A Midsummer Night's Dream WebQuest

Introduction

This webquest is designed to help you further understand Shakespeare, with a specific focus on his play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Feel free to explore the different sites, as well as adding your own flair to the final portion of the project. Most of all, have fun and try and deepen your connection to the Bard. Click on Task to find out what you are going to be doing next.

Task

Through this webquest you will explore some of the basic background of Shakespeare and who he really was. The main focus of this quest will be focused on the play A Midsummer Night's Dream and some of the themes and ways Shakespeare wrote within the play. At the end of the webquest you will be able to:

Identify the basic facts about Shakespeare and his life

Identify how Shakespeare uses insults within the play to provide comic relief. Create some insults of your own.

Identify themes within the play.

Identify the major characters within the play and what role they play within the story.

Process

Make sure to read through all of the questions and answer them thoroughly. At the end of the webquest you will present your findings to the class through a poster and essay. You may work in teams of four (no larger) to work through this. Please make sure to document who does each job throughout the process. It may help to give each person a specific objective to answer and then work on that section to present it in the final. 

WHO IS SHAKESPEARE?

The following section will enable you to answer some questions about Shakespeare's life and his plays. Be sure to make sure that you are writing down the information to be used later in your presentation. 

Below you will find 10 questions about Shakespeare and his life. I have provided three links in which to do your research relating to these questions. The questions may have more than one part, so please make sure to read through them carefully. Please make sure to answer the questions thoroughly. Feel free to explore the links, as they provide a wealth of information about the bard.

http://www.bardweb.net/man.html

http://www.folger.edu/Content/Discover-Shakespeare/Shakespeares-Life/  

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/timeline.html

Questions:

1. When and where was Shakespeare born (be specific)? When and where did Shakespeare die? Where is he buried and what peculiar thing accompanies his bones?

2. Growing up, Shakespeare's father did what for a living? What job(s) did his mother hold? Until what age did Shakespeare attend school and why was it rumored that he had to leave?

3. There are two "lost years" segments in Shakespeare's life. When did they occur? What are some theories about what happened during these years? Please be specific to each of the time periods. 

4. There were four periods of Shakespeare's life as a playwright. Please provide a time frame of each of these periods in his life. Discuss what happened during this period, as well as giving examples of two of his plays that were written during this time. What influence did the time period have on his writing in your opinion?

5. Shakespeare's writings are not without controversy. There are many theories that he did not write all of his plays. Who were two people commonly thought to have authored Shakespeare's plays? Do you think these theories have any validity? Why or why not?

6. How many plays did Shakespeare pen? How many sonnets? What was Shakespeare's first published work?

7. Where were Shakespeare's plays performed? What was different about the roles of women in his plays? How did the actors learn their lines? 

8. What is the First Folio and what was contained within it? Who was credited with collecting the works within the First Folio?

9. Shakespeare performed as an actor as well as writing his plays. He performed with a group in front of Elizabeth 1. What was the name of the group he was in? How much money did he make for his performance?

10. Shakespeare was credited with wiritng many sonnets. Who was it rumored that he was writing these sonnets to? What were the recurring themes within the sonnets? What is the rhyme pattern of a Shakespearean sonnet?

YOU CANKER BLOSSOM! YOU THIEF OF LOVE! 

SHAKESPEARE AND HIS USE OF INSULTS

Shakespeare uses insults throughout his plays as a means to move the story forward and provide comic relief. In A Midsummer Night's Dream he uses a variety of insults, especially between the fighting lovers. In this section you are to identify six different insults and who they are attributed to. Make sure to cite who said them and give your interpretation of what the insults mean and why they are used within the section. I have included a list below of the questions you need to answer for each of the insults. When you have answered the questions, move on to the next step of creating your own insults to use during your presentation. The sites listed below will help you in interpreting and creating your insults. 

http://www.literarygenius.info/shakespeare-insults-dictionary.htm              

http://www.literarygenius.info/a1-shakespearean-insults-generator.htm

http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/full.html

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/shake_rule.html

http://playingwithplays.com/shakespeare-insult-generator/ 

1. What is the original insult? Who said it and in what context was it said?

2. What is your interpretation of the insult? What is the literal translation of the insult?

3. Does the insult provide comic relief within the scene? Does the insult have a deeper, more biting connotation than just being playful? Analyze and describe in detail.

YOUR TURN AT THE INSULTS

Use one of the character generators to create some Shakespearean insults of your own to be used in your presentation. Make sure to include the whole insult as well as the interpretation of it. You do not have to use an insult that is an original, have fun with this portion of the quest. You may add these insults to your poster (if you choose to do one) or sprinkle them into your final presentation.

