Module A

Question 1

T C1: In the opening of Act 1 Scene 1, Prospero’s analepsis of his … The astral imagery in … affirms

Answer 1

personal betrayal backstory expresses his obsession with vengeance against his brother Antonio, the current Duke of Milan
“…most auspicious star”

Prospero’s Providential self-belief that his brother has broken the natural chain of being, thus providing insight into his intention to operate as God’s agent of vengeance to restore stability by reclaiming his power.

Question 2

T C1: Prospero’s … The evil imagery … portrays

Answer 2

literal imprisonment in blinding bitterness and rage at his displacement is revealed in grieving the loss of his status and power.

“…in my false brother, awaked an evil nature.”
a binary understanding of the seductive nature of power to examine duplicity and loss as a potent motivation for Propsero’s revenge

Question 3

T C2: Prospero acknowledges a newly discovered … Prospero’s tone of moral rectitude … emphasizes

Answer 3

Christian human value of mercy linked to forgiveness and compassion upon the atonement acknowledged by the perpetrators of his dismissal.
“the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance”

Prospero’s shifting values and newly transformed identity aligned with the Jacobean values of mercy, compassion and forgiveness eschewing revenge.

Question 4

H C1: Atwood presents Felix as a … The tri-colon and short truncated thoughts, … presents a

Answer 4

Very humane character and audiences can understand his experience of loss of his professional status by providing a backstory of betrayal at the beginning of the play.

“It rankles, it festers, it brews vengefulness”
wounded identity hungry for revenge revealing the resonance with Shakespeare’s Prospero.

Question 5

H C1: The motif of righteousness in … reveals how Felix seeks…

Answer 5

“… suppressed rage sustained him, that, and his thirst for justice”
Sal and Tony’s redemption of their sins and need to enact vengeance, thus emphasising the infinite alliance Atwood’s text had with Shakespeare’s 17th century play.

Question 6

T C2: Shakespeare highlights … His declarative statement, … highlights

Answer 6

Prospero’s release from his vengeance and imprisonment of his mind which reflects contextual Christian Humanist beliefs.

I’ll break my staff…drown my book
Prospero’s transformative power of spiritual awakenings relinquishes control through his magic and power of illusion, privileging contextual Jacobean values of mercy, forgiveness and compassion towards enemies.

Question 7

H C2: The transforming … The intertextuality of Miranda and Ariel in … emphaises how

Answer 7

power of the theatre and performance which allows Felix to realise he has to let go of the illusion of Miranda’s presence which he has been clinging.
“To the elements be free”
Felix has been able free himself from the psychological ‘cell’ he has created.

Question 8

H C2: The use of rhetorical question in … where the deliberate word choice of “…”

Answer 8

“What has he been thinking – keeping her tethered to him all this time?”
Tethered further alludes to notions of imprisonment, as well as portraying a sense of freedom: Miranda’s freedom from male dominance, Felix’s fear from the mental health constraints of losing his daughter and the moral qualms that are associated.

Question 9

Introduction

Answer 9

An examination of the textual conversation between WS’s “TT” (1611) and MA’s “HS” (2016) explores the resonances and dissonances between the texts, with Atwood providing a re-visioned novel appropriate for a modern reader to understand the impact of powerful human emotions of revenge and the importance of forgiveness through changes necessitated from contextual paradigms

Question 10

Conclusion
- POSITIONS reader

Answer 10

Ultimately, Atwood’s re-telling of Shakespeare’s “Tempest” positions responders to recognise the intoxicating, consuming and dangerous human emotion of revenge and the commanding role played by theatricality to bring catharsis to establish the power of “emotional” awakenings. Responders are thus able to appreciate the …

Question 11

Concept 1 HS

Whilst

Answer 11

Whilst Shakespeare explores aspects of revenge that ‘imprisons’ the persona in a physical sense, Atwood likewise draws attention to the blind pursuit of vengeance, combined however, with the psychological examination of guilt and remorse that consumes the individual in the cycle of emotional despair

Question 12

Concept 1 TEMPEST

Answer 12

Shakespeares “The Tempest” gives expression to the all-consuming, blindingly obsessive nature of revenge that imprisons the victim in a yearning for retribution.

Question 13

Concept 2 HS

Much like Shakespeare

Answer 13

Much like Shakespeare’s focus on the power of the theatre to act as a tool of empowerment, Atwood’s focus on intertextuality likewise incorporate the emotional healing and catharsis that is realised through theatricality. Where they differ is that Propero’s freedom is initiated by his forgiveness for those who betrayed him, whilst Felix’s salvation is through a realisation that he must forgive himself.

