Who Is Bottom In A Midsummer Night’S Dream?
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What is Bottom role in A Midsummer Night Dream?
Titania adoring Bottom, Henry Fuseli created this oil painting on canvas in the year 1790. Nick Bottom is a comic relief character in Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He appears throughout the play and helps to lighten the mood. Weaver by trade, he gained notoriety after the enigmatic Puck gave him the head of a donkey and changed his appearance to that of a donkey.
Bottom and Puck are the only two characters in the play who engage in conversation with any of the three main plots and help advance those stories. Puck is initially mentioned in the tale of the fairies. He is the one who generates the conflict in the tale of the lovers by confusing who has feelings for whom.
In Bottom’s tale, Puck also puts the donkey’s head on Bottom’s body. In a same manner, Bottom is both conversing with Titania in the fairy’s narrative and playing in a play in his own story with the intention that it would be shown in the story of the lovers.
What kind of character is Bottom?
Analysis of the Character Bottom – Bottom’s part is filled with dancing, singing, and laughter, and it’s likely that Shakespeare wrote it specifically for one of his favorite players to exhibit his talents. Bottom is shown as someone who is brave and extroverted from the moment he is first introduced.
- He is certain that he is capable of performing any role in “Pyramus and Thisbe,” and even all of them.
- As an illustration, he claims that the audience will be so moved by his interpretation of Pyramus that they would cry uncontrollably.
- Bottom is nothing more than a swaggering idiot, as Puck’s joke makes clear, and this confidence is misguided, as the audience comes to know.
Puck’s trick also makes it clear that Bottom is an ass. Bottom’s language contributes to the comedic charm of his character. For instance, he asserts that if he played the character of Thisbe, he would deliver her lines in a “monstrous tiny voice,” which is a statement that is patently contradictory.
Then he would “aggravate” his voice if he performed the lion’s role so that the women in the audience would not be terrified; once again, Bottom’s word choices illustrate his folly while providing a comedy aspect to the play. Bottom is the main character in the play The Lion King. In a similar vein, rather than focusing on how well he is performing as an actor, Bottom is more concerned with determining what kind of beard will work best for the part of Pyramus.
Bottom is a classic Shakespearean clown, and while he is the source of most of the play’s humor, he also serves the purpose of drawing the audience’s attention to more important issues, such as the tension that exists between reality and the imagination.
Throughout the process of rehearsing for the performance of “Pyramus and Thisbe,” Bottom repeatedly brings the attention of his fellow performers to the issue of whether or not the audience would be gullible: Will the women be distressed when Pyramus takes his own life? Will they understand that the lion is really an actor and not a genuine lion? Bottom wants Quince to write a prologue that explains Pyramus is not really dead and that Pyramus is not actually Pyramus but rather Bottom the weaver.
Bottom’s goal in doing so is to solve the first dilemma. Bottom draws the attention of the audience to the challenge of distinguishing between reality and perception at this juncture; his solution suggests that he believes that the players’ acting will be too convincing, and that they will fully realize the purpose of theater; he offers this explanation because he believes that the players will fully realize the goal of theater.
- In a similar manner, he proposes that the actor playing the lion show the ladies only half of his face and explain that he’s actually a man and not an animal.
- This would prevent the ladies from being terrified of the lion.
- His options for incorporating moonshine and a wall into the play reflect his firm faith in the transformative potential of the theater.
In erecting a wall for the set, he feels covering a guy with plaster and some soil will suitably convince an audience. Bottom is certain that his audience will be just as sensitive to the sway that art may have on them because he is always ready to be surprised and to accept the wonder of the universe.
- Bottom’s receptivity to the peculiarities of the universe extends to his excursion to the fairy kingdom, which, like the theater, may be seen as nothing more than a figment of the imagination.
- It is paradoxical that Bottom, the most down-to-earth character in the play, is the only mortal who encounters any of the fairies.
Bottom is not shocked when Titania realizes she loves him and falls in love with him. But he does know that Titania’s comments about him aren’t accurate, for example that he is an angel or that his features inspire confidence. At the core of his being, he is aware that love and reason do not always function on the same level.
Once more, his thoughts center on a significant topic that comes up several times during the play: what is the connection between love and logic? Which is more important, reason or imagination when it comes to love? In addition, Bottom’s encounters with Titania underline the class inequalities between the characters in the play; as a member of the artisan class, Bottom was literally in a different realm from the royal Queen of the Fairies.
