Yep, that's a case of dramatic irony, all right. We talk more about this in " Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory. Bottom's conversion is also key to the play's theme of transformation, a concept Shakespeare borrowed from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Of course, the joke's not just on Bottom—it's on Titania too because she's been charmed with Oberon's love juice and has a romantic relationship with an "ass. More importantly, Shakespeare is also making an allusion to another kind of sexual relationship that was considered completely inappropriate: a relationship between a commoner and a royal, which would have been viewed as "monstrous.
Literary critics have also pointed out that, even though his bond with Titania is primarily sexual in nature, it also resembles a mother-child relationship.
Pretty freaky, right? Still, this argument actually makes a lot of sense. Under the spell of the love potion, Titania spends all her time doting on Bottom and lavishing him with her affection. In this way, Bottom becomes a kind of replacement for Titania's foster child, the little "changeling" boy Oberon has taken from her. Yeah, we know. Read our analysis of the " Changeling " for more info about mother-child bonds.
Bottom is the most uproarious of the Mechanicals, ever eager to offer his advice and direction—whether it's wanted or not. In many of Shakespeare's plays, there's a fellow who seems to be a fool, but actually makes brilliant and insightful points that others can't. OK, fine. He does have one perceptive comment about love and reason, but we think he makes up for it with his overwhelming silliness.
Bottom unwittingly makes an idiot of himself, expressing confidence about the wrong things and being ever-willing to explain to others as if they were the ones out of the loop. Still, Bottom's idiocy is almost endearingly innocent. It doesn't seem as though Shakespeare is being malicious by creating a working-class character who's also a bona fide twit.
Instead, Bottom is an important character for opening some self-deprecating doors to wonder about the real art and artistry of the theater. Bottom is not so much Shakespeare's comment on whether working-class folks can know and understand theater, but actually, he's Shakespeare's gentle jibe at a lot of the amateur and country acting groups that were on the English theater scene.
Some of the most ridiculous lines from Pyramus and Thisbe even come close to lines being performed in simple country versions and children's plays of the day. Bottom is the only character who mingles freely and openly among the humans and the fairies, at least on stage anyway.
Puck moves in and out of both worlds, too, but his pranks on the human characters are done in secret. In fact, Bottom cavorts with the fairies like it's no big deal and never really worries about the fact that Titania's love for him is completely inappropriate. At one point, he admits that it doesn't make sense for Titania to love him but then he basically shrugs and says "reason and love keep little company" 3.
In the same grove, the sleeping Titania wakes. When she sees Bottom, the flower juice on her eyelids works its magic, and she falls deeply and instantly in love with the ass-headed weaver. She insists that he remain with her, embraces him, and appoints a group of fairies—Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, and Mustardseed—to see to his every wish.
Bottom takes these events in stride, having no notion that his head has been replaced with that of an ass. He comments that his friends have acted like asses in leaving him, and he introduces himself to the fairies. Titania looks on him with undisguised love as he follows her to her forest bower.
As Act III is the first act in which all three groups appear, the fantastic contrasts between them are at their most visible. Their proposal to let the audience know that it is night by having a character play the role of Moonshine exemplifies their straightforward, literal manner of thinking and their lack of regard for subtlety.
In their earthy and practical natures, the craftsmen stand in stark contrast to the airy and impish fairies. It throws love increasingly out of balance and brings the farce into its most frenzied state. Obviously, the delicate fairy queen is dramatically unsuited to the clumsy, monstrous craftsman. Shakespeare develops this romance with fantastic aplomb and heightens the comedy of the incongruity by making Bottom fully unaware of his transformed state. Rather, Bottom is so self-confident that he finds it fairly unremarkable that the beautiful fairy queen should wish desperately to become his lover.
Further, his ironic reference to his colleagues as asses and his hunger for hay emphasize the ridiculousness of his lofty self-estimation.
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