Character analysis of Nick Bottom, In, "A Midsummer Nights Dream"
...usly anyway. He also sees himself as a great actor, one that can take on every role. But again, it isn’t because he is malicious in any way. He doesn’t criticize the others, nor does he want to make the others feel less of themselves than he. He is simply overexcited about the “greatness of his work.” He gets caught up in himself, so much to the extent, that he is blissfully unaware of others. This is an area that deserves a closer look at, in and of itself. Shakespeare alludes to the idea of stupidity equaling blissfulness. We see this in the contrast between Puck and Bottom. Puck is highly intelligent, but with that comes an understanding of malice, pain, and hurt. His intelligence leads him to a feeling of empowerment, strength, and the ability to be a mastermind of circumstance, which sometimes inevitably leads to mischief. There is a direct contrast between the two characters, which points out a positive spin on being ignorant. Does stupidity equal fundamental goodness, and is ignorance truly bliss? It is apparent that Bottom’s character represents a raw kindness of mankind. There is much to be said about Bottoms Character, as in the dealings of love, as well. The saying, love is blind, is addressed within his character. Bottom isn’t surprised by the idea of Titania’s being in love with him. Although, he does recognize the fact that her words of admiration are simply not true. For example, when she tells him that he is an angel or that his looks inspire confidence this is seen. He is aware that love and reason do not work well together, and chooses to blind himself to as why she would see him in such a light. This is a direct refection as to what the play is based upon. Is love real or is it fantasy. Do we choose what we see in our lovers? Our hearts choose to see what we want them to see, and that is real. Love is based on fantasy, and it is very difficult to let reason play a part when it comes to matters of the heart. Shakespeare was able to capture this idea throughout the play, and reinforce it with our dear character of Bottom. Titania is a beautiful fairy of the fantasy world, and is able to fall in love with a mere mortal such as he. There is also a tie between class distinctions in this story line. We also see a deepening of character in Bottom by the end of the play. Through the process of love, he somewhat becomes wiser. He knows that even if his time with Titania were not a dream, he could not express himself appropriately about his feelings. In the beginning of the play, he would have jumped around with great pride, and spilled out words of no value in trying to express himself. He wouldn’t have taken the time to realize the enormit...