Bottom would want to talk about his experiences when he gets back to the actual world after his trip to the fairy kingdom and after staying there for a while. He can’t. In spite of the fact that he is often very verbose, he is at a loss for words whenever he tries to describe his fairy-inspired ideas.
Is Pyramus a Bottom?
Bottom the Ridiculous – From the moment we are introduced to Nick Bottom, a character in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we are certain that we are not going to take him very seriously due to the fact that his name is so ridiculous. Bottom is, in point of fact, the most hilarious of all of the characters in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He is a weaver by trade, but he has lofty goals for his life and thinks he would make an excellent actress.
- Bottom, on the other hand, has a propensity to overestimate his own abilities.
- In point of fact, he tests the endurance of the director, a carpenter named Peter Quince.
- Bottom has expressed a desire to take on all of the roles that are available in the play that the tradesmen will be putting on in order to celebrate the wedding of Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta.
Bottom is introduced to the audience for the very first time in Act II, Scene 1, which takes place while the tradesmen are congregating after work to go through the play Death of Pyramus and Thisbe for the very first time. Bottom has been given the role of Pyramus, which describes him as “a lover who murders himself, most gallantly, for love” (Act 2, Scene 2).
Naturally, Bottom is overjoyed with his role and reacts with a raucous, “That will call for some tears in the actual performance of it.” If I do it, you should direct everyone’s attention to their eyes. I shall control the weather’ (Act 2, Scene 2). Bottom is confident that his emotionally moving performance would bring tears to the eyes of his audience.
Bottom immediately offers to play the part of Thisbe, Pyramus’ lover, when Quince reveals who will play the part of Thisbe, even though it is plainly impossible for one person to perform the parts of both Pyramus and Thisbe. Later on, Bottom expresses an interest in playing the lion and asserts that, once he roars, the crowd would want to hear him roar once again.
- The practice comes to a close, and the director gives the performers their final instructions, telling them to gather the next evening in the woods close to the palace.
- Bottom uses the incorrect word when he says that they would subsequently practice “obscenely and bravely” (Act 1, Scene 2) Bottom’s choice of the word “obscenely” was evident.
Therefore, we get the impression that Bottom is a goofy figure right away. Video Quiz Course
Are Puck and Bottom the same person?
It would appear that Puck, a mischievous spirit, and Bottom, a humble actor, are polar opposites to one another. But their distinct worlds converge when Puck uses Bottom to carry out King Oberon’s order to embarrass Queen Titania. Consequently, their lives become intertwined.
Why did Bottom turn into a donkey?
Statue of Bottom and Titania (STRST : SBT t29) – Shakespeare’s Top Ten Characters Exhibition, Nash’s House This statue was produced in 1964 by Royal Copenhagen and is made of porcelain with a white-glazed finish. As part of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, the Danish government gave it as a gift to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
It represents the fun-loving character Bottom and the faerie queen Titania (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream ) in an amorous lover’s embrace. In the play, Bottom is a carpenter who is practicing a play with his pals in a forest near Athens. Bottom’s head is transformed into that of a donkey by the use of faerie magic by the wicked Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow.
Bottom’s pals have abandoned him in the woods, so he starts singing loudly to prove that he is not terrified of being there by himself. In the meanwhile, Titania has been given a potion by her husband Oberon, who is the king of the faeries. Titania and Oberon are engaged in a heated quarrel when Titania refuses to hand up a young changeling to her husband so that he might use him as a henchman.
- The effects of the potion, which Oberon gives to Titania while she is sleeping, force her to fall madly in love with the first person she sees when she wakes up, who is ultimately Bottom.
- Titania showers him with costly gifts and has her faeries serve as wait staff for him.
- As a result of witnessing how helplessly they loved one another, Oberon was moved to pity and lifted the enchantment that was placed on Titania.
Titania, who now knows Bottom for who he truly is, is able to reconnect with Oberon, who is the king of the faeries. Puck manages to undo his change into Bottom, at which point the fairies leave him to rest in the woods. When he finally comes to, he starts to question whether his passionate love affair with the stunning faerie queen was all just a dream.
- SNOUT Bottom, thou hast undergone a transformation! What do I see when I look at you? BOTTOM What do you see before you? Do you see an asshead staring back at you from within yourself? QUINCE Bless you in your Bottomness! May God bless you! The translation is complete.
- Exit BOTTOM I am aware of their deceitful intentions, which are to humiliate and intimidate me in whatever way they can.
