The Rhetorical in the Music of The Tempest In the midst of a Shakespearean play, there has and always will be a ghost that hovers over the actors and the audience. This is a ghost with a purpose, a ghost I call rhetoric. In every Shakespeare play, there exists an energy that has the power to persuade the audience to feel or believe something that Shakespeare believed. This energy breathes through the dialogue, the props and especially the music. The audience and the play engage in an exchange of question and answer to assist society in working through human dilemmas. What I hope to point out in this paper is how that ghost, rhetoric, manifests in the music in Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest. I assert that Ariel is a bridge, a sort of servant, not just to the character Prospero, but also to Shakespeare’s audience. In Peter Seng’s book, The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare, he reflects upon the idea that Shakespeare use of song was to incite characters to action. As Ariel sings, he is causing the characters to move into a certain dramatic action. Seng says, "Ariel draws Ferdinand from the coast to Miranda’s presence, by singing, ‘Come unto these yellow sands,’ and that in the second song Ariel ‘persuades the prince of his father’s death, thus recalling his grief and preparing him for a new and unreserved affection" (248). The purpose of Ariel’s song in the play, to call Ferdinand forward unto the island, was the plan of Prospero to get Ferdinand and his daughter Miranda together. He enchants them with his magic to fall in love when they meet. This relationship serves a rhetorical purpose for the Elizabethans as Seng suggests, Ariel is here issuing an invitation to the dance. It is addressed to Ferdinand. Miranda, t... ... middle of paper ... ...Theatre of Ben Jonson. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980 Hagar, Alan. Shakespeare’s Political Animal: Schema and Schemata in the Canon. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1990. L’Engle, Madeleine, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art. Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1980. Montagu, Jeremy. The World of Baroque and Classical Musical Instruments. Woodstock: Overlook Press, 1879. Platt, Peter G . Shakespeare and Rhetorical Culture. Rpt. in Kastan, David Scott. A Companion To Shakespeare. Oxford: Blackwell. 1999. Seng, Peter J. The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare: A Critical History. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967. Schantz , Alan, The Arts in Christian Perspective and Selections from the World of Music. Dubuque: Brown and Benchmark, 1997. Vyverberg, Henry. The Living Tradition. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988.
Dementia is common among a large population of elderly people. The disease affects not only the individual diagnosed, but also the caregivers that work towards making their life comfortable in the end. Understanding and learning about the disease is crucial in helping those that experience or live with someone who has dementia. The services and support that are currently in affect for elderly people with dementia and the caregivers is poor, and ineffective because of the lack of research and information on the topic.
...ce of ordinary people, fear of retribution from the Japanese underground they still believed to be in existence… (Yamamoto p. 190).” Even after the war, the Chinese were so traumatized by the vile actions that they were still afraid that the Japanese army would return to treat as livestock once more.
Clark, W.G., and W. Aldis Wirhgt, eds. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol 2. USA: Nd. 2 vols.
Noelle M. “Symbolism in Eudora Welty’s ‘A Worn Path’” Study mode N.P., Oct 2012. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
The short story genre ‘A Worn Path,’ by Eudora, Welty is in third person omniscient point of view, and the theme is of undying love and devotion. The story theme is similar to the poem “The Road Not Taken”, yet is dramatically different as the setting along with characterization gives a detail and clear images in the plot. 3 Intriguingly as stated by the South Central Review (1997)… ‘The Worn Path presents the detail of Phoenix’s journey along the Natchez Trace. The first two Paragraphs deliver meticulous description’:
In present time, Vincent van Gogh is probably the most widely known and highly appreciated person of postimpressionism. During his brief lifetime, Vincent’s work went almost unknown to this world. His work now hangs in countless museums throughout the world and is considered priceless. His work became an important bridge between the 19th and 20th centuries.
Thatcher, David. Begging to Differ: Modes of Discrepancy in Shakespeare. New York: Peter Lang, 1999.
Dutton, R., & Howard, J.E. (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works.(p. 9) Maiden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
Clark, W. G. and Wright, W. Aldis , ed. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. 1. New York: Nelson-Doubleday
Cohen, Walter, J.E. Howard, K. Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare. Vol. 2 Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. New York, London. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92991-1
Throughout the play, Prospero is a figure who talks at rather than to the other characters, including his daughter Miranda, Prince Ferdinand, and Ariel, his airy servant. At the end of Act IV Prospero is caught up in the ecstasy of punishing and determining the fate of his foes. The beginning of Act V, however, marks a change in the character of Prospero, which averts a possible tragedy. Prospero is unsettled even though his plans are reaching fruition. In his talk with Ariel for the first time we see an actual conversation take place. In addition, in the line "...And mine shall." (Shakespeare V.i.20) we see a change of heart on the part of Prospero, and in the following monologue the audience is privy to introspection and contemplation even beyond that of the end of the masque in Act IV "We are such stuff as dreams are made on..."(Shakespeare).
Moberly, Kevin. “TOWARD THE NORTH STAR: EUDORA WELTY’S “A WORN PATH” AND THE SLAVE NARRATIVE TRADITION”
Vickers, Brian. Appropriating Shakespeare: Contemporary Critical Quarrels. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1993.
Ariel brings compassion and sympathy to situations where those two characteristics are hidden in power seeking Prospero. Gradually throughout the play Ariel is able to provoke understanding and sympathy from Prospero, by using reasoning to decide what Prospero needs and wants to hear about the men on the island. Through Ariel, Shakespeare influences the final choices of the play. Prospero decided to allow the men to return to their normal mindset, rather than a weak and pathetic state. Ariel guides Prospero to find his way out of a controlling and power seeking mindset, into a compassionate man and father. Shakespeare proves through compassion, sympathy, reason, and cleverness one can be successful. Ariel is not only successful in manipulating Prospero, but he is also successful in effectively completing his tasks for Prospero and eventually becoming a free spirit.
Ferdinand and Miranda’s type of relationship shows Shakespeare’s ideas about true love, recognising not just the emotional side of love, but the physical nature too. Miranda promises Ferdinand “The jewel in my dower” which is her virginity, a prized thing in Jacobean times. This knowledge would have been known by Shakespeare’s audience and knowing this helps us to understand Prospero’s protection of his daughter from Caliban.