His later statement where he claims;
I’ll put a girdle round the earth
In forty minutes! (2:1 L175)
has no trace of malignity, but may tend to give the impression of a knavish sprite. This is due to the punctuation used; the exclamation mark implies a child-like excitement, children are renowned for committing rather petty offences as the fairy has previously listed for us. This triggers the audience’s anticipation for Puck to commit another swindle as he is being let out into the world, leaving with a comment that seems to obedient for a sprite that misleads night wanderers and laughs at their harm;
Fear not my lord; your servant shall do so. (2:1 L268)
In the company of Oberon, Puck seems mysteriously helpful in comparison to the fairy’s opinion. Unfortunately for the mortals, Puck does not seem so faultless in the absence of Oberon, this is perhaps a way for Shakespeare to ridicule the humans using Puck as the instrument to target their helplessness and prove there are so many things humans do not know and yet cannot imagine believing. After all Shakespeare must have had inspiration to write this play, so perhaps ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ is a well disguised adaptation of Shakespeare’s conflicting thoughts that may well be personal. This is not the only example of this; Shakespeare scatters hints of showing human folly all over this play showing moral and philosophical content. For example, when Puck transforms Bottom’s head into that of an ass. This animal is symbolic for stupidity and “coincidentally” a human is transformed and Puck is the key ingredient in performing these primarily comic frolics, but when examined they tend to surprise us. Bottom was a rather an unintelligent character but once transformed he appears more academic.
Also we recognise the chance for more mischievous behaviour when Puck tricks the lovers by voice imitation, but Puck is cunningly devising an entertaining way to make his job of applying eye-juice much easier. Here as well Shakespeare may be insulting humans in almost perfect disguise. The fact that Lysander and Demetrius are following illusions until they finally give up may be a moral point illustrating the silly illusions we sometimes follow, especially with as much aggression as Demitrius and Lysander possessed and then we lose interest and lack will power. Puck was delighted with this and found it all terribly amusing; the whole scenario demonstrates how superior the fairies are to us, but still, humans do not believe in super-natural beings sharing “their” world.
Shakespeare then sets Puck to work; he is equipped with powers capable of embarrassing humans,
I’ll be an auditor,
An actor too perhaps, if I see cause. (3:1 L62)
It seems Puck has spotted another opportunity but as revealed to us from 2:1 L88, Puck has recognized and taken advantage of a cunning situation. The audience may first believe Puck is playing the knavish trick of converting Bottom’s head for his personal enjoyment but his more intellectual intentions are made clear as he explains to Oberon that he transformed a Mechanical as they were near the sleeping Titania. He also tells Oberon he translates
The shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort (3:2 L13)
This comment directly hints at malign behaviour as he is targeting the weakest and most mentally challenged member, which can promote a sense of evil behind Puck’s plot. However he succeeds in answering Oberon’s demand by ordering Titania to
Wake when some vile thing is near! (2:2 L40)
just as Oberon had wished. This successful display shows a loyal and obedient side to Puck. The audience may now adopt a more positive and broader opinion of Puck and lead them to believe he certainly isn’t a malign spirit. Unfortunately Puck shatters the illusions of doing a professional job by boasting to Oberon
I lead them on this distracted fear. (3:2 L31)
This comment prompts more suspicion about Puck being a malign spirit: he seems to revel in the hurting of others, which is a sinister characteristic.
As Puck has completed two of Oberon’s demands previously, a mistake may not be frowned upon as much as it would upon a constantly failing fairy. Nevertheless, his response to Oberon’s request to right his mistake may be understood in many different ways,
I go, I go, look how I go!
Swifter than arrow from the tartar’s bow. (3:2 L100)
Perhaps Puck is frightened of the consequences of failing Oberon again or maybe he is eager to erase his mistake, which would further prove his willing ability. Alternatively, perhaps Puck is being sarcastic since his account bears great similarity to his statement
I’ll put a girdle round the earth
In forty minutes! (2:1 L175)
How it is acted decides how the audience interprets it. A sarcastic tone will suggest knavish plots are circulating in Puck’s mind.
Possibly the key quote which ends an examination of Puck’s character lies from 3:2 l121-122
And those things that do best please me
That befall prepost’rously (3:2 L121-122)
This comment seals the fate of all the positive intentions we had of Puck; this viciously malign announcement shows the delight that Puck receives from seeing incidents resulting absurdly and unnaturally which are only the hopes of a very deprived person looking at the world from a twisted perspective. Although we sometimes laugh at the asinine things people do we do not inflict pain or harm upon the person who is the butt of the joke.
He fails to rid himself of these conniving ideas as he prepares to fool the lovers with voice imitation,
Up and down, up and down,
I will lead them up and down:
I am feared in field and town.
Goblin lead them up and down. (3:2 L396-399)
Puck’s aspirations are now proclaimed: he has planned throughout to be a fearful character and he tells us how he believes himself to be a ‘goblin’, which is an evil sprite. Yet another example of Puck’s malignity is the selfish remark;
And so far I’m glad it did sort,
As this jangling I esteem a sport. (3:2 L352-353)
This noxious explanation describes Puck’s attitude perfectly. Puck is Shakespeare’s symbol of rebellion; a character that will be adored by the audience for his potentially comical antics but on the other hand Shakespeare may have included this misguided sprite to exploit human’s considered superiority. I think Shakespeare is writing to entertain but simultaneously to relieve thoughts from inside himself which otherwise will lay dormant. As a result Shakespeare has produced a character containing the ability to perform knavish tricks and that is all he does, Puck has been created to not realize or think of others but himself, which are child-like characteristics and we can not accuse a selfish child of being malign. However I think Puck is malign in his thoughts as Shakespeare is, although Puck may not be the main character, this is the character Shakespeare is most fond of he has projected his feelings through the less obvious servant rather than the dominant Oberon. However for ‘A Midsummer’s Nights Dream’ to remain a comedy and for Shakespeare to feel secure about not blatantly exposing his feelings, Puck only acts knavish, and not so malign that the humour is unappreciated. With this good balance of both knavish and malign behaviour Shakespeare has approached the borderline of funny and chilling but thankfully has not crossed this line. The audience will recognize and appreciate this, and agree that Puck is certainly a character that will be noted as one of Shakespeare’s most wicked but also memorable.