Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream tells the story of multiple young couples that run away to the woods to express their love for each other. Throughout the play, each character’s emotions are in some way manipulated for the benefit of another character, and for most of them this also causes some change in their self identity. Bottom is a peasant actor whose head is turned into an ass when he goes to the woods, but in the end the negative manipulation that he receives does not impact his self esteem, showing that Bottom’s confidence allows his identity to resist the influence of the world around him. This is illustrated in the absence of a shift in Bottom’s actions before and after he interacts with the fairies.
Before Bottom becomes tangled up in the fairies’ game of control, his understanding of the world around him is clouded by his overwhelming ego. Like the other characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bottom goes to the woods in order to escape his society and pursue his passion, and his actions leading up to his transformation illustrate his pride and hunger for recognition. For example, when he and the other actors first meet to rehearse Pyramus and Thisbe, Bottom is convinced that he should take every part to ensure the play’s success. After Quince casts him as Pyramus, the play’s lead role, Bottom argues with him, “An I may hide my face, let me play Thisbe too” (1.2.49) and then, “Let me play the lion too. I will roar that I will do any man’s heart good to hear me” (1.2.68). Bottom is unduly confident in both his acting abilities and his colleagues opinions of him in this scene. In this way, it is clear that Bottom is very confident in his identity and actions while being almost completely blind to the truth of what is happening in the world around him.
As the men continue to prepare for the play, Robbin the fairy enters looking for a way to trick Titania. Taking note of Bottom’s foolish pride, Robin transforms his head into that of an ass so Titania will fall in love with Bottom when she wakes. The two eventually sleep together and as her attendants pamper him Bottom’s kingly personality is finally met with the attention he craves. This physical change is the biggest shift that Bottom goes through during A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and while other characters experience a similar kind of manipulation from fairies, Bottom’s response is wildly different than anyone else’s. When he wakes and Titania has left, Bottom is moved by his supposed “dream” and is moved to take action, however instead of changing his passion and beliefs like most of the other characters in the face of such an event, his personality remains mostly unchanged. For example, at the end of Bottom’s short but thoughtful monologue reflecting on his recent experience, it is expected that he will conclude with a better understanding of his identity. However, he decides instead to have a song written about his adventure to perform for the king called “Bottom’s Dream” because “it hath no bottom” (4.1.226). The situational irony that Shakespeare presents not only shows that Bottom is unaware of reality, but also that his personality was unaffected by his experience. Even after having the world around him completely change, Bottom’s pride keeps him in the same state of mind as he was before he was transformed, and that state of mind continues to provide comedic relief for the remainder of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With this in mind, Shakespeare illustrates that a strong sense of self identity is resistant to influence from the outside world, and that such confidence can be valuable no matter how ignorant.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare sets up multiple shifts in characters that cause a change in their perspectives and actions. Bottom, however, with his secure self image, is an exception to this rule even though his shift should have been life changing. In this way, Shakespeare shows that self confidence allows one to keep the outside world separate from his identity, thus opening doors to greater truths than others can conceive.
Before Bottom becomes tangled up in the fairies’ game of control, his understanding of the world around him is clouded by his overwhelming ego. Like the other characters in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bottom goes to the woods in order to escape his society and pursue his passion, and his actions leading up to his transformation illustrate his pride and hunger for recognition. For example, when he and the other actors first meet to rehearse Pyramus and Thisbe, Bottom is convinced that he should take every part to ensure the play’s success. After Quince casts him as Pyramus, the play’s lead role, Bottom argues with him, “An I may hide my face, let me play Thisbe too” (1.2.49) and then, “Let me play the lion too. I will roar that I will do any man’s heart good to hear me” (1.2.68). Bottom is unduly confident in both his acting abilities and his colleagues opinions of him in this scene. In this way, it is clear that Bottom is very confident in his identity and actions while being almost completely blind to the truth of what is happening in the world around him.
As the men continue to prepare for the play, Robbin the fairy enters looking for a way to trick Titania. Taking note of Bottom’s foolish pride, Robin transforms his head into that of an ass so Titania will fall in love with Bottom when she wakes. The two eventually sleep together and as her attendants pamper him Bottom’s kingly personality is finally met with the attention he craves. This physical change is the biggest shift that Bottom goes through during A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and while other characters experience a similar kind of manipulation from fairies, Bottom’s response is wildly different than anyone else’s. When he wakes and Titania has left, Bottom is moved by his supposed “dream” and is moved to take action, however instead of changing his passion and beliefs like most of the other characters in the face of such an event, his personality remains mostly unchanged. For example, at the end of Bottom’s short but thoughtful monologue reflecting on his recent experience, it is expected that he will conclude with a better understanding of his identity. However, he decides instead to have a song written about his adventure to perform for the king called “Bottom’s Dream” because “it hath no bottom” (4.1.226). The situational irony that Shakespeare presents not only shows that Bottom is unaware of reality, but also that his personality was unaffected by his experience. Even after having the world around him completely change, Bottom’s pride keeps him in the same state of mind as he was before he was transformed, and that state of mind continues to provide comedic relief for the remainder of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With this in mind, Shakespeare illustrates that a strong sense of self identity is resistant to influence from the outside world, and that such confidence can be valuable no matter how ignorant.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare sets up multiple shifts in characters that cause a change in their perspectives and actions. Bottom, however, with his secure self image, is an exception to this rule even though his shift should have been life changing. In this way, Shakespeare shows that self confidence allows one to keep the outside world separate from his identity, thus opening doors to greater truths than others can conceive.
Comments
Post a Comment