| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestgraphic.jpg) | The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, was written in 1611 in the final period of his career. The play is not really a comedy, but combines elements of tragedy with comedy, a tragicomedy. Shakespeare set the play on an unnamed island in an unidentified age. In it, he portrays an aging magician, Prospero, who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past twelve years. Over the course of a single day, Prospero uses his magic to whip up a tempest to shipwreck the men responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors (and the audience) with his art as he orchestrates his triumphant return home where he plans to retire in peace. For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage. When Prospero (after giving up the art of magic he's spent a lifetime perfecting) appears alone before the audience he confesses, "Now my charms are all o'erthrown, / And what strength I have's mine own," we can't help but wonder of Shakespeare is speaking through this character here. From multiple sources, including Shakespearean Criticism, Gale Cengage |
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempest%20illustratin.jpg) | Some Topics to Consider Act I. Scene 1 1. Are you finding unfamiliar vocabulary and expressions a problem? How are you handling them? Can you cite a few specific examples? 2. What words did Shakespeare use to describe the tempest in the opening scene? If you have access to William Strachey's letter describing a similar storm at sea, did you note similar descriptions, similar vocabulary usage? 3. Can you think of a reason Shakespeare may have set the scene in the Italian city states and the Mediterranean? What would happen if both the duke of Milan and the king of Naples went down in the storm? What do we learn of the relationship between the royals and the mariners on board the ship? Did you find any of the characters in the opening scene at all likable? |
| Act I. Scene 2 1. Miranda seems aware of her father's power over nature when she asks him why he's raised the storm now. Does he give her an answer? Do you have any ideas? Do you think belief in myth, magic and the occult was widely accepted by Shakespeare's audience in the early 1600's? 2. Can you sympathize at all with Prospero's brother, Antonio, or do you think Prospero should have continued on as the Duke of Milan? How did Prospero lose control of the government? Does he seem to regret the time he spent bettering his mind? 3. Is Prospero holding Ariel and Caliban on the island as prisoners? Is Ariel male or female? Caliban - "not honored with a human shape." How do you see these two inhabitants of the island? Who would you say has a claim on this island? Anyone? 4. What had been Prospero's relationship with Caliban when he and Miranda first came to the island? Why does he now regard him as a "poisonous slave got by the devil himself?" 5. Caliban's mother: the "foul witch," Sycorax, born in Algiers. Do you think this will be significant? If she was truly a witch, his father, the devil himself, what does this make Caliban? Has he special powers too? 6. Why does Caliban wish the red plague on Prospero for teaching him his language? What does language have to do with their animosity towards one another? 7. Why does Prospero send Ariel back to the shipwreck, this time disguised as a sea nymph? Can anyone see him/her? Was his/her mission accomplished? Did Prospero plan on Miranda falling in love with the Prince of Naples on first sight? Is this part of his magic? Does their romance sound like a fairy tale? 8. Do you believe in love at first sight? - "A beautiful face and body reflect the beauty of the spirit within." Do you agree with Shakespeare? |
What words did Shakespeare use to describe the tempest in the opening scene? If you have access to William Strachey's letter describing a similar storm at sea, did you note similar descriptions, similar vocabulary usage?I did notice similar descriptions, although much condensed in S's work. Especially the use of the term "roarers" in line 18 of The Tempest has a close relationship with Strachey's use of it in his paragraph 3..."...a dreadful storm and hideous...which swelling, and roaring as it were by fits..." Another descriptive word that stood out to me was "howling" in line 39. While I couldn't find Strachey's actual use of this word, he described the winds as drowned "in thunder", as "mad", and as "fury and rage" in the middle and end of paragraph 3.
: I'm eager to star,and hope i'll be able to keep up.Although I seldom post, I read all.This course at Harvard is free and really wonderful as is her book Shakespare After All. I recently had the pleasure of seeing King Lear performed by Trinity Rep in Providence R I and my enjoyment was enhanced having read and listened to Garber's lectures on the play. Then reading before seeing the play it was just a wonderful experience.
I found a site which might be of interest.Originally, I was thinking of reading along with tnis course using my grandmothers edition of Shakespeare. Publishing date of1846 edition 1911.(The english is a genuine challenge,) On second thought downloaded from kindle.
The site is:SHAKESPEARE AFTER ALL ;THE LATE PLAYS HARVARD WITH MARJORIE GARBER
LECTURE 11 OF 12 (ACADEMIC EARTH)I suppose anyone interested can find it with this info.
