No Fear Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act 5, Scene 1, Page 18 A Midsummer Night’s Dream Never mole, harelip, nor scar, Nor mark prodigious, such as are Despisèd in nativity, Shall upon their children be. With this field dew consecrate, Every fairy take his gait. And each several chamber bless Through this palace with sweet peace. And the owner of it blessed Ever shall in safety rest. Trip away. Make no stay. Meet me all by break of day. They won’t have moles, or harelips, or scars, or abnormal markings, or anything else that might alarm someone if their baby was born with it. Use this blessed dew from the fields to bless each room in the palace with sweet peace. And the blessed owner will always be safe. Run along. Don’t stay long. Meet me at dawn. Exeunt all but ROBIN They all exit except for ROBIN. ROBIN If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended— That you have but slumbered here While these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon, we will mend. And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearnèd luck Now to ’scape the serpent’s tongue, We will make amends ere long. Else the Puck a liar call. So good night unto you all. Give me your hands if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends. ROBIN If we actors have offended you, just think of it this way and everything will be all right—you were asleep when you saw these visions, and this silly and pathetic story was no more real than a dream. Ladies and gentlemen, don’t get upset with me. If you forgive us, we’ll make everything all right. I’m an honest Puck, and I swear that if we’re lucky enough not to get hissed at, we’ll make it up to you soon. If not, then I’m a liar. So good night to everyone. Give me some applause, if we’re friends, and Robin will make everything up to you.

Exit A Midsummer Night's Dream - 1935 (End Scene) - YouTube A Midsummer Night's Dream - 1935 (End Scene) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Nov 29, 2010 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1935 End Scene Oberon & Titania, with all their Train. Puck "If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have slumb'red here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend. If you pardon, we will mend. And, as I am honestPuck, If we have unearned luck Now to scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call. So, good night unto you all.

Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends." No copyright intended If we shadows have offended… | Ms. Quinson's 9H English, 2012-2013 Ms. Quinson's 9H English, 2012-2013 a place for students to express themselves and exchange ideas Search If we shadows have offended… Posted on If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend: if you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends. First, paraphrase Puck’s final speech. Second, analyze: So! Now! Who is really dreaming? What is Shakespeare saying about theater, reality, magic, dreaming….

Make sure you include many text-based details and that you respond to at least one other comment in this thread. This entry was posted in A Midsummer Night's Dream by equinson . Bookmark the permalink . 53 thoughts on “If we shadows have offended…” th3Wiggl3r on February 16, 2013 at 5:06 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, he is speaking to the audience. Throughout his speech, he is telling the audience that they were asleep and that if they did not understand and of the visions that came to them, he could make amends. At the end he says “Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends.”. After this , I imagine that he would use magic to make the audience understand what they missed. This speech completely changes my whole view of the play. Shakespeare makes it seem like the whole play was just a dream, and that the “dreams” the lovers had were just……. dreams within a dream. This also makes me think that Shakespeare thinks theater to be magical because his play was like a dream.

February 16, 2013 at 11:54 pm said: Great job – A Midsummer Night’s Dream contains plays within a play, as well as dreams within a dream. February 16, 2013 at 6:53 pm said: In his speech, Puck makes contrasts between dream and reality. He apologize for his performance that could have been an offence to the audiences. But he accounts that it was the audiences’ dream, not a real life incident. Puck also says that he will make amends but if not improved, he would deserve to be called a liar. Moreover, Puck is stating that the audiences have been dreaming. Through this speech, Shakespeare must be conveying the fact that dream can look like reality and confuse you, but they are two different things. Even if the dream may imply the reality, they cannot show the story behind reality. This contrast seems to be true, considering Hermia’s dream few scenes ago. Hermia dreamed of a serpent eating her while Lysander was smiling. In reality, Lysander left her due to the flower power mistakenly put on Lysander’s eyne by Puck.

