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In A Midsummer Night's Dream, playwright William Shakespeare creates in Bottom, Oberon, and Puck unique characters that represent different aspects of him. Like Bottom, Shakespeare aspires to rise socially; Bottom has high aims and, however slightly, interacts with a queen. Through Bottom, Shakespeare mocks these pretensions within himself. Shakespeare also resembles King Oberon, controlling the magic we see on the stage. Unseen, he and Oberon pull the strings that control what the characters act and say. Finally, Shakespeare is like Puck, standing back from the other characters, acutely aware of their weaknesses and mocks them, relishing in mischief at their expense. With these three characters and some play-within-a-play enchantment, Shakespeare mocks himself and his plays as much as he does the young lovers and the mechanicals onstage. This genius playwright who is capable of writing serious dramas such as Hamlet and Julius Caesar is still able to laugh at himself just as he does at his characters. With the help of Bottom, Oberon, and Puck, Shakespeare shows us that theatre, and even life itself, are illusions that one should remember to laugh at.
In Bottom, Shakespeare pokes fun at the quirks in himself and in all plays and actors. By doing this, he makes light of the quirks in us all. To begin, the name "Bottom" has negative undertones, like "bottom of the heap," "bottom of the totem pole," and of course, one's behind. Bottom is a metaphorical ass that becomes a literal ass within the play. Bottom's name tells us not to take him too seriously. Additionally, neither William Shakespeare nor Nick Bottom were born to be aristocrats, both had ambitions beyond their particular position in life. It is Bottom's fate to be a weaver, y...
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... happy outcome, while Shakespeare is not. INSERT SECONDARY SOURCE HERE. The characters may be happy or unhappy as the play demands, and as writer Shakespeare shows no apparent preference for one outcome over the other. In a comedy such as A Midsummer Night's Dream the lovers indeed marry in the end, but in a tragedy they can just as easily die. Everything turns out the way Oberon wants it to. He has orchestrated everything, or so he thinks: "There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be / Wedded, with Theseus, all in jollity" (4.1.88-89). INSERT SECONDARY SOURCE HERE. But although Oberon is godlike and enjoys magical control over others, Shakespeare ultimately uses Oberon to ensure the play's resolution. If Oberon is a King, then Shakespeare is a God.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William, and Russ McDonald. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York, NY: Penguin, 2000. Print.
Although love is evident throughout A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bottom embraces it in a different form. Instead of loving another character, Bottom loves himself. He is constantly interrupting the other mechanicals, he recites lines that do not relate to the current conversation whatsoever, and insists he can play every role in the play. It is clear that Bottom loves to hear himself speak. After he awakes from his encounter with Titania, he goes on to state that he wants Peter Quince to write a prologue about his “deep” vision, with the title “Bottom’s Dream” (4.1.186). Bottom is so in love with himself that he wants an entire section of the play—in which he is already the lead of—dedicated to himself. Bottom’s arrogance relates to A Midsummer Night Dream’s themes of mayhem and disorder because after Puck transforms Bottom’s head into that of an ass, his appearance strikes fear into his cast members and interrupts their play rehearsal. The players run away from Bottom, with Quince shouting of being haunted (3.1.46-47); but it is apparent that even after Puck alters him, Bottom’s arrogance is still present. When Snout asks him how he changed, Bottom responds with: “What do you see? You see an ass head of your own, do you?” (3.1.56). Even when Bottom is the one who is clearly have problems, he puts the blame on Snout, claiming that he is fine and Snout is the one with problems. Bottom believes himself to be perfect, and therefore if anything goes wrong in his life, it must be someone else’s fault. Ironically, Puck changes him into an animal that reflects both his headstrong and clueless personality. Lastly, Bottom’s ego also relates to the theme of foolishness, because it blinds him from how dreadful and unprofessional his acting skills truly are. For example, during their official performance, Bottom purposely breaks character to respond to something an audience member said (5.1.177). Bottom assumes
Paul as well as those of Erasmus that bring to focus various dimensions that are aligned around Shakespeare’s perception of comic faith in the play. The characters of Bottom, Theseus and lovers give out an insight to epistle paradoxes on religious faith coupled with a slight touch of romantic faith which is set out in thee wholesome imaginative experience. Celebration of limitations sits as the precursor for comic happiness in the play; there is an epistemological appeal that focuses on the mannerisms of characters. Most obvious of all allusions of comic faith in the play is Pauline and sets out the central attention that is meant to be captures. Upon waking up from his dream, Bottom has a delightful monologue that sets out a clear difference between ridicule and the sublime of the play, “I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was. Man is but an ass of he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was – there is no man can tell what. Methought …I had – But man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen, man’s hand is not able to taste, his tongue to conceive, nor his heart to report what my dream was (Shakespeare and Foakes 203).” Herein we see Bottom considering himself as an ass and he fails to expound further on the meaning of his dream whole his hands
Love, lust and infatuation all beguile the senses of the characters in this dreamy and whimsical work of Shakespeare, and leads them to act in outlandish ways, which throughly amuses the reader. True love does prevail in the end for Hermia and Lysander, and the initial charm of infatuation ends up proving to have happy consequence for Helena and Demetrius as well. Even when at first the reader thinks that, in theory, the effects the potion will wear off and Lysander will once again reject Helena, Oberon places a blessings on all the couples that they should live happily ever after.
