Peter Quince
Encyclopedia
In William Shakespeare
's A Midsummer Night's Dream
, Peter Quince is a carpenter who works in ancient Athens
. He is one of the six craftsmen (the mechanicals
) that put on a play for Theseus
and Hippolyta
at their wedding. Quince is the author and director of their play, The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe
.
Oberon's Fairies also watch from the distance: Hawthorn, Cowslip, Fleece and Speck.
Peter Quince meets Nick Bottom
the weaver, Francis Flute
the bellows
-mender, Tom Snout
the tinker
, Starveling
the tailor
, and Snug the joiner
in the woods to rehearse the play. In the rehearsals he is seen in a managerial role even though he struggles to assert himself over the more charismatic Nick Bottom. When Bottom reappears as himself after his temporary acquisition of an ass's head, Quince promises to write a ballad about Bottom's "dream" of his transformation
His name is derived from “quines” or “quoins
”, which are wooden wedges used by carpenters.
s of the pre-Elizabethan era, which were also produced by craftspeople. His metrical preferences refer to vernacular ballads. Despite Quince's obvious shortcomings as a writer, Stanley Wells
argues that he partly resembles Shakespeare himself. Both are from a craftsmanly background, both work quickly and both take secondary roles in their own plays. Robert Leach makes the same point.
In the play, he recites the prologue, but struggles to fit his lines into the meter and to make them rhyme. The Nobles interject to point out his errors. Bottom also uses words incorrectly and is corrected.
of A Midsummer Night's Dream, he is portrayed by Roger Rees
as a strong character extremely capable of being a director. It is he who leads the search party looking for Nick Bottom
in the middle of the play.
poem, "Peter Quince at the Clavier
", which is written in the first person as if spoken by Quince.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, Peter Quince is a carpenter who works in ancient Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. He is one of the six craftsmen (the mechanicals
Mechanical (character)
A mechanical is any of six characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream who perform the play-within-a-play Pyramus and Thisbe. Named for their occupations as skilled manual laborers, they are a group of Amateur actors from around Athens, looking to make names for themselves by having their production...
) that put on a play for Theseus
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
and Hippolyta
Hippolyta
In Greek mythology, Hippolyta or Hippolyte is the Amazonian queen who possessed a magical girdle she was given by her father Ares, the god of war. The girdle was a waist belt that signified her authority as queen of the Amazons....
at their wedding. Quince is the author and director of their play, The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe
Pyramus and Thisbe
Pyramus and Thisbe are two characters of Roman mythology, whose love story of ill-fated lovers is also a sentimental romance.The tale is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses.-Plot:...
.
Oberon's Fairies also watch from the distance: Hawthorn, Cowslip, Fleece and Speck.
Peter Quince meets Nick Bottom
Nick Bottom
Nick Bottom is a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream who provides comic relief throughout the play, and is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of an ass by the elusive Puck within the play.- Overview :...
the weaver, Francis Flute
Francis Flute
Francis Flute is a character in the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. His occupation is a bellows-mender. He is forced to play the female role of Thisbe in "Pyramus and Thisbe", a play within the play which is performed for Theseus' marriage celebration....
the bellows
Bellows
A bellows is a device for delivering pressurized air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location.Basically, a bellows is a deformable container which has an outlet nozzle. When the volume of the bellows is decreased, the air escapes through the outlet...
-mender, Tom Snout
Tom Snout
Tom Snout is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. He is a tinker, and one of the "mechanicals", amateur players in Pyramus and Thisbe, a play within the play....
the tinker
Smith (metalwork)
A metalsmith, often shortened to smith, is a person involved in making metal objects. In contemporary use a metalsmith is a person who uses metal as a material, uses traditional metalsmithing techniques , whose work thematically relates to the practice or history of the practice, or who engages in...
, Starveling
Robin Starveling
Robin Starveling is a character in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream , one of the Rude Mechanicals who plays the part of Moonshine in their performance of Pyramus and Thisbe. His part is often considered one of the more humorous in the play, as he uses a lantern in a failed attempt...
the tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
, and Snug the joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
in the woods to rehearse the play. In the rehearsals he is seen in a managerial role even though he struggles to assert himself over the more charismatic Nick Bottom. When Bottom reappears as himself after his temporary acquisition of an ass's head, Quince promises to write a ballad about Bottom's "dream" of his transformation
His name is derived from “quines” or “quoins
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
”, which are wooden wedges used by carpenters.
Playwriting
Quince's amateurish playwrighting is usually taken to be a parody of the popular mystery playMystery play
Mystery plays and miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song...
s of the pre-Elizabethan era, which were also produced by craftspeople. His metrical preferences refer to vernacular ballads. Despite Quince's obvious shortcomings as a writer, Stanley Wells
Stanley Wells
Stanley William Wells, CBE, is a Shakespeare scholar and Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.Wells took his first degree at University College, London, and was awarded an honorary DLitt by the University of Warwick in 2008...
argues that he partly resembles Shakespeare himself. Both are from a craftsmanly background, both work quickly and both take secondary roles in their own plays. Robert Leach makes the same point.
In the play, he recites the prologue, but struggles to fit his lines into the meter and to make them rhyme. The Nobles interject to point out his errors. Bottom also uses words incorrectly and is corrected.
Characterisation
Traditionally, Peter Quince is portrayed as a bookish character, caught up in the minute details of his play, but as a theatrical organizer. However in the 1999 film versionA Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 film)
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1999 American film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Michael Hoffman. The ensemble cast features Kevin Kline as Bottom, Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Everett as Titania and Oberon, and Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel,...
of A Midsummer Night's Dream, he is portrayed by Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
as a strong character extremely capable of being a director. It is he who leads the search party looking for Nick Bottom
Nick Bottom
Nick Bottom is a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream who provides comic relief throughout the play, and is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of an ass by the elusive Puck within the play.- Overview :...
in the middle of the play.
Cultural references
The character is alluded to in the title of a Wallace StevensWallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens was an American Modernist poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, educated at Harvard and then New York Law School, and spent most of his life working as a lawyer for the Hartford insurance company in Connecticut.His best-known poems include "Anecdote of the Jar",...
poem, "Peter Quince at the Clavier
Peter Quince at the Clavier
"Peter Quince at the Clavier" is a poem from Wallace Stevens's first book of poetry, Harmonium.The poem was first published in 1915 in the "little magazine" Others: A Magazine of the New Verse , edited by Alfred Kreymborg....
", which is written in the first person as if spoken by Quince.