How does Shakespeare use language, Imagery and setting to illuminate Prospero's journey from revenge to reconciliation.
How does Shakespeare use language, Imagery and setting to illuminate Prospero's journey from revenge to reconciliation. The Tempest opens on 'a ship at sea' caught in 'a tempestuous storm'. This setting would immediately suggest to the Elizabethan audience, the presence of danger and evil, as they would be familiar with other Shakespearian plays where storms have been used in this way, for example, Macbeth and King Lear. The desperate language of the characters in the opening scene would further reinforce the audience's sense of evil afoot. The panic of the Boatswain is illustrated when he cries 'A plague upon this howling' and the terror of the passengers down below can be heard as they cry 'Mercy on us!' 'We split, we split'. The feeling of chaos is further reinforced by the use of language such as, 'howling', 'roarers' and 'drowning'. To the audience, the storm would signify a disturbance in the Natural Order, suggesting that God was upset or angry with certain individuals who have disrupted an ordered hierarchy. This would lead them to suspect that the play would probably involve elements of revenge. The fact that the opening scene takes place at sea during a storm would also have been significant to the Shakespearian audience. The idea of a sea-change was common in writing at this time and was used as a motif to suggest that following a shipwreck or disaster at sea,
Caliban's Nature.
Caliban's Nature When looking at Shakespeare's "The Tempest" one can find underlying themes of civilization verses barbarism. The characters that are created represent symbols of nature, and their actions build their symbolism. Through the actions we get a view of Shakespeare's ideas on civilization and the uncivilized, as well of letting the reader form their own opinions. Prospero, the former Duke of Milan, after being removed by his brother, arrives on an island. He frees a spirit named Ariel from a spell and in turn makes the spirit his slave. He also enslaves a native monster named Caliban. These two slaves, Caliban and Ariel represent the theme of nature verses nature. Caliban is considered the illustration of the wild, a beast of nature. During the first meeting, Caliban comes across as very savage and immoral. Prospero, when approaching Caliban's lair, says disdainfully, "...[he] never/Yields us kind answer," meaning Caliban never responds with respect. Once Prospero reaches the cave he calls out and Caliban harshly retorts, "There's wood enough within." This short reply reveals the bitterness he feels from leading his life as a slave. This attitude makes Caliban appear to be an valueless servant. There is also an extreme anger on the part of Caliban towards Prospero. When he is requested to come forward, Caliban answers, "As wicked dew e'er my mother brushed/With
Discuss the character of Caliban in Act 2 Scene 2
Discuss the character of Caliban in Act 2 Scene 2 The character of Caliban in the tempest is arguably one of the most interesting Shakespeare characters. Caliban, in the play, could be seen as symbolising the struggle for democracy. This is due to the fact that prospero sees Caliban as being beneath him, and himself and Miranda as higher. Colonialism is a major theme in the play as some critics may say it takes Prospero to be a European invader of the primitive and magical land he has taken over. Also by using his superior knowledge to enslave its original inhabitants, most importantly Caliban and Ariel. This is a symbol for European colonial power in which England was growing increasingly familiar with during Shakespeare's lifetime. The key figure in this treatment of the play is Caliban, who regards himself as the rightful owner of the island and believes that Prospero stole power off him. "This island's mine, by Sycorax my mother." We learn a lot from Caliban's character through his actions in Act 2 scene 2. Even though Prospero extends his European hospitality towards Caliban, teaches him language, in return is shown all the natural resources of the island, it is clear that Caliban has no sense of loyalty as he refuses to live by the rules of Prospero and more importantly tries to rape Miranda. Ultimately, this led to their relationship becoming one of master and
"Explore the presentation of authority and inferiority in 'The Tempest'"
"Explore the presentation of authority and inferiority in 'The Tempest'" Shakespeare has staged a play that explores the human hierarchy of the Elizabethan era. At the time dominance of one person over another was part of a system, which kept the society going. The social hierarchy consisted of the educated, kings, bishops, lords and noble men at the top of the hierarchy, with the working class peasants at the bottom. Everyone had a fixed status in society. However this is all physically displaced on the island, as there is no social structure and it is uninhabited and tropical. Shakespeare sets his plays mainly in Italy; however in 'The Tempest' he has placed a group of civilised people into an unshaped and uncivilised society. In a way he has challenged the view that such a hierarchy works on a wild island. 'The Tempest' is seen to be a play that Shakespeare aimed at the arrogant King James I. Instead of supporting the king's views of being 'God' he staged something that presented power as unpredictable and easily lost. In fact, by challenging the Elizabethan hierarchy Shakespeare has given an indirect warning of the dangers that may face the king. Nevertheless, we know that even on the island there is a hierarchy, which comprises of Prospero being superior and Caliban being inferior. How characters gain and loose authority in 'The Tempest' is seen as being very transient.