... 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.
He doesn't realize that as a practical joke, a trickster Puck, has put an ass head on his shoulders. This makes all of his companions afraid of him so that they run away. This is an example of the comedy involved in this play. This essay will show you that A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that is mainly composed of comedy. 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.
...interactions toward their subjects, they do however both mean well. While Oberon is slightly more irrational he still fixes problems in the end allowing for a resolution to the comedy. Likewise, Theseus is not perfect either, he may be lacking passion and emotion when it is needed; however, he still shows sympathy for Hermia against the law and her father, and love for his wife. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” mixes two worlds, one of order and reason and the other of imagination or impulse. These worlds come together to bring happiness and love in the end, although when separated cause chaos and conflict.
Shakespeare writes with purpose in this play, he is showing that our ideals are not always what they seem. That in the end the truth wins. As in the case of his main characters in the play they needed to think about their ideals and see what the truth would be before they moved forward with their plans. These characters needed guidance and should have allowed life to happen instead of forcing situations; maybe then they would have survived.
Schanzer, Ernest. "_A Midsummer-Night's Dream." 26-31 in Kenneth Muir, ed. Shakespeare: The Comedies: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1965.
The character of Bottom in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is frequently foolish, but he is not a fool. His exuberance and energy are allied to practicality and resourcefulness, with an alarming lack of self-consciousness. He, at any rate, is not at all tongue-tied before the duke, as Theseus has known others to be. We do laugh at Bottom in many situations, but should note that these are situations in which any man might seem ridiculous: amateur theatricals are almost a byword for unintended comedy, whether in planning (1.2) rehearsal (3.1) or performance (5.1); any artisan afflicted with an ass's head and appetites, and beloved of the fairy queen would have difficulty retaining his dignity.
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. He felt sorry for Helena and tried to get Demetrius to fall in love with her. However, On the other hand, Oberon is cruel, jealous, and tyrannical. Resembling his mischievous servant Puck, Oberon finds no problem with playing with other people’s love. He swindled his own wife and laughed at the misfortunes of the four Athenians Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius. Despite one’s view of Oberon, it is clear that he is the root of all the problems in the play because he starts a sequence of problems by making the love juice, orders the love juice to be used on Demetrius which in turn causes disarray for all four of the young lovers, and causes disgrace for Titania and creates obstacles for Bottom and the Rude Mechanicals when he uses the love juice on Titania in order to fulfill his own selfish desires.
...age. Instead of laughing at Bottom, the film generates a feeling of sorrow for his character. When the wine is poured on him when the craftsmen first meet, Bottom takes an obvious emotional blow, so one can see how he would artificially inflate himself with the false perception of being a wonderful actor. When chosen to perform for Thesseus’s wedding, the players are very nervous and turn to Bottom for comfort. They look up to and respect Bottom for his confidence and acting ability, but Bottom later makes a fool of himself in the play by over dramatizing the part of Pyramus, especially when he performs the death of Pyramus. Michael Hoffman’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream brings a classical play to a modern audience and makes it an exciting and humorous experience. This is accomplished most notably with the direction he gives to the two characters discussed. The animated humor of Bottom and the slightly more subtle badgering of other characters brought forth by Puck creates a certain amount of attachment to the movie by the viewer. The cinematic version of Shakespeare’s play is well adapted to a modern audience, especially through the characters of Puck and Nick Bottom.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 2004.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Norton Shakespeare: Greenblatt, Stephen, editor. New York: W W Norton & Company, 1997.
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.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Comp. Folger Shakespeare Library. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2009. Print.