context

Question 1

motifs

Answer 1

draw on the motifs common to Shakespeare’s works.

These include the painful parting of a father with his daughter, jealousy and hatred between brothers, the usurpation of a legitimate ruler and the experiences of courtiers transplanted to a new environment.

Question 2

comdey

Answer 2

This play contains elements of comedy and, to a lesser extent, tragedy, but do not wholly belong to either category.

Question 3

features of comedys

Answer 3

Common elements in Shakespearean romances include experiences of loss and recovery, as well as imaginative realms in which magic can play an important role.

Question 4

when written

Answer 4

1610-1611

Question 5

literary period

Answer 5

The Renaissance (1500-1660)

Question 6

climax

Answer 6

Ariel appears as a harpy before Antonio, Alonso, and Sebastian and condemns them for stealing Prospero’s kingdom

Question 7

interpretations of the Tempest

Answer 7

• the patriarchal rule of James I, who came into power following the usurpation of Mary Queen fo Scots
• a social commentary on arranged marriages to secure social stability
• colonialism and the superior view towards inferior savages
• Shakespeare’s announcement for retirement

Question 8

to shakespeare’s contemporaries

Answer 8

usurpation of this kind was a crime against God

perhaps a comment aimed at James I

Question 9

Most critics agree

Answer 9

that Shakespeare used Elizabethan travel writing, both for his dramatisation of the opening storm and shipwreck and his depiction of the European confrontation with a ‘savage’, Caliban.

Question 10

Miranda

Answer 10

has sometimes been interpreted as Shakespeare’s homage to his own daughters

Question 11

an autobiographical reading

Answer 11

Shakespeare had a daughter who married and he lost a son

could this be a reflection of his life at the end of his career

Question 12

first performance

Answer 12

Blackfriars Theatre, which could have artificial lighting, ropes and pulleys - Shakespeare wanted to use magical effects

Question 13

Victorian Period

Answer 13

the complex master/ servant relationship between Ariel and Prospero posed a problem as Victorians favoured traditional heterosexual love relationships

Question 14

Montaigne’s essay ‘Of the Canniballes’

Answer 14

puts forward the proposition that man in his natural condition is happier and better off than in society