Question 14

Concept 2 TEMPEST

Answer 14

Shakespeare reveals the redemptive power of the arts and relinquishment to liberate the soul from restraining and confinement

Question 15

Module key terms

Answer 15

Resonances and dissonances between and within texts
Reimagine or reframing of an aspect of a text
Mirror, align or collide with
Explore common or disparate issues, values, assumptions or perspectives
Understand how composers are influence by other texts, contexts and values and how this shapes meaning

Question 16

Concept 3 Tempest

Answer 16

In a compelling representation of an early 17 th century composition, Shakespeare’s ‘Age of Discovery’ text reflects colonial representations of indigenous peoples, presenting the audience with the perspective of the “other”, as barbarous and ‘savage.’

Question 17

T C3: Prospero’s treatment of
Caliban showcases his status as …

The allusion to … affirms

Answer 17

Marginalised and demeaned, a slave of Prospero, is treated with

“A devil a born devil, on whose nature, nurture can never stick”

John Locke’s Tabula Rasa theory affirms the values of the Age of Discovery and barbaric perception of Indigenous people of the ‘undiscovered’ world.

This indicates the deeply offensive depiction of the marginalised, a perception of contempt by Prospero in ways that upholds a power structure that diminishes the ‘other’ within a Jacobean context.

Question 18

T C3: Shakespeare’s use of … reforms such values in a portrayal of Caliban as … This is a challenge of the ….
- By Caliban

Answer 18

iambic pentameter

“Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises, sounds and sweet airs”

noble, sophisticated and lyrical. This is a challenge of the colonial consensus on indigenous people and the discourse that the colonialists were engaged in an act of discovery. He positions Caliban as the entitled, informed ruler of the island.

Question 19

Concept 3 Hagseed

Answer 19

In her reconstruction of the text, Atwood reinterprets 17 th century colonial views to present a postmodern text more suited for a post-colonial audience. In doing so, she is able to present a celebration of the disenfranchised which extends on theatre as a tool of improvement.

Question 20

H C3: The cumulative listing … extends the nature of …

Answer 20

“Hag-Seeds black… brown… red… yellow… white”

Extends the nature of Caliban representing a diverse range of people including prisoners and marginalised groups. This reflects the postmodern dogma of refocusing and the contemporary considerations of a socially just concerned society.

Question 21

H C3: Intertextual reference to the plot as well as the allusion to the contemporary …. This reflects Atwoods stance

Answer 21

“Prisons are for incarceration and punishment, not for spurious attempts to educate those who cannot, by their very natures, be educated.”

The intertextual reference to the plot as well as the allusion to the contemporary iteration of the tabula rasa theory expounds the poor treatment of prisoners and perceptions of them as marginalised, barbaric and uncivilised.

Question 22

Tempest Concept 4

Answer 22

Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ serves as a literary reflection of the Jacobean moral compass which fundamentally inhibited the roles and representations of women in society.

Question 23

T C4: The word choice of “acquisition and purchased” portrays

Answer 23

“as my gift, and thine own acquisition / Worthily purchased…”

Portrays Miranda as the mere ‘property’ of Prospero, solidifying 17th Century values of the naive, innocent and male dominated normalcy. This is indicative of the patriarchal society that fundamentally underpinned Shakespeare’s play.

Question 24

T C4: The aggressive word choice and diction on Sycorax by Prospero represents

Answer 24

“damned witch” (I.ii.) and a “blue-eyed hag”

The extensive patriarchal society on which the play was constructed. The verbal abuse of Sycorax is indicative of a male dominated society, by which female authority is largely incomprehensible and impossible.

Question 25

H C4: The high modality language and the use of dialogue repositions the character of “Miranda” as in …

Answer 25

“Pretend you’re falling in love with me.”
Control of herself and her choice as a partner. This evident contrast with that of the Tempest solidifies Atwoods third wave feminist values that largely underpin a construction of Miranda as autonomous and free from male patriarchy.

Question 26

H C4: The use of the simile emphasises the physical strength of …

Answer 26

Anne Marrie has “a grip like a jar-opener.”

Anne Marie, detracting from the social constructed consensus of women as weak. Thus, there is a direct appeasement to Atwoods 21st century, feminist audience, necessiated by her own personal values.

Question 27

Hag Seed Concept 4

Answer 27

Atwood’s ‘Hag Seed’ critiques Elizabethan patriarchal paradigms which undermine the capacities of women in society, through her reimagining of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, evident in her metatheatrical introspection of female representation.