In a sense, Hermia’s dream did tell her about Lysander abandoning her, but the dream did not inform her why Lysander did so. This shows how dream can easily be seen as reality but in the actual reality, dream does not picture the story before. Similarly, the dream experienced by the audiences would have been equally magical and complex. Seeing how different reality and dream are, this play reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. In the beginning, the main character falls into a whole and starts her strange adventure. But in reality, the whole thing was a dream. February 16, 2013 at 11:53 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, he addresses the audience that viewed the production of Pyramus and Thisbe. He apologizes to the audience for the unprofessional, terrible play, but assures them that he will make amends. In an effort to help the audience forget about the terrible production, he tells them that they can choose to believe that it was all a dream. I think Shakespeare is telling the reader that theatre is almost magical – it is an escape from reality, almost a parallel universe.

I think he also expresses that plays remain up to interpretation – that you can choose to accept the production, or think of it in some other fashion. This ending was great for this play – it’s a lovely end to Pyramus and Thisbe, yet an appropriate, summarizing conclusion for A Midsummer Night’s Dream itself. February 17, 2013 at 8:29 pm said: In Puck’s final soliloquy, he is speaking to the audience of the play of Pyramus and Thisbe. When he said “Think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumber’d here”, he tells the audience that if the play was THAT terrible to them, then to consider it a dream. Puck also tells the audience “not to reprehend” or to criticize, and says if they forgive Puck and the actors, “We will mend” (or make it up to you). He says he is honest, and if he does nothing in return, he may be called a liar.

He then tells the audience good night, and that he will soon “make amends”, meaning that he will keep his promise about giving the audience something in return for their kindness during the play. This ending is perfect for Midsummer Night’s Dream, since an important theme of this play is reality and dreams. Puck’s final speech is kind of mysterious, and he tells the whole audience to think of this as a dream. This summarizes the whole play, when he says to consider this a dream if it was so terrible. Many terrible events happened throughout this play. Hermia lost her lover, Lysander, to Helena. Helena was embarrassed and felt like she was being mocked. Lysander AND Demetrius were rejected by Helena because she thought they were mocking him. Titania was in love with an ass. However, they all believed that these strange events were dreams.

When Puck tells the audience to DREAM that this play was so terrible, it sums up the whole play, because that is what happened to most of the characters throughout this play: They believed that the crazy and terrible events in reality were dreams February 17, 2013 at 8:52 pm said: In Puck’s final speech he is breaking the fourth wall, he is talking to the audience. He apologizes to the audience, in case the actors offended them. He tells them that they should just think of it as nothing more than a dream. If the audience forgives them then they will make everything better. He then says that he is honest and if they are lucky enough not to get booed at, they will fix everything. Otherwise we can all call him a liar. Then he says goodnight to the audience and asks them to applaud, if they are friends. And he will fix everything. I think Shakespeare was trying to send a message or actually many messages with his play. One of them being that it is always hard to tell the difference between a dream and reality. Have you ever had dreams that seem like real life. Maybe in a parallel universe our dreams are our realities and our realities are our dreams.

Or even maybe right now… our reality is nothing more than a dream. February 18, 2013 at 7:47 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, he is speaking to the audience and is in a way, putting the play into a whole new perspective. I believe that he is talking about the play of Pyramus and Thisbe as well as the entire play itself and that if the audience (in Midsummer Night’s Dream and the one in real life) thought the play was not very good, this problem could be solved if one would think of their whole experience as a ‘bad’ dream. He says that he can ‘amend’ this or help everyone do this by using his fairy powers to make it all seem like a dream. I also believe that this message applies to the entire play as well. The four lovers, Demetrius, Helena, Hermia, and Lysander, could also think of their bad experiences in the woods as a dream. After all, following the reversal of the love juice (with the fairies’ help), they all thought (including Titania and Bottom) that what they had just endured was just a dream.