As you can tell posting is very new to:-)me, but I'm alwayskeeping up with posts. :D
You are a counsellor; if you can command these elements to silence, and work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope more; use your authority: if you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour,
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestgraphic.jpg) | The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, was written in 1611 in the final period of his career. The play is not really a comedy, but combines elements of tragedy with comedy, a tragicomedy. Shakespeare set the play on an unnamed island in an unidentified age. In it, he portrays an aging magician, Prospero, who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past twelve years. Over the course of a single day, Prospero uses his magic to whip up a tempest to shipwreck the men responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors (and the audience) with his art as he orchestrates his triumphant return home where he plans to retire in peace. For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage. When Prospero (after giving up the art of magic he's spent a lifetime perfecting) appears alone before the audience he confesses, "Now my charms are all o'erthrown, / And what strength I have's mine own," we can't help but wonder of Shakespeare is speaking through this character here. From multiple sources, including Shakespearean Criticism, Gale Cengage |
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempest%20illustratin.jpg) | Some Topics to Consider Act I. Scene 1 1. Are you finding unfamiliar vocabulary and expressions a problem? How are you handling them? Can you cite a few specific examples? 2. What words did Shakespeare use to describe the tempest in the opening scene? If you have access to William Strachey's letter describing a similar storm at sea, did you note similar descriptions, similar vocabulary usage? 3. Can you think of a reason Shakespeare may have set the scene in the Italian city states and the Mediterranean? What would happen if both the duke of Milan and the king of Naples went down in the storm? What do we learn of the relationship between the royals and the mariners on board the ship? Did you find any of the characters in the opening scene at all likable? |
| Act I. Scene 2 1. Miranda seems aware of her father's power over nature when she asks him why he's raised the storm now. Does he give her an answer? Do you have any ideas? Do you think belief in myth, magic and the occult was widely accepted by Shakespeare's audience in the early 1600's? 2. Can you sympathize at all with Prospero's brother, Antonio, or do you think Prospero should have continued on as the Duke of Milan? How did Prospero lose control of the government? Does he seem to regret the time he spent bettering his mind? 3. Is Prospero holding Ariel and Caliban on the island as prisoners? Is Ariel male or female? Caliban - "not honored with a human shape." How do you see these two inhabitants of the island? Who would you say has a claim on this island? Anyone? 4. What had been Prospero's relationship with Caliban when he and Miranda first came to the island? Why does he now regard him as a "poisonous slave got by the devil himself?" 5. Caliban's mother: the "foul witch," Sycorax, born in Algiers. Do you think this will be significant? If she was truly a witch, his father, the devil himself, what does this make Caliban? Has he special powers too? 6. Why does Caliban wish the red plague on Prospero for teaching him his language? What does language have to do with their animosity towards one another? 7. Why does Prospero send Ariel back to the shipwreck, this time disguised as a sea nymph? Can anyone see him/her? Was his/her mission accomplished? Did Prospero plan on Miranda falling in love with the Prince of Naples on first sight? Is this part of his magic? Does their romance sound like a fairy tale? 8. Do you believe in love at first sight? - "A beautiful face and body reflect the beauty of the spirit within." Do you agree with Shakespeare? |
It is to Richard Hakluyt that we are indebted for our knowledge of many matters that have been alluded to above. Shakespeare undoubtedly studied his pages. Scattered treatises and manuscript descriptions alone existed when Hakluyt set to work. He had long been amassing material, and his writings, as we have mentioned, began to appear in 1582, while the first edition of the Principall Navigations was published in 1589. The latter is the first great body of information we possess relating to the voyages of the sixteenth century.
Strachey when he attended the performance recognized from his letters. kidsalImagine how Strachey felt when/if he viewed Shakespeare's staging of the tempest, based on his description of the storm he had survived! He would have heard his own words, taken directly from the letters he had sent home!
Miranda wonders if why her father raised the storm -- he doesn't answer.Kidsal, you believe he did it to find a man for his daughter? Interesting.
"Such power! Grander than any power he enjoyed as Duke of Milan, I would think."Jonathan
In 1600 Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for his occult studies. Shakespeare makes sure that Prospero's magic is based on rationality and divinity rather than the occult which is symbolized by the witch Sycorax who worshipped the devil and was full of "earthy and abhorrent commands". She is unable to control Ariel because he is "too delicate"for her dark tasks."
Astrology, witchcraft, magical healing, divination, ancient prophecies, ghosts, and fairies were taken very seriously by people at all social and economic levels in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. Helplessness in the face of disease and human disaster helped to perpetuate this belief in magic and the supernatural. As Keith Thomas shows, England during these years resembled in many ways today's "underdeveloped areas." The English population was exceedingly liable to pain, sickness, and premature death; many were illiterate; epidemics such as the bubonic plague plowed through English towns, at times cutting the number of London's inhabitants by a sixth; fire was a constant threat; the food supply was precarious; and for most diseases there was no effective medical remedy.
In this fascinating and detailed book, Keith Thomas shows how magic, like the medieval Church, offered an explanation for misfortune and a means of redress in times of adversity. The supernatural thus had its own practical utility in daily life. Some forms of magic were challenged by the Protestant Reformation, but only with the increased search for scientific explanation of the universe did the English people begin to abandon their recourse to the supernatural.
