus in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

I can explain how Shakespeare presents the character of Egeus in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, including considering relevant context.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ was first performed to an Elizabethan audience.
  2. Elizabethans believed women should obey their fathers and husbands.
  3. Elizabethans believed the supernatural was evil.
  4. Shakespeare included ideas about the patriarchy and the supernatural in his plays as a way to connect to his audiences.
  5. When writing about ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, you should include context to help develop your ideas.

Common misconception

The characters in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' are Elizabethan.

The play's first audiences were Elizabethan, and Shakespeare explores Elizabethan attitudes and ideas in the play. But the play is set in Athens many centuries before the Elizabethan period.

Keywords

  • Context - information about when and why a text was written that helps us understand a text more deeply

  • Supernatural - something that can’t be explained by the laws of nature

  • Patriarchy - a society in which men hold the power; the laws and structure of that society prevent women from having power

  • Bewitch - to put a magical spell on someone

  • Elizabethan - a person alive when Elizabeth I was on the throne (1558-1603); the first audiences of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ were Elizabethan

Consider if your pupils have read another Shakespeare play with an angry father, disobedient daughter or references to the supernatural. How could you use this (rather than 'Othello', learning cycle 1) as a way to understand what Shakespeare is doing through the character of Egeus in Act 1?
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need access to a copy of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual content

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what is the name of Hermia's father?
Theseus
Lysander
Correct answer: Egeus
Oberon
Demetrius
Q2.
Where is 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' set?
England
the theatre
London
Correct answer: Athens
Q3.
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', who does Egeus want Hermia to marry?
Bottom
Oberon
Theseus
Lysander
Correct answer: Demetrius
Q4.
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Hermia faces punishment if she doesn't obey her father and marry Demetrius. What punishments does she face?
Correct answer: being killed by the state
Correct answer: having to become a nun
being sent to prison
banishment to the forest outside Athens
Correct answer: forced marriage to a man she doesn't love
Q5.
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', what supernatural or magical elements does Shakespeare include in the play?
witches
Correct answer: a magical forest
a sleeping potion
Correct answer: fairies
Correct answer: a love potion
Q6.
In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', why might we describe Athens, where the play is set, as patriarchal?
It's a society in which women are considered equal to men.
It's a society in which women are considered superior to men.
Correct answer: It's a society in which women are considered inferior to men.
It's a society in which women are considered equal to fairies.
It's a society in which women are considered inferior to fairies.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was first performed in around 1595. What is the name for the play's first audiences?
Jacobean
Athenian
Shakespearean
Correct answer: Elizabethan
Q2.
Who was on the throne when Shakespeare wrote 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?
Queen Elizabeth II
King James I
Queen Victoria
Correct answer: Queen Elizabeth I
Q3.
'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was first watched by an Elizabethan audience. What were some common expectations of Elizabethan women?
Correct answer: to obey their husbands
to accept their superiority to men
Correct answer: to obey fathers
to obey their mothers
Correct answer: to accept their inferiority to men
Q4.
A pupil said, 'When 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was first performed, women were considered men's equals.' How might you respond to this statement?
Correct - because when the play was written, the monarch was a woman.
Correct - this is why Hermia has the power to run away from Athens.
Correct answer: Incorrect - Elizabethan society was patriarchal.
Incorrect - women were considered superior because the monarch was a woman.
Incorrect - women were considered equal only if they had supernatural powers.
Q5.
In Act 1, Scene 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Egeus says Lysander has " " Hermia and that is why she has fallen in love with him.
Correct Answer: bewitched
Q6.
In Act 1, Scene 1 of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', Egeus says Demetrius has his " " to marry Hermia, whereas Lysander does not.
Correct Answer: consent