COMIC RELIEF IN MIDSUMMER NIGHTS William Shakespeare used comic relief in A Midsummer Nights Dream by creating the character

of Puck, the mischievous and comical fairy and Bottom, the overdramatic weaver who plays the part of Pyramus for Theseus and Hippolytas wedding. Puck creates all sorts of trouble for the characters of A Midsummer Nights Dream. In fact, Puck is even known by the other fairies as troublesome. A fairy says to Puck in Act II, Either I mistake your shape and making quite/ Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite/ Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he/ That frights the maidens of the villagery,/ Skim milk, and sometimes labor in the quern/ And bootless make the breathless housewife churn,/ And sometime make the drink to bear no barm,/ Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?/ Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck,/ You do their work, and they shall have good luck./ Are not you he? (Scene 1, Lines 18 -28) This quote explains Pucks mischievous deeds and antics, which overall shows his hilarious personality. He likes to frighten the women in the village, prevent milk from turning into butter, and cause people to get lost and then he laughs at them. He does not partake in these actions to be mean or rude, he just thinks that it is funny to mess with the humans. Bottom was another source of comic relief. He thought that he was an amazing actor, when in reality he was terrible. Philostrate told Theseus before Bottoms play started, It is not for you. I have heard it over,/ And it is nothing, nothing in the world-/ Unless you can find sport in their intents,/ Extremely stretched and conned with cru 'l pain/ To do you service. (Act 5, Scene 1, Lines 72 -75) Philostrate is trying to tell Theseus not to watch the play because of how terrible the actors are. They are so terrible, that their lines come across as comical. Bottom, of course, has no clue that everyone is laughing at him while he is performing because they think that he is terrible. Finally, Shakespeare writes about Puck turning Bottom into a donkey because Puck thinks that he is very self-centered. Oberon, Titanias husband, cast the spell on Titania as well. The first person she saw happened to be Bottom with the head of a donkey. She exclaims, I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again./ Mine ear is much enamored of thy note./ So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape./ And thy fair virtues force perforce doth move me/ On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee. (Act 3, Scene 1, Lines 64 -68) This is humorous because she fell in love against her will with a donkey. She is exclaiming how hansom, wonderful and wise Bottom is as well. It adds to the humor that Bottom has no idea what he turned into or that she is under a spell. These examples show how William Shakespeare used many characters and events to add comic relief. Without it, the story would not be as interesting or entertaining. Today, the use of comic relief is very relevant. You might be familiar with the popular book and Broadway production Les Miserables. The author, Victor Hugo, created the characters of Monsieur and Madame Thenardier to add comic relief to the depressing story of war, heartbreak, and poverty. In the Broadway production, these amusing characters sing a song called Master of the House. In the song, Thenardier sings to his guests Welcome, Monsieur, sit yourself down, and meet the best innkeeper in town. As for the rest, all of 'em crooks: rooking their guests and crooking the books. Seldom do you see honest men like me, a gent of good intent who's content to be. This is comical because the characters are singing about ripping people off at their inn by stealing their money and belongings followed by an intoxicated jig. Instead of making this scene dark, it is humorous and makes the play lighter. Later in the play they sneak into the wedding of Cosette and Marius, other main characters. They are dressed in ridiculous outfits and try to steal the silverware. This is another comical scene to relieve the play of its dark events. In the popular Harry Potter series, they have many different scenes to add comic relief, such as spells that go wrong, humorous characters, lines and events. For example, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry blows up his Aunt Marge because she insulted him and his family and she floats away. The characters of Fred and George Weasley add comical relief as well. They are twins who are known as the mischievous pranksters around Hogwarts. They even have their own line of magical joke items! These events, and many others in the series, help to relieve from the intense battle between Harry Potter and his arch enemy, Voldemort. In the famous Disney movie The Lion King the characters of Timon and Pumbaa were created to provide comic relief. These two characters brighten up the movie by singing songs like Hakuna Matata and joking around. Without Timon and Pumbaa in the movie, it would be a depressing movie about Simba losing his father, running away and fighting his evil Uncle Scar and kids would not really appreciate the movie as much. Comic relief is very important to keep the audience or reader interested. William Shakespeare perfectly balanced the comedy and the seriousness of A Midsummer Nights Dream. He knew people would not enjoy a play that was extremely serious, so he added comic relief in his characters and events for a breath of fresh air. It most definitely made the play more interesting and exciting. Now we see comic relief

everywhere, such as in movies for adults or children, books, or plays, to add humor, make intense situations lighter and make the play more intriguing and entertaining.