Science and technology have made us less vulnerable to some of the hazards which confronted the people of the past. Yet Religion and the Decline of Magic concludes that "if magic is defined as the employment of ineffective techniques to allay anxiety when effective ones are not available, then we must recognize that no society will ever be free from it."
Why is this play called a Comedy? Why do some call it a Romantic Comedy and others a Tragicomedy? Jude
I suspect that a 'comedy' was anything that did not end in tragedy. The old masks
portraying drama only had the two; no in-between.
12th-century Europe: Marriage is good for loving...someone else—Upper-class marriages are often arranged before the couple has met. Aristocrats believe love is incompatible with marriage and can flourish only in adultery.
14th-century Europe: It takes a village—Ordinary people can't choose whom to marry either. The lord of one Black Forest manor decrees in 1344 that all his unmarried tenants—including widows and widowers—marry spouses of his choosing. Elsewhere, peasants wishing to pick a partner must pay a fee.
16th-century Europe: Love's a bore—Any man in love with his wife must be so dull that no one else could love him, writes the French essayist Montaigne.
1690s U.S.: Virginia wasn't always for lovers—Passionate love between husband and wife is considered unseemly: One Virginia colonist describes a woman he knows as "more fond of her husband perhaps than the politeness of the day allows." Protestant ministers warn spouses against loving each other too much, or using endearing nicknames that will undermine husbandly authority.
18th-century Europe: Love gains ground—In England and in the salons of Enlightenment thinkers, married love is gaining credibility. Ladies' debating societies declare that while loveless marriages are regrettable, women must consider money when choosing a partner.
The kingdom continued to be a focus of dispute between France and Spain for the next several decades, but French efforts to gain control of it became feebler as the decades went on, and Spanish control was never genuinely endangered. The French finally abandoned their claims to the kingdom by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. With the Treaty of London (1557) the new territory of "Stato dei Presidi" (State of Presidi) was born and was governed directly by Spain, as part of the Kingdom of Naples.
After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, possession of the kingdom again changed hands.
John Digby - King James I sent Digby to Madrid as his ambassador to Spain during the early 1610s, and Digby was a leading figure in the unsuccessful Spanish Match, the effort to marry Prince Charles to the Infanta Maria Anna of Spain. Digby was made the scapegoat, recalled and ordered to reside on his estates. Charles after his accession offered Digby his favour if he would admit his fault : Digby, always a stubborn and hot-tempered man, refused. Charles, infuriated, impeached him and sent him to the Tower of London;...
Dana, happy that you are still with us! I'd forgotten Prospero's magic cloak. I wonder how Shakespeare's audience responded to the magical elements in the play- remembering that alchemy was still prevalent, though fading. Does the audience still accept magic, devils, ghosts, etc as possible realities? Or are they viewing the play as a fairy tale? What do you think?
Hypnotizing Miranda was one thing, but turning the young male servant into a female would require really special powers.QuoteIn 1600 Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for his occult studies. Shakespeare makes sure that Prospero's magic is based on rationality and divinity rather than the occult which is symbolized by the witch Sycorax who worshipped the devil and was full of "earthy and abhorrent commands". She is unable to control Ariel because he is "too delicate"for her dark tasks."
This is really helpful, Jude and adds to the way Shakespeare's magic was viewed at the time. I thought the BBC production was very very difficult to understand -they seemed to be almost mumbling at times
I combed through Scene 2 of the first act, looking for any indication of Ariel's gender. Pronouns/adjectives describing Ariel are male: "to thy strong bidding task, Ariel and all his qualities..." etc.
But then Prospero tells him to "make thyself a nymph of the sea." I thought that was strange. I thought Prospero had the power to do that...but can Ariel make himself into a nymph? Prospero also tells him that he will be invisible to all but the two of them. Hmm... That would require magic, wouldn't it?
So how does Ariel appear on the stage? Keep in mind that the cast would be all male. Men - and young boys too. I can see Ariel as the boy that JoanK describes...
But the sea nymph? Ferdinand hears a voice singing the "sweet air" as he describes the singing of "Full Fathom Five" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YfJ66YmO8k) that that lures him to the island.
I'm more inclined to picture this nymph as Barbara describes, rather than a young boy dressed as a maid. MAYBE the audience never sees Ariel...remember only Prospero can see him as the nymph. Ferdinand only follows the sweet voice.
Dana, I can't see where the sexual orientation of Ariel is relevant here. I'm going to guess BBC production is probably one of those modern adaptations to appeal to modern audiences. I saw a production of Midsummer's Night's Dream long ago, at Christmas time it was - with my four young sons...All the dancing fairies were portrayed as gay men, dressed in white jockey shorts ... I don't want to think about that again. But it was some director's decision, who thought the old play needed updating.
