Question: Watch the A Midsummer Night's Dream Answer all questions
Discussion prompts for A Midsummer Night's Dream
1. What did you notice? What about the play was interesting, strange, revealing, or meaningful for you? Be specific.
2. What values are being represented in this dramatic world. Discuss two values and to what group/groups these values are attached. Give at least two specific example from the play of how each value is expressed/represented. What does this suggest about the play as a whole?
If "values" ends up being a difficult word to tangle with, try replacing it with perspectives, priorities, or concerns.
3. (Read with a pencil/make notes)
For this prompt, choose something that you circled/highlighted/noted while reading the play that you didn't completely understand and do some additional research -- this might mean looking up the meaning of a word, or googling an unfamiliar reference -- and then discuss your findings.
Armed with this new information how have you been able to put what was at first difficult to understand into context? What connections exist between this new information and other details of the world of the play?
4. (Issue of diversity)
Compare and contrast how gender is depicted in the play. What do these depictions suggest about masculinity and femininity? What do these depictions suggest about the play as a whole?
5. Consider how this play was performed originally. Remember that in Shakespeare's time men would have played the female characters. How do you think this contemporary casting affected Shakespeare's audience?
6. Ask two of your own questions about the play. This is your opportunity to find out what someone else thinks about an aspect of the play that you found particularly interesting, confusing, or challenging. You cannot repeat any question that is part of this list of discussion prompts.
FOLLOW-UP REPLY: Write a 100-150 word reply to one of your classmate's journal posts that addresses the 2 questions your classmate posed in his or her journal. Your follow-up reply can be a written response