But I will not go from this location no matter what they try to do; instead, I will walk up and down this area while singing to let them know that I am not frightened of them. The First Scene of Act III of A Midsummer Night’s Dream The idea of metamorphosis plays a significant role in many of Shakespeare’s plays, and the transformation that Bottom undergoes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a particularly humorous example of this concept.
- There are however, less visible signs of transition throughout this play; people fall in and out of love with one other (Titania’s new love is just one example of this) and the backdrop of the forest itself shifts from night to day.
- It should not come as a surprise that the playwright chose to focus on themes related to metamorphosis because it is believed that he was profoundly impacted by Ovid’s Metamorphoses (a copy of which is displayed in the ‘Top Ten’ case alongside the statue, in addition to a donkey mask that was borrowed from the Royal Shakespeare Company).
First written in 8 AD, the Metamorphoses include different events from Greek and Roman mythology dealing to change, notably Daphne’s conversion into a tree after spurning the overtures of the god Apollo. Perhaps the most fascinating relationship between Ovid’s writings and A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the transformation narrative of Pyramus and Thisbe.
- In the story “The Metamorphoses,” two people who are in love with each other but are not allowed to marry by their families communicate their feelings for one another by speaking through a break in the wall that connects their homes.
- They conspire to meet one another covertly beneath a mulberry tree.
However, when Thisbe comes, she is frightened to discover a lioness with blood on her mouth from a recent slaughter, so she runs away, leaving her veils behind. When Pyramus finally comes, he is shocked to see Thisbe’s veil, and he immediately assumes that some animal has been responsible for her death.
Pyramus, overcome with sorrow, collapses onto his sword, which results in blood splattering across the white mulberry leaves and transforming the fruits of the tree into a black color. Thisbe eventually makes it back, only to discover that Pyramus has been murdered; overcome with grief, she then takes the same blade to stab herself.
The gods pay attention to Thisbe’s peri-mortem lament, and as a sign of respect for the couple’s illicit love, they change the color of the mulberry fruits so that they resemble the stained color of the couple’s blood. The latter is a transformation brought about by divine or supernatural intervention, a common feature of many of the transformations that occur in A Midsummer Night’s Dream ; Titania falling in love with Bottom, the latter’s physical transformation, and the switching of affection between Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius.
- Thisbe : “And you, the tree, that now covers the one poor body with your branches, and soon will cover two, retain the emblems of our death, and always carry your fruit darkened in mourning, a remembrance of the blood of us both”,
- Then her prayer moved the gods, and stirred her parents’ feelings, for the colour of the berry is blackish-red, when fully ripened.
‘ The Fourth Book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Lines 128-166 Before Puck casts his spell on Bottom, the little group of companions who are hiding out in the woods rehearse the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe in the shape of a play. Bottom is completely unaware of what is going to happen.
This aspect underlines the impact that Metamorphoses had on Shakespeare and foreshadows the storyline that is going to develop, which involves two lovers who should not be together but are yet together and a metamorphosis that occurs in the most improbable circumstances. If you are familiar with the much-discussed topic of Shakespeare and his very own mulberry tree in Stratford-upon-Avon, you will find the connections between the story of Pyramus and Thisbe and the mulberry tree to be particularly interesting (see the previous “Shakespeare on Show” blog posts relating to the mulberry snuff box and the bottle of mulberry juice).
On a related but less direct note, the mulberry tree features prominently in Shakespeare It’s possible that Shakespeare didn’t include the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe in his play because of the transformational nature of the plot, but it’s still worth considering.
How would u describe Nick Bottom?
An Examination of the Character: (Avoiding Spoilers) An someone who struggles with self-confidence overall. To be more specific, he possesses an excessive amount of it. Nick has problems seeing his own limitations as an actor. He believes that he was born with a natural talent for acting and that he is capable of performing any character in the play Pyramus and Thisbe.
Fortunately for Bottom, the pompous actor gets exactly what he deserves when Oberon, ruler of the fairies, changes the actor’s head into that of a donkey. Characterized by their arrogance, brashness, and flair for the theatrical. Nick Bottom is a bit of a narcissist who has the misguided belief that even the most stunningly gorgeous women in the world are capable of developing romantic feelings for him.
Because of all of these factors, it is exceedingly challenging for the reserved director Peter Quince to collaborate with him.
Who falls in love with Bottom?
How knowledgeable are you about the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare? This section will walk you through the play step by step, assisting you in recognizing important narrative moments along the way.
