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

In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the relationship between fairy and human propels the plot, prompting questions concerning the nature of “fairy,” and what “fairy” symbolizes in the human realm. The character of Puck serves as a spokesman for the fairy realm, and an ambassador to the human domain. Puck is a useful focus point for answering questions about the interaction between these two levels of consciousness.

The interaction between fairy and human is facilitated by the themes of love and nighttime. This poses questions about the significance and interplay of these concepts. How does love act as a connection between human and fairy? Why does nighttime bring these worlds together? What do nighttime, and love, have to do with the essence of what is “fairy?”

If we look to the words of Robin Goodfellow – who is the “merry wanderer of the night” (l. 43) – “fairy” is associated with darkness. The fairies “run / By the triple Hecate’s team / From the presence of the sun” (ll. 369-71), and furthermore, they evade the sunlight in order to “[Follow] darkness like a dream.” Night and dream both symbolize both the

In addition to the little Indian boy character, Puck has several parallels with the character of Bottom. Bottom, like the boy, is a mortal who crosses the human to fairy border when he is taken in by Titania. Like Puck, he is also a source of humor in the play, and like Puck, he is an artist, a lover of the spoken word. The Indian boy, Bottom, and Puck are a trio of beings at the crossroads between fairy and human, perhaps in an echo of the “triple Hecate’s team” (l. 370) mentioned in Puck’s second-to-last speech. The three serve metaphorically as a triple-faceted representation of the commonalities between human and fey.

Since we are also unaware of the origins of Puck himself, this leaves the rest of the text open as a source of possible clues. The only other individual in the play who is coveted as a henchman to Oberon is the mortal Indian boy. In addition, the boy is another character, although minor, who crosses the border between human and fairy. Perhaps this suggests a similar past for Puck – that he is, in fact, a mortal raised by fairies – which would explain his privileged status as a being active in both worlds.

Some topics in this essay:
Night’s Dream, Lysander Demetrius, Froud Intro, Robin Goodfellow, Bottom Puck, Brian Froud, Titania Puck, Bottom Bottom, human fairy, fairy human, Midsummer Night’s, midsummer night’s dream, midsummer night’s, night’s dream, character puck, unconscious mind, indian boy, Simon Schuster, character puck serves, human fey, fairy realm, mortal fairy, fey midsummer night’s, human fey midsummer, human fairy traits,