"Puck"-Sinister or Silly?

Shakespeare's 'Puck' in "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" is certainly a character I misunderstood when I read the story. I envisioned 'Puck' to be a really sinister character, plotting with Oberon more than once, causing havoc for the story's characters. I should have taken the hints the story offered me, such as the descriptive word "Sprite" and Puck's other name, "Robin Goodfellow." "Sprite" suggests a quick and bubbly temperament. A robin is a small little bird, liked by all. What else but goodness should I think Goodfellow to mean.

However, not until I viewed the early movie version of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" in Dr. Clemente's Shakespeare class did I get a true appreciation for the character, "Puck." Now, I confess that Puck is my favorite character in the play. I realize that watching Mickey Rooney perform Puck's character helped me change my view of the character as a whole. The movie version of the play added the 'sound' to Puck's voice that I did not hear when I read the play. His screeches were wonderfully done. And in true character of a little "sprite." I found Puck's laughter to be exciting and silly (in a funny way), and absolutely memorable.

Mickey Rooney deserved an Oscar for his role in this adaption of the play. ...Linda

Four Scenarios in "A Midsummer's Night Dream"

"A Midsummer's Night Dream" has four different character situations that make this Shakespearean play greatly funny and enjoyable.



First, there are the lovers, Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena, who go against parental authority (Thesues, Hippolyta, and Egues) and are involved in 'trickery,' trying to connect to their perfect mate, giving us one scenario.



Second, Peter Quince, Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Tom Snout, Snug, and Robin Starveling ( I call them the Court Jesters) keep the laughs coming in their situation.






I divide the Third and Forth scenarios between Oberon, King of the (Dark) Fairies and Titania, Queen of the (Bright and Light) Fairies who both want possession of the beautiful young boy, causing Oberon to go to 'devilish' means to capture him.



In my opinion, each scenario could stand on its own to create a story, or play. By twisting, turning, and intertwining the excitement of each situation with the other, Shakespeare shows his genius once again to captivate and control our extreme emotions (Love, Hate, Surprise, Excitement, Wonder, etc.).

...Linda

Claudio and Hero

Apart from Benedick and Beatrice, Claudio and Hero are the second set of lovers in Much Ado About Nothing. The trouble that comes up with both of them is that Don John, the villain of the play, poses that Hero is "unchaste." This dissuades Claudio's interest in her. Hero is pronounced "dead" in that fashion, with everyone casting an accusing eye on her.

The sources of names for Claudio and Hero are worth looking at, aside from their names in the play rhyming with one another! For "Claudio," the name is derived from "Claudius," which means "weak." Could Shakespeare have chosen this name intentionally? Claudio does not seem to be on par with the ladies as Benedick seems to be, so that might be the case. On the other hand, this would suggest gullibility as he was fooled by Don John's deception that Hero was no longer a virgin.

There is also more than one Claudio, as there are a few of many:

Claudio Sanchez - lead singer for progressive rock group Coheed and Cambria.

Christian Claudio - a former member of the tae kwon do Puerto Rican olympic national team, now a writer, professional speaker, as well as a mortgage banker.

Claudio Catagnoli - A Swiss professional wrestler.

Claudio Magris - an Italian writer.



For "Hero," the source of the name is very familiar with how we all know the word "hero" today.
"Hero" of course means "super-human champion." Once again, did Shakespeare have any knowledge of the meaning? Could Hero possibly do something that would be beyond any human ability to reach?

In the earlier case for Benedick and Beatrice, there are also interesting backgrounds on their names. "Benedick" is Latin for "blessed," while "Beatrice" is Latin for "voyager," derived from "Viatrix."

For the story of Much Ado About Nothing, this comedy follows a similiar pattern of "paired lovers" that Shakespeare is fond of using, akin to A Midnight Summer's Dream with Lysander and Hermia and Demetrius and Helena clawing at each other. In this case, we all seem to know by their names, such as how they sound and rhyme, that they will be together as they were meant to be by word choice.

- Kristopher

Christopher Marlowe

Though this is a blog about Shakespeare, there is a lot of comparison between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.

Marlowe is known as "the father of English tragedy." He has penned Dido, Queen of Carthage, The Jew of Malta and other works. Marlowe is also noted for using blank verse, a poetic aspect that Shakespeare also employs in his plays. Shakespeare is said to have written The Taming of the Shrew with the influence of Marlowe's style.

There is an long conspiracy that Marlowe was actually responsible for writing Shakespeare's plays, that he faked his own death and kept on writing. This has fueled a huge debate whether the plays were written by Shakespeare at all, with both sides firing evidence and theories at one another. The naysayers of Shakespeare, known as "Antistratfordians," believe Shakespeare did not pen his works at all. You can find more about this conspiracy here.

There are several sites devoted to passing the conspiracy as a complete goose chase, such as this one. Aside from writing, Marlowe was also a spy for the English government, as well as being labeled a heretic. More information can read from this link.

Further information on Marlowe can be found on this site. And of course, Wikipedia has a thorough analysis over Marlowe here.

- Kristopher