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestgraphic.jpg) | The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, was written in 1611 in the final period of his career. The play is not really a comedy, but combines elements of tragedy with comedy, a tragicomedy. Shakespeare set the play on an unnamed island in an unidentified age. In it, he portrays an aging magician, Prospero, who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past twelve years. Over the course of a single day, Prospero uses his magic to whip up a tempest to shipwreck the men responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors (and the audience) with his art as he orchestrates his triumphant return home where he plans to retire in peace. For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage. When Prospero (after giving up the art of magic he's spent a lifetime perfecting) appears alone before the audience he confesses, "Now my charms are all o'erthrown, / And what strength I have's mine own," we can't help but wonder of Shakespeare is speaking through this character here. From multiple sources, including Shakespearean Criticism, Gale Cengage |
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempest%20illustratin.jpg) | Some Topics to Consider
Relevant links: The Tempest (Electronic Version) (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20tempest%20electronic%20text&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CCgQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fetext.virginia.edu%2Ftoc%2Fmodeng%2Fpublic%2FMobTemp.html&ei=c4NsUNyVNcXj0QGrxYGwAg&usg=AFQjCNHXBZGS5NE87Z6K2eeWq2d7HHa4Eg), BookTV: Hobson Woodard: A Brave Vessel (http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/288623-1), Translation of W. Strachey's long letter describing the shipwreck to the Excellent Woman (http://www.shakespeareinamericanlife.org/identity/shipwreck/storm1.cfm), Listen to Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Full Fathom Five" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YfJ66YmO8k) Memorable Quotes from The Tempest - a list in Progress (http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestquotes.html) DLs: Marcie (marciei@aol.com), JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net), Barb (augere@ix.netcom.com), JoanK (joankraft13@yahoo.com), Babi (jonkie@verizon.net) I'm speculating on a lot of this JOAN, but my supposition so far is that Prospero plans on making Ferdinand the new King of Naples, with Miranda as his queen. He, himself, will take back his place as Duke of Milan. He is quite pleased that Miranda and Ferdinand are falling in love. Makes his work so much easier! Quote using endearing nicknames that will undermine husbandly authority.That gave me an 'Aha' moment, BARB. I was always puzzled as to why wives of that period continued to address their husbands as "Mr. ______". Showing proper respect for husbandly authority, apparently. |
He is quite pleased that Miranda and Ferdinand are falling in love. Makes his work so much easier!--Babi
They are both in either's powers. But this swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light" (Scene 2, 541-5)
He summarises the play by saying it is about restoring justice. That idea is another way to look at this play
" the character grows out of the soil where it is rooted uncontrolled, uncouth and wild, uncramped by any of the meannesses of custom"
"Who are the civilized people in the play? "A good question, Jonathan. Do you see a parallel between the Italians on this island and the English who civilized the inhabitants at Jamestown?
"He receives comfort like cold porridge"- the audience knows that the cold porridge is "pease-porridge - a porridge made from peas. Thus the pun on Alonso's "peace" and "pease-porridge." I'd say it's a pretty good line, even if we didn't know about the pun...but it is an example of how much there is that is going right over our heads. :D
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestgraphic.jpg) | The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, was written in 1611 in the final period of his career. The play is not really a comedy, but combines elements of tragedy with comedy, a tragicomedy. Shakespeare set the play on an unnamed island in an unidentified age. In it, he portrays an aging magician, Prospero, who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past twelve years. Over the course of a single day, Prospero uses his magic to whip up a tempest to shipwreck the men responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors (and the audience) with his art as he orchestrates his triumphant return home where he plans to retire in peace. For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage. When Prospero (after giving up the art of magic he's spent a lifetime perfecting) appears alone before the audience he confesses, "Now my charms are all o'erthrown, / And what strength I have's mine own," we can't help but wonder of Shakespeare is speaking through this character here. From multiple sources, including Shakespearean Criticism, Gale Cengage |
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempest%20illustratin.jpg) | Some Topics to Consider
Relevant links: The Tempest (Electronic Version) (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20tempest%20electronic%20text&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CCgQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fetext.virginia.edu%2Ftoc%2Fmodeng%2Fpublic%2FMobTemp.html&ei=c4NsUNyVNcXj0QGrxYGwAg&usg=AFQjCNHXBZGS5NE87Z6K2eeWq2d7HHa4Eg), BookTV: Hobson Woodard: A Brave Vessel (http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/288623-1), Translation of W. Strachey's long letter describing the shipwreck to the Excellent Woman (http://www.shakespeareinamericanlife.org/identity/shipwreck/storm1.cfm), Listen to Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Full Fathom Five" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YfJ66YmO8k) Memorable Quotes from The Tempest - a list in Progress (http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestquotes.html) DLs: Marcie (marciei@aol.com), JoanP (jonkie@verizon.net), Barb (augere@ix.netcom.com), JoanK (joankraft13@yahoo.com), Babi (jonkie@verizon.net) Sebastian may be right about the decision to marry Alonso's daughter so far away, but I don't think much of a man who would attack his brother when he is grieving over the death of a son. I see no evidence whatsoever of any kind of brotherly affection between them. Thanks for those analyses, MARCIE. It's a pleasure to see those contrasts and contradictions so clearly summarized. The plotting of Sebastian and Antonio was so pointless. As the quote says, ..'consider human nature'. Some people want to be on top, no matter what the situation. BARB, I must conclude that Strachey would have made a terrible governor, and would have been responsible for the natives wiping out the colony long before that vessel reached it, had he been in charge. As you observe in your next post, Somers is the kind of leader we respect and understand. |
Reading this makes me want to re-read Shakespeare researching history
I would like to see Caliban played by a handsome young man, surrounded by these devilish guys.
