Puck (Shakespeare) facts for kids
Puck is a famous character from the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. This play was written by the well-known writer William Shakespeare. In the story, Puck works for the Fairy King, Oberon.
Puck has some amazing powers. He can travel all around the world in just 40 minutes! But even with his great abilities, Puck sometimes causes trouble. He makes mistakes that confuse the other characters. For example, he accidentally puts a magic love potion into the wrong person's eyes. He also loves to play tricks, like turning one character's head into a donkey's head.
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Puck's History and Folklore
Puck was not a new character invented by Shakespeare. He came from old stories and beliefs, known as 'folklore'. People knew about a character called 'pouke' as early as the year 1000 AD. Back then, this character was seen as a scary and dangerous demon.
Over time, the idea of Puck changed. By the time of Geoffrey Chaucer, he was sometimes linked to the Biblical devil. By Shakespeare's time, he was known by names like Puck, Robin Goodfellow, and Hobgoblin. He was thought of as a goblin who loved to cause mischief.
Puck in English Country Life
During Shakespeare's time, Puck became a mix of old English folklore and everyday country life. Shakespeare wrote that Puck would sometimes scare village girls. He might also ruin butter or lead travelers the wrong way at night.
In a 1935 movie based on Shakespeare's play, the actor Mickey Rooney played the part of Puck.
Puck in Other Writings
Shakespeare used ideas about Puck from a book called The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584) by Reginald Scot. Scot described Puck in a way that showed he didn't approve of him. He also mentioned that people were starting to stop believing in such creatures. Scot's book even told a story about a man whose head was changed into a donkey's head, much like Puck does in the play.
Images for kids
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Puck by Carl Andersson (sculptor), a statue in Stockholm, Sweden.
See also
In Spanish: Puck (Shakespeare) para niños