I think Shakespeare was expressing his opinion about theater in the soliloquy of Robin Goodfellow. He believes that theater is very ‘magical’. In addition, the fact that most of what is performed in a play is fiction, this gives the experience of the audience a ‘dream-like’ feel. February 18, 2013 at 9:40 pm said: In this famous speech, Puck leaves the audience with a very important point. In this soliloquy, Puck makes two main points. First he says, “If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber’d here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream.” Here, he tells the audience that if the play has been confusing, offensive, or bad, that they had fallen asleep during the play and that the play was the audience member’s dream. Then, by “Gentles, do not reprehend: if you pardon, we will mend,” he is saying that if you are still unhappy, he can fix it.

The next part of his speech, “And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck,” means that if you stayed and not enjoyed the play, he will make it up to you because he is true to his word. The end states: ”Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends.” This is basically just summing it up and saying that if the play did not please you, he will make it up to you in some way and make everything as good as new. If my interpretation is correct, this means that there was really no dreaming going on. The four lovers and Bottom thought they were dreaming, and Puck tells the audience that if they didn’t like the story, they were probably just dreaming, but as far as I know, no one actually dreamed in this play. Shakespeare may be using this to say that theater can seem like a dream and make dreams come alive, almost like an escape from reality.

February 18, 2013 at 10:03 pm said: Puck’s final speech is directed at the audience. He tells the audience that if they felt offended by this play in any way, that they may choose to believe that this entire play was all a dream. Through Puck’s speech, Shakespeare conveys to us that the theatre is a magical place; For a couple of hours, you get to leave whatever worries or problems you have behind and enter another world, which may contain ideas so crazy you might want to believe that the entire experience was just a dream. This speech was an interesting way to end the play, as it leaves the audience wondering about the true nature of dreams. Are dreams just silly little ideas in our minds, or are they something more? Are our dreams a part of our reality? Could our entire existence be just one huge dream? February 19, 2013 at 6:58 pm said: In this final speech of the play, Puck speaks directly to the audience breaking the fourth wall of play.

In this speech Puck discusses, I believe, about both the plays “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” as well as the play of Pyramus and Thisbe. He starts of his speech by apologizing to the audience of “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” if anyone did not enjoy the play and that their dissatisfaction could be resolved by believing the play was no more than a bad dream. Puck goes on to say that he could help or amend everyone’s “bad” dream by using his powers to make everybody feel as if the play was just a dream. This can apply to how the lovers’ bad experiences in the play. They can be thought of just as just dream. Shakespeare probably believes that theater is a magical thing and that theater can be like an escape to a dream-like world February 19, 2013 at 8:58 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, which ends the play, he is speaking directly to the audience. This breaks a major rule in the theater, because you are never supposed to acknowledge the audience.

He says that if the audience thinks that the play was so bad that they’re offended by it, then they can just imagine that it was all just a terrible dream and it’s all fixed. In this he is apologizing for the play of Pyramus and Thisbe but also for A Midsummer Night’s Dream if the audience thought that it was that bad. Through Puck’s suggestion on how to make it better if the play was bad, I think that Shakespeare is trying to suggest that the theater is magical, and that anything can happen. I also think that he is saying that dreams and reality might be similar. If you can just imagine that something is a dream to try to forget about it, then could most of your dreams actually be reality? And if these fairies from the play do exist, then how much of reality is real or is it all just a dream? I think that PUck’s speech was a perfect ending for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and that it really gives the audience food for thought after the play. February 20, 2013 at 4:14 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, he speaks directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall.

I interpret his speech to be both about A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pyramus and Thisbe. He says that if the play offended anyone, everything will be better if they believe it was all a dream. He then continues to say that if we are not satisfied with is amends, then he is a liar. Through Puck’s speech, Shakespeare is trying to convey that theater is almost an escape from reality. He is trying to show that theater is closer to a dream than reality, which makes sense. You can let go of real life for a bit, and just watch the play. Puck’s speech was definitely a perfect way to end A Midsummer Night’s Dream. February 20, 2013 at 6:46 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, breaking the fourth wall, he speaks directly to the audience. This is his speech paraphrased: If we actors have offended you, Think of it this way and everything will be all right You were asleep When you saw these visions, And this silly and pathetic story No more real than a dream. Ladies and gentlemen, don’t get criticize me. If you forgive us, we’ll make everything all right.

