William Shakespeare begins with a seemingly unsolvable conflict in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The main characters are lovers who are unrequited in their love or tormented by the love of another. These lovers are inevitably paired. How does Shakespeare make this happen? It creates many subplots that, before long, all get tangled up in a chaotic knot. So, what actions does Shakespeare take to resolve these new dilemmas? He ends up entrusting his comedy to a single key entity. It is only then that he introduces a special character into his world: a mischievous fairy known by the name of Puck. Puck is the catalyst for all these subplots and, indeed, Shakespeare's entire A Midsummer Night's Dream. Try taking Puck out of the game. Is there still a chance the show will survive? No, without the character of Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream would be very different from the play as it is today. The progression of A Midsummer Night's Dream depends on Puck in many ways. Going backwards, there are two major instances throughout the play that would be forever changed with the loss of Puck. What if Puck was only there at the beginning of the show? Half the comic quality of the play would disappear without Puck's farcical reaction to Bottom. Because who but Puck would see Bottom and hate his attitude enough to give him a donkey's head? Removing this disfigurement would also make King Oberon feel less sympathetic towards his Titania when she falls in love with a mere mortal, rather than the monster. While this would have cost the play its comedic tone, there is a matter of even greater importance. Where would the show go without Puck? King Oberon, in a power struggle with his character... in the center of the card. Therefore, Puck is the most important character for the development of the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The significance of this character has kept him alive for approximately 400 years. More recently, the character was revived in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. Some say that the character of Dobby, the house elf, is reminiscent of the Puck legends on which Shakespeare based his Puck (Wright). However, there is one character who echoes Puck more than Dobby. That character is Hogwarts' resident poltergeist: Peeves. He resembles Puck not only in personality, but also in situation. Both play harmless pranks on unsuspecting individuals within their respective domains. They also both have an authority figure who has a strong influence on them. Clearly, Rowling was paying homage to Shakespeare when developing Pix.