"The role of the teacher can often be a negative one" discuss…
Tuesday, 13 May 2003 Jad Salfiti A2 English Literature "The role of the teacher can often be a negative one" discuss... The definition of a teacher is one who teaches or instructs; one whose business or occupation is to instruct others; an instructor; a tutor. The Tempest was written in 1611, following the discovery of the Bermudas and the colonisation of Ireland, during what is known as the Jacobean period. King James I resided over the throne. The most important themes are language and power: or to blend the two word power. The Tempest can be viewed as an allegory for power. The institution or individual that controls language: controls society. Prospero has a great control of language; his magical powers and intellect separate him from the other characters within the play. Prospero's magical powers signify his 'academic ascendancy' and he becomes the teacher figure within the play. Prospero emerges as the most obvious teacher within The Tempest. He was a scholar in Milan and he imposes his intellectualism on his daughter. This shows the chain of transmission of knowledge. Miranda is educated and empowered by her knowledge. Miranda is under the thumb of her dictatorial father. Prospero even refers to Miranda as his "foot". Prospero has educated his daughter, Miranda, the savage and deformed slave Caliban, and acts as a
The Tempest- The Significance of the love story between Ferdinand and Miranda in the play as a whole
Examine the significance of the love story between Miranda and Ferdinand in the play as a whole. On one level Miranda and Ferdinand can actually be seen as 'insignificant' in The Tempest, because they are such a 'clichéd' romantic couple. So their actions and speeches in the play are fairly limited, because of the simple and very 'typical', "love story" and also because they are both young and naïve and so their plot is quite static. On the other hand they can also be seen as vitally significant in The Tempest because they are one of the components that contribute to the main theme of the play, "Order", and to many of the other themes surrounding this main theme, such as the nurture/nature debate, Elizabethan hierarchy, fate, love, reconciliation etc... All these themes relate to or are the build up of the 'mother' theme, order. Prospero's plan is to restore 'order' following the injustice done to him and Miranda. To do this he needs to restore himself as duke of Milan but also bring harmony between the people with whom he has had conflict with i.e. Alonso. The love between Miranda and Ferdinand is the key to this as Ferdinand is the heir to Alonso's throne and Miranda is Prospero's heir. Therefore they can be seen as holding the theme in place because they consolidate Prospero's plan of order and reconciliation. Also, by them coming together we are reassured that the
Explore the presentation of authority and inferiority in 'The Tempest'.
