The Tempest Flashcards
Global Statement
The Tempest was reputedly the last play written by William Shakespeare alone, and as such it serves as a final fleeting glimpse into the great intellect of the 16th century playwright.
Context
First performed in 1611 at the Blackfriars theatre in London, Shakespeare’s The Tempest is a stage drama depicting the protagonist Prospero, the ex-Duke of Milan, who endeavours uses magic to seek revenge on those who deposed him, but decides to forgive them instead. The early 17th century was the Jacobean era in England, and the play very much so reflects the social, religious and political customs of the time, such as the divine rights of kings and the value of Christianity.
Meaning one
Meaning One: The fictionality of literary texts and how they can be constructed and altered to change the response from the reader.
Elaboration: Through the form of metafiction, The Tempest illustrates to the reader the degree to which literature is imagined and therefore the amount that a literary text can be changed at will by the author. This gives insight to the reader about how the readers response can be so easily altered by the text.
Quote 1: “These our actors were all spirits, and Are melted into Air, into thin air”
• Prospero announces this to Miranda and Ferdinand after he ends his masque performance
• Repetition is used in ‘into air’ with the addition of the idiom ‘thin air’ the second time to illustrate the abruptness at which Prospero was able to dissolve the masque performance.
• The denotation of actor as the literal actor on stage as well as the metaphor in “actors were all spirits” shows how the actors as part of a stage drama are able to adopt any kind of role and influence the reader however they want
Quote 2: “The solemn temples, the great globe itself”
• The ‘great globe itself’ is ambiguous in meaning, ‘globe’ referring to the earth as a whole, but also acting as an allusion to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
• The allusion to the theatre shows the reader where the source of the power to create all these conjurations lies, the theatre.
o Consonance in ‘great globe’ illustrates the sheer power of the theatre in creating and altering stories
Quote 3: “Now my charms are all o’erthrown”
• This is the epilogue of the play, were deliberate ambiguity is employed, it is both Prospero and the actor that says this line
o ‘charms’ refers to Prospero’s magic, which in a metafictional context serves as a motif which represents the actor’s ability to change and alter the story
o In this instance, however, Prospero and the actor have broken his staff, symbolic of the end of the narrative and the loss of the ability to tell the story
Contextual Factor: The play was the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone and the metafictional theme illustrates Shakespeare’s overall skill as a playwright and storyteller, and also signifies him leaving the theatre.
Meaning Two
Meaning Two: Prospero can be read as reflection of William Shakespeare himself, signifying the occasion of his last ever written play and the end of his playwriting career.
Elaboration: The entire text can be read as an allegory for the end of Shakespeare’s writing career, with Prospero reflecting William Shakespeare and signifying to the reader the purpose of his plays and the end of his career.
Quote 1: “our revels are now ended”
• This line is made by Prospero after he ends the masque that he created using his magic
o ‘revels’ denotes joy and happiness, feelings which were experiences under Prospero’s masque performance which is symbolic of his ability as a playwright
o Thus Shakespeare through the character of Prospero is stating in a reminiscent way, using inclusive language in ‘our’, that the joys of the theatre and now over, signifying then end of his career
Quote 2: “release me from my bands, with the help of your good hands”
• This comes from the epilogue, where deliberate ambiguity is employed as to whether the character is speaking as Prospero or Shakespeare, blurring the experiences of Prospero in the play with the aesthetic purpose of the play itself
• The end rhyme in ‘bands’ and ‘hands’ in conjunction with the consonance in ‘help’ and ‘hands’ illustrates the value of audience recognition and appreciation to Shakespeare
o ‘release me from my bands’ is a metaphor which can mean to let Shakespeare retire, knowing that overall he pleased his audience
Quote 3: “Or else my project fails, which was to please.”
• ‘My project’ is symbolic of Shakespeare’s entire career, which was ‘to please’ revealing that Shakespeare’s aspiration for his art was to serve its aesthetic purpose, and now that he thinks that has been fulfilled he can end his career
Contextual Factor: The context is inherent in the meaning, the play is Shakespeare’s last play that he wrote by himself, and he uses it to subtly represent his depart from his career as a playwright and also reveals the main purpose behind his art, which is to please.
Meaning Three
Meaning Three: The dominant meaning of the play, in which Prospero follows a spiritual path towards the final resolution in which he embraces the Christian values of forgiveness and the divine right of kings.
Elaboration: On the very surface of The Tempest, the story represents Prospero the spiritual journey who had cast his divine right as Duke of Milan aside by confining himself to impure and deceitful magic. It is only at the end of the play, through the assistance of the spirit Ariel, that he embraces his true and natural position as Duke of Milan, renouncing his magic and forgiving his enemies, and converting Caliban into a monster of sin and evil into a reformed Christian.
Quote 1: “Mine would, sir, if I were human” to which Prospero replies “And mine shall”
• Ariel tells Prospero that he would feel sorry for the King’s Party if he saw it in the state that it was in
• The caesura in ‘and mine shall’ epitomizes the great turning point of the play. Prospero is convinced by Ariel, whose spirit form is conative of the divine and the greater good, to embrace forgiveness towards his enemies
Quote 2: “But this rough magic I here abjure, I’ll break my staff”
• Delivered in soliloquy, Prospero vows to break his staff, symbolic of him departing from the sinful art of ‘rough’ magic, the connotations of rough being unnatural and ill-suited
Quote 3: “retire me to my Milan, where every third thought shall be my grave”
• Alliteration in ‘third thought’ in conjunction with the metaphor ‘shall be my grave’ reflects the now Christian duty that Prospero has embraced, to meditate on his own mortality and ensure safety for his dynasty
o This represents as well Prospero’s respect for the divine right of kings, him now returning to his rightful position as Duke of Milan
Contextual Factor: Jacobean ideals were strongly Christian, and the audience, particularly those members of the upper class, would have appreciated the transition from magic and sin to the Christian value of forgiveness. Additionally, the notion of the divine right of Kings, that Prospero’s natural place is ruling the Duke of Milan, would have appealed to King James who we know watched the play in 1611.
