What motivates Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream? Also known as Robin Goodfellow, the spirit Puck is based on a contemporary legend by Shakespeare (OED). His origins are as curious as his character: the Oxford English Dictionary traces Puck's origin to "pouke...commonly identified with the biblical devil." In the 16th century, Puck became associated with Robin Goodfellow, "[a] sporting and capricious elf or goblin said to haunt the English countryside" or, in the words of a fairy in Shakespeare's play, a "clever and deceitful goblin" ( II, I: 33). Puck plays a vital role in the development of the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay True to legend and reputation, Puck gets up to all sorts of mischief. He transforms Bottom into a donkey-headed figure and, as evidenced by Bottom's face, follows the transformed Bottom "through the bog, through the bush, through the brake, through the heather" (III, i: 102). When Oberon orders him to anoint the eyes of Titania and Demitrius with magical "love juice", Puck mistakes Demetrius for Lysander and causes much confusion. He is also responsible for Titania's misplaced love. When she wakes up and falls in love, the object of her mad affection is none other than Bottom, the donkey. What are Puck's motivations? The answer is offered in part by Puck himself: he is a “merry wanderer,” trying to create many “merrier hours” (II, i: 43, 57). But what fuels Puck's fundamental desire to create such merriment? This question takes on a more intriguing turn when we consider Puck as Shakespeare's representative on stage. First, like an author, Puck moves between worlds; it is a spirit that often interacts with mortals, just as Shakespeare bridged his fictional world with the real world around him. Second, Puck acts as the author's voice in the epilogue: If we shadows have offended, think only of this, and all will be righted: that you have only slept here, while these visions appeared. And this weak and idle theme, yielding only a dream... (V, i: 415-420) Here, Puck explains the title of the play and apologizes for any offense the audience may have felt while watching the " shadows” interpret a “weak and idle theme”. Shakespeare could well express what he thinks through Puck in these lines. Elsewhere in the play we know that Shakespeare endorses the concept of an author speaking to an audience vicariously. Bottom makes just such a proposition, offering to write a disclaimer in the introduction to his play: "Let the prologue seem to say... that Pyramus is indeed not slain... tell them that I am not Pyramus, but Bottom /the weaver. This will put them out of fear” (III, i: 16-20). Another parallel between Puck and Shakespeare occurs when Puck stumbles upon a rehearsal of Pyramus and Thisby: “What, a verse play? I will be a listener; / An actor too perhaps, if I see the cause” (III, i: 74-75). Puck is a listener by virtue of his presence and an actor in the sense of participant, because he ends up transforming Bottom. Shakespeare is also a listener, a preview audience both of the play and of this “play within the play.” He acts vicariously through Puck, sharing the motive of both generating comedy and advancing the dramatic plot. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay If we think of Puck as Shakespeare and Vice the other way around, it is easier..