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Puck is successful in his efforts to relocate the elixir to its proper location. Titania has taken the elixir that Oberon gave her and is currently resting in her bower. During this time, Bottom and his companions may be seen deep within the forest working on a particularly awful performance of a play.
Puck is sneaking around behind them and laughing his head off as he watches them. He does this in a naughty manner, transforming Bottom’s head into that of an ass. The terrified companions of Bottom flee the scene. Bottom uses song as an escape from his fears by performing it. Titania, who had been sleeping, is awoken by him, and she immediately falls in love with him.
She coddles him and tends to all of his requirements within her enchanted fairy bower that she has built for him. Titania is completely head over heels in love with Bottom.
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What makes Bottom funny?
Bottom’s speeches are exaggerated and full of self-aggrandizement, yet he appears to think that everyone takes him as seriously as he does himself, which is the source of much of the humor that surrounds him. Bottom is completely oblivious to the fact that he is the source of the comedy that surrounds him.
What has Puck done to Bottom?
What kind of treatment does Puck provide Bottom? He alters the appearance of Bottom’s head so that it resembles an ass.
What does Bottom wish eat?
Source: Folger Shakespeare Library | |
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With the four lovers still asleep onstage, enter Titania, Queen of Fairies, and Bottom and Fairies, and Oberon, the King, behind them unseen by those onstage. TITANIA Come, sit thee down upon this flow’ry bed, While I thy amiable cheeks do coy, And stick muskroses in thy sleek smooth head, And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle joy. | Now we’re back to Titania and Bottom, who are lounging around on a bed of flowers while Titania’s fairies wait on them. Titania lavishes Bottom with her affection, twiddling his cheeks and kissing his large donkey ears. |
BOTTOM Where’s Peaseblossom? 5 PEASEBLOSSOM Ready. BOTTOM Scratch my head, Peaseblossom. Where’s Monsieur Cobweb? COBWEB Ready. BOTTOM Monsieur Cobweb, good monsieur, get you 10 your weapons in your hand and kill me a red-hipped humble-bee on the top of a thistle, and, good monsieur, bring me the honey-bag. Do not fret yourself too much in the action, monsieur, and, good monsieur, have a care the honey-bag break 15 not; I would be loath to have you overflown with a honey-bag, signior. Cobweb exits. Where’s Monsieur Mustardseed? MUSTARDSEED Ready. BOTTOM Give me your neaf, Monsieur Mustardseed.20 Pray you, leave your courtesy, good monsieur. MUSTARDSEED What’s your will? BOTTOM Nothing, good monsieur, but to help Cavalery Cobweb to scratch. I must to the barber’s, monsieur, for methinks I am marvels hairy about 25 the face. And I am such a tender ass, if my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch. | Bottom still doesn’t know his head has been transformed into that of an ass. He calls for Peaseblossom to scratch his head and for Cobweb to go kill him a bee and bring back its honey. Then Bottom announces he needs to go to the barber because he’s feeling kind of hairy, and when he’s hairy, he feels itchy all over. |
TITANIA What, wilt thou hear some music, my sweet love? BOTTOM I have a reasonable good ear in music. Let’s have the tongs and the bones.30 | Titania distracts Bottom from these worldly concerns, and asks him if he’d like to hear some music. Bottom says he has a good ear for music, and calls for “tongs and bones.” (These are old rural musical instruments—the tongs were struck like a triangle, and the bones rattled in the hands, like clappers.) |
TITANIA Or say, sweet love, what thou desirest to eat. BOTTOM Truly, a peck of provender. I could munch your good dry oats. Methinks I have a great desire to a bottle of hay. Good hay, sweet hay, hath no fellow.35 TITANIA I have a venturous fairy that shall seek The squirrel’s hoard and fetch thee new nuts. BOTTOM I had rather have a handful or two of dried peas. But, I pray you, let none of your people stir me; I have an exposition of sleep come upon me.40 | Titania asks Bottom if he’d like something to eat, and he asks for oats and hay. She offers to have a fairy steal some nuts from a squirrel, but Bottom says he’d rather have a couple handfuls of dried peas. None of it matters, though, because Bottom is feeling very sleepy. |
