Snug
Encyclopedia
Snug is a minor character from William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream
. He is a joiner
who is hired by Peter Quince
to play the part of the lion
in Pyramus and Thisbe
. When he is first assigned the part, he is afraid it may take him a while to finally remember his lines for it (even though the lion's role was nothing but roaring originally). Bottom offers to play the part of the lion (as he offers to play all other parts), but he is rejected by Quince, who worries (as do the other characters) that his loud and ferocious roar in the play will frighten off the ladies of power in the audience. In the end the lion's part is revised to explain that he is in fact not a lion. Snug does this so that the ladies and children don’t get scared. If they get scared the actors might get hanged. This is a subtle reminder by Shakespeare that the mechanicals are not learned men, for they think that Snug's lion costume is fearsome and that they will be sentenced to death if the ladies are afraid.
Note: although the fear of roaring too loud was at first applied to Bottom, it seems to have settled into the players minds, as they warn the ladies even when it isn't Bottom who plays the part in the end.
Like all Shakesperean characters, Snug is open to all manner of interpretation. Often he is played as a stupid man, a manner describing almost all of the Mechanicals. His lines are therefore delivered in sometimes a serious manner, or else a sarcastic manner (sarcasm in that Snug is making a joke about how easy the lines are "...for I am slow of study". In this manner, he is saying that the lines are so easy to memorize that it is almost insulting to say "memorize these"). He is also often played as being rather timid, especially when delivering his "roar."
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...
. He is a 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...
who is hired by Peter Quince
Peter Quince
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 that put on a play for Theseus and Hippolyta at their wedding...
to play the part of the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
in 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:...
. When he is first assigned the part, he is afraid it may take him a while to finally remember his lines for it (even though the lion's role was nothing but roaring originally). Bottom offers to play the part of the lion (as he offers to play all other parts), but he is rejected by Quince, who worries (as do the other characters) that his loud and ferocious roar in the play will frighten off the ladies of power in the audience. In the end the lion's part is revised to explain that he is in fact not a lion. Snug does this so that the ladies and children don’t get scared. If they get scared the actors might get hanged. This is a subtle reminder by Shakespeare that the mechanicals are not learned men, for they think that Snug's lion costume is fearsome and that they will be sentenced to death if the ladies are afraid.
Note: although the fear of roaring too loud was at first applied to Bottom, it seems to have settled into the players minds, as they warn the ladies even when it isn't Bottom who plays the part in the end.
Like all Shakesperean characters, Snug is open to all manner of interpretation. Often he is played as a stupid man, a manner describing almost all of the Mechanicals. His lines are therefore delivered in sometimes a serious manner, or else a sarcastic manner (sarcasm in that Snug is making a joke about how easy the lines are "...for I am slow of study". In this manner, he is saying that the lines are so easy to memorize that it is almost insulting to say "memorize these"). He is also often played as being rather timid, especially when delivering his "roar."