William Shakespeare's The Tempest
Generally acknowledged as one of Shakespeare's final plays, 'The
Tempest' may be described as a romantic tragi-comedy - where love and
contentment prosper despite the threatening presence of evil forces.
However, beyond the almost 'fairy-tale' like exterior lies a seemingly
direct approach to a greatly topical debate at the time. This was the
supposed contrast between civilised and uncivilised persons, brought
to the fore as a result of recent expeditions overseas. Although
pioneering voyages of discovery were not a recent commodity since the
travels of Christopher Columbus, almost a century earlier, it wasn't
until the early sixteen hundreds that such voyages became more common
and with an intent not just to discover new land, but to claim it for
the traveller's own country. For example, just four years before the
opening performance of 'The Tempest' (1611), the first English
settlement was established in Virginia, America and named after the
reigning monarch, James I. This process, later termed as colonisation,
clearly provoked much thought and consideration on behalf of
Shakespeare. His play's remote island setting, previously inhabited by
a single native and now amok with men of supposedly more civilised
nature, was a suitable compendium with which the playwright could
explore his fascination and consider the popular beliefs of the time.
Some may argue that Shakespeare's immense personal interest in the
subject is demonstrated by the apparent mirroring of both events
overseas and contemporary viewpoints in the play. The title, from the
Latin tempestus meaning storm, may have been derived from an i...
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...e kind
detailed by Montaigne. She is a perfect character, and this is
possibly why. In addition, I feel that Shakespeare believed so
strongly in the preservation of the 'natural world' that he attempted
to evoke sympathy for the character Caliban. Today, we find the
ability to pity characters similar to Caliban far more easily. After
such events as the Holocaust, we understand the dangers of
persecution. By provoking sympathy for Caliban, who is by no means an
ideal creature, Shakespeare may be hoping that the natural world will
be left alone, rather than destroyed and corrupted.
Bibliography:
1. 'York Notes Advanced - The Tempest', Loreto Todd, York Press, 1998.
2. http://www.literaryclassics.com
3. 'Essays by Michel De Montaigne - Translated by Charles Cotton'.
4. http://www.utlink.utoronto.ca
not be searching for new lands, but there is always a new frontier to be
of fishing, hunting, collecting. This land is the land that the white men cannot encroach and
This all began when Sir Walter Raleigh, a wealthy courtier, sought-after permission from Queen Elizabeth I to establish a colony in North America. On March 25th 1584 he got a charter to start the colony. Raleigh funded and authorized the expedition .He sent two explorers by the names of Phillip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to claim land for the queen,they departed on the west side of England on April 27th . On May 10 they arrived at the Canaries, a series of islands near the northwest coast of mainland Africa. They arrived at the West Indies on June 10 and stayed there for twelve days then left. On July 4 the explorers saw North American land, they sailed for nine days more looking for an entryway to the sea or river and found one on June 13th. They then set off to explore the land and place it on the map . After they went back two additional journeys there followed after. One group arrived in 1585 and went there for...
1. If the land was not claimed, owned or inhabited by another country or race, Britain could just claim the land as their own.
By then there was no more land to be claimed and America had built up
Be not dismayed at all For scandall cannot doe us wrong, God will not let us fall. Let England knowe our willingnesse, For that our work is good; Wee hope to plant a nation Where none before hath stood. (Morison, pg. 89) Originally, when Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of America en route to Asia, he was not interested in discovering new lands. Most Europeans at the time were looking for a way to get at the oldest part of the Old World, the East Indies.
Many Native groups, because they were nomadic, didn't see land as belonging to one person. The idea that someone could come in, claim a piece of land and ban them f...
Through a historical lens, Shakespeare’s The Tempest revolves around the evolving times of England during the Tudor Dynasty in 1552-1603. During those times Queen Elizabeth I was the newly appointed ruler of England after her half-sister, the previous ruler had died. This new change was the new beginning for England. It allowed many opportunities to arise such as a new stock company, provisions for the poor, and a chance for many to explore the world with their new wealth. To thank and impress their new Queen, many set sail to conquer new lands. Similar to history, The Tempest did contained a few curious Englishmen and their king discovering new land but the exact location is unknown. At the time of Shakespeare’s
Some explorers were not looking for land to claim, but faster routes. Columbus went exploring trying to find a faster way to Asia/India for spice trading. The reason for this was because his country was receiving Asian Spices from Muslims(Document 3). In order to get the spices from the Muslims, high prices had to be paid since it was exchanged from person to person. Columbus went sailing and found an area that had inhabitants who looked like people he has never seen before which he assumed were Indians. Columbus saw they had foods he never had before and he started trading with them. He brought over foods such as the Irish Potato, Florida Oranges, Colombian Coffee, and French Vanilla Ice cream, for trading purposes(Document 6). All of those
into the flow of settlers, and it was considered a wise move to have the
In the year 1492, the Queen and King of Spain developed thoughts of strengthening their power and seeking new sources of wealth. This being stated, the Queen and King had agreed on financing Christopher Columbus’s expedition, hoping it would bring the kingdom wealth (Ellis 2004). On October 12 Columbus had discovered a new location, due to this discovery; Latin America had been colonized by the Spanish conquistadors sent by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Overall, Latin America has been colonized for the sake of seeking wealth (Ellis 2004). Obtaining gold is the simple way of gaining wealth.
It is clear that the race of Othello is a factor in his downfall. A
“I asked her to wear something revealing, so she showed up in a prophet's toga.”(CITE) Jarod Kintz’s words are an example of miscommunication, or failure to comprehend meaning. In this case, it is implied that one person misunderstood the message of another, but incomprehension also applies to problems other than falsely interpreted requests. Incomprehension can occur when people misinterpret another’s words or intentions, or when a person misreads situations or events. The outcome described in Kintz’s quote is unexpected and unintended, but there are instances of incomprehension that have consequences of greater severity. Perhaps a classic tragedy with a high body count falls under these parameters.
How important is an individual that most often than not authors focus on the growth of one over the growth of the many? Is it because the growth of one symbolizes the growth of all? Or is the focus on the individual due to the image it presents which is the growth in us? In any event, this outlook of individualism is widespread in literature and different genres and techniques excavate the development of the individual. Another factor that comes into play in the development of the character is the situation and the effects of the environment. Within William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest and Michael Cervantes Saavedra’s satire Don Quixote are two different characters molded and formed or in both cases malformed to incorporate their capsules which are the genres and settings that imprison them.
In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and in Sophocles’ Antigone, both authors explore and illustrate the differences between “human law” and “higher law”. The two authors have different opinions about those laws. In The Tempest, Prospero uses his magic to manipulate various characters, and he often uses his magic to follow the plot of the story by his own way. Prospero uses his magic for total control over the people on the island where he lives. In Antigone, Creon, the King of Thebes, uses his title to manipulate others that kills Haemon and Antigone. Though the ending is more tragic in Creon’s control than in Prospero’s, by the end of Creon’s manipulation, the Greek Gods destroys Thebes. Regardless of the differences between the plays, both have different views of “human law” and “higher law”. Through the character and the setting development of the story in both plays, it is obvious that Shakespeare favors “human law” and Sophocles favors “higher law”.