CRITICS Flashcards
Frank Kermode on Caliban
“Representative of Nature uncontrolled by Art”
- a foil to P’s civilised education
Niel Bowen on social hierarchies
“An unnatural construct and one which, crucially, is vulnerable to outside forces”
- eg when boatswain is frustrated as he orders the noblemen below deck - challanges the authority of THE GREAT CHAIN OF BEING
He considers the play could be “OBLIQUELY CRITICISING KING JAMES”
- The storm symbolises times of crisis and the play is a guide to “wise leadership”
Niel Bowen on Prospero
A “subtle but arch Machiavellian using his daughter as part of his political game”
17th century interpretation of it
Religious allegory
- ideology that sin redeemed leads to virtue
- reinforced christian values of forgiveness and salvation, seeing it as DIDACTIC
W.H. AUDEN
“Only through comedy can one be entirely serious”
Marilyn French on Miranda
From a feminist perspective, Miranda’s role in the relationship has been critiqued as overly passive. She is often seen as a product of her father’s control, and her immediate submission to Ferdinand might reflect a lack of independent agency. In The Tempest, Miranda’s declaration:
“I am your wife, if you will marry me; / If not, I’ll die your maid.” (Act 3, Scene 1)
has been interpreted by critics like Marilyn French as indicative of her subservience, reinforcing patriarchal norms of the time. Nevertheless, other scholars argue that Miranda’s openness and sincerity should not be dismissed as weakness but rather celebrated as a rejection of guile and artifice.
Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden T. Vaughan
Outlines how the play’s minimal nine scenes parallel and mirror each other in various ways