THEMES IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAY

In this section you will identify any of the themes running throughout A Midsummer Night's Dream. You will be required to discuss the theme and support the idea of it through research. Please make sure to include evidence to support your findings. You may use sections from the play to help enhance your answers. Please incorporate the themes that you have chosen into your final presentation. You are required to have a minimum of two themes in your final presentation.

1. Identify two of the themes within the play and write about it. For example, if you chose to write about the inequality of women as portrayed by Shakespeare (not really applicable for Midsummer Night's dream, sorry) you would include the reasons why you have identified that theme. Also, include examples of it as cited within the text and a good argument to support it. Remember, these sites are just to get you started. You may need to do your own further research to go deeper for this section. Here are a few web sites to get you started:

http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/trsanders/units/shakes_theatre/sha…

http://www.examiner.com/article/character-types-and-themes-first-used-b…

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/midsummer/midanalysis.html

http://sites.duke.edu/midsummer/

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

For the final portion of this webquest you will be looking at the different characters within the play and identifying them and their role in the play. You will need to break down the characters and answer some questions about them before moving forward to the final presentation. 

Your job is to pick your two favorite characters and identify the roll that they play within the story. Please make sure to answer the following questions about the charcater.

Character Name:

Major Characteristics of Character: (list five major traits of the character. Example, chivalrous, misogynistic, etc. )

Favorite Lines: (you may choose up to five)

How the character furthers the action:

Dynamic Character Changes:

Major Character interactions: (for example, what type of interaction does the character have with others within the story.)

Use these sites to help you start your research.

http://sites.duke.edu/midsummer/category/characters/

http://www.playshakespeare.com/midsummer-nights-dream/characters

http://shakespeare.about.com/od/A-Midsummer-Nights-Dream/a/Puck-A-Midsu…

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/midsummer/mdsstructure.html

Evaluation

You will be graded on how well you answered the questions within each section of the Webquest.  Below you will find a breakdown of the scoring for each portion of the webquest. Your final presentation shoudl reflect all of the knowledge gained throughout the webquest. You may choose to do a presentation with powerpoint, posterboard, or on another computer program of your choice. You will be graded on creativity and knowledge of the subject. Please make sure to have all of your items ready before hand (if you need a computer, cd player, i-pad, etc.) as you will only have ten minutes to present.

WHO IS SHAKESPEARE?

This section is scored based on how many questions you have answered correctly. There are a total of ten questions total. Each question is worth ten points. One wrong is a ninety, two is an eighty and so on. You may receive partial credit for an answer if it is deemed warranted.

YOU CANKER BLOSSOM! YOU THIEF OF LOVE! 

SHAKESPEARE AND HIS USE OF INSULTS

 

Excellent

Satisfactory

Needs Improvement

Content

6 Insults presented

 

Detailed description of each insult.

 

Detailed explanation of how insult is used.

 

4-5 Insults presented

 

Somewhat detailed explanation. Lacking description.

 

Insult  use not fully explained.

2-3 Insults presented.

 

Lack of explanation and detail of insult.

 

Use of insult not explained.

Citations

Properly cited. Act, scene and characters.

 

Citations missing scene, act or character.

No citations evident.

 Insults

Insult created and interpreted.

Insult created and not interpreted.

No insult or interpretation.

THEMES IN SHAKESPEARE'S PLAY

 

Excellent

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Content

Two themes identified.

 

Detailed explanation of the themes. Analysis shows a complete understanding of the themes.

Reasons fully support the themes identified.

One theme identified.

 

Lacking detail in explanation of the theme.

Analysis only shows limited understanding of the theme.

Reasons do not fully support the theme identified.

No themes identified.

 

No details present.

Citations

Properly cited. Act, scene and characters.

 

Citations missing scene, act or character.

No citations evident.

 

 

 

 

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

 

Excellent

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Content

Two characters identified.

All six pieces of criteria thoroughly identified and discussed.

Argument supports the theme you have identified fully.

One character identified.

Missing some pieces of criteria identified.

Argument somewhat supports the theme you have identified.

Character is not identified.

No criteria outlined.

No support evident.

Citations

Properly cited. Act, scene and characters.

 

Citations missing scene, act or character.

No citations evident.
Conclusion

It is my hope that you were able to gain some insight into the man known as Shakespeare. Use this webquest as a springboard for your further study on the great author and his works. 

Credits