Monologue research - Midsummer Nights Dream (first thoughts, understanding the monologue)

'Puck is a clever and mischievous elf and personifies the trickster or the wise knave.'


This is the description of Puck shown in the he is a more lighthearted, mischievous character. Throughout the play Puck is the only character to address the audience directly showing that the audience-actor relationship between this character is strong. Puck is the servant to Oberon and confused the story of the 'the lovers' by using the infatuation flower under order of Oberon. Puck is also very famous for his line 'o lord what fools these mortals be'.


Because of this research I am going to play Puck as a 'jack-the-lad' type character that is light hearted and warmed by the audience. 






To help me understand the soliloquy I took apart the Shakespearian language and tried to make into something I could understand, therefore allowing me to add gestures that my audience would understand.


'If we shadows have offended'
- This is referring to the actors in the play suggesting that they may have offended the audience


'Think but this (and all is mended) That you have but slumber'd here, while these visions did appear'
- This is suggesting to the audience merely think that they were asleep during the play and that the actors were just figments of there imagination


'And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding but a dream'
- That the themes with in the play be less important and that the worrying they felt can go away and imagine that the play was just a dream.


'Gentles, do not reprehend'
- Gentles is referring to the audience members again, often in Shakespeare's time the upper classes sat on seats in the global not addressed to the commoners standing on the floor.


'If you pardon, we will mend. And as I am an honest Puck, if we have unearned luck'
- If the audience thinks this then then Puck and the audience can forget the themes in the play and bring back the  actor-audience relationship. Puck is referring to the fact that throughout what he has done in the play, Puck has still been honest and he has been lucky in what he has done.


'Now to scape the serpent's tongue, we will make amends ere long:'
-To scape the serpent's tongue is to avoid what the audience may say about the play, then Puck tries to reinforce that he tried to make amends by saying it was just a dream.


'Else the Puck a liar call'
- This is talking about if the audience then retaliate and call him a liar or think he is a liar from the actions he had performed in the play.


'So good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore and amends'
- Puck closes the show and asks the audience to believe what he has just said and that he will make it better. Robin refers to 'Robin Goodfellow' which is another name for the same character as Puck therefore he is talking about himself.