Defining Nick Bottom in a Midsummer Night’s Dream Essay

Defining Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream Perhaps one of William Shakespeares greatest plays of all time, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a play intended to be watched, rather than read, with an imaginative mind. It is a play that is in the genre of romantic comedy. The romantic aspects of the play are made possible with the characters of Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia, Helena and Demetrius, and Oberon with Titania. However, the comedy that is involved in this masterpiece is mostly shown through the lines of Nick Bottom. Although many plays are dull and repetitious with romanticism, â€Å"A Midsummer Night’s Dream† is a romantic play brought to life with comedic characters like Nick Bottom. Nick Bottom is a working class†¦show more content†¦What Richard Alleva is saying is that Nick Bottom is one of the greatest characters that provide comic relief in Shakespeare’s play. Shakespeare uses Bottom to provide comedy to the play, in which most of the play is based around him and his antics. Bottom messes up grammar, spelling, and everything that Quince, the author of Pyramus and Thisbe, had wanted for the play for the Duke and Duchess. Examples of his Ass like qualities are seen in the first act. For instance, Bottom says â€Å"You were best to call them generally, man by man, according to the scrip† (1.2.2). What makes him a fool in this statement is that he uses the word generally, instead of the word individually. Also he uses the word scrip, when he really means to use the word script. Another great example of Bottom’s foolishness, acting as Pyramus: Thisbe, the flowers of odious savors sweet (3.1.59). This mistake perfectly reflects Bottom because he should have said the word ‘odors instead of ‘odious in the sentence. Odors means fragrant smells, while odious means repulsive. This humor is obvious to everybody watching that Bottom had made a mistake. So these are just a few examples to explain how Bottom was a fool and provided laughter. In A Midsummer Nights Dream, there is aShow MoreRelated An Analysis of Love in Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream2422 Words   |  10 PagesA Midsummer Nights Dream is one of Shakespeares most widely read comedies about love. This seems somewhat strange, however, in light of the fact that so few of its characters seem to display any kind of full or true love. A close examination of the actions and words of each of the players will reveal that only one of them, by the end of Act V, should be considered a lover. For the purposes of this inquiry, we are defining love as that which steadily desires and works to attain the benefit