Playing Puck

By Scott Williams

A dark retelling from a character out of Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream," "Playing Puck" is just that - playing with the character of Robin Goodfellow, known also as Puck, servant fairy to the fairy king Oberon.

Originally written as a bumbling fairy, the Puck we meet in this retelling is intentional in his mistakes. For as Puck creates hostility between the characters of this story, nature itself is damaged or destroyed.

Eventually, of course, Puck must be left to sweep up the pieces of his own existence as well, an existence mandated and controlled by something that is the very essence of evil itself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scott Williams
• Release date: Apr 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476402062

Scott Williams

Scott lives in Martinez, California, with his wife and two children. He serves as an Associate Pastor of a local church. Writing, reading, traveling, serving, remodeling, and lots of interests keep him always active and engaged in life!

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Preface

A word about the following writing may be useful. In the spring of 2002 I was attending an English course on Shakespeare at my local Junior College, Diablo Valley Junior College (DVC). During the course of this course (of course), our instructor gave us an assignment that proved to be entirely fascinating.

We were to take a character out of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and completely re-write them. By that was meant we were to completely change the character’s personality. Add all the lines and scenes we wanted while retaining every single line our character originally spoke as well, and make the whole thing believable. Needless to say, it turned quickly from a horrifying assignment to one of the most fascinating English pieces I’ve worked on.

To me, the obvious choice of character to work on was Puck, but I worried most every student would make this so obvious choice of character. So I knew from the outset I’d need to write something a little extreme if it was to get its deserved notice.

What struck me about Puck was that he was this quirky little bumbling fairy creature, who went about constantly making a mess of anything he put his hand (or claw, in my rendition) to. Often, these bumbling efforts of Puck’s would irritate King Oberon and Oberon’s queen, and this would cause some little damaging effect on nature, the very forest these characters lived in.

Add my strong sense of Christian faith, with a slight sprinkling of Paradise Lost, and I had it – Puck would be sent by Satan himself to purposely annoy Oberon and the rest, which would cause some disruption in the world itself. Something Satan’s always interested in! And so it