Nick bottom is weaver who is an actor in the play within the play. He may seem to be less significant character but, as a matter of fact, he is very necessary to the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. One of the most prevalent themes is weather the play is a dream or reality; weather or not the world of the fairies is imagined and the human world is “real”. The characters seem to be unclear about this and Shakespeare allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusion. Bottom believes in this alternative reality with fairies and in this world, he is treated as a noble. This is quite different from how he is perceived in the “real” world, which is as a joke and as a member of the lower class who does not demand much respect and is considered …show more content…
This treatment is completely opposite from the treatment he receives in the human world. Bottom believes the devotion of the beautiful, magical fairy queen is nothing out of the ordinary and that all of the trappings of her affection, including having servants attend him, is how he should always be treated. He does not question this because he feels as if he is deserving of this. As the fairy servants serve Bottom he says, “Monsieur Cobweb, sir, get out your weapons and kill me a striped bumblebee on a thistle, and bring me its honey. Don’t tire yourself out, monsieur. Oh, and monsieur, be careful not to break the honey-sac. I’d hate to see you drowned in honey, sir.” (4. 1. 10-17). Bottom is practically demanding monsieur Cobweb to kill a bumblebee and bring him the honey-sac. He says he would hate to see him drown in honey in a sarcastic tone that makes it seem as if he is talking down to Cobweb because he believes he is of more …show more content…
In the human world he is treated as a commoner and foolish, while in the fairy world he is treaty as royalty and is respected. When he is acting, he is overconfident, thinks he is the best, and takes charge of every situation; this resembles how he is treated in the fairy world. The connection he has with these two worlds shows how he is a complex character. The human world and the world of the fairies are contradictory of each other and this represents the theme of dream versus reality. Bottom is the only character who believes in the fairies and his ability to travel between both worlds makes him the bridge that ties both worlds together. It is never clear weather this is all a dream or if it is real but, Shakespeare does this to give the reader the chance to decide if the story is real or imagined. Bottom is a very complex character which makes the story very complex as
Exerting the type of power that is influenced by malicious intentions can cause one to make decisions that are not beneficial to others. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is written within a time period and setting that favors men instead of woman. In other words, men have all the authority to control the events that occur in their own lives as well as the lives of others whom are considered insignificant. The plot displays the catalysts that ignite many characters’ desire for control that is misused by higher status people. Shakespeare’s use of characterization demonstrates how the wanting of control causes the characters to act irrationally through the misuse of power. Shakespeare’s use of setting, plot and characterization causes the ordeals
The fairy world that Shakespeare, in Midsummer Night's Dream, has created is dark and mysterious but can be light in some aspects. The fairy world that shakespeare has created is dark because of the way that they act, talk, and even threaten. But the fairy’s are also in the light because they talk about the good that is to come or is coming.
Love is a timeless topic which Shakespeare explores in depth in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream “. Shakespeare utilizes the format of a play within a play to communicate the complexities of love. Love is a force that characters cannot control. The play includes scenes of lovers searching for fulfillment in the arms of characters who are unavailable. The magic love potion wreaks havoc between actual lovers and it is clear just how negatively it is portrayed. The entire play revolves around the difficulties of maintaining love and how foolish and insecure the pursuit of love can make us. It also touches on the fickleness of love, that love can be
Bottom is the first fool or idiot to appear in the play. His first appearance is in Act I, scene ii, when the mechanicals got together. He is part of the groups called mechanicals, who are basically tradesmen who planned to put on a play for the
William Shakespeare starts with a seemingly unresolvable conflict in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The main characters are lovers who are either unrequited in their love or hassled by the love of another. These lovers are inevitably paired. How does Shakespeare make this happen? He creates many subplots that, before long, are all snarled up into a chaotic knot. So, what actions does Shakespeare take to resolve these new quandaries? He ends up trusting a single key entity with his comedy. It’s only then that he introduces a special character into his world: a mischievous fairy whom is known by the name of Puck. Puck is the catalyst for all these subplots and, indeed, for the entirety of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Try to take Puck
The artificial love given by Titania to Bottom demonstrates how magic can duplicate the realist atmosphere given from true love as both of those involved are unable to recognise that it is false. True love can cloud judgement and Shakespeare shows how artificial love can do the same, Titania is convinced Bottom is beautiful even though he has the head of a donkey 'Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful'. Bottom responds to the beautiful, magical fairy queen's devotion as nothing out of the ordinary and that all of the trappings of her affection, including having servants attend him, are his proper due. His unawareness of the fact that his head has been transformed into that of an ass parallels his inability to perceive the absurdity of the idea that Titania could ever truly fall in love with him.
