William Shakespear's Tempest
Explain how you would direct a production of Act 1 Scene 2 of the Tempest. What do we learn about the character of Prospero from the play and from this scene in particular? William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest in 1610, it was one of the last plays he wrote before his death in 1616. It has been said that Prospero's character is mirrored around William Shakespeare, Shakespeare based Prospero on himself. The Tempest is about a usurped duke, Prospero, who is set adrift on a small boat with his daughter Miranda by his evil brother Antonio. Prospero and his daughter end up on an enchanted island where Prospero begins to learn magic, using his magic he frees Ariel from a tree and enslaves Caliban, a hero and villainous task. Twelve years later, Prospero see's a royal boat passing the island carrying Antonio, Alonso, the king of Naples who helped usurp Prospero. Sebastian, Alonso's brother and Gonzalo, the kindly courtier who gave Prospero food, water, clothes and the vital magic books. Prospero summons a tempest, with the help of Ariel, and wrecks the ship onto the island, separating them into four different groups. This deed makes Prospero quite the villain as there were many innocent sailors aboard the boat that had done nothing against him. This part of the play is very much like a game of chess, and Prospero is the player. Prospero manipulates how all the characters move to
Shakespeare has made Caliban the most violent and savage character, but has also given him some of the most beautiful lines in the play to show that he has two sides to him, a split personality. And that he is not exactly as evil as what other people perc
The tempest There is a sign of another tempest when the scene opens up with another thunder storm, which gives us a reminder of Prospero's power over Caliban. The tempest is also a symbol of Prospero's magic over Caliban, which suggests this is what the threat Caliban is under, which also indicates that Caliban is confined within the island with no freedom. Caliban is viewed as some one who is not knowledgeable and literate. This is shown from the view of Miranda in page 77, in which she tells him, "... gabble like a thing most brutish" This suggests that Caliban is uneducated and in addition to this it also shows that he did not have the right upbringing in his life as his mother was a witch named Sycorax which suggests he was associated with evil magic during his upbringing. From Prosperos's perspective, Caliban is presented as a slave. This is shown in Act 1 scene 2. Where, Prospero refers to him as his "... my slave..." This indicates that Prospero has authority over Caliban and is possessive over him. However, he also shows that Caliban's role is as a slave who follows orders from his master Prospero. Miranda and Prospero are most united and linked together when they are against Caliban. Miranda says "Abhorred Slave". Also Prospero says "thou poisonous Slave". They both hate Caliban Passionately and display this with hateful words. Miranda addresses to the same
Do you believe that Shakespeare intended the audience to share Prospero's view of Caliban?
"A Devil, a born devil, on whose nature, Nurture can never stick" (IV, i, 189,190) Do you believe that Shakespeare intended the audience to share Prospero's view of Caliban? I feel that through out the Tempest Caliban is portrayed as a dislikeable 'creature'. However I personally think that the audience is supposed to learn to love him by the end as slowly we are told of all his good points. In the Tempest we meet many characters, the first on the island being Prospero. Before Prospero we meet characters like Boatswain and Master, as well as Antonio. We are not sure at the start whether we like them or not as we haven't been with them for a very long time. However as soon as we meet Prospero we are told the story of his past and sympathise with him. We also start to trust him, as we all believe beyond question his story of his and Miranda's flight to the island. This principle is aided by the way Miranda believes everything without a doubt and as she is attractive our immediate thought is to trust her. This is our first instance showing just how important appearances actually are. From all this we start to abhor Antonio and all the others Prospero mentions except Gonzalo as he is described as "A noble Neapolitan". So after the first two scenes we all ready have complete trust in Prospero, so therefore when we hear him describe another character like this: "Thou poisonous
The Tempest - How does Shakespeare maintain dramatic interest in Act 1 Scene 2.
