Question

What is the meaning of Puck's speech at the end of "Midsummer Night's Dream”?

Answer 1

Hint: Puck's speech is taken from the end of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which a character cracks the "fourth wall" and talks openly to the viewer much as in the "parabasis" of ancient Greek Old Comedy.


Complete answer:
In his speech, Puck apologizes to the crowd and requests applause.Puck's soliloquy asks the viewer for forgiveness if the play insulted or harmed them by referring to the fictitious incidents and characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream as shadows, as well as relating the play itself to nothing more than a dream; it was all unreal and innocent.

Since Puck is the mischievous character who began the chaos in the first place, he points out that the crowd has already added to the confusion by turning up and "slumbered here." He needs to confirm that the crowd liked the play and apologizes if it annoyed anyone because it's just a "idle theme" and entertainment, as previously said.

One thing to bear in mind about this soliloquy is that it hits on a big theme in the play: dreams vs. reality.
The lovers debate whether what happened to them was a fantasy or true in Act V scene 1, and Puck repeats those thoughts to conclude the play on a playful note. It's much easier to say it was just a fantasy if we're offended by what happened.

Note: Puck the fairy makes both of the boys fall in love with the same girl after four Athenians flee to the trees. The four chase each other through the trees, while Puck assists his master in a trick on the fairy queen. Puck eventually undoes the spell, and the two couples reconnect and wed.