Shakespeare’s Nick Bottom is an overly confident, most humorous and a happy go lucky character in the play while Huffman’s version is still overly confident and bluffs but an easily disappointed Bottom. In the added scene, the players were having a meeting for their play, while Bottom was showing of his acting skills in public, two young man poured some red wine on him. He got embarrassed, downhearted and turned his back against the crowd. Huffman also presented a bit of life of Bottom. Bottom arrived at his house and his wife, a character that wasn’t mentioned in the original text, saw his stained suit. She sighed and turns her back on him showing her disappointment which made Bottom sad and more pitiful. Not only that, he was also turned into a womanizer. On his way to their meeting place, He was flirting with the two passing ladies. And he also let himself had an affair with Titania knowing that he have a wife at home. The added scenes made by Huffman in the film changed the audience impression on
“Beware of your stereotypes and prejudices, they can trap you in a box and make you miss what life has to offer you”─Med Yones. One has to see past the stereotypes in life, just as one should do for A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. This literature masterpiece entails a quarrel of a pair of lovers caught entangled in a treacherous web of tainted love and magic. This comedy, viewed through the archetypal literary criticism lens─which focuses on the stereotypical aspects─, makes the audience wonder and push beyond the boundaries of the stereotypes with the tale. Combined with its other elements, A Midsummer Night's Dream is more entertaining and meaningful when viewed through the archetypal literary criticism lens; such as in Act 1: scene 1; Act 3: scene 2; and Act 5: scene 1 in both the printed text and the 1999 film versions.
Another focal point of Shakespeare’s juxtaposition was the comparison between the fairies and the common peasants. Again, the fairies used rhyming and trochaic meter. However, this time they engage in conversation with one of the peasants. In this specific scene Titania sits with Bottom, doting on him and his every whim,
What literary criticism lens is most effective in creating meaning and entertainment throughout Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream? The play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, has several characters involved in a love triangle. Many scenes in the story involves power being used or taken away and use of money. Throughout the play, readers and viewers experiences Hermia’s power is being taken away by her father, Eugues,which is her kindred, not letting her marry the man she truly loves,Lysander. Later throughout the story, Robin, character from the story contains a enthrall love juice that has power and makes another character from the story, Titania, fall in love with a donkey.The marxist literary criticism lens is the most effective in creating meaning and entertaining readers and viewers in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The world of A Midsummer Night dream is constructed of three different social classes, these being, royalty, nobility and commoners. As well as social classes there are also two being types- humans and fairies. Bottom and puck are two characters of different class and Being -type, Bottom a commoner and Puck a fairy. Although it doesn't seem like it there are many similarities and differences between the two. There are also many instances where Shakespeare uses this to enhance the comic nature of the play, which can be seen when Puck turns Bottom into an Ass.
The supernatural world is rather distinct to that of the human world entrenched in societal standards and boundaries. Shakespeare’s play, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, explores this concept, particularly through the use of Puck. In agreement to Harold Bloom’s statement, the following essay will analyse how Puck is significant because, by being so disparate, he is able to show the limitations of the human. This will be done through, first, exploring a definition of the human in relation to the supernatural. Subsequently, the essay will use a Freudian lense to analyse the morality of Puck and, lastly, the essay will focus on Puck’s physical characteristics as well as his ability to span across boundaries in the play and the metatheatrical realm.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play about four Athenian lovers. Theseus listens to both Hermia and her father’s request and he tells her to bend to her father’s will or die due to the old Athenian law. Hermia and Lysander flee Athens, into the domain of the fairy kingdom. At this time, Oberon is in a fight with Titania. This fight is over a human child of Titania’s friend. Oberon tells Puck, one of his loyal servants, to get a flower hit by Cupid’s arrow, and drop the oil into Demetrius’s and Titania’s eyes. However, Puck drops the oil into Lysander’s eyes due to Oberon’s vague description, making him fall in love with Helena and despise Hermia. Titania falls in love Bottom, who has the head of an ass, after Oberon places the oil
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare easily blurs the lines of reality by inviting the audience into a dream. He seamlessly toys with the boundaries between fantasy and reality. Among the patterns within the play, one is controlled and ordered by a series of contrasts: the conflict of the sleeping and waking states, the interchange of reality and illusion, and the mirrored worlds of Fairy and Human. A Midsummer Night's Dream gives us insight into man's conflict with characteristics of human behavior.
If there was no such thing as sympathy, empathy, or love in our world, it would be a hard place to live. If there was no hard law or reason in our world, it would be a crazy place to live. Neither of these worlds would be anybody’s first choice as a home - it's just common sense take away either of these two fundamental aspects of life, and everything is immediately chaos. In fact, it is only in a world such as ours, where legal and human emotion work together, that we are happy. In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare recognizes this truth and uses the two settings to represent the city of Athens as law, order, civility, and judgment, while the woods represent chaos, incivility, dreams, and love.