Tempest themes
Political Power
Freedom & Servitude
Magic
Context
Theatre and Spectacle
Learning and Education
Gonzalo
Antonio
Prospero (marries off Miranda)
"My strong imagination sees a crown dropping on thy head" -> visual imagery to convince Sebastian
Prospero/Miranda
"I have done nothing but in care of thee"
Prospero/Caliban
"My library was dukedom large enough" (Prospero)
Prospero/Ariel
"I prithee, Remember I have done thee worthy service"
"You taught me language, and my profit on't is I know how to curse" (Caliban)
"If thou more murmur’st, I will rend an oak[…], till/ Thou hast howl’d away twelve winters"
"This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother which thou tak’st from me"
Revenge and Forgiveness
Miranda/Ferdinand
"I am your wife, if you will marry me: If not, I'll die your maid" rebellion of miranda because of her love for ferdinand
“baseless fabric”, “the great globe itself”, “pageant faded/ Leave not a rack behind”
"I have suffered with those that I saw suffer" (Miranda to prospero after storm)
“No occupation, all men idle, all; women too, but innocent and pure; no sovereignty-”
"be not afeard. the isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not"
“As you from crimes would pardoned be, let your indulgence set me free”
“What shall I do? Say what? What shall I do?”
Sycorax vs Prospero
“a devil, a born devil, on whose nature nurture can never stick” (Prospero to Caliban)
Caliban/Stephano & Trinculo
“I’ll kiss thy foot; I’ll swear myself thy subject"
Colonialism
“Hast thou not dropped from heaven?” (Caliban) “Out o’h’moon I do assure thee” (Stephano) —> Colonialism ("out o’th’moon” means from another world)
"Into a cloven pine, within which rift / Imprisoned thou didst painfully remain"
"Foul witch Sycorax"
"If thou more murmur's, I will rend an oak / And peg thee in his knotty entrails"
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep." (Prospero) Everything is ephemeral, magic as a metaphor for real life but also the idea that magic cannot be used to create something to outlive oneself
Sycorax: described as wicked or evil, despite having similar abilities/control over nature as Prospero
-> feared power of woman
“A plague upon the tyrant that I serve!” (Caliban on Prospero)
"Here, afore heaven, I ratify this my rich gift." (prospero to ferdinand)
Here, afore heaven, I ratify this my rich gift. (Prospero to Ferdinand)
“I’ll swear upon that bottle to be thy true subject” (Caliban)
"poor Milan! - / To a most ignoble stooping" -> irony of loss of power in the search for political influence
Political marriage between Ferdinand and Miranda: "sweet lord, you play me false" -> chess a metaphor for politics
"the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance"
"I shall miss thee, but yet thou shalt have freedom."
"My strong imagination sees a crown dropping on thy head" -> visual imagery to convince Sebastian
“or else my project fails, Which was to please"
Prospero (over everyone)
“They are in my power;[…] Young Ferdinand, whose they suppose is drowned, and his and mine loved darling"
"Canst thou remember A time before we came unto this cell?" information is withheld from Miranda
"What I say my foot my tutor" Prospero to Miranda
“My Ariel, chick, That is thy charge"
"The ditty does remember my drowned father. This is no mortal business, nor no sound that the earth owes. I hear it now above me." --> magic is above mortals, though it impacts them, and also has divinity in it "above me"
"This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff, bury it certain fathoms in the earth, and deeper than did ever plummet sound I'll drown my book" Prospero says he's ready to give up his magic, but later tells Ariel to make sure the seas are calm for his passage to Italy and holds Alonso in a "charm": is he really ready to give up his magic?
“that a brother should Be so perfidious” (Prospero about Antonio)
"Go bring the rabble, O'er whom I give thee power, here to this place.” (Prospero during the masque)
"I have with such provision in mine art
So safely ordered” (Prospero controlling the ship wreck)
Go bring the rabble, o'er whom I give thee power, here to this place. Incite them to quick motion, for I must bestow upon the eyes of this young couple some vanity of mine art. It is my promise, and they expect it from me. -- Prospero wishes to be admired for his skill
Explorers that came back to England from the ‘New World’ brought back tales, which are strongly echoed in the Tempest.
"I had forgot that foul conspiracy of the beast Caliban and his confederates against my life. The minute of their plot is almost come." -- Prospero forgets momentarily about the plot against his life until midway through the masque. This shows magic and theatre has the capacity to allow us to forget the real world momentarily but not completely
Colonialism consisted of horror and savagery. The people who ventured out to the New World sought unlimited wealth and life at ease. This greediness caused the colonialists to view the native people as little more than beasts, fit to be slaves. Naturally, the existing inhabitants felt their land was being taken away from them.
Some explorers sought to extend the European lifestyle (monarchs, education, spirituality) to the native people, thinking they were educating the uneducated. Others also exploited the profits of the land (wilderness, which was neglected by the existing inhabitants).
Michel de Monataigne (Caliban)
Shipwrecks & Sea Voyages
Antonio —> Niccolo Macchiavelli (character)
'Of the Cannibals' - by Monataigne, Shakespeare influenced by essay - 'Caliban' an anagram or derivative of 'cannibal'
Jacobean Audience
‘Noble savage’ : the ’savage’ societies were superior to ’sophisticated’ civilizations of Europe. The ’noble savage’ is free from greed, ambition, and lust for power
Patriarchal society - society largely patriarchal, women regarded as subservient to men, sometimes used as political tools, e.g. being married off to form alliances/gain power, etc - highlighted when Prospero marries Miranda off to Ferdinand
Hierarchy: Social hierarchy was believed to be God-given. The King was at the top, who claimed by ‘divine right’. Below him were the aristocrats and courtiers, all the way down to the peasants, being the lowest. This is strongly echoed in 'The Tempest', but also, this social hierarchy is sometimes reversed, for example, in Act 1, Scene 1. The settlers tried to bring this social hierarchy into the New World
Shakespeare's theatre - Prospero giving up his magic and 'art' could be a reflection of how Shakespeare was bringing his career to an end - The Tempest was his last play - Prospero also refers to 'the great globe itself' which could be a direct link to the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare's plays were performed
Witch hunts: the line between magic and science was not clearly drawn in the Jacobean Era. King James I is known for opposing witch-craft, thus the ending where Prospero breaks his staff was perhaps made to please the King.
Sir Thomas More - Utopia (1580) - exploration of life on fictional island called Utopia - European traveler separated from party - many people romanticised the idea of living in perfect harmony in the natural world, straying from the deeply hierarchical Jacobean society - reflected in Gonzalo's view of the world
1609 - fleet of 9 ships which left England carrying 500 colonists - one ship 'Sea Venture' lost in the Bermudas, sailing into rocks. 1610 - discovered ship and all colonists survived, eventually reaching Virginia