Editing Mechanical (character) (section)

==Peter Quince==
{{main|Peter Quince}}
Peter Quince's name is derived from "quines" or "[[Quoin (architecture)|quoins]]", which are the strengthening blocks that form the outer corners of stone or brickwork in a building.

===Playwriting===
Quince's amateurish playwriting is usually taken to be a parody of the popular [[mystery play]]s of the pre-[[Elizabethan era]], plays that were also produced by craftspeople.{{sfn|Montrose|1996|p=185}} His [[Metrical rhythm|metrical]] preferences are references to vernacular ballads.

Despite Quince's obvious shortcomings as a writer, [[Stanley Wells]] argues that he partly resembles Shakespeare himself. Both are from a craftsmanly background, both work quickly and both take secondary roles in their own plays.{{sfn|Wells|1990|pp=60–63}} Robert Leach makes the same point.{{sfn|Leach|2008|p=119}}

In performing the play, Quince recites the prologue but struggles to fit his lines into the meter and make the rhymes. The noble audience makes jocular comments, while the rest of the mechanicals struggle (all except Bottom, who rather confidently improvises).

===Characterization===
Traditionally, Peter Quince is portrayed as a bookish character, caught up in the minute details of his play, but as a theatrical organizer.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}} However, in the [[A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 film)|1999 film version]] of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', he is portrayed by [[Roger Rees]] as a strong character extremely capable of being a director. It is he who leads the search party looking for [[Nick Bottom]] in the middle of the play.

===Cultural references===
The character is named in the title of a [[Wallace Stevens]] poem, "[[Peter Quince at the Clavier]]", which is written in the first person as if spoken by Quince.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}