The Place Between Human And Fey In A Midsummer Night’s Dream

12 Pages 3011 Words

onscious, activity. Thus, it is fitting that all direct fairy/mortal interaction in the play occurs during the night, when the intersection between worlds is widest.
The character of Puck is a landmark of this intersection. In many ways, he serves as a link between the mortal and fairy realms. He is active in both dimensions at once; that is to say, he causes action in both. He causes both mortal and fairy to fall in love, and plays pranks on both, as well; no other character in the play interacts with both planes in such an active manner, causing action in both realms. On another level, he serves as a link between the fictional realm (the illusion that the theater creates,) and the daily reality of the audience, when he addresses the audience directly in his final speech (ll. 409-24).
There is also an intersection in the microcosm of Puck’s identity; he is simultaneously poet and prankster, artistic and primal. He is described as a “shrewd and knavish sprite” (l. 33) while, in contrast, his name is “Goodfellow,” and he tell...