A Level Study Notes and Revision Guides
A Midsummer Night's Dream: AS & A2 York Notes
William Shakespeare
Study Tools
How to study A Midsummer Night's Dream
How can these Notes help you?, Reading the play, Interpreting or critiquing the play, References and sources, Revising for and responding to an assessed task or exam questionA Midsummer Night's Dream in context
William Shakespeare's life and times, Shakespeare's dramatic career, Shakespeare and the writing of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's theatre, Setting, Study focus: Key issues, Characters in A Midsummer Night's DreamPlot & Action
Characters & Themes
Theseus
Who is Theseus?, Once a hero, Still a hero?, Study focus: A male tyrant?, Key quotations: TheseusHippolyta
Who is Hippolyta?, Amazon or obedient wife?, Hippolyta as a symbol of passion, Study focus: Acting Hippolyta, Key quotations: HippolytaEgeus
Who is Egeus?, Egeus as a plot device, Study focus: Egeus's third appearance, Key quotations: EgeusHermia
Who is Hermia?, Hermia's appearance, Study focus: Hermia's personality, Key quotations: HermiaDemetrius
Who is Demetrius?, Demetrius: The least likeable of the lovers, Study focus: Gender, Key quotations: DemetriusLysander
Who is Lysander?, Lysander's strengths, Study focus: Lysander under the spell, Key quotations: Lysander, Revision focus: Task 4Bottom
Who is Bottom?, Bottom's name, Bottom's character, Study focus: Bottom as a hero, Key quotations: BottomOberon
Who is Oberon?, Oberon the fairy king, Study focus: The two sides of Oberon, Key quotations: OberonTitania
Who is Titania?, Titania, the queen of the fairies, Study focus: Titania the goddess of nature, Key quotations: TitaniaStructure, Form & Language
Contexts & Critical Debates
Grade Booster
Assessment focus
What are you being asked to focus on?, What do these AOs actually mean?, What does this mean for your study or revision?Targeting a high grade
Understanding grade progression, Typical C grade features, Typical features of an A or A* responseQuestions with statements, quotations or viewpoints
Responding to a critical interpretation, Key skills required, Answering a ‘viewpoint’ questionComparing A Midsummer Night’s Dream with other texts
Example question, The task, Writing your responseWriting about contexts
Assessment Objective 4, The context for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Targeting a high grade