And I’m an honest Puck, If we’re lucky enough not to get hissed at, we’ll make it up to you soon. If not, then call me a liar. So good night to everyone. Give me some applause, if we’re friends, And Robin will make everything up to you. Puck is saying that this whole story, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was a dream (who would have thought)! Shakespeare is trying to convey that plays and the theater are more of a dream than reality. Shakespeare is also trying to make us question whether we are in reality or just in a dream. Well that’s a interesting thought isn’t? Is this reality? Maybe we are dreaming……. if so what happens when we die? Wait, so does that mean when we dream, it’s a dream inside a dream? *mind-blown* February 20, 2013 at 11:03 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, he is trying to say if he has offended you, then you should think that you were dreaming all of this while you were sleeping. This silly story was no more than a dream. He tells the ladies and gentlemen, not to get mad at him.

Pick says that he is and if he does not get hissed at, he will make it up to you. But, if he does not, then you can call him a liar. Puck then says good night to all and that Robin will make it up to you. Shakespeare is trying to say that this whole story was just a dream. Puck’s speech was a perfect ending to Midsummer Night’s Dream that left the reader thinking about the play. February 20, 2013 at 11:44 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, he speaks to the audience of Pyramus and Thisbe. He says that if the play was very bad, think of it as a dream. He also says not to criticize the actors, because if they forgive them, they will make it up to them. Puck says he is honest, and if he is not, he can be called a liar. He bids good night to the audience, saying he will keep his promise. The ending for a Midsummer Night’s Dream does not stray from the theme of the play, as reality and dreams are very close to each other.

Although many terrible love events occur between Hermia, Lysander, Helena, Demetrius, Oberon and Titania, everyone ends up happy in the end. February 21, 2013 at 4:18 pm said: Puck is addressing the audience in his final speech of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. He tells the audience that if they did not understand what was going on throughout the whole play he could make amends. Puck concludes his speech by saying “Give me your hands, if we be friends and Robin shall restore amends.” I believe that by this he is telling the audience that is they give their hands to him he can help them understand the whole play. This speech made me look at the play at a different angle, now I could see that Shakespeare wants us to think that the whole love part of this play was a dream and that true love only exists in dreams. February 21, 2013 at 11:07 pm said: Robin offers a way out for anyone who thought Pyramus and Thisbe and/or A Midsummer Night’s Dream was/were terrible: to imagine it all to be a hallucination, just a dream.

For what is a dream but imagined reality? He tells them to simply imagine this reality was imaginary, and perhaps it was. He also says that if the play had been merely a dream, the virtuous morals taught would be no more meaningful than an average dream. But does it matter where morality comes from, as long as it is virtuous? Is a trusted parent or teacher any wiser than a dream? There is a certain magical aspect to that idea, that illustrious fantasies in a play can be as wise as tangible reality. Magic and morality can be found in the strangest places. February 23, 2013 at 12:57 am said: At the end of the play, Robin steps out of character and speaks directly to the audience. He says that if they thought that the play was not great, he said to think of it as a dream, saying that they have been sleeping this whole time while these visions came as weak into their mind. He says not to reprehend them, as he will make it all right again. He says that they will join hands, and become friends as he guides him through it to make ends meet.

This gives the play a “magical” feel, implying that it could be made a dream if the viewer wanted it to. February 24, 2013 at 1:59 am said: Puck’s speech was basically telling the audience that if they found the play boring or offensive, that that’s okay because the play might be a dream. Puck is saying that he would fix it, and try to make amends. The play is asking if the play itself is a dream, and that the audience dreamt the whole thing up, and that if this is confusing, then the fairies will try their best to fix that. It tells that the play itself wasn’t that amazing, because of the crazy and terrible things that happened, and the Pyramus and Thisbe play wasn’t too great either. The speech is like Inception, but Shakespeare style. Is this the real life? Or is it just fantasy? It’s an unanswerable question. It’s implying that some things don’t seem to be what they appear on the outside. It’s also saying that theater might be an escape from reality. It all depends on your perspective.

