the tempest stage

Staging of The Tempest It is clear that The Tempest depends for much of its success on a wide range of special effects such as sound, lighting, and fantastic visions of the natural and supernatural worlds. Ariel, the mystic spirit, and his cohorts provide some eerie and some wondrous musical sounds, painting pictures with their voices of settings the audience saw. For example, when luring the spellbound Ferdinand towards his future wife, Miranda, Ariel and his fellow sprites caress the shipwrecked prince with harmonious notes which captivate even the crowd. In contrast to hearing Ariel's delightful melodies, Sebastian, Alonso, Antonio, and Gonzalo receive a very different message. When the four men attempted to feast on a faux banquet Prospero has designed, claps of thunder and red lighting consume the stage and faint noises come from Ariel and the spirits, disturbing the men and scaring the spectators. Aside from music used as a median to bring about the supernatural effects of the island, Prospero's presence instigates a change of mood throughout the island and audience because he is, in essence, the artist who creates the stage. When Prospero is first seen he is a forceful figure who not only controls the mystical island which he and his daughter inhabit, but also has authority over Caliban, a brute indigenous "monster" and Ariel, an "airy-sprite" who Prospero

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analysis of Act I - Hamlet

Analysis of Act I The play begins with a pair of contrasting scenes; one showing men who are helpless against the storm they believe to be nature's wrath, and one showing the storm itself to be merely the work of an illusionist, trying to reclaim his place through his magic. In the first scene, the boatswain suggests that men, despite their power, are still subject to nature; "what cares these roarers for the name of king," he asks, when the king's ship is being pummeled by the storm (I.i.16-17). The boatswain's statement makes sense in the context of that scene; however, it becomes ironic in the second scene, when Miranda and Prospero reveal that it was Prospero himself who caused the storm. Antonio and Sebastian's behavior also reveals the brutish, unkind characteristics that mark them throughout the play; Antonio's depiction in this scene gives credence to Prospero's traitorous depiction of his brother that comes out when he tells Miranda about the wrongs perpetrated against him. The first impression of Gonzalo is not quite as correct as those of Antonio and Sebastian; he abets their affront of the boatswain, and shows little of the honesty or kindness which he exhibits later in the play, or for which Prospero remembers him. Also, Antonio and Sebastian's diffidence toward the boatswain on account of their status is the first demonstration in the play of social

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Compare and contrast the ways in which the writers of The Tempest and Translations have dramatically presented the links between language and power

A2 English Literature Holiday Homework Assignment: for Mr Majewski: The Tempest by William Shakespeare and Translations by Brian Friel "Compare and contrast the ways in which the writers of The Tempest and Translations have dramatically presented the links between language and power." The modern linguist Norman Fairclough said, "Language is power", implying that if you want to control a person or people, an event or series of events, or indeed the entire world, and have power over it or them, you must first control language. Controlling language is the key to both the initial act of gaining power, and then maintaining that power. We find examples of this throughout The Tempest and Translations, which share common themes and elements. To tackle a question which requires suggesting how the writers link language and power, it is necessary to look at the plays in just such a thematic way. The first and most obvious area in The Tempest where language is linked with power is the way in which prose and verse is used by different characters to different effect. Most notably, and especially for it's irony, Caliban's use of verse when Stephano and Trinculo talk in prose reverts the old ideas of rank, whereby people of higher status, (here supposedly the King's butler and the jester) spoke in verse, and lower classes (the uncivilised Caliban) spoke in prose. Style shift refers to

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Shakespeares 'The Tempest' as a Study of Colonialism.

The Tempest as a Study of Colonialism particularly relevant political issues. that Prospero had usurped Caliban from his rule of the island and was thus an agent of imperialism. Since then such an approach to the play (with various modifications) has remained more or less current. This approach to The Tempest also begins with some obvious features of the play. Prospero is a European who has taken charge of a remote island. He has been able to do this because he brings with him special powers. With these he organizes a life for himself, gets the local inhabitants (Ariel and Caliban) to work for him, and maintains his control by a combination of painful force or threats of force, wonderful spells, and promises of freedom some day. In taking charge of a place which is not his and in exerting his European authority over the strange non-European creatures, compelling them to serve him and his values, Prospero, so the argument runs, is obviously a symbol for European colonial power, with which England was growing increasingly familiar during Shakespeare's lifetime. The key figure in this treatment of the play naturally is Caliban, the island native who regards himself as the rightful owner of the place, who is forced against his will to serve Prospero and Miranda, and who constantly proclaims his unwillingness to do so. Initially, Prospero extends to Caliban his European

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  • Subject: English
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The Tempest raises questions that were just beginning to be asked in Shakespeare's day and that we have been puzzling over ever since.