TITANIA Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms.— Fairies, begone, and be all ways away. Fairies exit. So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle Gently entwist; the female ivy so Enrings the barky fingers of the elm.45 O, how I love thee! How I dote on thee! Bottom and Titania sleep. | Titania tells him to go to sleep and she’ll snuggle with him. Titania sends all of the fairies away and compares her strange pairing with Bottom to the relationship between the gentle ivy that twists around the ugly, barky elm. (She doesn’t say it, but we can assume she’s the pretty and delicate half of that metaphor.) |
Enter Robin Goodfellow. OBERON Welcome, good Robin. Seest thou this sweet sight? Her dotage now I do begin to pity. For, meeting her of late behind the wood, Seeking sweet favors for this hateful fool, 50 I did upbraid her and fall out with her. For she his hairy temples then had rounded With coronet of fresh and fragrant flowers; And that same dew, which sometime on the buds Was wont to swell like round and orient pearls, 55 Stood now within the pretty flouriets’ eyes, Like tears that did their own disgrace bewail. When I had at my pleasure taunted her, And she in mild terms begged my patience, I then did ask of her her changeling child, 60 Which straight she gave me, and her fairy sent To bear him to my bower in Fairyland. And now I have the boy, I will undo This hateful imperfection of her eyes. And, gentle Puck, take this transformèd scalp 65 From off the head of this Athenian swain, That he, awaking when the other do, May all to Athens back again repair And think no more of this night’s accidents But as the fierce vexation of a dream.70 But first I will release the Fairy Queen. He applies the nectar to her eyes. Be as thou wast wont to be. See as thou wast wont to see. Dian’s bud o’er Cupid’s flower Hath such force and blessèd power.75 Now, my Titania, wake you, my sweet queen. | Robin shows up to join Oberon, who’s been hanging out, invisible style. Oberon says that earlier, when he found lovesick Titania snuggling with Bottom, he took the opportunity to ask her for the “changeling child. Titania, who was busy decorating Bottom’s head with flowers, agreed to give him up. Since Oberon’s now got what he wanted all along, he decides to release Titania from her spell. He tells Robin to remove the ass head from Bottom and make it so that when Bottom wakes up, he’ll think the whole experience has been nothing but a dream. Oberon releases Titania from the spell by touching her eyes with a thing he calls “Dian’s bud,” which he says is more potent than even Cupid’s power. |
TITANIA, waking My Oberon, what visions have I seen! Methought I was enamored of an ass. OBERON There lies your love. TITANIA How came these things to pass? 80 O, how mine eyes do loathe his visage now! | Titania wakes up immediately and tells him she has had an insane dream that she was in love with a donkey. Oberon points her in the direction of Bottom. She asks how on earth this happened, especially being that she hates the sight of Bottom now. |
OBERON Silence awhile.—Robin, take off this head.— Titania, music call; and strike more dead Than common sleep of all these five the sense. | Oberon tells Titania to relax; Robin will change Bottom’s head back, and he instructs Titania to call up music that will make the five Athenians sleep more soundly than normal. |
TITANIA Music, ho, music such as charmeth sleep! 85 ROBIN, removing the ass-head from Bottom Now, when thou wak’st, with thine own fool’s eyes peep. OBERON Sound music. Music. Come, my queen, take hands with me, And rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.90 Titania and Oberon dance. Now thou and I are new in amity, And will tomorrow midnight solemnly Dance in Duke Theseus’ house triumphantly, And bless it to all fair prosperity. There shall the pairs of faithful lovers be 95 Wedded, with Theseus, all in jollity. | Robin fixes Bottom’s head, and Oberon takes Titania’s hands. They’ll rock the young Athenian lovers to sleep on the ground and celebrate their regained friendship tomorrow night, when they’ll dance at Duke Theseus’s house and bless all the pairs of lovers that will be happily wedded at that time. |
ROBIN Fairy king, attend and mark. I do hear the morning lark. | Robin announces that he hears the lark—a.k.a. a bird—announcing the morning. |
OBERON Then, my queen, in silence sad Trip we after night’s shade.100 We the globe can compass soon, Swifter than the wand’ring moon. TITANIA Come, my lord, and in our flight Tell me how it came this night That I sleeping here was found 105 With these mortals on the ground. Oberon, Robin, and Titania exit. | Oberon and Titania will follow the night as it crosses around the world. During that trip, Titania wants Oberon to explain the whole thing, especially why she was caught sleeping with a donkey-faced man. |
