Puck (Shakespeare)
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Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, is a character in
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play, ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
''. Based on the Puck of English mythology and the
púca The púca ( Irish for ''spirit/ghost''; plural púcaí), puca (Old English for ''goblin''; plural pucel) pwca, pooka, phouka, puck is a creature of Celtic, English, and Channel Islands folklore. Considered to be bringers both of good and bad ...
of Celtic mythology, Puck is a mischievous
fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...
, sprite, or jester. He is the first of the main fairy characters to appear, and he significantly influences events in the play. He delights in pranks such as replacing Bottom's head with that of an ass.


Appearances in the play

The audience is introduced to Puck in 2.1:
FAIRY: Either I mistake your shape and making quite, Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite Call'd Robin Goodfellow: are you not he That frights the maidens of the villagery; Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the
quern Quern ( da, Kværn) is a former municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populo ...
, And bootless make the breathless housewife churn;⁠ And sometime make the drink to bear no
barm Barm is the foam or scum formed on the top of a fermenting liquid, such as beer, wine, or feedstock for spirits or industrial ethanol distillation. It is used to leaven bread, or set up fermentation in a new batch of liquor. Barm, as a leaven, h ...
; Mislead night wanderers, laughing at their harm? Those that Hobgoblin call you and sweet Puck, You do their work, and they shall have good luck:⁠ Are you not he? PUCK: ⁠Fairy, 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 Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...
And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale. The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale, Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;⁠ Then slip I from her bum, down topples she, And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough; And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh; And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear⁠ A merrier hour was never wasted there .1.32-57
Puck serves the fairy king
Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairi ...
. Oberon is angry with Titania, the fairy queen, because she will not let him have a particular "little changeling boy" (2.1.120). Oberon sends Puck to fetch a particular flower, whereof the juice "on sleeping eyelids laid / Will make or man or woman madly dote / Upon the next live creature that it sees" (2.1.170-72). Puck is told to apply some of it to the "disdainful youth" (2.1.261) in "Athenian garments" (2.1.264), but Puck mistakes
Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an en ...
for
Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...
and applies it to Lysander. Oberon applies some of the juice to Titania, and Titania is waked by a singing
Nick Bottom Nick Bottom is a character in Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' who provides comic relief throughout the play. A weaver by trade, he is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of a donkey by the elusive Puck. Bott ...
, whose head Puck has changed to that of an ass. Later, Puck is ordered to rectify his mistake with Lysander and Demetrius, and he creates a black fog through which he separates the "testy rivals" (3.2.358), imitating their voices until they are asleep. Puck has the final lines of the play:
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, Gentles, do not reprehend: If you pardon, we will mend.⁠ And, as I'm an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long;⁠ Else the Puck a liar call: So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends .1.433-48


Name of character

The original texts of Shakespeare's plays do not have cast-lists, and are not always consistent with characters' names. Puck's case is particularly awkward. Both the Quarto and the
First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...
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 emends all stage directions (but not actual dialogue) that refer to the character as "Robin" or "Robin Goodfellow".


Portrayals


Film and TV

* Mickey Rooney, in the Oscar-winning 1935 film. *
Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...
, in the 1968 film. *
Phil Daniels Philip William Daniels (born 25 October 1958) is an English actor, musician and singer, most noted for film and television roles playing Londoners, such as the lead role of Jimmy Cooper in ''Quadrophenia'', Richards in '' Scum'', Stewart in '' T ...
, in the 1981 BBC Shakespeare television production. *
Robert Sean Leonard Robert Lawrence Leonard (born February 28, 1969), known by his stage name Robert Sean Leonard, is an American actor. He is best known for playing Dr. James Wilson in the television series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Neil Perry in the film ''Dea ...
plays Puck in a high-school production in the 1989 film ''
Dead Poets Society ''Dead Poets Society'' is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Robin Williams. Set in 1959 at the fictional elite conservative boarding school Welton Academy, it tells the story of an English t ...
''. *
Brent Spiner Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as four subsequent films. In 2019, he reprised the role for ...
plays a version of Puck in Disney's ''Gargoyles'', first appearing in the season two episode " The Mirror" in 1995. *
Stanley Tucci Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...
, in the 1999 film. *
Tanner Cohen Tanner Cohen is an American stage, film and television actor, and singer. Career In 2006, Cohen appeared as Tad Becker in five episodes of the American soap opera ''As the World Turns''. He appeared in the 2007 thriller ''The Life Before Her Eyes ...
, in a high-school production depicted in the 2008 film ''
Were the World Mine ''Were the World Mine'' is a 2008 romantic musical fantasy film directed by Tom Gustafson, written by Gustafson and Cory James Krueckeberg, and starring Tanner Cohen, Wendy Robie, Judy McLane, Zelda Williams, Jill Larson, Ricky Goldman, Natha ...
''. * Hiran Abeysekera in the 2016 film. *
Avan Jogia Avan Tudor Jogia (; born February 9, 1992) is a Canadian actor. He first received recognition for portraying Danny Araujo in the television film '' A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story'' (2006). After moving to the United States in his late te ...
, in the 2017 film. * Ken Nwosu, in ''
Upstart Crow Upstart or upstarts may refer to: * HMS ''Upstart'', a Royal Navy U-class submarine *Upstart (company), an online lending marketplace *Upstart (software), a process management daemon used in several operating systems. *Upstart (sculpture), a public ...
'' in 2018. *
Jonathan Whitesell Jonathan Rae Whitesell (born August 28, 1991) is a Canadian actor known for his role as Luke Matthews in the Freeform 2017 science fiction drama '' Beyond''. He later played several high-profile recurring roles as Bryan and Kurtz respectively in ...
plays a version of Robin Goodfellow in ''The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' in 2020.


