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William Shakespeare 's A Midsummer Night 's Dream

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In A MidSummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, we are introduced to a character named Puck. The character depicted in Shakespeare play is based off of Elizabethan folklore. Puck was one of the most famous figures in English fairy tradition at the time. Puck was seen as a sly and crafty spirit, and is often referred to as Robin Goodfellow. Some sources believe that his roots go back as far as the Greek God Pan and to the Pagan deity, the Green Man. The name, Puck, derives from the Middle English 'pook ' or 'pouke ', another word for an elf or sprite. In early England, the name Puck seems to have been used in association with the Devil, probably through the encouragement of the Church. He was viewed back in that…show more content…
legends about Puck emerged in an attempt to explain strange happenings and events which seemed to defy rational and logical explanation, much as poltergeists and ghosts are used today. Not being a god, Puck would not have been worshiped, but people probably paid their respects to him nonetheless, to avoid being pranked or inconvenienced by him. Puck can be compared to the god Cupid or Eros, in the essence and bringing of love to a mortals life. Eros is regarded as the god of love in Greek mythology, while Cupid was the Roman god of love. The god of love had the power to make anybody fall in love, and nobody could resist his spell. To the Romans Cupid was viewed as an innocent child though sometimes mischievous and considered a "naughty boy". On the flip side Eros was no meddlesome child to the Greeks, but a powerful god to be feared. I think that Puck resembles Cupid more because of his playful attitude. While Puck does act like a bit of a devil, he isn’t doing things out of anger or resentment, but rather out of fun.
In the play Puck has the special ability of "Transformation." He famously transforms Bottom 's head into that of a donkey, and he 's also fond of shape-shifting himself. Here is a insert proving this.
Sometime a horse I 'll be, sometime a hound,
A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire;
And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn,
Like horse, hound,
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