The short and long of it Why Should I Care

Why Should I Care?

The scene where Bottom's head is transformed into a donkey's is one of the funniest scenes in Shakespeare's plays. It might be because it's so ridiculous. Or it might be the fact that Bottom unwittingly makes an idiot of himself. Or even the fact that we know so much more than the characters do.

Whatever the case, Bottom's idiocy is almost endearingly innocent. It doesn't seem as though Shakespeare is being malicious by creating a working-class character that's also a bona fide twit. He's giving one the spotlight.

Bottom is an important character for opening some self-deprecating doors to wonder about the real art and artistry of the theater. He and his buddies can't seem to wrap their heads around how to perform a play.

But we don't think Bottom is just Shakespeare's comment on whether working-class folks can know and understand theater. Instead, he seems to be 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.

So why should you care about all that? Well, Bottom's whole character is like one massive in-joke waiting to happen. We, the audience, are in on it. And Shakespeare's audience definitely would have been in on it because they would have known Shakespeare was mocking the amateur theater groups of his day.

So next time you and your friend share an inside joke, remember how Shakespeare did it. And just like the Bard, we're betting you won't be telling anyone the long and the short of it.