A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Building Background to Better Understand the Bard’s Play

Mythology You Need to Know:

Apollo vs. Dionysus

Pyramus & Thisbe

Theseus

Apollo vs. Dionysus

Apollo is the God of the Sun (hence truth and light).

Dionysus is the God of the Earth, of spring and renewal (hence everything that was natural and beyond rational analysis).

Human Characteristics of Each

Apollo

• Reason• Order• Clarity• Moderation• Control• Analysis• Research• Rule-Oriented

Dionysus

• Passion• Spontaneity• Imagination• Excess• Frenzy• Intuition• Feeling• Faith & Ritual

Ideal characters maintain a balance between the two mindsets and perspectives. The tension/conflict between the emotion and

reason is one of the things that makes tragedy so captivating.

“Pyramus and Thisbe”excerpt taken from Edith Hamilton’s Mythology

Theseus

•Here is a brief overview of the sad, often inconsiderate, life of Theseus – one of our main characters.

Character Map

• On a piece of blank paper, copy the following character map for your notes. As you recreate the map, use different colors for characters in the four different storylines.

1. The Wedding Party 3. The Fairy Court

2. The Lovers 4. The Players