Wind horn. Enter Theseus and all his train, Hippolyta, Egeus. THESEUS Go, one of you, find out the Forester. For now our observation is performed, And, since we have the vaward of the day, My love shall hear the music of my hounds.110 Uncouple in the western valley; let them go. Dispatch, I say, and find the Forester. A Servant exits. We will, fair queen, up to the mountain’s top And mark the musical confusion Of hounds and echo in conjunction.115 | Theseus & Co. enter, and Theseus declares it’s time for the big hunt (a popular hobby for royals and nobles). He tells Hippolyta they’ll go up to the mountaintop to listen to the sound of all the hounds barking and baying. The way it echoes makes it seem musical. |
HIPPOLYTA I was with Hercules and Cadmus once, When in a wood of Crete they bayed the bear With hounds of Sparta. Never did I hear Such gallant chiding, for, besides the groves, The skies, the fountains, every region near 120 Seemed all one mutual cry. I never heard So musical a discord, such sweet thunder. | Hippolyta recalls a time she heard a similar thing when she was in Crete with Hercules and Cadmus, and yes, the sound was pretty amazing. |
THESEUS My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind, So flewed, so sanded; and their heads are hung With ears that sweep away the morning dew; 125 Crook-kneed, and dewlapped like Thessalian bulls; Slow in pursuit, but matched in mouth like bells, Each under each. A cry more tunable Was never holloed to, nor cheered with horn, In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly.130 Judge when you hear.—But soft! What nymphs are these? | Theseus brags about his awesome hunting hounds. In the midst of praising his dogs, he spots Helena and Hermia sleeping a little ways off, and wonders aloud who the young ladies could be. |
EGEUS My lord, this is my daughter here asleep, And this Lysander; this Demetrius is, This Helena, old Nedar’s Helena.135 I wonder of their being here together. | Egeus identifies all four of the sleeping youths and wonders what they’re doing out here together. |
THESEUS No doubt they rose up early to observe The rite of May, and hearing our intent, Came here in grace of our solemnity. But speak, Egeus. Is not this the day 140 That Hermia should give answer of her choice? EGEUS It is, my lord. THESEUS Go, bid the huntsmen wake them with their horns. A Servant exits. Shout within. Wind horns. They all start up. | Theseus assumes they woke up early to observe the Rites of May, a.k.a., Maying, or May Day. (For more about May Day, head over to ” What’s Up With the Title? “) Theseus then remembers this is the day Hermia should give her answer about marrying Demetrius or becoming a nun, so he has some huntsmen blow their horns to wake up the youngsters. |
THESEUS Good morrow, friends. Saint Valentine is past. Begin these woodbirds but to couple now? 145 Demetrius, Helena, Hermia, and Lysander kneel. LYSANDER Pardon, my lord. THESEUS I pray you all, stand up. They rise. I know you two are rival enemies. How comes this gentle concord in the world, That hatred is so far from jealousy 150 To sleep by hate and fear no enmity? | The young lovers all awaken and kneel to Theseus. He teases them a little, saying that St. Valentine’s Day has passed (a day when the birds were supposed to choose their mates), so he wonders why these birds (the youths) are only choosing their mates now. Also, Theseus wants to know how the heck these kids—particularly Lysander and Demetrius—ended up asleep together in the wood without killing one another. |
LYSANDER My lord, I shall reply amazèdly, Half sleep, half waking. But as yet, I swear, I cannot truly say how I came here. But, as I think—for truly would I speak, 155 And now I do bethink me, so it is: I came with Hermia hither. Our intent Was to be gone from Athens, where we might, Without the peril of the Athenian law— | Lysander begins to reply. He says he doesn’t quite know how he got to this spot, but he can explain why they’re in the wood. Lysander admits that he and Hermia fled to the wood in an attempt to get out of Athens, where they could escape Athenian law and get married. |
EGEUS Enough, enough!—My lord, you have enough.160 I beg the law, the law upon his head. They would have stol’n away.—They would, Demetrius, Thereby to have defeated you and me: You of your wife and me of my consent, 165 Of my consent that she should be your wife. | Egeus cuts him off, demanding that Theseus bring the law down on Lysander’s head for trying to run off with his daughter. |
