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 …show more content…
Wild contrasts, such as the implicit comparison between the rough, earthy craftsmen and the delicate, graceful fairies, dominate A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” (Jon Agera) I think the name "Puck," suits the fairy because he enjoys playing jokes and pranking humans. “In fact, “Pouk” was a typical medieval term for the devil. Sometimes Puck was pictured as a frightening creature with the head of an ass, or as a queer little figure, long and grotesque, or as a rough, hairy creature, or as the representation of the Greek god Pan.” (Dr.Ratan Bhattacharjee). Even though he may not be evil, he sure is mischievous. He reminds people that fairies aren’t just here for wishes and confetti dust. For some reason, he somewhat draws in some negative elements to Oberon and Titania’s seemingly nice and dreamy fairy realm. He summons spirits, who after a night of wreaking havoc, they return home to graves. Unlike Oberon, who honestly tries to create human happiness, Puck, on the other hand has a blast pranking and making them miserable. When he made both Lysander and Demetrius fall in love with Helena, Puck enjoyed the pleasure their confusion brought him. Even though he fixes the problem and restored the lovers as they were supposed to be for each other, he does so only because Oberon demanded. If it was up to him, the four Athenians would have lived …show more content…
He has a shape shifting ability, and can also change his voice. We know this because he led Lysander and Demetrius around the woods by mimicking the voices of other people calling out to them. He made everything seem like a dream the next day. At first, he had to separate the four Athenians, and then bring them back to one area where they will all be simultaneously, but will not be aware of each other’s presence. He then gives Lysander the antidote, along with Titania, who was also in the same area asleep with Bottom. Once again, if it was up to Puck, Titania would have been stuck with Bottom. Oberon was satisfied because Titania had given up the changeling, and thought she suffered
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.
... featured one last time in the epilogue to this scene, where he tells the audience that if they do not enjoy the play, they should think of it as nothing more than a dream. If the audience does enjoy the play, they should give Puck "their hands," or applaud. Thus Puck is cleaning up for more than the fairies problems in the last soliloquy, as he cleans up for the entire play as well. Both of the fools were necessary in this play. Puck's tricks and loyalty makes Oberon's goals and the happiness of the lovers possible. Bottom's foolishness provides for comedy for both the characters in the play and the audience, and it’s his transformation which enables Oberon to obtain the boy from Titania. Puck, Oberon's fool, and Bottom, the fool of the play, both provide comedy and some-what intelligent observations, which make them an important part of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Similar to other works by Shakespeare, such as The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream embellishes the pressures that arise between genders dealing with complicated family and romantic situations. The plot includes a duke who is going to marry a woman he conquered in battle, the king and queen of the fairies embroiled in a fight so fierce that it unbalances the natural world, and a daughter fighting with her father for her right to marry the man she chooses. The girl’s father selects Demetrius to marry his daughter, but she is in love with another man, Lysander, who loves her in return, and her friend Helena is in love Demetrius, but he wants nothing to do with her. Considering the fact that males were dominant during that era, whereas, men chased women, and women remained submissive, Shakespeare dallies with those traditional roles and there are several possible reasons why. Perhaps he made women a stronger force in his plays because he wanted to give his audience a break fr...
The fairy world then comes into contact with the world of the young lovers. Mischievous Puck causes further complications when he uses magic to anoint a young Athenian male’s eyes, who is in fact the wrong Athenian that Oberon assigned Puck. Puck misuses magic when he plays a silly prank on Bottom who is one of the Mechanicals, by giving Bottom a head of an ass. Strangely Titania falls in love with the creature that Puck has created. This results in Oberon becoming extreamly fu...
The funniest part of this play seems to be when Puck, the trickster, keeps mixing up the people who he is assigned to put the love juice on. Even when he did put the love juice into the right people's eyes, they still fell in love with the wrong people sometimes. The first example of this mistake of Puck's is where he puts the love juice in Lysander's eyes, mistaking him for Demetrius. Oberon tells Puck to put the love juice in the eyes of an Athenian man, Demetrius, and to make sure that the first thing he sees after this is the woman whom he hates, but who loves him so much, Helena. Puck ends up finding Lysander and Hermia, lovers, sleeping on the forest floor. He puts the love juice in Lysander's eyes and leaves. Then along come Helena and Demetrius to this spot. They are still arguing and Demetrius leaves her with the sleeping Lysander and Hermia. Helena notices them there and tries to wake Lysander. Lysander wakes and the first thing he sees is Helena. "And run through fire for thy sweat sake. Transparent Helena! Nature shows art, That through thy bosom makes me see thy heart."(2.2.103). This is what Demetrius says to Helena when he sees her. He has fallen in love with her. This is where the comedy of this love mix up begins. Now Helena is confused and thinks that Lysander is playing a trick on her so she runs away. This is a most particularly funny part of the play and these mix ups with whom loves who seem to be the funniest pieces of the play.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, is a play that illustrates a good picture of woman’s lack of freedom. It is a story of several couples, among which there is a fairy king, Oberon, who proves his sovereignty over the queen of the fairies, Titania. The two have an ongoing conflict about who should keep the Indian boy, whose mother had recently died. Titania doesn’t want to give him up because she and the boy’s mother knew each other very good; whereas Oberon has no relations to the boy, but really wants him as a servant. Ultimately, Oberon wins the boy by using a trick of his on Titania, revealing her weakness. Shakespeare uses Oberon to show this power of man over woman and to expose woman’s unheard, meaningless, and feeble opinions through Titania. In several scenes throughout the play, the female character, Titania, struggles to do as she desires; however, Oberon takes things under his control and helps to portray the female as weaker than the male.
