A Midsummer Night?s Dream

630 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of magic in a midsummer night dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy that is full of mischief. Instead of having a main plot, it seems to be about random thoughts and emotions (much the same as dreams are). In fact, I have to wonder how much of the whole play is really supposed to be a dream – as Puck even suggests toward the end of the play.

There is no real protagonist to latch onto in this play, probably because there are three main groups of characters, but many people will find Puck to be the most interesting character. The whole play is based around Puck's antics, and he seems to be the play's main fool. In addition, it is he who sends everyone on hard (but funny) adventures. Puck is a fool in the true sense of the word during the time of this play - someone that entertains for his master. It was Puck’s job in this play to entertain the fairy king Oberon. I picture Puck as wearing a funny hat and pointed toe shoes.

Another fool in this play would be Nick Bottom, but he is a fool in the present-day sense of the word. Bottom is not the type of fool who entertains his master. He is a fool because he allows his own idiocy and ego to stop him from accomplishing his goals, and he is totally unaware of how ridiculous he looks. Nick Bottom always thinks he is the best at everything. Even when Puck gave Bottom the head of a donkey, it didn’t change his inflated opinion of himself.

This play begins when the duke of Athens (Theseus) is preparing for his marriage to the queen of the Amazons (Hippolyta). He is planning a four-day celebration for the occasion. As time goes on, there are so many twists and turns in the play that it is sometimes hard to keep things sorted out.

In one part of the play, Puck is sent to find a magical flower that is thought to contain a love potion. The juice of this flower can be spread over a sleeping person’s eyelids to make that person fall in love with the first thing he or she sees when waking up. What happens with the love potion is very funny, because Puck manages to have it affect the wrong two people and then nothing turns out as it should.

Show More
Related

  • Critical Analysis Of 'Why We Keep Playing The Lottery'

    1637 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Why We Keep Playing the Lottery”, by freelance journalist Adam Piore takes a very in depth look as to what drives millions of Americans to continually play the lottery when their chances of winning are virtually non-existent. He believes that because the odds of winning the lottery are so small that Americans lose the ability to conceptualize how unlikely it is that they are going to win, and therefore the risk of playing has less to do with the outcome, and more to do with hope that they are feeling when they decide to play. It 's essentially, "a game where reason and logic are rendered obsolete, and hope and dreams are on sale." (Piore 700) He also states that many Americans would rather play the lottery thinking ,"boy, I could win $100 million" (705) as opposed to thinking about all of the money they could lose over time.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Homelessness of Young People in Australia

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    Homelessness is Australia is most commonly explained by a cultural definition (Chamberlain & MacKenzie 2008). By this definition, we find homelessness to be a living situation which does not meet the minimum standard of living amongst the community. This definition reflects on not only the adequacy of the dwelling, but also how secure tenancy is, and whether the tenant has control of their physical and social space (Mallett 2004).

    Read More

  • Love, Lust and Infatuation in Midsummer Night’s Dream

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fairies, mortals, magic, love, and hate all intertwine to make A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare a very enchanting tale, that takes the reader on a truly dream-like adventure. The action takes place in Athens, Greece in ancient times, but has the atmosphere of a land of fantasy and illusion which could be anywhere. The mischievousness and the emotions exhibited by characters in the play, along with their attempts to double-cross destiny, not only make the tale entertaining, but also help solidify one of the play’s major themes; that true love and it’s cleverly disguised counterparts can drive beings to do seemingly irrational things.

    Read More

  • The Morality Of Old Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery" is all about how an old tradition as the lottery exceeds our expectations. First by giving us the readers the believe that the price of the lottery would be something great. Making us questioning the results and why to do this with no explanation at the end. Teaching us how traditions are that don’t make sense are killing because Society is clinging to this traditions and practices.

    Read More

  • Albinism Essay

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are two types of Albinism; the fist type is called (OCA) which is the most common type. People with this albinism have light blue- gray eyes, very light skin, and hair. The second type of albinism is ocular albinism (OA), which is less common because it is less noticeable. People with (OA) have slightly lighter eyes, skin and resemble their family members features like the color of their skin and hair. People that have oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) have an autonomic recessive chromosome that is a disorder that has two copies of the abnormal gene and is presented in o...

    Read More

  • Puck As A Capricious Language In A Midsummer Night's Dream

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play by William Shakespeare, about love twisted and manipulated by the work of fairies and magical flowers. After Oberon was denied the changeling, by Titiania, he’d sworn to get his revenge and make her turn the child over by casting a spell on her. In order for him to do so, he’s going to need some help. He ordered his minion Puck, and assigned him with a task to find a specific flower with magical properties. The play takes a turning point as the fairy Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow got involved. He was the one to blame for most of the comedic scenes of the play. “Though there is little character development in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and no true protagonist, critics generally point to Puck as the most

    Read More

  • Essay On Albinism

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    Albinism happens when one of numerous genes is fault. Each of these genes offers orders for making one of several proteins involved in the making of melanin. This imperfection may outcome in the nonappearance of melanin production or a cheap quantity. Melanin is produced by cells called melanocytes, which are found in your skin and eyes. The amount of coloring varies. Some people gain a little pigmentation in their hair or eyes when aging. Some develop pigmented spots on their skin. A person with total absence of melanin is called an albino. One with only a small amount of melanin is described as albinoid. (What is Albinism by Right Diagnosis April 22, 2014).

