Prospero is a powerful character. What impression does the audience get of Prospero in Act 1, Scene 2?

Prospero is a powerful character. What impression does the audience get of Prospero in Act 1, Scene 2? Prospero throughout the entire play has the power over everyone on the island. He maintains this power through the use of his magic and thus gains supremacy over the natural world. He also has a parental authority over his daughter, and this is illustrated in Act 1, Scene 2 when he tells her about how they came to be on the island. Prospero also has control over Ariel, due to his magical powers and also due to the fact that Ariel feels indebted to him for rescuing him. Prospero's authority could lead the audience to see him as a dictator. However, it is important to analyse Prospero's power to gain a balanced view of what the audience would conclude. At the beginning of Act 1, Scene 2 we find Miranda and Prospero on the shore of their island, looking out to sea at the recent shipwreck. Miranda asks her father to do anything he can to help the poor souls in the ship. Prospero speaks gently saying, "tell your piteous heart there's no harm done", and then assures her that everything is all right and that he has done "nothing but in care of thee". He goes on to tell her that it is time she learned more about herself and her past, saying "'Tis time I should inform thee further". He reveals to her that he orchestrated the shipwreck and tells her the lengthy story of her past.

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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"The Tempest is full of magic and illusion. Consider the effect this would have on a 17th century audience and a 21st century audience. How might the magic and illusion be presented today?"

Shakespeare Literature "The Tempest is full of magic and illusion. Consider the effect this would have on a 17th century audience and a 21st century audience. How might the magic and illusion be presented today?" William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest as a play. It was not intended for the text to be read by school children from a book. It was intended for performance in a theatre, where it would give enjoyment to an audience. One of the main "themes" of The Tempest is magic. Prospero is a magician, a sorcerer, a wizard, someone with magical powers. He uses these powers to make lots of things happen within the play. Indeed, the first scene focuses on the storm that Prospero has created to cause havoc on the ship upon which his enemies are travelling. At the beginning of the play, the storm just seems like any other storm, with an unfortunate crew being shipwrecked. By the end of Act 1, however, we discover that the storm was not a natural occurrence. Prospero conjured up the storm and deliberately picked out that ship. The audience get their first hint of this in Miranda's first speech of the play. Miranda has watched the storm destroy the ship and she feels pity for the shipwrecked people. In her opening line, she asks her father if the storm is a product of his magic: "If by your art, my dearest father, you have Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them." This shows

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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'The Tempest' is centrally concerned with the themes of control and power. How are these themes developed through the major character of Prospero?

'The Tempest' is centrally concerned with the themes of control and power. How are these themes developed through the major character of Prospero? It is significant that Prospero is the major source of power in The Tempest. He is the 'conductor' of every character and every event that happens throughout the play. The time has come for him to regain his lost position as Duke of Milan, in order to achieve this and knowing his enemies are near through his 'art'; he uses his supernatural powers to keep constant control. However, he remains human and learns new, stronger personal qualities from his magical powers and regains his mortal power. Prospero shows the use of his magic powers in order to manipulate and influence all those in the play, like the courtly characters who are bewitched and confused by Ariel's music. Prospero intends to gain revenge on those who have wronged him, but at the same provide a suitable husband as is his duty as a father for Miranda. The dramatic opening of the play is an example of Prospero's magical powers although it is assumed by the audience to be the disturbing and violent activity of nature. It could be seen a metaphor for the past turmoil in the lives of the characters and for the events that take place in the course of the play, it carries the suggestion that 'after the storm comes the calm'. Shakespeare often uses a storm in his plays as a

  • Word count: 2268
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Assess The Character Of Prospero. Has Your View Of Him Changed After Reading This Scene?

