A Midsummer Night's Dream Character Analysis of Bottom

My class is reading Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. There are many different characters in this wonderful play. A very unique character is Bottom, the weaver. Bottom is part of a group of commoners that are suppose to put on a play at the wedding of Theseus, the duke of Athens, and his soon-to-be wife, Hippolyta. The play is Pyramus and Thisbe, which is about two lovers that eventually kill themselves because of the strong love for each other. Bottom is set to play Pyramus, the lead male role in the play. Bottom is happy to have the lead role, but still isn't satisfied. Along with Pyramus, he also wants to play Thisbe, the lead female role. But Quince, the director of the play, tells Bottom that the role of Pyramus fits him best.

I'm getting the feeling that Bottom is a very confident character, who regards himself as the most talented person in the world. He thinks that he is a really good actor, even though he isn't a professional. He is a weaver for a living, yet he thinks he's so great at acting, that he should be the two lead roles of the play. Bottom says that another role he should play is a lion, because he will roar so ferociously, Theseus will say, "Let him roar again!" This is ironic, because Quince believes that Pyramus is the perfect role for Bottom. Pyramus is a character that is a proper gentleman, which is the exact opposite of Bottom. A proper gentleman would be one who is modest, while Bottom thinks he is the most important person in Athens. Maybe Bottom is a character that always wants to be the center of attention. Bottom thinks that he's the greatest at everything, but his peers think differently of him.

If someone were to play the role of Bottom, they would have to act very confident. He would have to regard himself as the best thing that god created. The actor would also have to be tall and muscular. If someone is tall and muscular, it will improve their confidence because he is bigger than everyone else. For some reason, I also believe Bottom would have a manly voice. It will make the actor that plays the role of Bottom a little more believable if he fulfilled these characteristics.