How does Shakespeare maintain dramatic interest in Act 1 Scene 2? The relative calm of Act 1 Scene 2 provides a sharp contrast with disorderly melodrama of the previous scene. The second scene of act one recounts the story of how Prospero and Miranda came to be on the island, introduces Ariel and Caliban and shows Ferdinand come ashore and fall in love at first sight. The scene begins with Miranda expressing her alarm that her father has caused the 'wild waters' with his 'art'. Despite the immediately evident slower moving pace of the scene, created by the longer and more ordered speech of the characters, Shakespeare still creates dramatic interest with this line by altering the audience's perceptions of what has happened in the previous scene. The Tempest is a play where things seem to happen, yet often do not. The storm in the previous scene seems to be natural, yet Miranda's revelation it makes irony of the boatswain's line 'What care these roarers for the name of the king?', again transforming the audience's perceptions. The 'roarers' are merely the work of Prospero who knows well the king. Prospero's declaration that 'There's no harm done' when in the previous scene it seemed as if everyone aboard the ship had perished also radically alters the audience's set perception of Scene 1. Miranda's reference to the 'god of power' also makes Prospero seem even more powerful
'The Tempest' Act II Scene I.
'The Tempest' Act II Scene I In this scene the characters of Gonzalo, Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio contrast each other as follows. Gonzalo is full of good cheer and 'merry', he is an optimist and tries to cheer up Alonso by telling him that he does 'have cause of joy'. Alonso in contrast will not be cheered up and is manically depressed because he believes that Ferdinand has drowned. Alonso finds Gonzalo tiresome, commenting to Gonzalo 'you cram these words into mine ears, against the stomach of my sense.' Antonio and Sebastian pair at the beginning of the scene and mock Gonzalo sarcastically saying that he is 'winding up the watch of his wit.' Our encounter with Antonio whereby he shows no remorse what so ever for usurping Milan from Prospero confirms Prospero's description of Antonio's ruthless greediness and craving for power. From the previous scene we are aware of Antonio's ruthlessness when we discover that he was well prepared to kill his brother Prospero in order to gain full control of Milan, and might well have done so had they not feared a revolt from the Milanese people in response. In this scene our encounter confirms what Prospero said when we see Antonio trying to persuade Sebastian to kill his brother Alonso whilst he is asleep and steel his throne in Naples, just as Antonio did with Prospero in Milan. The ideas presented in Gonzalo's picture of the ideal
How does Shakespeare use the chracters of Prospero, Ariel, and Caliban, to explore human nature?
How does Shakespeare use the chracters of Prospero, Ariel, and Caliban, to explore human nature? By definition, a simplistic meaning of human nature is purely general characteristics and feelings of mankind. However, a more in depth interpretation is that human nature is the "fundamental nature and substance of humans, as well as the range of human behavior that is believed to be invariant over long periods of time and across very different cultural contexts." When studying almost any of Shakespeare's plays, it is clear that Shakespeare was a master of observing human nature and carefully crafting it into his plays. This is particularly perceptible in "The Tempest" between the relationship and character dynamics of Prospero, Ariel and Caliban. Before developing comparisons and contrasts between the three characters it is important to analyse the "human nature" of each of the characters individually to highlight their persona, behavior and mannerisms. Prospero is presented in the play as perplexing and mysterious, but he still remains a fundamental character in the play. This can be seen through he great power he seems to have, and the also the command over other characters in the play. This is comprehensible from the first appearance of him, when we hear dialogue between Miranda and himself. "The very minute bids thee ope thine ear, Obey and be attentive" This shows
Caliban is often regarded as a complex character. Choose two scenes from the play ‘The Tempest’ in which he appears and discuss how Shakespeare reveals to an audience, the complexities of Caliban’s character.
