Puck the Mischievous Imp

After reading “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” I wasn’t entirely sure what to think of Puck. Were his pranks playfully mischievous or were they simply sinister? His mischief was both deliberate and a comic mistake at some points. Take for example Puck transforming Bottom’s head into that of an ass. He hardly seemed to have a reason for it outside of simply entertaining himself. Where as casting the love spell on Lysander for Hermia was unintentional though he was nonetheless still amused by it.

Another fascinating thought I read in Harold Bloom's "Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human" is the meaning of Puck’s name. “The word puck or pook originally meant a demon out for mischief or a wicked man, and Robin Goodfellow was once a popular name for the Devil” (151). Which is almost ironic in consideration of the relationship between faeries and angels.

The word faerie is derived from the latin word fata meaning fate. Faeries similar to angels occupied a realm between Heave and Earth, some cultures even think of faeries as fallen angels. In these culture beliefs there were ‘blessed’ faeries of the Seelie Court, and the Unseelie faeries. The difference between the two being that the ‘blessed’ faeries mainly do good in the world, and only pull pranks on those who deserve them. The Unseelie faeries, however, are rather sinister tormenting and harming humans. (http://mrianasoriginalfiction.houseofbetazed.com/MythologyInShakespeare.html)

I suppose in the end though, that Puck is only a playful imp not meaning any actual harm to befall the humans like that of an Unseelie faerie. Though his tricks can be wicked and harsh, throughout the play there is a dominant comic, fun-loving personality in his pranks.