Francis Flute

E494616

Francis Flute is a comically reluctant amateur actor and bellows-mender in Shakespeare’s *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, best known for being forced to play the female role of Thisbe in the play-within-the-play.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (42)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Shakespearean character
artisan
fictional character
mechanical (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)
appearsIn play-within-the-play Pyramus and Thisbe NERFINISHED
associatedWithCharacter Nick Bottom NERFINISHED
Peter Quince NERFINISHED
Snout NERFINISHED
Snug NERFINISHED
Starveling NERFINISHED
characterTrait comic
reluctant to play a woman’s role
creator William Shakespeare NERFINISHED
disguisedAs Thisbe in women’s costume NERFINISHED
dramaticFunction comic relief
parody of tragic lovers
employer self-employed artisan (bellows-mender)
fictionalUniverse A Midsummer Night’s Dream universe
firstAppearance A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1 Scene 2 NERFINISHED
gender male
languageOfWork Early Modern English NERFINISHED
literaryGenreOfWork comedy
literaryPeriod English Renaissance drama
medium stage drama
nameGivenAs Flute the bellows-mender NERFINISHED
nationality Athenian (fictional) NERFINISHED
notableFor reluctantly playing the female role of Thisbe
notableScene death scene of Thisbe in Pyramus and Thisbe
occupation bellows-mender
performsBefore Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding court NERFINISHED
performsWith the mechanicals’ acting company NERFINISHED
portrays Thisbe NERFINISHED
relatedWork Pyramus and Thisbe (play-within-the-play) NERFINISHED
reluctanceReason has a beard coming in and does not want to play a woman
roleInWork amateur actor
member of the group of mechanicals
setting Athens (fictionalized classical Athens) NERFINISHED
stageTradition often played by a young male actor
themeInvolvement gender roles in theatre
metatheatre and play-within-a-play
timeOfCreation late 16th century
workFeaturedIn A Midsummer Night’s Dream NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

A Midsummer Night's Dream character Francis Flute
Nick Bottom interactsWith Francis Flute