March82012
If you were stranded on a desert island what three things would you bring? I have been asked this question many times and my answer sometimes includes a ping-pong table, sun glasses, and a book titled, “How to Build a Boat.”  I have never been stranded on a desert island, but Prospero has.  The play, The Tempest, is set on an island in the New World where Prospero and Miranda must live away from their home of Milan.   What three things would Prospero bring to a desert island? This first thing Prospero would pack is his magic.  Prospero gains his power from his magic.  Without it he would be powerless and weak.  Power is one characteristic that reminds him of his great life back in Milan.  The constant reminder of what he left behind pushes Prospero find a way back home. The next item on Prospero’s list is a book titled, “Manipulation 101.”  Prospero’s power doesn’t only come from his magic, but from his ability to easily manipulate others.  When He first arrived in the island, Prospero quickly gained control over Caliban and Ariel making them his indentured slaves.  With the ability to exploit those around him, Prospero gains authority over all existing forms of power and is able to create his own hierarchy of command. And finally, Prospero would bring his daughter, Miranda.  Like Prospero said in the play, Miranda is 1/3 of himself.  Miranda is Prospero’s only human connection to his past and the his only reason to have a bright future.  We see Prospero’s devotion to Miranda throughout the play.  Without Miranda, Prospero would not be civil and seek pure revenge for what his brother did. So, what three things would you bring if you were stranded on a desert island?  This question doesn’t ask how or why you got onto the island, or even how you would get off.  The question is about the time you spend on the island and what is most important to you.   What does Prospero care about and what does that reveal about his character? Do the things we bring define who we are and what we stand for? -Rachel F.

If you were stranded on a desert island what three things would you bring?

I have been asked this question many times and my answer sometimes includes a ping-pong table, sun glasses, and a book titled, “How to Build a Boat.”  I have never been stranded on a desert island, but Prospero has.  The play, The Tempest, is set on an island in the New World where Prospero and Miranda must live away from their home of Milan.  

What three things would Prospero bring to a desert island?

This first thing Prospero would pack is his magic.  Prospero gains his power from his magic.  Without it he would be powerless and weak.  Power is one characteristic that reminds him of his great life back in Milan.  The constant reminder of what he left behind pushes Prospero find a way back home.

The next item on Prospero’s list is a book titled, “Manipulation 101.”  Prospero’s power doesn’t only come from his magic, but from his ability to easily manipulate others.  When He first arrived in the island, Prospero quickly gained control over Caliban and Ariel making them his indentured slaves.  With the ability to exploit those around him, Prospero gains authority over all existing forms of power and is able to create his own hierarchy of command.

And finally, Prospero would bring his daughter, Miranda.  Like Prospero said in the play, Miranda is 1/3 of himself.  Miranda is Prospero’s only human connection to his past and the his only reason to have a bright future.  We see Prospero’s devotion to Miranda throughout the play.  Without Miranda, Prospero would not be civil and seek pure revenge for what his brother did.

So, what three things would you bring if you were stranded on a desert island?  This question doesn’t ask how or why you got onto the island, or even how you would get off.  The question is about the time you spend on the island and what is most important to you.  

What does Prospero care about and what does that reveal about his character?

Do the things we bring define who we are and what we stand for?

-Rachel F.

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1PM

Prospero’s Power

In Act 5 scene 1, Prospero announces that after he’s done seeking justice upon his adversaries, he will “break [his] staff and.. drown his book” (149). If one had not read the play, a person might believe that Prospero has changed for the better, that he has realized the harmful consequences of possessing power and has decided to remove the very notion of power from his life. But Prospero’s “realization” is not this simple because he conveniently realizes the destructive effects of his magical abilities when he is coming into another source of power, his restoration as the Duke of Milan.  Without being reinstated to his position of former power, Prospero would most likely not have considered doing away with his cherished books.  Not only that, but in the epilogue there is no mention that Prospero ever saw this thought through.  So, is Prospero truly a merciful ruler, as everyone seems to believe, or in actuality is he a sneaky trickster with the upper hand?   

AMY

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March72012

Many people have brought up different discoveries about the epilogue in “The Tempest” and I thought I’d jump onto the bandwagon. In class, we talked about how Prospero rhymes in the epilogue and that when a character rhymes in a Shakespearean play, it signifies the character’s importance in the play. However, in this speech, Prospero is speaking to the audience about how they actually had/have the control during the play. Because the speech shows Prospero’s power and significance in the play and having him tell the audience that they had the power all along, I epilogue this as a contradiction. Do you guys find this contradicting? What else do you see revealed through his rhyming and message?

-Gabby

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8PM

Leaving

In the plat The Tempest, a ton of leaving takes place in the play. First Prospero and Miranda leaving Milan, then the ship leaving Milan, and everyone leaving the island at the end of the play. However after leaving becomes arrival, just as the saying about closing one door and opening another. Every time a character closes a door of their own they open another door that leads to a plethora of opportunities. For Prospero specifically he closes multiple doors at one time, leaving one open that leaded him back to where he came from. Now he is going back to the start his “little life is rounded with sleep” (133). Prospero has made a full circle in his lifetime and now has no choice but to follow it until the end.