Demetrius is a fool because he is unaware that his love changes through out the play. We learn from Demetrius that he has loved Helena before bestowing his affections on Hermia ( 1.1 106-107 , 242-243 ). It is not for nothing that he is termed “spotted and inconstant man'; ( 1.1 110 ). Athough at the start of the play Demetrius no longer loves Helena. ( 2.1 195 ) Demetrius says, “I love thee not , therefore pursue me not.'; ( 2.1 201 ) “Hence , get thee gone , and follow me no more.'; In Act 3 Scene 2 , Demetrius after being juiced begins to love Helena. ( 3.2 172-176 ) Demetrius says , “Lysander , keep thy Hermia; I will none. If e’er I loved her , all that love is gone. My heart to her but as guest – wise sojourned , And not to helen is it home returned , there to reamain.'; This proves how fickle he is , for he is not aware of his changing love once for Helena then for Hermia then returning to Helena with the help of the mystical father Oberon.
He sends his jester, Puck, to use a flower that, if its juice is dropped onto someone who’s sleeping’s eyes, will make the person fall madly in love with the first person they lie their eyes on. “Take thou some of it, and seek through this grove; A sweet Athenian lady is in love with a disdainful youth; anoint his eyes; but do it when the next thing he espies may be the lady. Thou shalt know the man by the Athenian garments he hath on. ”(64) Puck, following Oberon’s orders, finds Lysander and Hermia instead of Demetrius and Helena.
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare: Oberon is the Root of All Problems in the Play “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein Oberon is one of the most important characters in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare and is the answer to the question of why there are so many problems in the play. Not only is Oberon the King of the Fairies, but he is the husband of Titania and the master of Puck. Oberon’s character is multifaceted, although it is evident that he will do anything for a good laugh. At times, Oberon is extraordinarily nice, generous, and compassionate.
Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, is established in the play as the jester to the King of Fairies, Oberon. He first appears in Act 2, Scene 1 when he and another fairy discuss the disagreement between Oberon and Titania are having. The fairy gives us some indication of Puck's character as she describes how Puck “frights the maidens of the villagery” and “Misleading the night wanderers” (Act 2.1, line 35). When Titania refuses to give up the boy servant that Oberon wants, he comes up with a plan to steal the child, and enlists Puck's help to do so. Oberon is fully aware of Puck’s desire to have a good time at the expense of others, but trusts him with the task of retrieving the flower to make Titania fall in love with “Lion, Bear, Wolf, or Bull.” (Act 2.1, line 180) The idea here is to convince Titania to hand over the changeling boy while she is infatuated with a beast. Being attracted to mischief, Puck seems excited to be tasked to this adventure, and claims to return “Within forty minutes” (Act 2.1, line 176) so that they can get started on their plan.
The use and misuse of magic has an important role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As a reoccurring theme, Puck’s use of magic creates humor, conflict and balance in the play.
The fantastical woods contrast with the order of the Athenian law, and Elizabethan values of the time are polarised throughout the narrative, such as Helena’s feeling ugly even though she is tall and fair. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is thus not solely a comedic meditation on the nature of the origin or meaning of love, it also cautions against trying to rationalise the message of the play. Puck, who by his very nature cannot exist in a rational society, propels the action of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is a manifestation of mischief and the unpredictability of nature, which governs not only the fantastical woods outside of Athens, but also the Athenians themselves when it comes to love. Yet, it is Puck, and thus nature, which rectifies the imbalance of the lovers at the beginning of the play....
Fairies and the remaining fairies of the play, Puck does not seem to fit in as
William Shakespeare, born in 1594, is one of the greatest writers in literature. He dies in 1616 after completing many sonnets and plays. One of which is "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." They say that this play is the most purely romantic of Shakespeare’s comedies. The themes of the play are dreams and reality, love and magic. This extraordinary play is a play-with-in-a-play, which master writers only write successfully. Shakespeare proves here to be a master writer. Critics find it a task to explain the intricateness of the play, audiences find it very pleasing to read and watch. "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" is a comedy combining elements of love, fairies, magic, and dreams. This play is a comedy about five couples who suffer through love’s strange games and the evil behind the devious tricks. This play begins as Theseus, the Duke, is preparing to marry Hippolyta. He woos her with his sword. Hermia is in love with Lysander. Egeus, Hermia’s father, forbids the relationship with Lysander and orders her to marry Demetrius. Demetrius loves Hermia, but she does not love him. On the other hand, Helena is in love with Demetrius. To settle the confusion, Theseus decides that Hermia must marry Demetrius or become a nun. In retaliation to her father’s command, Hermia and Lysander run away together. Amidst all the problems in the human world, Titania and Oberon, the fairy queen and king, continually argue about their various relationships that they have taken part in. (Scott 336) Titania leaves Oberon as a result of the arguments. Oberon is hurt and wants revenge on Titania. So he tells Puck, Oberon’s servant, to put a magic flower juice on her eyelids while she is sleeping. This potion causes the victim to desperately in love with the first creature that they see. Oberon’s plan is carried out, but the potion is also placed on Lysander’s eyes. Lysander awakes to see Helena, who is aimlessly walking through the woods, and instantly falls in love with her. She thinks that he is making fun of her being in love with Demetrius, so she leaves and Lysander follows. This leaves Hermia to wake up alone. Puck now has journeyed to the area where several actors are rehearsing. He uses his magic to turn one of them into a donkey, in hopes that Titania will awake to see it.
The title of the play A Midsummer Night's Dream can have many interpretations. I will give you my thoughts on the relationship of the title to the different situations that take place in the play. These interpretations give insight and overall meaning to the thematic nature of Shakespeare's work. Although I am only going to describe three interpretations of the title, there are many other meanings to the title. The first interpretation of the title of the play that came to my mind was the magical dream-like night in the woods, when Robin Goodfellow and Oberon, the king of the fairies, used several kinds of love potions, and messed everything up.