February 24, 2013 at 9:09 pm said: Robin makes a very interesting point in his speech to the audience. He is essentially telling the audience that if the play or the actors offended them that it is okay because the entire thing was just a dream the whole time. Then Puck says that he will be honest and fix everything for the audience and that if they are truly friends that the audience will give him some applause. This speech repeats the theme that dreams go beyond just the play but it may even be reality, that we are dreaming our entire life! Very interesting to think about and this theme also ties into the fact that their are mythical creatures in the book. Do you believe in things like that or do you think that we truly have control over everything in our life? I think Shakespeare is trying to imply this question to his audience to make them inquire what reality truly is. February 24, 2013 at 10:11 pm said: Puck’s final speech begins by breaking the “fourth wall” by talking to the audience. He says he is sorry if the actors have offended them, but if they like, they can think of it only as a dream.

I think Shakespeare was trying to tell us that reality and fantasy can sometimes be confusing. I think this is true because most of the time when I’m dreaming I don’t know that I am. I like to think, after reading this play, that when I do have dreams (I usually don’t), they are alternate realities caused by fairies. I think that is funny, but I also think it’s kind of scary that I could be controlled so easily by such tiny creatures. February 24, 2013 at 10:59 pm said: The last lines of the play are not spoken to someone in the play, but to the audience of it. Puck says that if they did not enjoy the play, then think of the play as a dream. If they did not find the play to be satisfactory, then they were asleep the whole time, and what they saw were visions in a dream. Puck says that they should not reprehend, and he will fix their problems. He says that he can fix their problems by holding hands and becoming friends. This play is all about dreams. First, what happened to Bottom and the lovers could have been a dream.

Now, Puck is implying the whole play could be a dream. I think Shakespeare wanted to the play to be like a dream. February 24, 2013 at 11:49 pm said: Puck (also known as Robin Goodfellow) said his final speech in Act V as a conclusion to the play. In his speech he was addressing the audience. He starts off by first apologizing if the actors have offended you. If you thought it was bad just think of it as a dream. Just pretend that you were asleep when you saw these visions and it was no more than a dream. Please don’t disapprove or criticize because if you forgive us we will fix it. I am honest and if we were lucky enough to “scape the serpent’s tongue” we will fix it and make it up to you. If not, you may call me (Puck) a liar. Good night! If we are friends, you should clap and don’t worry I’ll fix everything. From this we see that the audience could have been dreaming the whole time. Shakespeare is trying to tell us that the theater is magical.

This reminds me of Disney World and how they say “Where dreams come true” and “Where the magic happens.” Through this speech and this play, Shakespeare is saying that about theater. February 25, 2013 at 12:37 am said: In Puck’s final speech, he speaks to the audience about the play. He begins by apologizing to the audience by saying “If we shadows (meaning fairies) have offended”. This shows how respectful Puck is to the audience. If the audience didn’t get any portion of the show or the visions didn’t come to them he will “make amends”. That last line concludes the play. This final speech really changed my view of the play because Shakespeare explains how this is all just a dream. If this whole thing is a dream and the audience is dreaming then the dreams within the play were just dreams within dreams which is confusing. Shakespeare wrote this play so that it seems magical. I think this portrays how Shakespeare thinks of theater. February 25, 2013 at 2:12 am said: In Pucks final speech he is addressing the audience who just watched the final performance of Pyramus and Thisbe.