"Shakespeare, like so many great writers, did not borrow; he stole in term of his plots."So true, Jude - That was his art, wasn't it? Knowing which sources to use to weave into one cohesive drama!
His valedictory comedy The Tempest imagines Europeans discovering this "brave new world".
"The bravest aspect of all is what Shakespeare has done with what he stole. He himself says it best: this stolen matter in his hands, 'doth suffer a sea-change into something rich and strange.'Jonathan, that is such a wonderful way of describing what Shakespeare has done with everything he reads and witnesses.
"I was not getting the humor just reading this and I'm struggling with the old English. I have not found a good annotated copy" Barbara
Shakespeare's audience would have recognized Caliban as one of the native Americans they had already seen on display. Shakespeare even refers to the "strange beast," the dead Indian" in SCENE 2, line 34 when they find Caliban asleep under his cloak.
..........................................
The poor girl has never seen another man except Caliban (do we count Ariel as a man?)
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestgraphic.jpg) | The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, was written in 1611 in the final period of his career. The play is not really a comedy, but combines elements of tragedy with comedy, a tragicomedy. Shakespeare set the play on an unnamed island in an unidentified age. In it, he portrays an aging magician, Prospero, who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past twelve years. Over the course of a single day, Prospero uses his magic to whip up a tempest to shipwreck the men responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors (and the audience) with his art as he orchestrates his triumphant return home where he plans to retire in peace. For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage. When Prospero (after giving up the art of magic he's spent a lifetime perfecting) appears alone before the audience he confesses, "Now my charms are all o'erthrown, / And what strength I have's mine own," we can't help but wonder of Shakespeare is speaking through this character here. From multiple sources, including Shakespearean Criticism, Gale Cengage |
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| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempest%20illustratin.jpg) | Some Topics to Consider Act III 1. Using three words or very short phrases describe how you see each character. E.g. Prospero: Authority figure, Loves and Reads Books, Disposed Leader - or what three words would you use to describe him and then the others. 2. On an Island where gold exchange has no value what is the exchange currency and how do characters relate to that currency? 3. In Act I, Ferdinand loses his freedom to Prospero regardless of Miranda's pleas. How, in Act III does Miranda speak-up, soften, soothe Ferdinand's reactions to his loss of freedom and forced labor? How does Miranda disobey her father, Prospero? |
4. What does Caliban's suggestion of Miranda as booty and part of the perks of power have to say about a woman's power and role in the seventeenth century? What valuable replacement could be a perk of power on a small Island? 5. What does the scene in which Caliban suggests to Stephano that Miranda is a prize if he is king, say about the characteristics of a man worthy of a 'white' girl? What is the benefit to Caliban if Stephano becomes king? Did you see Caliban as leering at Miranda or stating matter of fact a commonly accepted benefit? 6. "The isle is full of noises", what noises have you noticed? How does the noise add to our understanding the characters? 7. What various connections are there to a table laden with food for the "Three Men of Sin"? 8. What do the association with Harpies and Ariel's early captivity on the island have in common and assuming the audience read Dante, is this the fear for the "Three Men of Sin"? 9. In traditional Greek myth, Harpies were the destructive nature of wind. Harpies are vicious, cruel, and exceedingly violent. Harpies are sisters to Iris, the Greek personification of the rainbow. To what ends is Ariel as a Harpy, meant to scare the "Three Men of Sin"? Do you foresee them experiencing a rainbow? 10. What about this play seems unbelievable? - Do you see the play as a fantasy (i.e. as the author's vision, rather than an entire culture's psyche, often introducing new words and scenarios) or an early example of Magical Realism (i.e. illogical scenarios appearing in a realistic or "normal" setting) or possibly as a simple Fairytale (i.e. reflecting the traditional, handed down values, morals, and world-views of the cultures which produce them)? |
"I'm dying to ask her (Marjorie Garber) who she thinks is the hero of this play. She's a Professor of English at Harvard."
"The Tempest is full of theatrical metaphors, such as "what's past is prologue." The metaphor has been forgotten, and the phrase has devolved into distorted forms (like "past and prologue"). When Antonio tells Sebastian that they have the opportunity to "perform an act," he means Act I of their own heroic drama. What's happened so far (that is, "what's past") is the prologue to that play, and the script is henceforth in their hands (in their "discharge").
