Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, based on the ancient figure of Puck found in English mythology.
Puck is a clever, mischievous fairy, sprite or jester that personifies the wise knave. In the play, Shakespeare introduces Puck as the "shrewd and knavish sprite" and "that merry wanderer of the night". Puck is the one who is first introduced in the fairies' story and creates the drama of the lovers' story by breaking up a young couple lost in an enchanted forest, as well as by replacing Bottom's head with that of an ass. Similarly, Bottom is performing in a play intended to be presented as a lover's story, as well as interacting with Titania twice in the opening dialogue of Act 2 Scene 1 as "he".
Video Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Appearances in the play
The audience is introduced to Puck in Act 2 Scene 1 when one of Titania's fairies encounters Puck:
Puck is Oberon's servant who is angry with Titania the fairy queen because he could not have the Indian boy/slave, so Puck is sent to fetch the flower that has been hit by Cupid's arrows. Puck is then instructed by Oberon to use the love flower's juices to fix the love entanglement occurring between the Athenian lovers who are on a merry chase in the forest. He mistakenly administers the charm to the sleeping Lysander instead of Demetrius. Puck provides Nick Bottom with a donkey's head so that Titania will fall in love with a beast and forget her attachment to the Changeling Boy, allowing Oberon to take the child from her. Later, Puck is ordered by Oberon to fix the mistake he has made, by producing a dark fog, leading the lovers astray within it by imitating their voices, and then applying the flower to Lysander's eyes, which will cause him to fall back in love with Hermia. The four lovers wonder if they were dreaming what took place in the forest (hence the play's title A Midsummer Night's Dream). At the end of the play (Act 5 Scene 1) Puck delivers a speech in which he addresses the audience directly, apologising for anything that might have offended them and suggesting that they pretend it was a dream:
Maps Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Name of character
The original texts of Shakespeare's plays do not have cast lists, and can sometimes be inconsistent about what they call characters, but Puck's is a particularly awkward case. Both the Quarto and the First Folio call the character "Robin Goodfellow" on the first entrance, but "Puck" later in the same scene, and they remain inconsistent. The Arden Shakespeare calls the character "Puck," and amends all stage directions (but not actual dialogue) that refer to the character as "Robin" or "Robin Goodfellow".
Portrayals
- Film
- Mickey Rooney, in the Oscar-winning 1935 film.
- Ian Holm, in the 1968 film.
- Phil Daniels, in the 1981 BBC Shakespeare television production.
- Robert Sean Leonard plays Puck in a high-school production in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society.
- Stanley Tucci, in the 1999 film.
- Dov Tiefenbach, in a high-school musical adaptation of a Midsummer Night's Dream in the 2001 film Get Over It.
- Tanner Cohen, in a high-school production depicted in the 2008 film Were the World Mine.
- Theatre
- John Kane, with The Royal Shakespeare Company in 1970.
- Adam Darius, with the Stora Teatern in Göteborg, Sweden in 1961.
- Matthew Tennyson, with Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in 2013.
- Frederick Peisley in Donald Wolfit's production in 1947.
- Dr. Wheelgood in Diane Paulus's production of The Donkey Show in 1999.
- School productions with now famous people
- Laurence Olivier, with St Edward's School, Oxford.
- Hilarie Burton, with Park View High School.
- Sebastian de Souza, with St Edward's School, Oxford.
- Gary Oldman, with Rose Bruford College .
- Fine arts
- Sculpture Puck, by Carl Andersson, bronze, 1912, in the Stockholm suburb of Midsommarkransen in Sweden.
- Puck by Brenda Putnam, marble, 1932, at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.
- Other literature
- Puck is a character in the childrens-book series The Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley.
- In Neil Gaiman's comic-book The Sandman, Puck and other fairies watch Shakespeare's company of actors perform A Midsummer Night's Dream. After the play, Puck decides to remain in the "mortal" world and appear in later stories.
References
External links
- Media related to Puck (elf) at Wikimedia Commons
Source of article : Wikipedia
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