The Tempest Essay The Tempest, written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616), is an Elizabethan romance that combines the conventions of drama with that of Shakespearean comedies. The `tempest' in the title refers to both the tremendous storm that opens the play and the emotional conflicts that are highlighted by what follows. The Tempest was commenting on the social context of the period it was written; the fifteenth century, the `Age of Exploration', and, in this, Shakespeare was specifically referring to the Bermuda Pamphlets, and to the tale of the Sea Adventure, which lead to the theme of the Unknown and the introduction of Prospero's Art. The Tempest raises questions that were just beginning to be asked in Shakespeare's day and that we have been puzzling over ever since. For example, it questions the true nature of man, more specifically the character of Caliban; is he in essence innocent or inevitably fallen and corrupt though redeemable either by education or through divine grace? His name, interestingly enough, seems to be an anagram or derivative of `cannibal'. This can be seen through the following lines made by Prospero: “A devil, a born devil, on whose nature / Nurture can never stick…” (Act 4, Scene 1 - l 189-190). This opinion of Prospero's that Caliban is incapable of being educated or trained (nurtured) has quite an aggressive tone, which is evident with

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With reference to two or three episodes, explore Shakespeare's dramatic use and presentation of Caliban?

With reference to two or three episodes, explore Shakespeare's dramatic use and presentation of Caliban. Shakespeare presents and uses Caliban in a number of different episodes in a way that leaves his character open to different interpretations depending on the audience. In Act 1 scene 2, we are first introduced to Caliban as being a slave, "Slave! Caliban!" It soon becomes clear that Caliban is a true native of the island, and was there long before Prospero, yet Prospero came and made it his island by abusing Caliban's knowledge, "This island's mine...which thou tak'st from me (Caliban)...I showed thee all the qualities o' the' isle" Caliban's native status on the island, yet forced servitude, may be a symbol of the native cultures occupied and suppressed by European colonial societies - which in the play are represented by Prospero and his power. Shakespeare uses this as way to engage the audience with Caliban, as they can relate to something they have heard about or are familiar with. To an Elizabethan audience, the fact that Caliban is given a voice, in that he tells his side of the story and feelings about being suppressed - "cursed be that I did so" - is very radical as he is a monster and a captured native and therefore has no rights. To a modern audience however, we can see that Caliban's enslavement may be very unjust. However, in the same way that Caliban

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  • Subject: English
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Explore early-seventeenth century attitudes to the 'New World' in The Tempest.

05/03/03 English Literature: The Tempest James Hare Explore early-seventeenth century attitudes to the 'New World' in The Tempest One of the most influential writers in all of English literature, William Shakespeare was born in 1564 to a successful middle-class glove-maker in Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare attended grammar school, but his formal education proceeded no further. Around 1590 he left his family behind and travelled to London to work as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare quickly received public and critical acclaim and soon became the most popular playwright in England and a part owner of the Globe Theatre. Wealthy and renowned, Shakespeare retired to Stratford and died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two. The Tempest is probably the last play Shakespeare wrote, being written around 1610, first performed at Court by the King's Men in the autumn of 1611. It is remarkable for being one of only two plays he wrote in which the plot was entirely original. The Tempest is a play exploring the ethics of the expansions of the British Empire through colonisation. Shakespeare sees colonisation as an expression of power and almost every character in this play ponders how he would rule the island, were he its ruler. The 'New World' was the name given to the newly discovered lands around the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. This

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The Significance of Colonialism in William Shakespeare's The Tempest (1610/11), Thomas More's Utopia (1516) and John Smith's A Map of Virginia (1612).

The Significance of Colonialism in William Shakespeare's The Tempest (1610/11), Thomas More's Utopia (1516) and John Smith's A Map of Virginia (1612). Whether it is all consuming character of Prospero, the vainglorious superiority of the Utopians or the savage greed of the first English Virginian colonists; there is a common will exercised in these three literary texts: conquer and take all. It is my aim in this essay to prove how an underlying theme of colonialism is being operated and advocated in these three texts, as a means of the progression and enrichment of a society specifically European and even more specifically white and English. To attempt to discuss the discourse of colonialism in these texts, it is important to locate them in the historical and political climate of the time. During the late 16th and early 17th centuries, England was experiencing a vast array of problems, both internally and externally. The foremost of these were a 'private-enterprise seaborne war against Spain' (James 5), and a litany of potentially subversive Catholics resident within England itself - and of course the newly acquired issue of overpopulation. 'An influential group of English courtiers and councillors, including the Earl of Leicester, Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir Walter Raleigh', (James 5) saw the vision of an expansionist Empire across the sea in the 'New World' as the

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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

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  • Subject: English
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Consider how the language used by Shakespeare explores the theme of service versus freedom in the play

Consider how the language used by Shakespeare explores the theme of service versus freedom in the play "The Tempest." "Freedom, high-day! High-day, freedom! Freedom, high-day, freedom!" Caliban In every person the most basic desire of all is to be free. Essential to the discussion of this concept is the definition of freedom itself, which is being able to act at will, not under compulsion or restraint. Throughout "The Tempest" there is the constant struggle of obeyance, followed by what that person chooses to do when they are faced with the opportunity to be liberated from their constraints. By the end of the play Caliban, Ariel and Miranda are all released from their bounds and set free. For many of these characters "freedom" means different things whether it to be escaping from and killing your master, or being given leave or being able to depart from an over protective father. The one whom controlled them all was Prospero. Prospero is in control and directs their actions and their destinies. The main way in which Shakespeare has portrayed this significant and prominent theme is through his language of these four complex characters. Shakespeare's play was written at a time of when European colonial expansion had brought to Europe stories of strange new worlds and civilisations. Stories about the discovery of islands, of savage people tamed by English gentlemen were very

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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