Puck states that the play was horrible and that he was truly sorry. He tells the audience in a calm tone that although it was a bad performance you should think of it as being only just a dream. Puck tells the audience that they were asleep this whole time! This speech is very important in terms of the play Shakespeare is saying that Theater is magical and takes you to other places. Theater is almost like a big dream so it didn’t matter if the audience was all asleep, they saw it. I wonder if this is exactly what Shakespeare was trying to do with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Maybe the whole time this was only just a dream conducted by Puck. Well, at least while reading this play I felt like I was somewhere different and magical. Dreams must not be too far away from the real world. February 25, 2013 at 3:29 am said: In Puck’s final, famous speech, he concludes the play almost by speaking to the audience directly..even though he is a character in the play. He is basically saying that if the play was offensive, boring, or generally bad, then he and the other fairies will “make amends”, or make it up to us.

He throws in a bit of humor when he says that if you thought the play was bad, you can just pretend that you were asleep and having a dream. This is slightly ironic, because the play is about a dream, or at least the title implies this. I think that Shakespeare wanted the play to be comparable to a dream. February 25, 2013 at 3:51 am said: In Puck’s final speech he is speaking to the audience of Pyramus and Thisbe. He is also speaking to the audience of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Puck apologises to the audience of Pyramus and Thisbe for such a horrible play, but he promises to make amends. He then tells the audience that if they wish not to accept the play, the can imagine that it was all just a dream. I find this ending to be fascinating. It leaves us questioning dreams and reality and how are they actually different? I think Shakespeare is also stating that theater is almost magical, just like many dreams are. This speech was a very clever way to end the play, in my opinion.

February 25, 2013 at 4:06 am said: In Puck’s final speech, he is speaking to the audience during the play of Pyramus and Thisbe, breaking the “fourth wall”. He says that if they feel offended after watching the play,because it was bad, not to worry, because it could all just be a dream. The whole play, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, could have been a dream. Therefore, it was just a big dream, one inside another. This is a magical and mysterious concept. I think this tells us a lot about Shakespeare’s views on theater and dreams in comparison to reality. February 25, 2013 at 1:23 pm said: In Puck’s final speech, he is talking to the small audience of Pyramus and Thisbe, which breaks the “fourth wall”. He also apologizes in case they have been offended by the play because it was so bad. He also says that the play could have been just a dream, which leads us to think that maybe the whole entire play was just a dream inside a dream. This is a very interesting concept that adds to the play.

I now believe that Shakespeare believes that theatre and plays should be very magical and a step away from reality. This was a very good way to end the play. February 25, 2013 at 5:01 pm said: In Puck’s soliloquy he comes out and speaks to the crowd. He apologizes to the crowd for the truly awful play and tells them to believe that the whole thing was a dream. When he made this point he made me think of the possibility of the whole entire play ( A Midsummer’s Nights Dream) to be just that, a dream. Through this soliloquy Shakespeare is trying to say that theater is and escape from reality. It allows us to leave all our troubles behind and into a new world. A dream. February 28, 2013 at 12:25 am said: Puck’s final speech breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the audience. I think he is referring to both the entire play and the play of Pyramus and Thisbe.

I think he is saying that both the audience he is speaking to and the audience for the Pyramus and Thisbe play, did not like the play that they should think it a “bad dream” and try to forget it He then says that he can make things better by using his fairy magic to make it seem like a dream. This soliloquy applies to the play was a whole as well. The four lovers, Helena, Hermia, Demetrius, and Lysander, also probably wish to have their bad experiences in the play seem like dreams. Shakespeare is trying to say that the theater is a way to get away from reality and just enjoy yourself. He is trying to say that the theater is more a fantasy dreamland than a bunch of actors on a stage putting on a show for you. Puck’s speech was a great ending to the play and left me thinking about the content of the play as opposed to the plot only. March 4, 2013 at 12:34 pm said: Puck’s little speech shatters the fourth wall, something that is usually avoided. Puck directs his speech ti the audience, asking rhetorical, deep thinking questions.

