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AP English: Literature and Composition
Name:
Joe, Carl, Marcy, Chelsea and Stefannie
Major Works Data Sheet: Do not cut/paste from a website, which is a form of plagiarism.
Title: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Author: William Shakespeare
Date of Publication: 1993
Genre: Romantic comedy
Historical information about the period of publication
or setting of the novel:
 16th Century
 Theatre was a new and exciting business
 Career appealed to young men, but died young from
poverty
Biographical information about the author:

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Born April 1564 and died April 1616
No evidence to say Shakespeare attended
school
Married in 1582 at the age of 18 to Anne
Hathaway
In 1583 and 1585 he had three children
named Susanna, Judith and Hamnet.
He wrote in verse and prose
He performed most of his life in the Globe
Theatre
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Characteristics of the genre:
 Light hearted
 Happily ever after
 Plot twist
 Heart break
 Lovers
Plot Summary: Do not cut/paste from a website, which is a form of plagiarism.
 Hemia is forbidden to marry Lysander so they decide to run away together
 Hermia tells Helena of their plan so she can stay with Demetrious
 Helena tells Demetrious of their plans and they go into the woods to follow the lovers
 Actors are practicing their play in the woods
 Titania and Oberon are fighting over a baby
 Oberon plans to make Titania fall in love with the first ugly thing she sees to get the baby
 Oberon sees the lovers and wants to make everything right so he sends Puck in to help with the love
potion
 Puck gives Lysander the love potion instead of Demetrious and then falls in love with Helena.
 When Puck tries to fix his mistake he accidentally gives the potion to Demetrious who also falls in
love with Helena.
 Helena doesn’t believe that the two men are in love with her all of a sudden. Instead, she thinks that
they are mocking her. Hermia is heart broken.
 During this time, Puck sees bottom and transforms him into an ass-head
 Titania was given the love potion and woke up to Bottom singing and falls in love with him.
 All the spells were reversed except Demetrious
 The lovers were found laying in the forest and Theseus decides they should all wed along with him
and Hippolyta
 They enjoy a comedic tragedy play by the actors
 Puck speaks to the audience and explains that all chaos will be restored and they will all live happily
ever after
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Major Works Data Sheet
Memorable Quotes at least 3 – more is better
Quotation
Significance
“The course of true love never
did run smooth” –Lysander
This quote is so significant because it is a reoccurring theme throughout
the story, Hermia and Lysander struggle frequently throughout the course
of the play. Their love is tested multiple times and they manage to
overcome each obstacle that is placed in their way.
“Give me your hands, if we be
friends, and Robin shall restore
amends” –Robin Goodfellow
This quote comes from the final lines of the play; it is significant because
Robin apologizes to the audience if they didn’t enjoy the play. He tells the
audience to think of the play as though it were a dream.
“Yet marked I where the bolt
of Cupid fell. It fell upon a
little Western flower.”
Act2.sc.1 lines 171-172
This quote is significant because it tells the viewer of the origins of the
love flower. It also expands the myths of the fairy world.
“You were best to call them
generally, man by man,
according to the scrip.” Act
1.sc.2 lines 3-4
This quote establishes Bottom’s character, he attempts to inflate his
intelligence which results in his mis-usage of words.
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Major Works Data Sheet
Major Works Data Sheet
Characters
Name
Role in the story
Egeus’ daughter,
Lysander’s lover, friends
with Helena, loved by
Demetrius
Significance
One of the four main
Athenian characters. She
is one of the four lovers.
Adjectives
Short, rebellious, tough
Lysander
Hermia’s lover, falls in
love with Helena due to
love potion, Puck gives
Lysander the love potion
One of the four main
Athenian characters. He
is one of the four lovers.
Determined, rebellious,
Helena
Loves Demetrius, friends
with Hermia
One of the four main
Athenian characters. She
is one of the four lovers.
Lonely, jealous, insecure,
Demetrius
Loves Hermia, is loved
by Helena, Loves Helena
after love potion is
applied, Love potion is
applied by Puck
One of the four main
Athenian characters. He
is one of the four lovers.
