♫♪`¯``•. ♪.•´´¯`♫ ♪
"I'll put a spell on you,
You'll fall asleep and I'll put a spell on you."
♫ Ⓓannie's Ⓔcho ♫
Rodgers
Dramatic Lit.
November 4, 2008
Puckish Antics.
In every play there is a moving force, in some it is less or more prominent then others. Puck in William Shakespeare’s Midsummer’s Night Dream is such a character moving both the story line and audiences imaginations. As a beloved character of the stage Puck is the pinnacle of the trickster persona, his role coveted by many actors. What is it that makes this character the way he is? What is it that makes up his spirit? By dissecting his history, personality, and what he uncovers in our own lives we can better come to understand just what it is that makes Puck the wonderful right hand man of Oberon that he is.
Secondly, personality wise Puck can flux a variety of ways depending on the actor who plays him. The most common being a childish and troublesome as he causes problems and doesn’t intend to fix them. Puck is a “that shrewd and knavish sprite” in the play. Often being yelled at hid his actions as well as for past mistakes, It describes him as the head fairy and a protagonist in the play and the reason this play is so magical, a clever and mischievous elf and personifies the trickster or the wise knave. Puck, the eternal prankster has little more motivation in the play then to stir things up. Throughout the play he Is seen making several ‘mistakes’ that lead to ‘unfortunate’ demises of other characters. Thus leading the viewer to believe that this Puck, also called Robin Goodfellow is doing everything on purpose, merely for his own pleasure and nothing more. Weather conscious of his actions or not Puck does pick up on other characters flaws and troubles and seems to push on them to the breaking point. For example, in act ii, scene i. “Thou speak'st aright;I am that merry wanderer of the night.I jest to Oberon and make him smile When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile, Neighing in likeness of a filly foal: And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl, In very likeness of a roasted crab, And when she drinks, against her lips I bob And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale”(ii.i.41-49). With the introduction of his character Puck brags about teasing milkmaids and causing mischief for his master’s delight. His attitude proud as he goes on for several lines about his glorified persona as a mischievous character Taking great pride in his wit and wrong doings.
At the end of the play Puck does something a little unbecoming of a trickster though, As the play ends he does face the audience and apologizes for what they have just seen as if to make amends for any wrong doings that may have happened to the viewer. Where this transformation came from is actually unique to Shakespeare’s version of Puck. Usual versions of the Robin Goodfellow in different countries would never apologize for what they did, actually getting angry for being forced to do so, But Shakespeare’s Puck turned and faces up to all the actions he had committed in the play Puck apologizes to the audience for anything that might have offended them and suggests that they pretend it was a dream. “If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumber'd here while these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream"(iv.ii.1-6)
Puck reveals that, in human nature, there is always someone who will cause trouble. He’s the little kid inside all of us that wants to do what he wants to do. Though he is also the slightly wise version of our childish selves knowing full well the troubles we cause and merely doing it for the reaction from others. Many native traditions held tricksters as essential to any contact with the sacred People could not pray until they had laughed, because laughter opens and frees from rigid preconception. Humans had to have tricksters within the most sacred ceremonies for fear that they forget the sacred comes through upset, reversal, surprise. The trickster in most native traditions is essential to creation, to birth. Puck is a reflection of this idea trickster, weather he be Robin Goodfellow or a Will-o-Wisp Puck represents in human nature the need for upheaval and chaos before we can have peace.
Macaisa,Mary.,and Dominque Raccah.A Midsummer Night's Dream.Naperville:The Sourcebooks,2006.Print
"And when I wake you,
I'll be the first thing you see"
♫♪`¯``•. ♪.•´´¯`♫ ♪
