“Puck: The Heart and Soul of A Midsummer Night's Dream” In the genre of melodrama, the atmosphere and the emotions of a story are romanticized and magical. Not only does it engage the audience emotionally, but it is also meant to be performed in a very exaggerated way. William Shakespeare incorporates this melodramatic style into his plays for a specific purpose. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare uses the playful character of Puck to reinforce the complexity of love and the idea that magic sometimes causes more harm than good. Although there is no definitive protagonist, Puck stands out as a character who drives the direction of the plot and gives movement to the actions that occur throughout the story. His character plays an extremely important role in the play, since the plot and atmosphere of the play seems to revolve around all his mischievous activities. Also, ironically known as Robin Goodfellow, Puck is described as a "wily and cunning sprite" (II.i.33). Her character reminds the audience that the world of magic and fairies does not always consist of good deeds and holy creatures. Additionally, his character always provides a twist to the plot for comic effect, admitting that "as is their jingle, I esteem a sport" (III.ii.353). Puck considers his pranks a game, not to be taken seriously. Without its light-hearted wit, it would just be a boring, happy ending, with no sign of conflict or humor. Shakespeare also emphasizes through Puck that human beings cannot control love because it is far too powerful and complicated. He does this by alluding to the mythical god of romance when he remarks: "Cupid is a rascally boy, therefore to drive poor women mad" (III.ii.4...... middle of paper... ...E's claim that through magic everything seems to be a dream Moreover, he places importance on the mysterious and unbridled realm of the magical and fantasy world The entire story is made up of conflicts, but it. eventually becomes a happy ending for all. Puck lifts the spell and each character falls in love with the right person. Works Cited DiYanni, Robert "Elements of Drama: Character." -272.Meyer, Michael. ." Bedford's Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. Boston: Bedford/St Martins, 2011. 1528. Shakespeare, William. . Qtd Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama By Robert DiYanni 6th ed., 2007. 1392-453.