The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the play "No Fear Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. Specifically it will discuss Bottom's role in the play, and critics' views of this role. It will also look at why this lighthearted comedy is so appealing to readers even today. Bottom's character is amusing and a bit sad, but the basis for his character with the head of an ass goes far back into medieval myth and legend. Bottom is based on a long tradition of mockery and criticism of the Catholic Church and Shakespeare uses the character quite effectively to show the authoritarian role of the Church in Elizabethan times. However, there are many other critical interpretations of his character. Some call Bottom Shakespeare's best comedic character, and whatever his meaning, he certainly makes the audience sit up, take notice, and chuckle.

             Throughout the play, the character of Bottom just seems to stand out. There are many theories about what his character represents, including Shakespeare taking quite a critical look at the Catholic Church in Elizabethan England. One famous Shakespeare critic, Harold Bloom, notes, "[T]the symbolism of the carnival ass and sacred drolerie survived from the Middle Ages until Elizabethan times. At the beginning of Elizabeth's reign donkeys dressed up as bishops or dogs with Hosts in their teeth would appear in court masques. [.] these animal disguises were a mockery of Catholic liturgy" (Bloom 73). Thus, when Puck places the head of an ass on Bottom, and fairy queen Titania falls in love with him, Shakespeare is essentially poking fun at the Church. When Titania wakes up and discovers she has been wooed by as ass, her reaction is immediate. She cries, "How did this happen? Oh, I hate looking at his face now" (IV i. 77-78), and Bottom utterly agrees with her. Thus, Titania has "woken up" to the ridiculous and costly excesses and extravagances of the Church.