6.6 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1 Scene 1: I would my father look’d but with my eyes …
LITERACY
Learning Intentions In this section you will … ✓ Explore conflict between a parent and child as dramatised by Shakespeare. ✓ Examine how body language and emphasis can make a speech persuasive.
BEING CREATIVE MANAGING INFORMATION AND THINKING Before Reading
As A Midsummer Night’s Dream begins, we meet a parent making a major decision for their child. The father, Egeus, is deciding who his daughter Hermia should marry. 1. Working with a partner, brainstorm three decisions that parents today make for their children which you feel would work out better if left to the younger generation.
WORKING WITH OTHERS NUMERACY
2. Share your ideas and be prepared to defend your choices. STAYING WELL
28 Reading
In the opening scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare addresses a topic you may know something about: quarrels between parents and their children. Egeus wants his daughter Hermia to marry a man he has chosen for her, while Hermia has other ideas. Egeus brings their dispute before a higher authority: Duke Theseus, ruler of Athens.