English Essay Explore the presentation of authority and inferiority in 'The Tempest'. The presentation of authority and inferiority is displayed in many different ways throughout, 'The Tempest'. Authority is presented as being based on a variety of features. For example, social status, knowledge and magic all figure prominently. The balance of powers shifts quickly as authority is displayed in a complex manner. It refers to being powerful and conveys the traits of the characters. The authority is unbalanced and doesn't have as much of an affect, as it should do. The beginning shows authority and inferiority as it starts off with a storm and there is 'thunder and lightning' hence the use of pathetic fallacy indicates towards danger onboard. The 'Master' says 'Boatswain' and therefore there is already symbolisation of authority within the premature play. This already indicates control over the Boatswain, while throughout the scene he tries to prevent the boat from wrecking by following orders. The authority is readily transferred to Boatswain while he commands other to help him and mentions 'What cares these roarers for the name of the King?', showing he is unmoved by whoever is the on ship and therefore gives priority to his master. The readers can already see how the man has been swirled within the control of his master and therefore obeys him strictly. Within this
In "Titus Andronicus", William Shakespeare has used food throughout the whole text to represent revenge
In Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare has used food throughout the whole text to represent revenge, not only does making them eat the pie make Titus feel fulfilled, but he also feels there has been justice. William Shakespeare has made sure that Titus has authority when speaking to both Chiron and Demetrius, ‘stop close their mouths, let them not speak a word’, he has used a strong declarative to emphasize that whatever his says is what will happen. This could be because he wants to let them know they aren’t as powerful anymore by lowering their status; however at the same time he is also stating that they may have been in charge before when they had raped his daughter, yet now they are nothing and he is under control, he has done this by using the personal pronoun ‘them’ to emphasize it. This is a complex sentence; Titus is continually speaking so that they have no say, this ensures that they know Titus is furious, and what they did was terrible, thus showing that Titus has no sympathy. Shakespeare has also used emotive language ‘both her sweet hands, her tongue and that more dear’, he has again used personal pronouns, showing that this is personal to him since this is his daughter, this will have an impact on the reader because they will sympathy towards Titus, even though he killed Titus’s son in the past. This is effective because it shifts the
You have been given the job of producing a modern BBC TV adaptation of The Tempest.
I would choose to set my own adaptation of The Tempest in a dark coastal area, perhaps towards the North of England as it is generally windier and tends to have cold temperatures, as it echoes a sense of darkness and mystique. This setting in itself can be used to create an eerie and foreboding mise-en-scene. Shakespeare’s Tempest features a mystical island; this can be replicated well in such coastal areas as they can be easily recreated to appear desolate, identical to how it is in the play – on a magical island. To complement this, special effects such as rainy/foggy weather can be used to create pathetic fallacy, especially in scenes such as when the actual tempest occurs in Act One. The weather would be a replication of the great storm, which forces the characters onto the island. Unlike Julia Taymor’s 2010 film adaptation, I would remain faithful to Shakespeare’s script/dialogue and retain the final epilogue between Prospero and the audience. In doing so, there remains an air of the authentic, archaic language that Shakespeare intended. Inevitably there will be some modernising (visual and SFX) especially in scenes such as the ‘splitting of the ship’ at the beginning, but this will not be as intrusive as in Taymor’s adaptation; I would use these effects minimally – specifically to dramatise characters such as Ariel, Prospero and Caliban. I would also
Analysis of the tempest.
Analysis of the tempest. The Tempest as a whole is influenced by the Masque, and hence the play may really be seen as a vehicle for stage spectacle, song and dance with a light underlying moral meaning, rather than a serious drama containing any real depth of plot and character" There is some truth in this criticism, but I believe that there is lot of hidden depth that can be explained in order to understand where Shakespeare's ideas really came from. In this essay I intend to prove that, through the Masque and through character detail, that this play has thematic depth and richness of character. The Masque originated from Italy and came to France and England in the late 16th century. It became formalised through the work of Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones. The Masque was dramatic and musical entertainment using elaborate and expensive properties and machinery, and was usually commissioned for Great State occasions. The debate to whether the Tempest was or even contained a Court Masque was argued by Orgel in 1987. His argument for disagreement was that, because of the time the play was written, Masques were a fluid genre, with no absolute lines between a dramatic performance and a revel. Even a less formal distinction between Masque and drama was becoming harder to see. This showing that maybe the Masque spectacle was just a piece of intricate artwork, collaborated by
