Genre

Question 1

when was tempest written?

Answer 1

1610-1616

Question 2

Aristotle definition of a comedy

Answer 2

the major characters are average people. the condition of the protagonist’s life goes from bad to good. other key characteristics are a happy ending.

Question 3

Is it a happy ending?

Answer 3

Miranda must now face a society that is ultimately corrupted: “brave new world!”
She will be exploited by Ferdinand (suggested “good lord you play me false”) and lose her innocence. Oppressed by society.
The government is made of “men of sin”
No sign of redemption, by they criticise Prospero: “the devil speaks in him!”

Question 4

What is a tragi-comedy?

Answer 4

introduced by john fletcher in the first decade of the 17th century. it is a series of action with a happy ending.

Question 5

Aristotle definition of a tragedy:

Answer 5

the major characters are not average
condition of protagonists life goes from good to bad. the tragic hero is in essence admirable and good
There is no such thing as an innocent victim of tragedy. nor can a genuinely tragic downfall be purely a matter of blind accident or bad luck.
fate of many is tied to the protagonist. (miranda and Ferdinand).

Question 6

Tragic flaw

Answer 6

this comes as a result of some personal error or decision

Prospero ‘rapt in secret study’ - rejecting public responsibility.

Question 7

word for tragedy’s ‘recognition’

Answer 7

anagnorsts

This could be for Prospero the moment of remembering the plot against his life.

Question 8

what is the tragic ‘plot reversal’ called

Answer 8

the ‘peropateia’ moment.

Question 9

Link of Prospero to Adam

Answer 9

Frank Kermode: “prospero, like adam, fell from his kingdom by an inordinate thirst for knowledge; but learning is a great aid to virtue…and by its means he is enabled to return”

Question 10

who first said it was a Romance?

Answer 10

early 18th century, Coleridge said it was a dramatic, romantic poem.

Question 11

Elements of a Romance

Answer 11

late medieval form
it is a fictitious narrative set far away from ordinary life - exotic, fantastical location
contains elements of magic and the fantastic
obsession with the concept of loss and recovery. so much lost but in the m=end most characters gain something better
a redemptive plot line with a happy ending involving the re-uniting of a long-seperated family member.

Question 12

strachey view on tempest

Answer 12

“[shakespeare} bored with people, bored with real life, bored with drama… everything except poetry”