Puck
Robin Goodfellow
Oberon’s swift and mischievous fairy servant in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, whose magic tangles the lovers in the Athenian wood.
Quick answer
Puck, also called Robin Goodfellow, is a fairy in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He serves Oberon, plays tricks on mortals, transforms Bottom’s head, and mistakenly enchants the wrong Athenian.
Quick facts
| Creator | William Shakespeare, drawing on the Robin Goodfellow tradition |
|---|---|
| Play | A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
| First appearance | Act II, Scene I [1] |
| Source realm | The enchanted wood near Athens |
| Creature type | Fairy and household trickster |
| Other name | Robin Goodfellow |
| Allegiance | Servant to Oberon, King of the Fairies |
| Known magic | Transformation, enchantment with a magical flower, mimicry, and extraordinarily swift travel |
What the source play says
A fairy recognizes Puck as Robin Goodfellow, the night-wanderer known for frightening village girls, misleading travellers, spoiling household work, and helping those who call him kindly. Puck confirms these tricks and identifies himself as the jester who makes Oberon smile.[1]
Oberon sends Puck to fetch a flower whose juice causes a sleeper to love the first living thing seen on waking. Puck applies it to Lysander instead of Demetrius, then helps repair the confusion. He also gives Bottom an ass’s head and later removes it. By dawn, Puck has drawn the lovers together and helped restore the intended matches.[1]
Abilities and behaviour
Puck’s magic works through both spells and performance. He can alter Bottom’s appearance, imitate the voices of the Athenian men, lead people through fog and darkness, and circle the earth with astonishing speed. His mistakes are as important as his powers: the love-plot goes awry because he acts on an imprecise description.[1]
- Travels across immense distances in a very short time
- Uses the enchanted flower at Oberon’s command
- Transforms and restores Bottom
- Mimics voices to separate and exhaust the quarrelling lovers
- Performs pranks among both fairies and mortals
Source realm: the wood near Athens
Most of Puck’s work takes place in the moonlit wood outside Athens, where Oberon and Titania’s fairy court overlaps with the paths of human lovers and craftspeople. The place is geographically named but governed for one night by dreamlike transformations, charms, and mistaken identities.
Role in the comedy
Agent of disorder
Puck carries out Oberon’s plans, but one mistaken identification multiplies the lovers’ quarrels. His delight in spectacle keeps the confusion moving.
Agent of repair
The same fairy who creates much of the disorder also helps undo it. Magic restores the lovers and Bottom before the action returns to Athens.
Speaker to the audience
At the close of the play, Puck addresses the spectators directly and suggests that the performance may be treated as a dream. The trickster becomes the figure who releases the audience from the enchanted wood.
Play and reference
- 1A Midsummer Night’s Dream
William Shakespeare. See especially Act II, Scene I for Puck’s names, tricks, and service to Oberon; Acts II–IV for the enchantments; and Act V for his closing address.
Project Gutenberg edition ↗