AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE B AS LEVEL recreative coursework on The Tempest

by harrypotter96hotmailcouk (student)

Re-Creative piece

The day she was born was the day she died. I knew from that point onwards that my life would change forever. Never in all the fifty years of my existence had I faced a challenge as great as this- bidding my Rose farewell. The Rose who had stood by me throughout the years when I had nothing more than a shack made of stones to give her. The Rose who had bestowed upon me this beautiful blessing whom I now cradle in my arms- the epitome of her once striking mother, now as frail and feeble as an infant in the crib. But it was hard to appreciate this priceless gift while the bearer of the blessing was slowly withering away, leaving behind a piercing thorn lodged deep within the very core of my heart. My babe was dying before me and my back was breaking with each of her calloused breaths. I looked down at the bundle of joy in my arms and my eyes flickered over her innocent face, her bright green eyes, an epic contrast to her mother's faint mirage of green slowly lifted to meet my gaze and a sparkle began to emit from within the fathomless depths. I decided to name her Miranda, 'worthy of admiration' in the Latin tongue, and at that moment, I knew, just knew that I was going to do everything in my power to keep her safe.

I watched her grow through the years, motherless. I was both a mother and a father to her and it was proving more difficult day by day, especially since she was beginning to blossom and bloom into a very attractive young lady. I would constantly have to haul young men off her as a way of protecting her dignity and most importantly, her chastity. But she just didn't care. One person whom she loved to associate herself with especially was an old inmate of the island and son of the cursed witch, Sycorax. They would both spend countless hours together playing frivolous games such as 'cowboys and donkeys' whereby almost always, I would find Miranda dressed in my cloak and wearing my hat on her head, sitting on Caliban's back with a rope tied ruthlessly around his neck.

"Miranda my darling, descend from this monster's back and provide me with my cloak and hat this instant."

She scowled at me haughtily, reluctantly got down from Caliban's back and shrugged off my cloak and hat.

"Father...why are you such a pain in the backside? His name is Caliban... and quit bossing me around so much!" She cried stomping her foot on the ground.

This is a preview of the whole essay

"Miranda my darling, descend from this monster's back and provide me with my cloak and hat this instant."

She scowled at me haughtily, reluctantly got down from Caliban's back and shrugged off my cloak and hat.

"Father...why are you such a pain in the backside? His name is Caliban... and quit bossing me around so much!" She cried stomping her foot on the ground.

The fury I felt at Miranda's defiant tone began to bubble and foam within me. Years of trying to prevent harm from reaching her, nurturing her, and she was purposely walking alongside the devil's spawn himself. I had vowed to my wife that I would protect her with all my power. Power is what I needed. More specifically, magic. After years of keeping my fury dormant, it was beginning to emerge with a force unlike anything I had felt before; I could feel red hot rage race through my veins like an electric current, pursuing my body.

"Alas! Miranda, I have done nothing but in care of thee."

Above us, the sky darkened. Thunder ripped through the pregnant clouds causing them to spill their heavy load over us. The look of fear on Miranda's face instantly dissolved my anger away... but it was too late.

I had started the tempest.

Word count: 587

Commentary

In my re-creative piece, I have aimed to illustrate the theme of love and inversion as the main catalysts for the comic action, namely the tragic tempest and the way they lead to the justification of Prospero's domineering nature through his relationship with Miranda and his wife. I have chosen a character that Shakespeare, throughout the play has portrayed as an extremely powerful man who is at the peak of the social hierarchy, and who enjoys infusing fear within characters of a lesser status such as Ariel, by using threats and imperatives- "if thou murmur'st, I will rend an oak and peg thee in his knotty entrails". By choosing this character, it has allowed me to accentuate the softer side to him which is scarcely acknowledged up until the very end of the play.

I have carefully chosen to adopt the form of a narrative to allow Prospero's thoughts and feelings to be explored in detail. Mentioning the death of his wife simultaneously with the birth of his daughter- "the day she was born was the day she died" signifies a tragic moment in Prospero's life; this creates pathos as we begin to understand the psychological and physical effects that this metaphorical 'loss' and 'gain' have caused him. This adds to the overall comedic aspect of the play as we see his befuddled emotions/ mind frame; "blessing" suggests his happiness at the birth of his daughter which is then contrasted with the "withering" of his wife and the "thorn" which depicts his melancholy at the loss of his wife, once again contrasted with the "admiration" of his daughter. Clearly, he is in emotional turmoil at this point and this is what adds to the overall tragicomedy of the play. In addition, Prospero refers to his wife as "my Rose", which is symbolic of his love for her as a rose is usually given to ones partner as a token of affection. I have chosen to capitalise "Rose" and use "babe" to give the play a more modern approach, especially where women are involved. Prospero's statement, "and now my back was breaking" represents women as "backbones" to their husbands rather than servants which is a clear contrast to Shakespearean attitudes.

Furthermore, Prospero's tenderness towards his daughter reflects the inversion of his role as he states that he was "Both a mother and a father" to Miranda. Whilst this is meant in a metaphorical rather than literal way, it's evident that Prospero took on the role of the mother, "nurturing" Miranda as well as preventing harm from reaching her. This may reveal a feminine streak within Prospero perhaps suggesting a homoerotic element to the play and may shock viewers at Shakespearean theatres because it was regarded as absurd for a man rather than a woman to be raising a child at that time.

Another prevalent issue within the play which I have aimed to explore further is "chastity". In my narrative, Prospero mentions the importance of Miranda "most importantly" protecting her chastity and at the same time, in the play Shakespeare uses Prospero as the mouthpiece for the narrow minded views rife amongst people in the Elizabethan era by saying "foolish wench... this is a Caliban" suggesting that he too has misogynistic views. As well as this, I have deliberately decided to maintain Prospero's superior idiolect through his use of imperatives and candid way of speaking- "descend from this monster's back and provide me with me cloak and hat this instant" to mimic the original play as well as progress my version of it and illuminate the gradual changes that the events mentioned in Prospero's life had in formulating his power thirsty demeanour. However, Prospero's love for his daughter never wavers and he refers to her as "my darling"; this adds to the theme of love and father- daughter relationships because it demonstrates the soft spot in Prospero's heart for his flesh and blood.

Inversion is further demonstrated through Miranda actions; Miranda is dressed in her father's "cloak" and wears his "hat" on her head which could symbolise gender disguise to invert the accepted hierarchy regarding women. This idea is displayed further as she is seen "sitting on Caliban's back" which implies that she is ceasing the opportunity to take control and direct the action. However, one may argue that a forbidden sexual relationship is being displayed between Miranda and Caliban, one which sparks fear within Prospero due to his satirical views on "natives" like Caliban. Miranda deliberately associates herself with "the devil's spawn himself" despite her father's disapproval and it's this deliberate flouting of her father's wishes which adds to the tragicomedy of the play and the misrule which then influences Prospero's decision to utilize magic.

The final paragraph includes pathetic fallacy conveying the start of Prospero's transformation from good to bad, "the sky darkened" reflects Prospero's mind changing from loving to angry. He feels that he has failed as a father and a husband because Miranda is associating with a supposed "enemy" of her kind and he promised his wife that he would do everything in his "power" to keep her safe. The irony of this is that he resorts to using the power of magic claiming that "I have done nothing but in care of thee", which in turn creates more problems than it resolves.

Word count: 883

Total word count: 1470

Bibliography: The Arden Shakespeare: The Tempest 1993