The document provides an overview of the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. It discusses the plot, characters, and references to Greek and Roman mythology within the play. It also summarizes key elements of Shakespearean comedy like the three-act structure and comedic devices used. Finally, it outlines a proposed task for students to do a stage reading of an excerpt from the play in groups, with roles assigned for different characters.
The document provides an overview of the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. It discusses the plot, characters, and references to Greek and Roman mythology within the play. It also summarizes key elements of Shakespearean comedy like the three-act structure and comedic devices used. Finally, it outlines a proposed task for students to do a stage reading of an excerpt from the play in groups, with roles assigned for different characters.
The document provides an overview of the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. It discusses the plot, characters, and references to Greek and Roman mythology within the play. It also summarizes key elements of Shakespearean comedy like the three-act structure and comedic devices used. Finally, it outlines a proposed task for students to do a stage reading of an excerpt from the play in groups, with roles assigned for different characters.
The document provides an overview of the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. It discusses the plot, characters, and references to Greek and Roman mythology within the play. It also summarizes key elements of Shakespearean comedy like the three-act structure and comedic devices used. Finally, it outlines a proposed task for students to do a stage reading of an excerpt from the play in groups, with roles assigned for different characters.
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Lesson 12 Drama
The comedy and tragedy masks
● The Comedy mask is known as Thalia, who in Greek mythology is the Muse of Comedy and Idyllic Poetry, portrayed as a happy, cheerful young woman crowned with ivy. The Tragedy mask is known as Melpomene, who is the Muse of Tragedy. 1 Understanding Drama ● 1.1 Genres of Drama
● 1.2 Elements of Drama
● 1.3 History of Drama
1.1 Genres of Drama
● Tragedy: a serious play representing the downfall of its protagonist. (p. 349)
● Comedy: a play usually with a happy ending chiefly aiming to amuse its audience by representing everyday life and exploring common human failings.
● Tragicomedy 悲喜剧： a play that combines elements of tragedy and comedy, either by providing a happy ending to a possible tragic story or by more complex blending of serious and light moods. (p. 349) 1.2 Elements of Drama
● Acording to Aristotle 亚里士多德 , drama is made up of six elements, namely plot,
character, thought, language, spectacle or visual effects, and choral odes .
● 1) Plot = What, the main action.
● 2) Character = Who, the protagonist and their relationship to the other characters and to the world they inhabit.
● 3) Thought = Why, the psychology behind the character ’s action.
● 4) Diction/language = How, the dialogue, which in addition to action.
● 5) Spectacle or visual effects = Where, that which we can see on stage, also known as setting.
● 6) Song/choral odes = Rhythm of speech or the use of literal music.
1.3 History of Drama
● 5th century B.C. : tragedies were performed at festivals; comedies were first introduced in 484 B.C.
● As the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 A.D., for a thousand years and more the history of the drama was all darkness and vacancy.
● In the 14th century, a new kind of drama named morality play appeared.
● In the latter part of the 16th century history witnessed a theatrical explosion of which the center was London. Famous playwrights were William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlow.
● The 19th century British theatre moved toward greater realism.
● The 20th-century theater was known for its diversity. As Greek tragedies have been returned to ritual in many places, the revival of the tradition is happening. A Midsummer Night's Dream ● Background Information
● Between about 1590 and 1613, Shakespeare wrote
at least 37 plays. A Midsummer Night's Dream was likely written between 1594 and 1596, around the same time Shakespeare was working on Romeo and Juliet and Richard II. MND is one of his four great comedies, others including The Taming of the Shrew 驯悍记 , As You Like It 皆大欢喜 , and Twelfth Night 第十二夜 . Renaissance 文艺复兴 ● The Renaissance is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries , characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas and achievements of classical antiquity 古典时代 (the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea 地中海 , comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome known as the Greco-Roman world).
● As a product of the Renaissance, A Midsummer Night's Dream contains many references to
Greek and Roman mythology. References to Greek and Roman mythology in MND
● 1 Setting:
● Athens, Greece
● 2 Characters:
● Theseus 忒修斯 was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens.
● Titania 缇坦妮雅 : Shakespeare took the name "Titania" from Ovid's Metamorphoses 奥 维德《变形记》 , where it is an appellation given to the daughters of Titans 泰坦 .
● Hippolyta 希波丽塔 is the queen of the Amazons. In The Life of Theseus , it was Hippolyta who concluded a four month long war between Athens and the Amazons with a peace treaty, resulting in the marriage between Theseus and Hippolyta.
● Helena: Her name is reminiscent of Helen of Troy 特洛伊的海伦 , a reference made by
Theseus towards the play's end.
● Pyramus and Thisbe 皮拉摩斯与提斯柏 are a pair of ill-fated lovers whose story forms part of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The story has since been retold by many authors. Shakespearean Comedy ● 1 structure
● All Shakepearean comedies have five acts and the climax is always during the third act. The play usually goes through three pases. First there is order and discipline, then chaos and disorder start, and finally order is restored again and the play is completed in a festive ending. (p. 188)
● “We do not come, as minding to content you, our true intent is” (bad punctuation) Task: Stage Reading ● Two groups, each group contains: 16 actresses and actors, 1 director, 1 narrator 旁白 ; the rest 3-4 students are judges for best actresses and actors.
