This interpretation of The Tempest could well be what Shakespeare intended when he first wrote the play. Throughout the play there are lots of magical incidents which take place. Mythological creatures appear (Ariel as a harpy and the Gods - Juno, Ceres and Iris), and in Act 4 Scene 1, Prospero stages his own masque. At the end of the play, Prospero is re-instated as the rightful Duke of Milan, Miranda and Ferdinand marry, Ariel is set free and Prospero forgives his enemies. This is the kind of ending that would be expected in a masque in the reign of James I:
“Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
And what strength I have’s mine own…
…Since I have my dukedom got…
Let your indulgence set me free”.
The Tempest was written in 1611-12. At that time, the line between magic and science was not clearly drawn. Many people believe that the character of Prospero is loosely based on Dr. John Dee, a famous Elizabethan mathematician and geographer. Some of Dee’s work was genuinely scientific, but it was widely rumoured that Dr. Dee was a magician or wizard. Lots of people believed this rumour, because superstition was rife at that time. The normal working person did not understand science and mathematics. To explain peculiar events, they relied on superstitions.
These same working people were the people that filled the theatres to see William Shakespeare’s plays, alongside other playwrights. It did not seem strange to see a play all about magic and spirits. It was accepted as reality. Everybody believed in these things, so why not write plays about them? People were willing to believe in the unexplained and supernatural, and it made good theatre if these things were included in plays.
Technology in the 17th century was nowhere near as good as it is today. Actors had very little or no scenery, and had only a handful of props to use. From these, they had to create appropriate atmospheres for the plays, for their audience to understand what was happening. A lot of the play relied on the audience using their imagination. Showing things like a storm were, therefore, very difficult. People were probably behind the stage using various musical instruments to get the sound effects right. The actors would have had to exaggerate their movements, as if they actually were caught in a storm. They had to make the audience believe that the sailors are fighting against the elements for their lives. They are somewhat helped with the script. During the storm, a lot of people have dialogue. A lot of this dialogue ends in exclamation marks, giving the impression that they are shouting to one another. This would have helped create the atmosphere of chaos and panic, and with whatever sound effects were going on at the same time, the first scene would have been very noisy.
Prospero has a servant in the form of the spirit Ariel. Ariel has lots of special powers himself. He can be invisible and cause lots of apparitions to take place. Sometimes, Ariel is visible to everyone on the stage. Obviously, the audience can see him whenever he appears on stage, but during certain times in the play, he is invisible to different people. To show this in the 17th century would have been very hard. Clues have to be taken from the script which suggests when Ariel was invisible to certain people. Another way of learning when he is visible to different people is to study the way in which he speaks. If he speaks to someone directly, he will normally be visible to them. If he speaks to the audience rather than to the person, he is invisible. A 17th century audience would have to bear this in mind when watching the play. Being very superstitious, they would understand, however, that spirits only appear to certain people at certain times, so it would not be too hard for them to take this on board.
An example of Ariel being invisible to only a section of the actors on the stage is in Act 1 Scene 2, when Ariel sings an enchanting song to Ferdinand, luring him to meet Miranda. Neither Miranda nor Ferdinand can see the spirit, but Prospero can, and he talks to Ariel, promising to set him free.
In Act 3 Scene 3, Prospero conjures up a banquet for Alonso and the rest of the royal party. Just as the members of the party prepare to eat, the banquet disappears. This would have been very difficult to show in the 17th century. I cannot think of any way 17th century actors would have been able to show this, apart from standing the banquet table on a trap door and then releasing the trap door. This is not a perfect way of showing the table disappear, but it is the only way I can think of showing it in 17th century theatre.
Towards the end of the play, a lot is said about Gods of the Ancient Romans, particularly Juno, Ceres and Iris. In most Jacobean masques, there was a lot of emphasis on classical mythology. Prospero’s masque is no different. Audiences in 17th century England would have a basic knowledge of Ancient Roman and Greek gods. They would know the names of the gods and what they stood for. Before the masque, Ariel appeared as a harpy to Alonso and his friends. A harpy was part of ancient mythology.
A 17th century audience would take the events in The Tempest as gospel. They believed in witchcraft and spirits. The Tempest was all about these things, so the people just took it as a play which included, and may have been based on, real incidents.
The inclusion of Caliban within the play gives an insight into 17th century travel. America was a relatively new country as far as Europe was concerned. Europeans considered themselves civilised. When they encountered a new race of people, they were considered uncivilised and savage. This is emphasised in Caliban, who is shown as a monster. He is ridiculed by Prospero – an educated and civilised Duke, and when Trinculo discovers him, he considers taking him back to Italy as a sort of “freak-show”.