Assess The Character Of Prospero. Has Your View Of Him Changed After Reading This Scene? Prospero appears in the play early on in the second scene. After the exhilarating beginning to 'The Tempest,' his daughter Miranda and himself bring about a calmer atmosphere, Shakespeare has intended to do so, to the extent that he has converted the language into verse for these characters. Miranda especially expresses a flowing and poetical image where she tries to portray herself as a helpless and weak girl 'O, I have suffered.' Some sentences are linked to add to this affect 'th' welkin's' overall her reflection creates an outline of Prospero's character, as he is her father. By examining the detail of characters with some connection to Prospero, like Miranda and Caliban for example, makes it simpler to assess his character. For the reason that the way he acts around different people shapes his personality. Prospero's name means 'fortunate' or 'prosperous' which is worth taking into account when studying aspects of his character. I should consider whether he uses his powers wisely and humanely or selfishly, as this will uncover a larger proportion of his hidden personality. My original opinion of Prospero was that he has a significant role in the play. Immediately he acts powerful even towards his daughter, 'naught knowing of whence I am, nor that I am more better.' He is

  • Word count: 1604
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Shakespeare's representation of Airel and Caliban contribute to the dramatic spectacle, action and themes of the Tempest?

How does Shakespeare's representation of Airel and Caliban contribute to the dramatic spectacle, action and themes of the Tempest? Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" is based around magic and enchantment, the whole play is a quest for the audience and characters to separate reality from illusion. However we are sometimes confused as what we perceive to be unreal and fictional turns out to be real and true. I am going to look into depth at two characters, Ariel and Caliban, to see how Shakespeare's representation of them helps to develop the plays themes and how they contribute to the overall dramatic spectacle of "The Tempest" Ariel essentially begins the play immediately contributing to the dramatic spectacle and themes of the play. He creates a magical storm to shipwreck King Alonso and his crew. This scene sets the mood and tone for the rest of the play that is one of mystery and the over throw of power. This switch in roles in the first scene has the boatswain in charge, and ordering his social superiors around. "Out of our way" and "Work you then" Ariel is described as an "airy spirit" and could behave so on stage. Airel could use graceful and smooth movements incorporating ballet and dance. This would make Ariel a personification of air, and by bringing this element alive would create a sense of wonder and amazement. In Shakespearean England people where

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the importance of magic in 'The Tempest' and how the audience might respond to this.

Discuss the importance of magic in 'The Tempest' and how the audience might respond to this. Magic is central to The Tempest. First, it provides the mechanism for the action to be seen by the audience and for set pieces. Second, it enables Prospero to have the power to achieve his project. The relationship between magic and the good use of power is key to the underlying meaning of the play. Shakespeare uses magic to create the play's plot. For example he uses magic to get all the characters together by getting Prospero to create 'the tempest', rather than coincidence, like in some of his early plays such as 'The Comedy of Errors'. A contemporary audience may think the play unrealistic because of the magic in the play, but Shakespeare's original audience might have been more open to witchcraft and magic, than coincidence. Shakespeare also uses the magic to create specific dramatic effects. For example, Prospero uses his magic to crate a play within the play to celebrate Miranda and Ferdinand's betrothal. The scene was particularly designed to appeal to an audience of the English court of King James as it was in the form of a masque. A masque is a set piece with dance and music - very popular at the time. Another example is when the magic produced by Ariel - a spirit that works for Prospero - contributes to the comic effect of the scenes with Trinculo, Stephano and

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How is fate used by Shakespeare, in the Tempest, to change and control the range of characters, using Prospero's power and his magic? In Literature, Destiny or Fate is a source of irony in literature;

AS English Literature, Shakespeare WRITTEN ESSAY (DRAFT) - THE TEMPEST How is fate used by Shakespeare, in the Tempest, to change and control the range of characters, using Prospero's power and his magic? In Literature, Destiny or Fate is a source of irony in literature; where the characters may act without realising the destiny that the audience or reader is aware of. This is very much true to that of the plot in the Tempest. Shakespeare has used Prospero's craft of magic, his great source of power, to influence and change the fates of other characters in the play; for personal gain or for the good of others. His personal gain is seen by his plan to use his power and magic for his vengeance against his brother Antonio, whom usurped his throne. For non-selfish reasons, he uses his power and magic to unite and create love between Miranda and Ferdinand throughout the play. Throughout the play, neither of the characters are fully aware of Prospero's tempting with their fates, but only the audience are completely aware of it. The Tempest with which the play opens is the result of Prospero's control of the elements, where Prospero creates a storm at sea. Alonso, the king of Naples, is sailing home after the marriage of his daughter, Claribel, to the King of Tunis. During the voyage the weather suddenly deteriorates, and Alonso's ship is separated from the rest of the fleet and

