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Robin Goodfellow

A Midsummer Night's Dream · 33 speeches across 6 scenes

A mischievous hobgoblin and Oberon's witty, shape-shifting servant who drives the play's comic chaos.

Who they are

Robin Goodfellow, or Puck, is Oberon's right hand—a literally magical trickster who executes his master's schemes with gleeful imprecision. His mistaken application of the love juice creates the central romantic tangle and mechanicals' farce. His arc moves from careless mischief to wry self-awareness, culminating in his famous epilogue that blurs stage and reality. He bridges the fairy and mortal worlds, functioning as both plot engine and the play's irreverent narrator.

Playing them

Play Puck with mercurial, shape-shifting energy—quick physicality and vocal versatility to imply his transformations. Embrace the paradox: a servant who delights in chaos yet must obey. The epilogue demands a shift from frantic giggler to rueful charmer, making direct eye contact with the audience. Traditionally played with acrobatic flair and a sly, knowing grin.

Appearance

Often costumed in earthy greens and browns with pointed ears, leaves, or animal motifs (horns, tail) to suggest his hobgoblin nature. Contrast with the more regal fairy court—Puck should look wilder, earthier, capable of melting into the forest.

Worth knowing

Puck derives from British folklore as a solitary, malevolent hobgoblin, but Shakespeare made him Oberon's jester. The name 'Robin Goodfellow' was a common euphemism for a household spirit. This blend of native folklore with classical fairy lore was innovative for the period.

Where they appear

Play Robin Goodfellow

Take the part and Yorick reads every other role aloud, following you line by line as you speak.

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Shakespeare the way it was meant to be had — out loud

These plays were written to be performed, not silently read. Yorick is a rehearsal app that lets you perform them: you take a part in any of Shakespeare’s 38 plays, and Yorick reads every other role aloud, listens while you speak your lines, keeps your place, and prompts you the moment you dry.

It is built for the person who has to be off book by tech week — school and college productions, community theatre, festivals, drama students and classical auditions — and for anyone who wants to hear a scene rather than skim it. Alongside the performance you get a plain-English translation of every speech, scene context, performance notes, and the ability to ask about any line and get an answer that already knows the play, the scene and who is speaking.

The text is the public-domain Cambridge/Globe edition. Translations and notes are AI-generated rehearsal aids for actors and students, not a scholarly apparatus. Yorick runs in a browser with nothing to install, and on iPhone and Android.