I believe that Puck is not only talking to the audience for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but also talking to his audience for Pyramus and Thisbe. He apologizes for the awful play and tells the audience to just believe that it was a dream. This brings up the thought that maybe the entire play was meant to be a dream. This can be used as an excuse for the silliness of some of the events in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The whole speech makes me question the play’s events as well as the plot. Puck's speech from A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) - Quotes - IMDb A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) Showing all 17 items [Last lines] Puck : If we shadows have offended, / Think but this, and all is mended, / That you have but slumber'd here / While these visions did appear. / And this weak and idle theme, / No more yielding but a dream, / Gentles, do not reprehend: / If you pardon we will mend. / Else the Puck a liar call.

/ Give me your hands, if we be friends, / And Robin shall restore amends. Share this: Facebook | Twitter | Permalink Hide options Theseus : The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve: Lovers, to bed; 'tis almost fairy time. Oberon : Now, until the break of day / Through this house each fairy stray. / To the best bride-bed will we, / Which by us shall blessed be; / So shall all the couples three / Ever true in loving be; / And the owner of it blest / Ever shall in safety rest. / Trip awa; make no stay; / Meet me all by break of day. Share this: Facebook | Twitter | Permalink Hide options Helena : I am your spaniel. And Demetrius, the more you beat me, I will fawn on you. Use me - but as your spaniel. Spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me, but give me leave, unworthy as I am, to follow you. Share this: Facebook | Twitter | Permalink Hide options Tom Snout : [Puck has turned Bottom into a donkey] Bottom, thou art changed. What do I see on thee?

Bottom the Weaver : What do you see? What; do you see an ass' head of your own, do you? Peter Quince : [backing away] Bless me. Thou art translated. [all run off, leaving Bottom alone on the stage] Bottom the Weaver : Why do they run away? I see their knavery. This is to make an ass of me. Puck Monologue If we shadows have offended If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend: if you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends. Explaining If we Shadows Have Offended.

Robin Goodfellow or Puck as he is known in A Midsummer Nights Dream is a mischievous fairy who through his pranks and screwups causes romantic chaos for two young couples lost in the woods outside of Athens one magical night. Because the play is a comedy, when the morning sun heralds a new day, everything ends happily and order is restored Puck ends A Midsummer Nights Dream with this monologue. While the nobility in Shakespeare's plays speak in Iambic Pentameter or in 5 beats a line-One weak followed by one strong beat, which mimics the sound of a heartbeat. Da-dum, Da-dum, Da-dum, Da-dum, Da-dum. Trochaic Tetrameter is the meter of the fairies of which Puck is one. That meter has the opposite beat. The first syllable. the third the fifth and seventh are stressed in a seven syllable line. In Puck's monologue the first two lines and the last two are uniquely eight syllables meaning the last syllablle is soft. Puck has dropped out of character at the end of the play. He is no longer the character; Puck, but the actor playing Puck.

He opens the monologue with if we shadows Actors were often termed shadows because they were considered copies or shadows of real men and women. Shadows were also the creatures you would encounter in dreams and the magical spirits that so often populated Shakespear's more fantastical plays. If we shadows have offended means that if we actors have offended you the audience with their poor performance. At the same time he is also saying that if we spirits have offended you, Think but this and all is mended, that you have but slumbered here, While these visions did appear This means that if you think that you were just sleeping and had a dream and the play wasn't even real, then the actors need not apologixe for their poor performance. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Puck is saying, as the actor, that this slight fanciful play was no more substantial than a dream. Gentles, do not reprehend: if you pardon, we will mend: Puck wants the audience not to criticize the actors but forgive them and they will make it better next time.

And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; Puck is saying that as he is an honest actor, if they have managed to escape the hissing and booing from the audience the actors promise to make it up to the audience and improve their show for next time. If they don't then Puck is a liar. So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends. At the end of the monologue Puck is saying Good night to the audience and if they liked the show he is asking them to clap and again he repeats that they will strive to improve the next performance For more information about Bottle Tree Productions including contact info, privacy info, plays and production info please go to Bottle Tree Productions Home Page

Question: What play ends "So give me your hands if we be friends and Robin shall restore amends"?
Answer: A Midsummer Night's Dream