SOURCE: Morén, Urban. “‘Antique Fable’ Epitomized by Puck.” English Language Notes 38, no. 1 (September 2000): 16-40.

In the following essay, Morén contends that Puck is a representative of sexuality in A Midsummer Night's Dream and examines the distinctive meanings of the word “Puck” in the text of the play in order to support this claim.

The application of a “digressive” approach to A Midsummer Night's Dream¹ has made it possible to unearth Shakespeare's standpoint in one of the play's central issues. Thus several cruces, notably, “‘Puck's name’ … bear no barm … ‘tailor’ cries … cough … loffe,” are given plausible solutions, and, as a consequence, one of Puck's enigmatic passages unravels as a comment on the “imagination vs. reason” theme. In this semantic examination a few outings in other parts of “Shakespeareshire,” as well as extra-disciplinary dittos, have been necessary. These side-tracks encompass areas as diverse as: magical milk-theft as portrayed...