Prologues were common in Renaissance drama, though Shakespeare himself wrote few of them. The prologue usually set the scene and presented the givens of the play (this is the kind Antonio has in mind). "What's past is prologue," then, translates roughly as "What's already happened merely sets the scene for the really important stuff, which is the stuff our greatness will be made on."
“modesty” The word, originating in the 16th century, comes from the Latin word modestia, which is closely related to the concept of moderation. There are three distinct entries in dictionary.com:
• The quality of being modest; freedom from vanity, boastfulness, etc.
• Regard for decency of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
• Simplicity; moderation.
...Modesty is not related exclusively, or even particularly, to women’s dress; it is a broad concept that governs the behavior of all God’s creatures.
The first dictionary entry relates modesty to humility. One should not be haughty, think too much of oneself or be a braggart. Certainly, the triumphalism that would lead one faction to say, “all others must live in accordance with our rules and conceptions” slaps this notion of modesty in the face.
The second entry implies a sense of normalcy and decency. One should not try to act in a way that stands out, but should act with decorum appropriate to the situation.
The third entry is closely related to the other two. One should not focus on money, grandeur or extravagance, but should do things simply and politely, with a balanced sense of moderation.
"At my unworthiness, that dare not offer, 94
What I desire to give, and much less take
What I shall die to want. But this is trifling,
And all the more it seeks to hide itself,
The bigger bulk it shows. Hence bashful cunning,
And prompt, me plain and holy innocence."
" I see Trinculo as Timid - Dependent - Observant" Barb
Patwhat aterrific way to differentiate between the two-very very good!
You gave me my first laugh of the day. A good omen.
You asked :"Does love have to overcome adversity?"
Well in a Shakespeare's plays it certainly does.
I have here the first glimmer in my mind of why this play is sometimes called a tragicomedy.
In the tragedies, like Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet their is huge adversity to love. But the ending is tragic with death instead of a loving future. In the comedies there are also many barriers to a successful joining of the lovers but they don't die but DO have the future together by overcoming that adversity that is the Drama of the play and keeps us waiting to see what will happen.
We immediately identify with the lovers and ,in a comedy, their goodness, and wait to see how their story will unfold.
So, Pat
You didn't expect that your question would unleash all of these thoughts in my mind. But not being an expert on Mr. S, I don't know if they are right or wrong.
What say you?
The Tempest Shakespeare uses as a character, Robert Armin, called a Jester, given at court in 1611 - "In the best tradition of his predecessors, Trinculos sees through the self-deceit of Stephano and Caliban to tell the unvarnished truth about their situation in the strange new world in which they have found themselves. 'Servant-monster!', he declares, echoing Stephano. "The folly of this Island! They say there's but five upon this isle: we are three of them: if th' other two be brain'd like us, the state totters."
"We seem to talk more about the characters so that the characters in this play seem to have greater emphasis - What do you think? - Do you see in this play a greater emphasis on the situations they are in..." Barbara
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestgraphic.jpg) | The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, was written in 1611 in the final period of his career. The play is not really a comedy, but combines elements of tragedy with comedy, a tragicomedy. Shakespeare set the play on an unnamed island in an unidentified age. In it, he portrays an aging magician, Prospero, who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past twelve years. Over the course of a single day, Prospero uses his magic to whip up a tempest to shipwreck the men responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors (and the audience) with his art as he orchestrates his triumphant return home where he plans to retire in peace. For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage. When Prospero (after giving up the art of magic he's spent a lifetime perfecting) appears alone before the audience he confesses, "Now my charms are all o'erthrown, / And what strength I have's mine own," we can't help but wonder of Shakespeare is speaking through this character here. From multiple sources, including Shakespearean Criticism, Gale Cengage |
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| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempest%20illustratin.jpg) | Some Topics to Consider Act IV 1. After the drama in Act III, Act IV is quite different in tone. Does that work dramatically? 2. Many think that Prospero is supposed to be Shakespeare himself. What evidence do you see of that in this Act? 3. It's also possible to see Prospero and his magic as representing England and its power colonizing the globe. What evidence do you see of that? Which interpretation do you like best? 4. How does Prospero reveal the attitude of the English of the time toward "natives"? Is that Shakespeare's attitude toward Caliban? |
5. Why does Shakespeare introduce the vow that Ferdinand makes? What does Juno say later about it? Does it add to the play? Does it tell us about current attitudes? 6. Why is Prospero "expected" to put on this little play? How does this fit into the customs of the time? 7. Who are Iris, Ceres, Juno? Would Shakespeare's audience have been familiar with them? 8. Does the story of the "glittering clothes" have allegorical meaning? Does it continue the theme of freedom and bondage? 9. "We are the stuff that dreams are made of." Does Shakespeare successfully interweave fantasy and reality in this act? How does this compare with his other plays? With more modern plays with a similar theme? |
I was laughing so hard at the antics of the three clowns.
