# Nick Bottom — A Midsummer Night's Dream character guide

> Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Bottom, Bottom Thisby, sweet Bottom, Nick Bottom, Bottom Good Master Mustardseed, Bottom Mounsieur Cobweb

**First appearance:** 0003-act-i-scene-ii

## Snapshot

A boastful weaver and would-be actor who wants to play every part at once—and whose donkey's head makes him the fairy queen's unlikely beloved.

## Who they are

Nick Bottom is the loudest of the 'rude mechanicals,' a crew of tradesmen rehearsing a play for Theseus's wedding, and he cannot resist auditioning for every role—Pyramus, Thisbe, even the lion. His comic self-importance is matched only by his good-natured obliviousness, which makes him the perfect target for Puck's prank. Transformed and doted on by Titania, he becomes the play's strangest love object, and his eventual return to his friends keeps the fairy mischief tethered to ordinary, hilarious humanity.

## In the story

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-i-scene-ii)

Eagerly volunteers for multiple roles, including Pyramus and the lion, and discusses his acting style.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-i)

Leads the rehearsal, suggests solutions for the play's problems, and is transformed by Puck into an ass-headed figure. He sings and attracts Titania's love.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-i)

Awakens from his enchanted sleep and recounts his 'most rare vision'.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-ii)

Returns triumphantly, announces the play's selection, and gives instructions for performance.

### [Act V, Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-v-scene-i)

Plays Pyramus in the Mechanicals' performance; delivers a dramatic death scene.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/characters/bottom
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/characters