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Clown, actor, weaver, even romantic hero--Bottom is a complex character. He\'s able to attract sympathy in the midst of his absurd buffoonery and to elicit concern even though he exhibits some obnoxious qualities. This mix of characteristics has made readers feel many contradictory things about him. Some say he is a boor, that he treats his fellow players with a lack of respect; others note his large ego and need for being in the spotlight. Still other readers find him a perfect clown and take his posturing as harmless joking. He may, of course, reflect all these things. What is your analysis of Bottom?
He is certainly filled with energy; it seems to stream out of him sometimes in ways that he can\'t stop. He never uses one word when two will do; in the same way, he\'d rather not play just one part when he could play them all. Bottom is a ham. He\'s also a bad actor. The two qualities together make him inevitably funny to us. His enthusiasm trips him up again and again. He is enamored of words. If he misuses or mispronounces them he doesn\'t notice--though we do. He thinks he knows more than he does know, and it can make him seem arrogant, just as his overabundant energy can make him seem like a bully. But the testimony of his fellow workers makes it clear that they take it all in stride; in fact, they adore him. They seem to appreciate his energy and his acting ability. They\'re even a little bit in awe of him. And his fondness for them is equally apparent. When he returns to them at last, they are his \"lads,\" his \"hearts.\" The affection these men share is real and touching, especially amid all the confused feelings of love in the rest of the play.
Though he\'s a bumbler, Bottom also seems to be possessed of a special grace. As a working-class tradesman unaccustomed to finery and delicate manners, his treatment of his fairy servants is a model of courtly behavior. He\'s not just kind; he\'s interested in them. He may look like an ass at first glance, but another look reveals something deeper.
Part of his special quality is indicated by the fact that he alone of the mortals actually becomes involved with the fairy world. That Bottom doesn\'t think Titania\'s love or dalliance with him is preposterous means he is open to the fairy power in a way no one else is. He may cut a ridiculous figure, wearing an ass\'s head, but what\'s interesting is that these strange little creatures don\'t look ridiculous to him and he\'s at ease with them as with other persons. When he wakes from his dream, he\'s unwilling to completely let go of his experience. He feels somehow a joke has been played on him, but he also senses something deeper at the heart of the joke. He tests it on his tongue, savors it, releases it, and calls it back. He\'s not attached to reason like Theseus, and he does have something of the artist in him. He\'s willing to absorb his magical experience like a vision and let it find its own meaning. He acts like a fool, but Shakespeare shows us he\'s not a fool.
Bottom is larger than life. He has a huge appetite. He\'d rather engage something than let it go by. He\'s unself-conscious about both his real abilities and his foibles. That gives him, in the truest sense, a sense of humility. And it\'s a peculiarity of human nature that humility is ennobling. Bottom\'s not such a joke, after all.
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