DEMETRIUS My lord, fair Helen told me of their stealth, Of this their purpose hither to this wood, And I in fury hither followed them, Fair Helena in fancy following me.170 But, my good lord, I wot not by what power (But by some power it is) my love to Hermia, Melted as the snow, seems to me now As the remembrance of an idle gaud Which in my childhood I did dote upon, 175 And all the faith, the virtue of my heart, The object and the pleasure of mine eye, Is only Helena. To her, my lord, Was I betrothed ere I saw Hermia. But like a sickness did I loathe this food.180 But, as in health, come to my natural taste, Now I do wish it, love it, long for it, And will forevermore be true to it. | Demetrius pipes up and admits that Helena told him of the other pair’s plan to steal away to the woods. Demetrius says he followed them into the forest in a fury, and Helena followed him in fancy. However, it seems that Demetrius’s love for Hermia has melted. Instead, Helena has become the apple of his eye. Also, Demetrius finally admits that he was engaged to Helena before he left her for Hermia. |
THESEUS Fair lovers, you are fortunately met. Of this discourse we more will hear anon.— 185 Egeus, I will overbear your will, For in the temple by and by, with us, These couples shall eternally be knit.— And, for the morning now is something worn, Our purposed hunting shall be set aside.190 Away with us to Athens. Three and three, We’ll hold a feast in great solemnity. Come, Hippolyta. Theseus and his train, including Hippolyta and Egeus, exit. | Theseus thinks everything is turning out for the best. He tells Egeus he’s overriding his choice, and the couples (paired off according to their wishes) will be married in the temple at the same time as he and Hippolyta. With that, the adults all return to Athens for the weddings. |
DEMETRIUS These things seem small and undistinguishable, Like far-off mountains turnèd into clouds.195 HERMIA Methinks I see these things with parted eye, When everything seems double. HELENA So methinks. And I have found Demetrius like a jewel, Mine own and not mine own.200 | Demetrius, Lysander, Helena, and Hermia are left to sort out the night. Demetrius thinks everything is dreamlike and Hermia seems to be seeing double. Helena is just happy to have woken up to find that Demetrius loves her. |
DEMETRIUS Are you sure That we are awake? It seems to me That yet we sleep, we dream. Do not you think The Duke was here and bid us follow him? HERMIA Yea, and my father.205 HELENA And Hippolyta. LYSANDER And he did bid us follow to the temple. DEMETRIUS Why, then, we are awake. Let’s follow him, And by the way let us recount our dreams. Lovers exit. | Demetrius, still groggy, asks everyone if they’re sure they’re all awake. He wonders if the Duke was really just there, and if they were supposed to follow him. The others confirm that yes, the Duke was there, and yes, they’re supposed to follow him. Demetrius suggests that they all recount their dreams on their way back to Athens. |
BOTTOM, waking up When my cue comes, call me, 210 and I will answer. My next is “Most fair Pyramus.” Hey-ho! Peter Quince! Flute the bellows-mender! Snout the tinker! Starveling! God’s my life! Stolen hence and left me asleep! I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream past the wit of man to say 215 what dream it was. Man is but an ass if he go about to expound this dream. Methought I was—there is no man can tell what. Methought I was and methought I had—but man is but a patched fool if he will offer to say what methought I had. The eye of 220 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. I will get Peter Quince to write a ballad of this dream. It shall be called “Bottom’s Dream” because 225 it hath no bottom; and I will sing it in the latter end of a play, before the Duke. Peradventure, to make it the more gracious, I shall sing it at her death. He exits. | Bottom awakens suddenly, thinking he’s still at rehearsal. He calls out for his friends and realizes that he’s been left alone in the wood. Then he says he’s had a rare vision. He knows he’s had a dream, but humans don’t have a mind capable of describing how crazy the dream was. Still, he’ll give it a try. Then he decides that since he can’t properly tell the dream, he’ll go to Quince and have him write the dream as a ballad. It will be called “Bottom’s Dream,” as it has no bottom (meaning it’s all tangled up and has no narrative grounding or sense) and it’s also his name. He plans to sing the ballad during the play. It will be perfect for Thisbe’s death scene. Oh boy. |
Why does Bottom want to play all the parts?
1. What is Nick Bottom hoping to accomplish by taking on all of these roles? Because he enjoys the spotlight and is certain that he is the most talented actor in the bunch, he is set on being the only one who takes on all of the roles in the play.
What was Puck’s mistake?
Puck’s Use of Magic (and Misuse of Magic) Puck employs magic throughout the play for comedic effect, most notably when he changes Bottom’s head into that of an ass. However, there are times when Puck misuses magic. It is undoubtedly the most iconic image from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and it indicates that Puck is capable of terrible pranks for the purpose of fun, despite the fact that he is harmless.
