In the second scene that completes Act I, we are introduced to an extraordinary group of familiar but outlandish comical characters who have been enlisted to perform stage interlude as part of the entertainment at the impending marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. Led by the carpenter/director Quince, their very names---Flute (a bellows maker), Snout (a tinker), Snug (a joiner), Starveling (a tailor), and Bottom (a weaver)--- denote their lesser status as "mechanical" tradesmen. Their station in society makes them fair game for gentle indignities of which they are characteristically...
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