"The play without him[Ariel] would be very boring."
Simple magic was also called folk magic because it was used to affect the everyday live of the people. Before the Christian era, witches in Europe were usually women. They were the village healers and spell-makers. They were respected and feared because of their powers to bring wealth, love, health or sickness and death. Even though witches were important to the village, they were always considered outsiders.
During the period of the witch-hunts, people believed that witches could fly. Some witches were said to ride demons that had taken the shapes of goats, cows, or other animals. The belief in the ability to fly has been a long standing and important part of many spiritual traditions. Flying represents the freedom of the spirit or soul to break away from the physical world and travel in the spirit world. Even though the belief of flying was a long-standing tradition, by the tenth century most educated people in Europe were skeptical of this ability.
Another common belief was that witches had familiars. Authorities claimed that the familiar was a demon or devil, transformed into an animal form to do a witch's evil bidding. People believed familiars could change shape or become invisible. Familiars were usually small animals such as dogs, cats, toads, mice and owls. Many witches' familiars had unusual names. To church authorities during the witch-hunts, familiars were demons, because the only spiritual entities that could exist, according to the church, were God, angels, the devil and demons.
"Prospero is not at all happy."
Hymen was supposed to attend every wedding. If he didn't, then the marriage would supposedly prove disastrous, so the Greeks would run about calling his name aloud. He presided over many of the weddings in Greek mythology, for all the deities and their children.
Hymen was celebrated in the ancient marriage song of unknown origin (called a Hymenaios) Hymen o Hymenae, Hymen delivered by G. Valerius Catullus. Both the term hymn and hymen are derived from this celebration
There is such a strong resemblance to Strachey's account - "He depicted the new governor, Thomas Gates as a patient patriarch who abhorred violence but who was forced into the role of a wounded overseer resigned to delivering punishment. In Virginia, the killing of Blunt [ambushed by Indians] caused the conversion; in The Tempest it was brought on by Caliban's attempted rape of Miranda. In The Tempest, as in Virginia,the perceived recalcitrance of the indignenous person moves the interloper to use force instead fo the moderate persuasion he prefers." Hobson Woodward.
Do you think things have changed much today?
“Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded...
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestgraphic.jpg) | The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, was written in 1611 in the final period of his career. The play is not really a comedy, but combines elements of tragedy with comedy, a tragicomedy. Shakespeare set the play on an unnamed island in an unidentified age. In it, he portrays an aging magician, Prospero, who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past twelve years. Over the course of a single day, Prospero uses his magic to whip up a tempest to shipwreck the men responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors (and the audience) with his art as he orchestrates his triumphant return home where he plans to retire in peace. For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage. When Prospero (after giving up the art of magic he's spent a lifetime perfecting) appears alone before the audience he confesses, "Now my charms are all o'erthrown, / And what strength I have's mine own," we can't help but wonder of Shakespeare is speaking through this character here. From multiple sources, including Shakespearean Criticism, Gale Cengage |
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| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempest%20illustratin.jpg) | Some Topics to Consider Act V 1. What appeal does Ariel make to Prospero? Is Prospero's response what you would have expected? Would you have expected such an appeal from Ariel? 2. How believable is it that someone possessing such power as Prospero would voluntarily release it? Can you think of any real life examples? 3. Do you think Prospero should have told Alonso of Sebastian and Antonio's traitorous intentions? Pro or con, what is your reasoning? 4. What did you think of Caliban's reaction when fetched before Prospero this last time? Do you think this indicates any change in attitude or understanding? |
"What makes me wonder is really a question, are we laying onto this story our twenty-first century morality" Barbara -
"We know that Strachey's account of life on Bermuda and Jamestown are woven into this story" Barbara
I wonder who the woman with the golden wings was.That was Ariel again. I wonder if she had to sing while she was hanging in the air like that?
After summer merrily:
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
Everyone sees only the deformed monster in Caliban. Why is that? He was self-sufficient, it seems, until Prospero came along. Then, like now with Trinculo and Stephano, he was willing to share the resources of the island. He was eager to learn what Prospero and Miranda could teach him. He was attuned to all the enchantments of the island. He was more sinned against than sinner himself. And yet he seems unworthy of sympathy. His island means just as much to him as the dukedom of Milan means to Prospero.
I wonder if the prejudice against him comes from being the son of a witch. We can have no idea of the threat seen in witches in medieval and even Elizabethan times. Witchcraft Acts were still in force. Witches were hanged in public. Witchery was a force to be reckoned with. What a strange thing. Was it an early, active form of militant feminism? Women determined to play a role in worldly affairs.
I hope there is a happy ending in here for Caliban.
Beauty is assumed to be character.
I wonder if Shakespeare was able to appreciate what he was writing?I wonder also - I wonder if it was simply a means to earning money and he was pleased when it was a well attended play. We learned he even allowed the king to influence what he wrote so the play would be more successful at the box office because of having the King's OK - I guess none of those who create enduring art have a clue that 100s of years later we would still be learning from and admiring their work.