    Read More

  • Essay On Albinism

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Albinism is a genetic disorder that is caused by the lack of pigments. Sometimes it only affects the eye which is called ocular albinism. You can receive albinism from your genetics. You can be an albino in your eyes, skin or hair. It affects people of all races and all around the world. Studies show one in 20,000 people worldwide have some form of albinism. Certain forms of albinism are more common in some populations. Most common form of albinism is OCAZ and is found in one in 36, 0000 Caucasians in the United States. There are four types of albinism; type 1 is characterized by white hair, very pale skin, and light colored eyes. Type 2 is less severe their skin is usually a creamy white color and their hair could be a light yellow, blonde or light brown. Type 3 has a form of albinism called “rufous oculocutaneous albinism” this usually affects dark-skinned people. They have reddish-brown skin, ginger or red hair and hazel or brown eyes. Type 3 has milder vision problems. Type 4 has the same symptoms similar to type 2. Types 1 and 2 are the most common forms; types 3 and 4 are not as common.

    Read More

  • Midsummer Night's Dream: Shakespeare vs. Michael Hoffman

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    Puck describes his harmful behavior as if it is all logically consistent. He says he “Sometimes lurk in gossip’s bowl,” but does not think he takes anything too far. A lot of the humor that Puck brings to the play comes across in a subtle manner. For example, after he places the flower on Lysande...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay Homelessness

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Homelessness can be defined as the lack of a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence. Furthermore, homelessness also entails people who are people who are at risks of being evicted from their residential houses or people who are discharged from institution such as hospital or prison and they have nowhere to go. Families that experience homelessness usually have limited education since lack of adequate educatio...

    Read More

  • Fools In A Midsummer Night's Dream

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    One fool is Puck, the servant of the king of the fairies, and the other fool is Bottom, one of the actors hired to perform for the duke and his bride. Puck becomes one of the important roles within the play. He causes conflict by playing pranks on the other characters. Puck plays two major pranks within the play. He and Oberon decide that they want to use a love potion on Titania, the queen of the fairies. He decides to make her fall in love with a “monster” by changing Bottom’s head into the head of an ass. He does this just for his own enjoyment. The other prank he plays is at the end when he is asking the crowd for forgiveness for what he’s done. When doing this, he ends by telling the audience that everything that was just witnessed was just a

    Read More

  • Puck In A Midsummer Night's Dream

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    He is ordered to sprinkle the magic love juice in the “Athenian man’s” eyes to fix the main characters’ love problem by Oberon. Through miscommunication and unclearness of the direction, Puck accidently puts the love juice into a different Athenian man’s eyes making the love relationship more complicated. He finds this out through Oberon when he comments, “What hast thou done? Thou hast mistaken quite, and laid the love juice on some true love’s sight. Of thy misprision must perforce ensue some true love turned, and not a false turned true” (III.ii.90-94). When the fate of the lovers completely changes, he creates the main conflict in the story because without him, the plot would have ended with one single drop of love juice fixing the star-crossed-ness between the lovers. However, with the mistake that Puck makes while trying to achieve the solution it develops the conflict continuing the story line. Thus, making Puck an important character because he is the one who expands the major

    Read More

  • Puck In A Midsummer Night's Dream

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    Puck is seen as the fun-loving jokester of the play who mischievously messes with people’s minds, such as Bottom, Lysander, and Demetrius. Since Puck is one who plans out the unfortunate events of the play, he is one of the few characters who actually understands and knows what is happening, while everyone else, besides Oberon, is overall confused. He does not care if the humans suffer. He accidentally rubs the love potion on Lysander, who initially loves Hermia without magic, and Demetrius’s eyes, and causes them to fall in love

    Read More

  • Midsummer Night's Dream Errors

    103 Words  | 1 Pages

    Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy of errors, a narrative form that relies on slapstick and chaos for its humor. Magic potions, enchanted lovers, and a mischievous fairy named Puck combine to create a play as funny as it is romantic.

    Read More

  • Dreams in A Midsummer Night's Dream

    2238 Words  | 5 Pages

    Love and nature also play a huge part in the bizarre events that surround dreams and the concept of dreaming. While each of the four lovers dream of being with a particular significant other, bizarre circumstances, brought upon by Puck, allow for chaos and obvious confusion. But, probably one of the most bizarre situations within this production is the lines uttered by Puck at the completion of the production. These lines really relate to the concept of dreams because they make the audience question the outlandish events that had previously occurred or indeed, whether they had even occurred at all. Works Cited Shakespeare, William.

    Read More

More about A Midsummer Night?s Dream

Open Document