1. Why do Hermia and Lysander leave Athens, and where do they go?

2. What mistake does Puck make when he uses the love potion, and how does it affect the lovers?

3. How does Bottom become involved in the fairies’ conflict?

4. At the end of the play, what do the three weddings celebrate?

Original extract inspired by the play:

The moon hung pale above the wood, and every leaf seemed to hold its breath. A distant horn called once; then silence folded round the path. Lysander reached for Hermia’s hand, but shadows crossed between them, long as warning fingers. “The night has changed its face,” he said. From the trees came a laugh, bright and brief, like a spark in darkness.

1. Identify one example of personification and explain what it suggests about the forest.

2. What mood is created by “silence folded round the path”? Explain the effect of the verb “folded”.

3. What might the simile “like a spark in darkness” suggest about the laugh?

4. How does the final sentence change or complicate the mood of the extract?

Original practice soliloquy:

“Must I obey the law that chains my heart,

Or choose the road that leads beyond these walls?

My father’s anger waits within the hall;

Yet freedom calls more loudly than my fear.”

1. What conflict is the speaker facing?

2. Choose one metaphor from the speech and explain what it implies.

3. Which word or phrase reveals the speaker’s fear? Explain how you know.

4. How might an actor use pace, pause or emphasis to make the final line powerful?

Word bank: groundlings, playhouse, soliloquy, patrons, imagery

1. A speech in which a character speaks private thoughts aloud, usually alone on stage, is a ___.

2. Shakespeare’s company performed in a public theatre known as a ___.

3. The audience members who often stood in the open yard were called ___.

4. Wealthy supporters who helped fund a theatre company were its ___.

5. Language that creates vivid pictures or associations in a reader’s mind is called ___.

Original practice scene:

MIRA: The gate is open. The night invites us.

JON: Or warns us. Listen—the wind is speaking.

MIRA: Then let it speak. I will not turn back.

JON: I will walk beside you, though I fear the dark.

1. Which character sounds more determined? Quote a word or phrase to support your answer.

2. Give one vocal choice that could make Jon sound afraid without changing his words.

3. Suggest one movement or gesture that could emphasise Mira’s determination.

4. How could the actors perform the final line to show both loyalty and fear?

How does Shakespeare present love as a source of conflict in A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Refer to at least one relationship and one moment from the play. [6 marks]