Determined, jealous,
Theseus
The duke of Athens,
Egeus wants him to force
Hermia to marry
Demetrius, Lover of
Hippolyta
He is the duke of Athens Powerful, kind,
and has the power to veto empathetic
Hermia and Lysander’s
relationship and force her
to marry Demetrius
Hippolyta
Lover of Theseus, queen
of the amazons
The soon to be wife of
Theseus which makes
her the duchess of
Athens
Pretty, skeptical, kind,
Egeus
Father of Hermia,
Hermia’s father. trys to
convince Theseus to
force Hermia to marry
Demetrius
Harsh, demanding,
selfish,
Philostrate
Master of the revels to
Theseus
Very minor character,
introduced the play
Loyal,
Hermia
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Nick Bottom
The weaver, actor in play
directed by Peter Quince,
Acts in Pyramus and
Thisbe play with Flute,
Snug, and Starveling,
Loved by Titania after
love potion is applied to
her, head is turned into
an ass by a spell Puck
places on him.
He is the main actor in
the Pyramus and Thisbe
play and he plays
Pyramus. He wants to
play every role and
Titania falls in love with
him under a potion. His
head gets transformed
into the head of an ass.
Humorous, kind,
enthusiastic,
Peter Quince
Pyramus and Thisbe play
director, carpenter
The Director of the play,
assigns the parts to the
actors.
Strict, serious,
determined
Francis Flute
Actor in Pyramus and
Thisbe, plays Thisbe,
bellows- mender
Plays Thisbe in the play
though he dosnt want to
as Thisbe is a girl
Loyal, good hearted,
Tom Snout
Tinker
Actor in play. Plays the
lion.
Determined,
Snug
Actor, Joiner
Actor in the play.
Determined,
Robin Starveling
Actor, tailor
Actor in the play.
Determined,
Oberon
King of the fairies, lover
of Titania though they
fight a lot, Puck is his
servant
King of the fairies, he
loves Titania and try to
make things right with
all of the lovers. Wants
the little Indian boy that
Titania stole.
Serious, passionate,
epithetical, concerned,
Titania
Queen of the fairies,
lover of Oberon though
they fight a lot,
peaseblossom,
mustardseed, cobweb,
and moth are her
servants, falls in love
with puck after shes
affected by the love
potion
Queen of the fairies, she
loves Oberon and has the
little Indian boy that
Oberon wants. Falls in
love with Bottom after
he has an ass head due to
a love potion.
Serious, passionate,
protective,
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Robin Goodfellow aka
Puck
Mischievous fairy,
servant of Oberon,
administered love potion
to others characters
He administers the love
potions to all of the
people even though he
mixes them up. He
resolves the problem in
the end as Oberon tells
him too.
Mischievous, sly,
humorous,
Peaseblossom
Fairy, servant of Titania
She is the servant of
Titania, has a minor role.
Loyal,
Cobweb
Fairy, servant of Titania
She is the servant of
Titania, has a minor role
Loyal,
Mote
Fairy, servant of Titania
She is the servant of
Titania, has a minor role
Loyal,
Mustard Seed
Fairy, servant of Titania
She is the servant of
Titania, has a minor role
Loyal,
Major Works Data Sheet
Setting
Athens:
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Symbols or Motifs (at least three)
The moon
Cupid’s flower
Puck
Significance of the opening scene
Introduces the main character and the main conflict.
Hermia is told she must marry Demetrius but she
loves Lysander. Helena and Lysander and decide to
run away together and confide in Helena. This sets
up the plot of the entire story.
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Significance of the ending / closing scene
The lovers are finally allowed to wed at
Theseus’s wedding
All conflicts are solved
Actors are successful
Puck is talking to the audience and explains
that all chaos will always be restored
Possible Themes – Topics of Discussion (elaborate) minimum of 3
Love is difficult: The course of love never did run smooth. The characters are constantly faced with
obstacles that challenge their love for each other
Magic: The fairies in the forest, love potion and animal transformations
Throughout the chaos everything ended up okay