What examples from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream prove Horace Walpole's quote, "This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy for...

Puck is an excellent example to
prove the first half of Walpole's quote, "This world is a comedy to those that think." Puck is a
witty and independent thinker. As Oberon's court jester, he intentionally goes about performing
all sorts of mischievous antics with the intention of making both himself and Oberon laugh. We
especially see Puck using his witty, thinking mind to have fun with relation to the Athenian
lovers. We might believe Puck when he claims he legitimately mistook Lysander for Demetrius
because he had no idea there were actually two Athenian couples in the woods that night. However,
after seeing the harm he has caused, when Oberon asks Puck to bring Helena to Demetrius so that
he can fix the problem, it seems that Puck may have intentionally induced Lysander to follow
Helena, that way he can observe the "sport" of two men fighting over the same woman. We know that
he is enjoying the show because he states that absurd things please him the most, as we see in
his lines:

Then will
two at once woo one.
That must needs be sport alone;
And those things do best
please me
That befall preposterously.
(III.ii.119-122)

Helena's
love for Demetrius is an excellent example to prove Walpole's other statement,
"This world is ... a tragedy for those that feel." Helena is in love with Demetrius whom she was
engaged to, but for no known reason other than a fickle nature, Demetrius transfers his
affections from Helena to Hermia and begins wooing Hermia instead, even securing Hermia's
father's consent to the marriage. Helena is left brokenhearted and performs absurd stunts in the
hopes of winning him back, such as telling him about Hermia and Lysander's plan to run away from
Athens, and pursuing Demetrius into the woods.