A Midsummer Night's Dream Bottom Essay

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The character Nick Bottom from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare is one of the most comedic characters in the play. Bottom is unique from all the other characters in the play not only because of his humorous personality which makes the play more comical and cheery, but because he is the only character able to enter in both the human world and the world of the fairies. He has many different traits, some of which are egoistic, bossy, and foolish. One thing about Bottom is that he thinks very highly of himself making him egoistic. However, he has very little reason to think so. Hence, the reason why Puck decides to give him a donkey's head. The donkey's head represents Bottom's foolish and arrogant personality. In the play, Bottom's arrogant personality is especially portrayed when he keeps demanding to play all the other actors’ roles when saying, "An I may hide my face, let me play Thisbe too." (1. 2. 45), and also when saying "Let me play the Lion too." (1. 2. 63), showing that he thinks very highly of his own skills and very poorly of others. His ideas for the play are not only arrogant, but they are also foolish because of how unrealistic it is for him …show more content…

Particularly in the way that he bosses Quince around when trying to conduct a meeting for the play that he is directing. This happens especially when Bottom is giving commands on how to organize Quince’s play when he says, "You were best to call them generally, man by man, according to the scrip" (1. 2. 2-3). Bottom continually interrupts him with advice and direction. He even announces that he is a tyrant when he says, "Yet my chief humor is for a tyrant,"(1. 2. 24-25) meaning that he is aiming to be a tyrant, or play a tyrant. Furthermore, Quince confirms Bottom's bossiness when saying, "What sayest thou, bully Bottom?" (3. 1. 7). Given these points, Bottom’s behavior makes him eminently

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