  • Word count: 750
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Discuss the Dramatic Significance of the opening scene of The Tempest

Discuss the Dramatic Significance of the Opening Scene of Shakespeare's Play 'The Tempest' The opening scene of William Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest' is a dramatic significance for many reasons. The name of the poem is linked into the story straight away because these men are trapped on a ship in the midst of a storm which is the literal meaning for tempest. The tempest itself is like an eruption of drama and action, the way it destroys is almost symbolic of overthrow and usurpation which is echoed later on in the book. The fact that there is a king on board the ship makes this scene all the more tense because if the storm succeeds in destroying their ship then he shall probably be killed along with most the men which is very likely considering that a tempest is probably the most dangerous storm to be caught up in. In this opening we find out the roles and characteristics of some of the lead characters. One of these is the optimistic Gonzalo who tries to release the great tenseness on the ship by reassuring the men that they will not be killed by the storm because the boatswain has the mark of hanging on him and uses this superstitious belief to try and relax his shipmates. Another character whose personality is revealed well is that of Antonio. He is a arrogant, rude and unpleasant character who does not agree with the way that the boatswain disrupts the hierarchy

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Role of Trinculo and Stephano

Trinculo and Stephano seem to be unimportant characters in the play, what is their role? Stephano and Trinculo are characters designed to create humour for the audience within the play. They provide light-relief from the seriousness of the actual plot, creating humour with jokes and actions, in Act 3 Scene 2 and Act 4 Scene 1. They seem to be unimportant but in fact they do have an important role. They show the darker and negative side of civilization and the weakness of humanity, in contrast with Prospero who is an almighty figure. The main role of Trinculo and Stephano is to provide humour for the audience. There is a lot of this in Act 3 Scene 2, a funny and amusing scene involving Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban. Throughout this scene the three characters are drunk and playing around with words, creating a humorous atmosphere. However beneath all the joking around there is a plot by Caliban to murder Prospero. This is taken lightly by Stephano and Trinculo, who don't seem to think much of Prospero. There are many different ways in which humour is portrayed such as slapstick comedy when Stephano hits Trinculo "Do I so? Take thou that! (He hits Trinculo)". Mock seriousness is also used in the subtle plot to kill Prospero, because they are very drunk and not acting seriously. It is also shown in the characters following "King" Stephano as servants to the drunken "King". This

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Jekyll & Hyde - duality 1

Tom Pearson 10L English Coursework How Does Stevenson Explore the Duality of Human Nature in 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' ? 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' is a novella written by the respected Scottish Author Robert Louis Stevenson, who was born on November 15th, 1850, in Edinburgh. The story was first published in 1886, and has since become the most popular of all his books. One of the previous manuscripts of this novel is thought to have been thrown into the fireplace by himself after his wife criticized it, saying that it wasn't good enough and contained too much inappropriate sexual content. Some experts still debate if he really burnt the manuscript or not. Even to this day there is no factual evidence of what really happened, but will remain a part of the history of the novel. The story itself looks at the way an individual is made up of differing feelings and needs; some good and others evil. An interested lawyer, by the name of Utterson, comes to know of the hideous and fierce Hyde, and his bizarre link with the well-known Dr Jekyll, who later in the story pays out a cheque for Hyde's (his evil side's) psychopathic behaviour. Shortly after, an unruly murder takes place, the victim being one of Utterson's clients, Sir Danvers Carew. To make the situation even more unbelievable, the murder weapon was in fact a cane

  • Word count: 866
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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