During England’s Elizabethan period, people were captivated by magic and the supernatural. During this period there was little distinction between science and magic. Educated people practiced medicine, astrology, alchemy, sorcery, and tried to control the elements. Some scholars conclude that controlling the elements of nature is an underlying basis for early science and some religions (Hopfe). One of the most famous Elizabethan scientists, and one who Queen Elizabeth herself kept on staff was Dr. John Dee (Woolley). John Dee was also known as a magus, a title given to someone who was considered a master magician or adept in astrology, alchemy, or sorcery (Melton). Evidence for this cultural preoccupation with magic during the Elizabethan period can be found in many of William Shakespeare’s plays, including his final work, The Tempest, which was written between 1610 and 1611. It is widely believed that Shakespeare may well have had Dr. John Dee in mind when creating the character of Prospero (Woolley). Prospero, the play’s protagonist, is a master magician. At its core, The Tempest entertains an underlying theme of justice and forgiveness for Prospero’s brother usurping and exiling him and his daughter to a desolate foreign isle, but more prominent is Prospero and Ariel’s use of magic and manipulation of the elements. Magic plays such a key role in the play, that it could be defined as an additional character. In fact, if it weren’t for the plays heavy use of magic, The Tempest Would be boring and uneventful, and we would be left with only a man stranded on an island with his daughter and a helpful and deformed native inhabitant named Caliban.
We first see the use of magic immediately in the opening scene of the fir...
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...ation into a harpy in Act III, Scene III. Ariel is sent to lead Alonso et al. to find their way to Prospero so he can finally confront them about their wrongdoings. Ariel magically creates an enormous feast to tempt the weary travelers who have not eaten in days. Just as the men are to dive in to the feast, Ariel appears as a Harpy, flaps his wing over the buffet and the feast disappears.
Magic, sorcery, and control of the elements play a major role in The Tempest. Thinking the play could have existed without it is difficult to imagine. All the major twists and pivotal moments could not have taken place if magic were not a fundamental element in the play. It makes me wonder if William Shakespeare was educated in the supernatural, science, and magic. Unfortunately little is know about the life and times of William Shakespeare, so one can only speculate.
In William Shakespeare's Tempest the main protagonist Prospero acts as a manipulator, just like the scientists Frankenstein from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Crake from Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. In each novel, the authors show how these knowledgeable characters go beyond what humans should be allowed to do. They forcefully taint nature and the author reflects these actions as negative. In Tempest, Prospero learns magic and while doing so cuts himself from society and in turn his role as a duke. Both Frankenstein and Crake share these similarities. Each pursues knowledge and while doing so isolates them from society. The personalities of the characters also reenforce this comparison. Prospero before he sees the evil in his magic
In the comedic, yet thrilling play, The Tempest, William Shakespeare uses characters such as Caliban, Alonso, and Ariel to show Prospero’s immense cruelness and pure monstrosity. Moreover, these Shakespearean characters are also used to highlight Prospero’s change in character into a kinder and more forgiving person. Prospero starts the play out as a vengeful monster, after an illuminating moment however, his persona transforms into his true identity of a compassionate man.
To expound, after running Alonzo’s ship aground, Ariel verbally demonstrates his opposition to Prospero’s forced servitude, thus alluding to the anti-colonial nature of The Tempest play. Believing that his master will free him one year earlier as agre...
The Tempest, it is clear, features an experiment by Prospero. He has not brought the Europeans to the vicinity of the island, but when they do come close to it, he has, through the power of illusion, lured them into his very special realm. The experiment first of all breaks up their social solidarity, for they land in different groups: Ferdinand by himself, the court group, Stephano and Trinculo by themselves, and the sailors remain asleep. The magic leads them by separate paths until they all meet in the circle drawn by Prospero in front of his cave. There he removes the spell of the illusions; the human family recognizes each other, and together they resolve to return to Italy, leaving behind the powers of the magic associated with the island.
“The Tempest” is a play written by William Shakespeare in early 1600s that has been previewed in different kinds of movies, such as the one made in 2010, directed by Julie Taymor. It is a play containing themes such as; revenge, allusion, retribution, forgiveness, power, love and hatred. When it is compared to the play, there are specific differences seen in the movie, such as; Prospero is reflected as a woman in the movie. The time differences between the play and the movie and how the spirit Ariel is shown as a white man in the movie. The play starts with the story of Prospero, the Duke of Milan. He gets banished from Italy and was cast to sea by his brother Antonio. He has perfected his skills during twelve years of exile on a lonely island. Prospero creates the tempest to make his enemies’ ship to wreck and lead them to the island. Meanwhile, Antonio takes Prospero’s place and starts to make everyone believe he is the duke and makes an agreement with the King of Naples, Alonso. Besides the drama happening in the island, Prospero forgives Alonso and the others.
In The Tempest, Art is that which is composed of grace, civility, and virtue. It is represented by Prospero, the other members of the nobility who belong to the court party and their servants. The world of the court is synonymous with the world of art in the play. In contrast, Nature is bestial, brutish and evil and manifests itself in the form of Caliban and the natural world. With two such extremes brought together, debate between the two is inevitable.