“Were I in England…and had but this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver: there would this monster make a man; any strange beast there makes a man: when they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian.”
Europeans did not understand the new race of people that they had found, and because they were different, they were considered dangerous. In the play it is said that Caliban’s mother was a witch. This adds to the bad attitude of the Europeans to the Native Americans. The Tempest is based around Italy, but Shakespeare still refers to the English’s attitude towards foreigners, by making Trinculo talk about what it would be like if he were in England. He does not just mention any country in Europe – he mentions England. Maybe this is because Shakespeare did not have any knowledge of other European countries’ attitudes, or perhaps he just thought England was the worst in this way.
Things are very different in the 21st century. We no longer believe in superstitions such as witches and evil spirits. There is always the odd person who holds onto old beliefs, but generally, we are rid of those superstitions. Science and mathematics can explain most things that happen.
For a world that no longer believes in witches and monsters, we still have a lot to do with these things. We read horror books about beings coming back from the dead; we still celebrate Halloween; we watch films of vampires and witches. In the 17th century, these things would have been taken very seriously. Nowadays, however, it is only for fun that we do these things.
Shakespeare’s plays are still watched the world over, the same plays that were watched when he first wrote them. They have not been changed and so still contain wizards, witches, monsters and spirits within them. However, modern-day directors have to find a way of presenting these magical creatures to a modern-day audience without them appearing comical. As part of the play, the characters must be taken reasonably seriously so that the story can be appreciated. 21st century audiences expect more from a play than they would have done 300 years ago, even if the play were written that long ago.
Although modern directors have a somewhat harder task than their 17th century counterparts, they have technology on their side. Technology has increased magnificently since The Tempest was first performed, and this enables directors to create more spectacular special effects. Electricity plays a massive part in these effects. With the use of electricity, different lighting can easily be used for different scenes, to create different atmospheres.
The first major part of the play takes place on the ship during the storm. More elegant scenery can be used to create the impression that the actors are indeed on a ship. Special lighting used alongside sound effects, can be used to give the impression of sailing on the sea. Thunder and lighting can be heard in the distance with the aid of a sound recorder.
Prospero has a lot of powers. As well as controlling the elements, he has power over human beings. After telling Miranda the story of how they arrived to be on the island, Prospero wishes to talk to Ariel. Miranda does not know of the existence of Ariel, so before he talks to his servant, Prospero sends her to sleep. He does this by making her sit on his magic cloak, and then by a sort of hypnosis, she falls asleep. This act of magic does not require any special effects. All it needs is good acting by the actors playing Miranda and Ferdinand for the audience to believe that it is happening.
A lot of the magic events that take place in the Tempest are similar to the one above. Many do not need special effects, and just rely on the talents of the actors. When Prospero “freezes” Ferdinand, all the actor playing Ferdinand has to do is simply stand still.
After the storm, the next magic event that would require some thought would be when Ariel sings a song to Ferdinand about his father. Ariel at this time is invisible to Ferdinand. To make this clear to the audience, Ariel could be suspended by some wires above Ferdinand, so he cannot see the spirit. Alternatively, only Ariel’s voice could be heard, so it is clear that the spirit cannot be seen.
This trick could be used when Ariel overhears Sebastian and Antonio plotting to kill Alonso. He could hover above the traitors in the same way that he did when luring Ferdinand to Miranda. When he sends the group to sleep, he could sprinkle some glitter or some kind of dust over them. That way, it is visible to the audience that something is going on.
The main acts of magic are the banquet, the masque and Ariel appearing as a harpy. The banquet and the harpy incident could be shown by the same method. Both are illusions that disappear after being seen by Alonso’s group. Both these incidents could be shown by holograms, which could be projected from the back of the theatre onto the stage. Advanced computer imaging could make it seem as if the harpy was talking, then the hologram could simply disappear, making it seem as if the objects were actually on the stage and have vanished.
Despite what the audience believes outside a theatre, once inside, they are usually willing to believe anything as long as it makes good theatre. Most people will let go of their normal beliefs if it means that they will enjoy the show more. Directors have to keep this in mind. Maybe the audience will not believe in spirits and witches in everyday life, but if a play they are watching contains these things, they will accept them, as long as they are made reasonably believeable. For a play to be successful, a director has to make sure that the illusions and magic are portrayed as realistically as possible and the audience can believe for a while that these things are real.
Louise Jones