Jennifer Pennington Caliban is often regarded as a complex character. Choose two scenes from the play 'The Tempest' in which he appears and discuss how Shakespeare reveals to an audience, the complexities of Caliban's character. William Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest' was thought to be one of his last completed pieces and conveys a lot of his own thoughts and emotions. The approximate date of when the play was written is 1611. There is no direct source for the founding of the play but there are some similarities in a German play called 'Comedia von der schonen Sidece' which told the story of a Prince was had a spirit assistant and had an only daughter who fell in love with the son of his enemy. It is known that stories of magicians with only daughters are common in fairy tales. The Bermuda shipwreck happened around the time Shakespeare wrote 'The Tempest' so some of his ideas may have developed from this. The idea of Caliban may have come from tales of sailors about savage beasts. 'The Tempest' is a mystical drama full of magic, romance and disaster ending happily like a fairy tale. The story is about a magician named prospero who is taken from his dukedom in Milan and shipwrecked on a Island with his only daughter Miranda. Prospero takes over the Island and it's inhabitants Caliban and Ariel and works his magic on an enemy. There is a lot of
The Collector by John Fowles - From a novel to a play script, pages 31,32,33,34,35. Act 2, scene 1
Ilaria Cacciamani Coursework The Collector by John Fowles From a novel to a play script, pages 31,32,33,34,35. Act 2, scene 1 Cottage near Lewes. Early morning. Sound of an larm watch. Frederick already woken up, moving on stage. A door in the middle of the stage to represant the cellar door. He knocks on the door. Frederick:[knocking on the cellar door], [shouting] Please get up! Waits, open the door and goes in the cellar, onto the other part of the stage with Miranda's bag. Light goes on. Miranda sitting on an arm chair, staring at Frederick. Frederick: I hope you slept well. Miranda: [coldly and not violent] Where is this? Who are you? Why have you brought me here? Frederick: I can't tell you. Miranda: I demand to be released at once! This is monstrous! [both keep staring at each other] Get out of the way. I'm going to leave. [walks straight towards Frederick, towards the cellar door] [Frederick not moving, Miranda gets close to him] Get out of the way. Frederick: You can't go yet. Please don't oblige me to use force again. Miranda: [fierce look to Frederick] I don't know who you think I am. If you think I'm somebody's rich daughter and you're going to get a huge ransom, you've got a shock coming. Frederick: I know who you are. It's not money. [expression to show that he did not know what to say], [excited, nervous], [Miranda staring at him], [funny
Essay on Prospero
Darren Marsh 0B Essay on Prospero William Shakespeare's last play The Tempest is a story about Prospero, the rightful duke of Milan. He is betrayed by his brother Antonio and left on a ship with his daughter Miranda to die. Only things are not going according to plan and Prospero and Miranda arrive on an island. Prospero is seeking his revenge. Coming back from a wedding in Africa a ship containing Prospero's enemies is attacked by a tempest and scatters its passengers about the island. Prospero uses three major character traits throughout the story including being powerful, protective and forgiving that will help him gain his place back in Milan. Prospero lost his dukedom because he failed to recognise his brother's ambition and because he neglected his first duty, the governing of Milan. Prospero's name is an indication of his function in the play. It is Latin for 'I cause to make prosperous, happy and successful'. He plays the most significant role in the play in that he is on the stage longer than any other character and he controls the fate of all others on the island. Our first sight of Prospero is as a father and a magician. We see his love or Miranda and the spectacular magic powers he commands. Prospero is a very powerful person and using his spell books he is able to conjure up astonishing magic. Possibly the most powerful thing he controls is Ariel, a spirit.
'The Tempest is concerned with government - of the self and of the state' Discuss with reference to Act One.
Katrina Stalker English Literature The Tempest - Essay Question 'The Tempest is concerned with government - of the self and of the state' Discuss with reference to Act One Act one of 'The Tempest' takes place at sea during a storm which the nobles of Milan and Naples get caught in and also on an island inhabited by Prospero, Miranda, Ariel and Caliban. Prospero brings the nobles to the island through his creation of the storm. Act one is also concerned with the theme of government of the self and of the state to a certain extent. Prospero is the character most obviously concerned with this theme. His preoccupation with being self-discipline led him to neglect his commitment to the state as the Duke of Milan. Prospero describes himself as being too 'rapt in secret studies' of 'the liberal arts' making him 'cast upon (his) brother (Antonio)' the Dukedom. Prospero was too passionately involved with his studies, this is clear from the words 'rapt' and 'transported' that have been used to describe his mentality towards his studies. It could be seen that Prospero's need at 'bettering (his) mind' could lead him to become a better person possibly a more effective leader, however Prospero began to withdrawn from his leadership to concentrate on governing himself rather then his nation. I believe it is clear that Prospero is a poor political leader and this can be seem when he