Puck does not show the utmost respect for fairies either. To illustrate this point, consider the scene in which Oberon instructs Puck to go retrieve a love potion and then use it on the Athenian lovers so that they will cease fighting with one another. Puck, however, is prone to making mistakes, and because of this, he applies the love potion on Lysander’s eyelids instead of Demetrius’s, which results in unforeseen consequences.
Puck never truly accepts responsibility for the error, despite the fact that he did not intend to do anything wrong when he committed it. He never stops attributing the lovers’ conduct to their own idiocy, even if he knows better. In the second scene of Act Three, he says: “Helena, the leader of our fairy band, is right here with us; and the young man, whose identity I mistaken, is pleading with me for a lover’s pay.
How did Puck make up for his mistake?
The Four Athenian Lovers – Oberon also asks Puck to use the magic flowers to solve another problem, that of four Athenian lovers, whom Puck lures away from one another by creating a dense fog and mimicking their voices. The Athenian Lovers – Puck uses the magic flowers to solve the problem of the Athenian Lovers.
Hermia and Lysander are in love with each other; Demetrius is in love with Hermia; and Helena is in love with Demetrius. The four lovers are stuck in a tragic love quadrangle: Hermia is in love with Demetrius; Demetrius is in love with Hermia; and Helena is in love with Demetrius. Puck is intended to rub the juice of the flower on Demetrius’ eyes in order to make Demetrius fall in love with Helena, which would ultimately result in the problem being solved.
On the other hand, he commits a mistake that ultimately leads to Lysander falling in love with Helena. He makes an effort to correct his error, but all it does is to make Demetrius fall in love with Helena as well. This sets off a chain reaction of comic occurrences amongst the four couples.
What mischief does Puck play Bottom?
Midsummer is the time of year when mischief is most closely connected with the woods and the fairies that live there. Accordingly, the fairies that feature prominently in traditional British mythology are renowned for their ability to cause trouble. The play’s primary source of chaos and mayhem is the mischievous fairy Puck, who is also known by the name Robin Goodfellow.
- In the first scene of Act II, an unidentified fairy recognizes Puck and rhapsodizes about all of the pranks Puck has performed on unsuspecting people.
- This scene gives the impression that Puck has a well-deserved reputation as a mischief maker, which is supported by the rest of the play.
- Although Puck only gets and utilizes the magical flower at Oberon’s request throughout the play, his errors in carrying out Oberon’s plan have the most destabilizing repercussions.
Puck is also capable of engaging in mischief on his own volition, as seen by the time he turned Bottom’s head into an ass’s head. Additionally, Puck is the only character who admits openly that he enjoys getting into trouble. When he makes the declaration in Act III that “those things do most pleasure me / That befall prepost’rously” (III.ii), he is, in essence, announcing a personal philosophy of mischief and a fondness for flipping things on their head.
Why is Bottom called Bottom in Shakespeare?
Therefore, when Quince addresses the transformed ass-headed weaver with the words “Bottom, bless thee! When he says, “Thou art translated,” he does not just mean, “You are converted.” Rather, he is referring to the fact that your name, “Bottom,” has been literally turned into “ass” by the use of the word “arse.”
Why does Bottom want to play all the parts?
1. What is Nick Bottom hoping to accomplish by taking on all of these roles? Because he enjoys the spotlight and is certain that he is the most talented actor in the bunch, he is set on being the only one who takes on all of the roles in the play.
What does Bottom do as Quince assigns all the roles in the mini play?
11. While Quince is deciding who will play which roles in the mini-play, what does Bottom do? Bottom interrupts Quince as he is casting the roles for the short play by declaring that he is capable of performing each role far better than the players to whom they have been allocated.
How is Bottom a dynamic character?
Characters Who Undergo Change Over the Course of a Tale A character is said to be dynamic if he or she undergoes change over the course of a story. The majority of the time, this transformation will take the shape of expansion. The character will gain a lesson or make a decision that takes him or her closer to adulthood.
The lovers are clearly colorful people. Each of the loves develops during the novel, and each matures as a result of the journey into the forest. The protagonists are youngsters or teenagers when the novel begins, but by the time it’s done, they’ve grown up, gotten married, and entered adulthood. Titania, Bottom, and Puck are three more interesting characters in the story.
The prank that Puck and Oberon perform on Titania and Bottom has the effect of altering everyone involved. Titania’s love for Oberon has been rekindled, despite the fact that she formerly had feelings for a monster. Bottom has been left with a reflective disposition as a result of his experiences, and he has the intention of writing a tale about what he has been through.