Meaning Four
Meaning Four: Postcolonial reading of Caliban, in which Caliban, as a persecuted and enslaved native of the island, is constructed as a monster by his colonial oppressors and has his subjugation completely naturalized.
Elaboration: Caliban, read through postcolonial context, is highly representative of an enslaved native. The other characters of the play invade his own country which he had lived, and then assert their own culture onto him, constructing him as a monster and naturalizing him as an inferior race. This goes so far as to make Caliban complicit in his own subjugation, completely subservient to the idea of his own inferiority.
Quote 3: “This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother… the fresh springs, brine-pits, barren place and fertile”
• This shows that Caliban recognizes he is the victim of imperialism and that he was the original owner of the land, through his mother ‘sycorax’ metonymic of his native ancestors
• Caliban’s connection to the land, expressed through his lyrical description which uses consonance, reinforces his true ownership and connection to the island
Quote 1: “You taught me language, and my profit on’t is, I know how to curse”
• The use of the word ‘profit’ from commercial discourse metaphorically shows how the language of the colonizer has been used as a weapon to disempower the colonial subject
Quote 2: “This thing of darkness, I acknowledge mine.”
• Caliban is acknowledged by Prospero as his colonial possession, and the evil and malign connotations of darkness reduce Caliban to the embodiment of evil
Quote 4: “was I to take this drunkard [Stephano] for a god and worship this dull fool”
• The sad irony in this statement, considering that Caliban is merely replacing Prospero as his new master, signifies how Caliban’s slave status has been naturalized to the degree where Caliban cannot recognize himself as an equal to his colonial masters
• The fact that Caliban so quickly pledged himself to Stephano in the first place shows how engrained his servile status is
Contextual Factor: The construction of Caliban as an inferior being is reminiscent of the native peoples under the colonial empires such as Britain and France. Caliban shows the social and cultural process of one race asserting their own culture over another and making it appear superior.
Meaning Five
Meaning Five: The control and suppression of the patriarchy over females in the text reinforces the masculine hegemony over society.
Elaboration: The main and only human female character in the text, Miranda, has her actions completely dictated by the men in her life and she is expected to follow the patriarchies agenda to serve their own purpose.
Quote 1: “Here, afore heaven, I ratify this my rich gift”
• Prospero refers to Miranda as his ‘rich gift’ which he gives to Ferdinand, clearly showing the Patriarchal possession that Prospero believes he has over Miranda
• ‘rich’ is a euphemism for Mirandas virginity, rich being conative of money and value, which shows the Patriarchal values which are appreciated by Prospero in Miranda, the restriction of her sexual freedom
Quote 2: “twas a sweet marriage, and we will prosper well in return”
• Said in relation of the marriage of Claribel to the king of Tunis, Sebastian reveals the Patriarchal view of Claribel as merely a tool for political gain
• The connotations of ‘sweet’ suggest that it is less important than the political gainings, illustrated by the connotations of prosper
Quote 3: “My modesty, the jewel in my dower”
• Miranda reiterates to Ferdinand what the patriarchy values in her, the ‘jewel in my dower’, which is a euphemism for her virginity
o Mirandas role as an innocent and pure woman is thus naturalized, and she is denied sexual freedom by the Patriarchal values which she has been made complicit in herself
Quote 4: “I’ll be your servant, whether you will [marry me] or no”
• Miranda pledges that being Ferdinand’s ‘servant’ in her eyes is the same as marriage, servant being connotative of inferior status and a status against her will
• This shows the Patriarchal view of a wife as instilled in Miranda by Prospero, her role as Ferdinand’s wife reduced to one of simple domesticity
Contextual Factor: Women within Jacobean England had a significantly reduced role and lacked basic rights and freedom of choice, often having their actions dictated by the will of the Patriarchy. Mirandas naturalized oppression thus represents the masculine hegemony over society that existed at the time The Tempest was written.
Meaning Six
Meaning Six: The marriage between Miranda and Ferdinand reinforces Christian principles of the sanctity of marriage
Elaboration: In The Tempest, Miranda represents an innocent, kind and pure young woman who naturally falls in love with Ferdinand, the charming and strong prince, which results in their marriage which is agreed upon by Prospero and King Alonso, thus creating a sanctified marriage.
Quote 1: “Most sure a goddess”
• Ferdinand exclaims this upon first seeing Miranda, mistaking her for a ‘goddess’, having angelic, innocent and pure connotations, which embraces the idea of divine love through first sight
Quote 2: “Here, afore heaven, I ratify this my rich gift”
• Prospero states this to Ferdinand, swearing upon heaven and giving Ferdinand permission to marry Miranda, satisfying the procedure for natural father-approved Christian marriage
• ‘rich’ is a euphemism for Mirandas fertility, which is necessary for the marriage to be sanctified through consummation
Quote 3: “Is she that goddess that hath severed us, and Brought us together?”
• King Alonzo uses paradox in ‘severed us, and brought us together’ to illustrate how Miranda had been with his son the whole time, but now they are united in marriage
• ‘brought us together’ is symbolic of the political and religious link that the two families have engaged in, appeasing both fathers
Contextual Factor: The Tempest was first performed in front of King James who was watching the performance on the occasion of his daughter’s marriage to a German King. Thus, the representation of the marriage between Miranda and Ferdinand as one which satisfies Christian principles of love between the partners, approval of the fathers and the political link that is established between their two dynasties was clearly illustrates to appease King James, his daughter and his son in law to be.