2. How believable is it that someone possessing such power as Prospero would voluntarily release it? Can you think of any real life examples?
The play has left me baffled.True and frankly I enjoyed The Brave Vessel far more than this play - it was not magical like like A Midsummer Night’s Dream that has magic and fairies and strange animal like humans - I kept asking as I read, so what is the point here... I am glad I read it and glad there was a group read because without y'all bringing up one issue after another it would have been a pretty dull read - even the love interest peaked little interest -
I can't think of a better farewell than the one Mr. S. gave us in this play. Magic andI couldn't agree more, JUDE. Those magnificent lines! And Caliban:
reality braided together. New World and Old World joined in a wondrous send off for
Prospero and Shakespeare.
"I find it easy to become entranced with the rhetoric, the beautiful use of language."
"When it came to stories of the supernatural based on classical mythology Shakespeare went back to a book he would have studied at school, Ovid’s Metamorphoses. He knew the book both in the original Latin, and in an English translation. The passage in which he refers most directly to Ovid is Prospero’s renunciation of magic in The Tempest."
| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempestgraphic.jpg) | The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, was written in 1611 in the final period of his career. The play is not really a comedy, but combines elements of tragedy with comedy, a tragicomedy. Shakespeare set the play on an unnamed island in an unidentified age. In it, he portrays an aging magician, Prospero, who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past twelve years. Over the course of a single day, Prospero uses his magic to whip up a tempest to shipwreck the men responsible for his banishment. He then proceeds to dazzle and dismay the survivors (and the audience) with his art as he orchestrates his triumphant return home where he plans to retire in peace. For a lot of audiences and literary scholars, Prospero seems like a stand-in in for Shakespeare, who spent a lifetime dazzling audiences before retiring in 1611, shortly after The Tempest was completed. Its epilogue seems to be a final and fond farewell to the stage. When Prospero (after giving up the art of magic he's spent a lifetime perfecting) appears alone before the audience he confesses, "Now my charms are all o'erthrown, / And what strength I have's mine own," we can't help but wonder of Shakespeare is speaking through this character here. From multiple sources, including Shakespearean Criticism, Gale Cengage |
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| (http://seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/tempest/tempest%20illustratin.jpg) | Some Topics to Consider Act V 1. What appeal does Ariel make to Prospero? Is Prospero's response what you would have expected? Would you have expected such an appeal from Ariel? 2. How believable is it that someone possessing such power as Prospero would voluntarily release it? Can you think of any real life examples? 3. Do you think Prospero should have told Alonso of Sebastian and Antonio's traitorous intentions? Pro or con, what is your reasoning? 4. What did you think of Caliban's reaction when fetched before Prospero this last time? Do you think this indicates any change in attitude or understanding? |
The only medical fact known about Shakespeare with certainty is that his final signatures show a pronounced tremor. Compared to other Elizabethan writers, Shakespeare had an unhealthy obsession with syphilis. D. H. Lawrence wrote, “I am convinced that some of Shakespeare’s horror and despair, in his tragedies, arose from the shock of his consciousness of syphilis.” According to contemporary gossip, Shakespeare was notoriously promiscuous. An obscure satire called Willobie His Avisa seems to suggest that Shakespeare was part of a love triangle in which all three parties had venereal disease. The standard Elizabethan treatment for syphilis was mercury; as the saying goes, “a night with Venus, a lifetime with Mercury." Mercury’s more alarming side effects include hypersalivation, gingivitis, and tremor. Did Shakespeare’s writing career end because of adverse effects of mercury treatment?
'All torment, trouble, wonder, amazement inhabits here. Some heavenly power guide us out of this fearful country!'
"How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O,brave new world
That has such people in 't."
I hope she's a fast learner.Me, too, PAT. Right now, all these new people are grand and offer new
"When he says "bare island"(line he refers both to the empty stage and the island he is leaving behind."Jude-
"Brave New World's ironic title derives from Miranda's speech in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, Act V, Scene I:
O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in't.
—William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act V, Scene I, ll. 203–206
This line itself is ironic; Miranda was raised for most of her life on an isolated island, and the only people she ever knew were her father and his servants, an enslaved savage and spirits, namely Ariel. When she sees other people for the first time, she is understandably overcome with excitement, and utters, among other praise, the famous line above. However, what she is actually observing is not men acting in a refined or civilized manner, but rather drunken sailors staggering off the wreckage of their ship. Huxley employs the same irony when the "savage" John refers to what he sees as a "brave new world".
Which would be worse for Caliban? I don't think he will be going to Milan, but isBabi thinks he will stay on the island - and go mad with loneliness. Jude has no doubt that Caliban will have to stay behind...his black magic not welcome in Milan.
staying on the island alone better? I wonder how long it would take me to go quite mad
from the loneliness.
Bring on the Hobbit.