THEMES Flashcards
POWER AND CONTROL
Knowledge and evidence
PROSPERO: tyrannical and authoritarian
ARIEL: submissive
Caliban’s violent conspiracy with Stephane presents the danger of AUTHORITARIAN control
Prospero’s mercy and humility is rewarded
- ironically, many events, such as Miranda’s marriage and his decision to leave the island remain under his control
- alonso gives back dukedom
POWER AND CONTROL
What is Shakespeare’s intention
Chalanges social constructs regarding power and authority
- TYRANNICAL LEADERSHIP IS OPPRESSIVE !
POWER AND CONTROL
Patriarchal structures in Renaissance England
WOMEN WERE NOT EQUAL TO MEN
Jacobean females isolated under father’s control
Shakespeare illustrates gender as a fluid concept
MAGIC AND ILLUSION
Knowledge and evidence
DUALITY between illusion and realisty is presented through the natural environment, the island’s inhumane inhabitants and “unnatural strangers” who arrive
EXPOSITION - theme of illusion is presented through reversal of power
- powerful duke and noblement lack the skill of the captain and boatswain
- useless at the hands of nature/ “neutral territory”
EPILOGUE/SOLILOQUY - reality does not exist - breaks fourth wall
MAGIC AND ILLUSION
What is Shakespeare’s intention?
Comments on danger of illusion of power and control
Raises Qs about abuse of power
Limited power of humanity
The tempest as a TRAGI-COMEDY
DEUS EX MACHINA - tragic element, character controls actions in play
Restoration of order via a wedding - comedy
LOSS AND BETRAYAL
Knowledge and evidence
Exposition - storm, sense of loss can set in motion an array of chaotic events
Prospero’s loss of power and position
Island = isolation and loss of freedom for those on it
Prospero and caliban = powerful individuals who clash over an intense desire to regain what they have lost
Unreliable narrator: caliban and Prospero
Caliban: P wooed him, stole knowledge and betrayed him, enslving him
“Thou strokedst me” “then I loved thee”
Prospero: after robbed of dukedom in Italy, he elevated caliban beyond condition, and P was betrayed.
“I have used thee, / Filth as thou art, with human care, and lodged thee / In mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate / The honour of my child.”