Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Vince Cardinale as Puck from the Carmel Shakespeare Festival production of *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, September 2000

Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Based on the Puck of English mythology and the púca of Celtic mythology,^[1]^[2] Puck is a mischievous fairy, sprite, or jester. He is the first of the main fairy characters to appear, and he significantly influences events in the play. He delights in pranks such as replacing Nick Bottom's head with that of an ass.

^ Shakespeare's sources for Puck were assembled and analysed by Winifried Schleiner (1985). "Imaginative Sources For Shakespeare's Puck" Shakespeare Quarterly 36(1): 65–68. doi:10.2307/2870083. JSTOR 2870083.
^ Wall, Wendy (2001). "Why Does Puck Sweep?: Fairylore, Merry Wives, and Social Struggle". Shakespeare Quarterly. 52 (1): 67–106. doi:10.1353/shq.2001.0021. ISSN 0037-3222. JSTOR 3648647. S2CID 191580811.

[1] Shakespeare's sources for Puck were assembled and analysed by Winifried Schleiner (1985). "Imaginative Sources For Shakespeare's Puck" Shakespeare Quarterly 36(1): 65–68. doi:10.2307/2870083. JSTOR 2870083.

[2] Wall, Wendy (2001). "Why Does Puck Sweep?: Fairylore, Merry Wives, and Social Struggle". Shakespeare Quarterly. 52 (1): 67–106. doi:10.1353/shq.2001.0021. ISSN 0037-3222. JSTOR 3648647. S2CID 191580811.

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