Theatre

*
Frederick Peisley Frederick Walter James Peisley (6 December 1904 – 22 March 1975) was a British stage, film and television actor and theatre director whose career spanned five decades. He is known for ''The Secret of the Loch'' (1934), ''Gentlemen's Agreement' ...
in
Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 ...
's production in 1947. *
Adam Darius Adam Darius (10 May 1930 – 3 December 2017) was an Turkish origin American dancer, mime artist, writer and choreographer. As a performer, he appeared in over 86 countries across six continents.The extensive archives of Adam Darius´s career as ...
, with the Stora Teatern in Göteborg, Sweden in 1961. * John Kane, with
The Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
in 1970. *Puck is renamed "Dr. Wheelgood" in
Diane Paulus Diane Marie Paulus (born 1966) is an American theater and opera director who is currently the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.Colleen Walsh"Paulus reaches beyond boards" ''Harvar ...
's production ''The Donkey Show'' in 1999. *
Matthew Tennyson Matthew Tennyson is an English actor of stage and screen. He won the Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer in 2012. Early life Tennyson was born in Stoke Newington, London, the son of Jonathan Tennyson, a physics professor, and a nur ...
, with
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
in 2013. *
Kathryn Hunter Aikaterini Hadjipateras ( el, Αικατερίνη Χατζηπατέρας; born 9 April 1957), known professionally as Kathryn Hunter, is an American-born British actress and theatre director, known for her appearances as Arabella Figg in th ...
in
Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...
's 2013 production for the
Theatre for a New Audience The Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is a non-profit theater in New York City focused on producing Shakespeare and other classic dramas. Its off-Broadway productions have toured in the U.S. and internationally. History Theatre for a New Audienc ...
.


School productions

*
Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...
, with
St Edward's School, Oxford St Edward's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'. Approximately sixty pupils live in each of its thirteen houses. The school is a member of the Rugby G ...
in 1923. *
Sebastian de Souza Sebastian Denis de Souza (born 19 April 1993)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England and Wales, 1916–2005'' B100D is an English actor. He is best known for playing Matty Levan in the E4 teen drama series '' Skins''. He has since starre ...
, with St Edward's School, Oxford.


Painting and sculpture

*''Puck'' (1789), a painting by
Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...
*''Puck'' (c. 1810–1820), a painting by
Henry Fuseli Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as '' The Nightmare'', deal with supernatu ...
. *''Puck'' (c. 1855–1856), a marble sculpture by
Harriet Hosmer Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (October 9, 1830 – February 21, 1908) was a neoclassical sculptor, considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century. She is known as the first female professional sculptor. Among other ...
* The
Puck Building __FORCETOC__ The Puck Building is a historic building located in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It occupies the block bounded by Lafayette, Houston, Mulberry and Jersey Streets. An example of the German Rundbogenstil style o ...
built in 1885–1888 in
Nolita Nolita, sometimes written as NoLIta and deriving from "North of Little Italy",Roberts, Sam"New York’s Little Italy, Littler by the Year"''New York Times'' (February 21, 2011) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. No ...
, New York City, features two naked statues of Puck by sculptor
Henry Baerer Henry Baerer (1837-1908) was an American sculptor born in Munich, Germany. Works include: * two versions of the Puck (magazine), Puck magazine mascot on the Puck Building, New York (1886) * Ludwig van Beethoven (Baerer), Bronze bust of Beethoven ...
. The building is named after and housed the 19th-century humor magazine '' Puck''. The magazine was named after the character, and used a depiction and a quote of him as a logotype. * Sculpture ''Puck'', by Carl Andersson, bronze, 1912, in the
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
suburb of Midsommarkransen in Sweden. * ''Puck'' by
Brenda Putnam Brenda Putnam (June 3, 1890 – October 18, 1975) was an American sculptor, teacher and author. Biography She was the daughter of Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth Munroe. Her older sister Shirley and s ...
, marble, 1932, at the
Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare material ...
in Washington, D.C.


Music

* French pianist and composer
Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
dedicated a prelude to Puck, '' La danse de Puck''.


Literature

* In
Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
's comic-book '' The Sandman'' story " 'A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1990), 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

* {{DISPLAYTITLE:Puck (''A Midsummer Night's Dream'') Characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream Literary characters introduced in 1596 Fictional characters who use magic Fictional elves Male Shakespearean characters Fictional goblins Fictional fairies and sprites Fictional pranksters Fictional jesters