It makes sense to me to see in this Shakespeare's sense of his own art--both what it can achieve and what it cannot. The theatre--that magical world of poetry, song, illusion, pleasing and threatening apparitions--can, like Prospero's magic, educate us into a better sense of ourselves, into a final acceptance of the world, a state in which we forgive and forget in the interests of the greater human community. The theatre, that is, can reconcile us to the joys of the human community so that we do not destroy our families in a search for righting past evils in a spirit of personal revenge or as crude assertions of our own egos. It can, in a very real sense, help us fully to understand the central Christian commitment to charity, to loving our neighbour as ourselves. The magic here brings about a total reconciliation of all levels of society from sophisticated rulers to semi-human brutes, momentarily holding off Machiavellian deceit, drunken foolishness, and animalistic rebellion--each person, no matter how he has lived, has a place in the magic circle at the end. And no one is asking any awkward questions.
The nucleus of the plot in Shakespeare's The Tempest revolves around Prospero enacting his revenge on various characters who have wronged him in different ways. Interestingly enough, he uses the spirit of Ariel to deliver the punishments while Prospero delegates the action. Prospero is such a character that can concoct methods of revenge but hesitates to have direct involvement with disillusioning his foes. In essence, Prospero sends Ariel to do his dirty work while hiding his involvement in shipwrecking his brother, Antonio, from his daughter, Miranda.
Sometimes it takes any advantage to attain power. Prospero secures power on the island through his use of magic and manipulation. He is in control of all of the events in the play since he essentially has all of the power. It is also revealed how he maintains his power by exploring the use of his manipulative magic and the hold he has over those around him. By using his magical influence over the natives he has enslaves, Prospero invokes fear in Ariel by stating, “If you complain any more, I’ll split an oak tree and lock you up in it till you’ve howled for twelve years” (Shakespeare 37). He uses his power as a fear tactic to make the native people do his bidding for him. He also uses his magic against those he has shipwrecked on the island. He puts them in a trance to keep him busy until he needs them again, “My magic powers are in full swing, and my enemies are confused and running around in circles. They’re under my control, and I’m keeping them in their crazy fits” (Shakespeare 143). By entrancing the men from the boat, Prospero can keep them under his bid until he sets himself on a course of action. As he states, “.., my enemies have happened to wreck their ship on this island. As I see it, my fate hangs on this lucky event”, he must be precise in how he handles cultivates these people or he will risk the possibility of his plan unraveling before him (Shakespeare 27). The idea behind him having magic is to set him apart
The Tempest by Shakespeare and A Tempest by Cesaire both bring attention to the themes that are seen in present day society. A Tempest mostly speaks on behalf of the reference to Malcolm X and the never-ending gain of freedom for both Caliban and Ariel and brings in Eshu, who is a black-devil god. The Tempest speaks of the unity and justice among the different classes of people and discrimination from the beginning. There is a great amount of detail in both stories that is useful. The way society had developed and worked when both stories were published and even written is presented in today’s world, even though it’s not exact references, it still leaves plenty of room for interpretation. Justice, freedom from oppression and discrimination
The Tempest is a play that serves as a window into what it was like during the Age of Exploration as well as what encounters between the old and new world were like. Through Shakespeare’s characters it is evident what interactions between Europeans and natives were like during this time, as well as what society thought of such experiences.
The Tempest was written in 1611 as Shakespeare’s last romantic comedy. This play is focused mainly on the theme of power. Shakespeare portrays an aging magician who has been living in exile with his young daughter on a remote island for the past 12 years. Shakespeare presents forms of power in different ways, but mainly through the characters of Prospero. In The Tempest Shakespeare shows 3 different types of power, which are through love, power over his slave Caliban, and power of magic.
Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest is set on a mysterious island surrounded by the ocean. Here the magician Prospero is ruler of the isle with his two servants Caliban and Ariel. Caliban is the abrasive, foul-mouthed son of the evil witch Sycorax. When Prospero was shipwrecked on the island Prospero treated him kindly but their relationship changed when Caliban tried to rape Prospero's daughter, Miranda. Caliban then became Prospero's unwilling servant. Caliban serves his master out of fear Prospero's wrath. Prospero's other servant Ariel is a graceful spirit who has courtesy and charm. Ariel has put her services at Prospero's disposal out of gratitude for his kind actions towards her. Prospero saved Ariel from the confinement of Sycorax who held her prisoner.
The Tempest, like any text, is a product of its context. It is constructed in relation to moral or ethical concerns of 17th century European Jacobean society. The resolution of conflict appears 'natural' or an inevitable consequence if regarded in relation to the concerns of its context. The resolution of conflict in this play incorporates Prospero being returned to his 'rightful' or natural position as Duke of Milan, his daughter Miranda getting married to Ferdinand, and the party returning to Milan leaving the island to the 'monster', Caliban. The resolution is a consequence of the concerns of the time, including the idea of the divine right of kings, courtly love, and colonisation.
Compared to plays written for public playhouses, The Tempest offers a unique emphasis on music. Hiring extra musicians, along with the time constraints usually resulted in small attention given to this area (Long 95). Given the large degree of detail allotted to music in the play, it is believed the audience to have been upper class, however, music of The Tempest serves a variety of functions beyond that of mere entertainment. By exploring the evidence provided in The Tempest, we can reveal some of these functions that music serves in the play.