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7PM

Obedience In Shakespeare

So I am assistant directing a middle school production of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the  Shrew, which is all about obedience. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, it is about a sassy shrew-ish girl named Katherine (Kate) and a man named Petruchio who tames her….there’s a lot of other things that happen too but for the purposes of this post, that’s all that matters. IN the end of The Taming of the Shrew, Katherine is completely obedient to Petruchio and both Katherine and Petruchio are praised for Kate’s good behaviour. In calls as well, when we discuss the Tempest, we spend a lot of time talking about Miranda’s obedience to Prospero and how she will make a wonderful wife for Ferdinad because she is so obedient. What do you think this says about women in Shakespeare’s time? Has is expectation of obedience changed?

Paige

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March62012

“But release me from my bands/ With the help of your good hands./ Gentle breath of yours my sails/ Must fill, or else my project fails,/ Which was to please. Now I want/ Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,/ And my ending is despair,/ Unless I be relieved by prayer, Which pierces so that it assaults/ Mercy itself, and free all faults./ As you from crimes would pardoned be,/ Let your indulgence set me free. (Epilogue, 9-20)

As we wrap up on the Tempest I want to discuss a little bit about the epilogue. Knowing this was Shakespeare’s last play this epilogue is in a sense, his last hoorah. At the end of the play Prospero frees everyone from the charms he has been keeping them under and now that we have reached the end of the play he addresses the audience and suggests that he too, is trapped. Thus, he gives the audience the ultimate power. This helps develop Prospero’s character as one that is not power hungry but merely seeking justice. He gives the audience the ultimate power to send him back to Milan (breath of yours my sails must fill) or to keep him trapped on the island. Also, in addressing their hands he is basically just asking them for an applause. He also addresses death with “my ending” which reveals that now that the play is over he is now ready for death, In the very last line he says, “Let your indulgence set me free.” The use of indulgence as the note in the book states, has another meaning besides enjoyment, addressing theological indulgences during the time where buying indulgences from the church could free you from the punishment merited by sin. This double meaning contributes that the play itself can be an escape from sin and reality for the audience and in indulging in it it sets Prospero free. It’s ironic that Prospero is ultimately under the control of the audience considering the entire play he appears as the most powerful one. Do you guys think this was a good way for Shakespeare to end his last play or should he have done something different with the epilogue?

-Ashley 

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March42012

LIVING LIKE A KING

I like to draw on the parallels between the Tempest and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida”—both narrate the story of a powerful royal and how he loses his power. Though the play’s central character, Prospero, is the duke of Milan, and then later the king of the island, the king in the song remains somewhat ambiguous and refers to only kings in general. There is a slight anti-authoritarian tone that is infused with the lyrics of the song, which connects to the turbulence of Prospero’s kingship and the power struggle of the inferior characters in the play.

Though Prospero is overthrown by his brother Antonio, he reestablishes himself as king once he reaches the island. The lyrics themselves, especially at the start, are very similar to Prospero as king on the island. They even elude to the tempest he causes when it says “seas would rise when I gave the word”. The following lines, “I used to role the dice/feel the fear in my enemy’s eyes” also connect to the play, since Prospero uses Ariel to make mischief and scare his enemies. The song continues, saying “I used to hold the key/next the walls were closed on me”, which again can relate to the play because one moment Prospero is in change as Duke of Milan, and the next, his brother Antonio is overthrowing him. Both the song and the play track the story of a royal who is humbled and isn’t evil anymore: the king in the song becomes less of a dictator, and Prospero eventually forgives those who wronged him.

ALLIE

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February292012

“Some subtleties o’ th’ isle, that will [not] let you/ Believe things certain.” (Act V, Scene 1, line 140-141)

This quote of Prospero’s reminded me of Caliban’s speech about the island (Act 3 scene 2, lines 148-156) when he talks about all the magical happenings of the island. In Caliban’s opinion all the sounds and spirits of the island and harmless and the island is wonderful. However, in Prospero’s note here we see that although the island is full of magic, this isn’t necessarily as great as Caliban sees it. The magic of the island that Caliban talked about, like the “sounds and sweet airs” cause Alonso and company to question the world around them and what is real and what isn’t. Also in this scene Prospero is having his sort of last hoorah with his magic before giving it up so in noting that the island causes people to question realities he could also be referring to the negative side of magic. This is a first for Prospero considering the entirety of the play thus far we have seen Prospero using magic to his advantage. With this view of the island readers can further see a change in Prospero from being strictly power hungry to being more forgiving and human in a sense.

-Ashley

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February262012

In the beginning of Act 4, Scene 1, when Prospero allows Ferdinand to marry Miranda, I can’t help but notice the language that objectifies Miranda. Prospero describes Miranda as “my gift” or “my rich gift.” Propsero also says, “she is thine own,” implying that Ferdinand now owns Miranda and this is the act of passing on that ownership. Within that conversation, Prospero and Ferdinand never mention her name. Instead, she is mentioned as “my daughter” and “my gift,” which emphasizes Miranda’s objectification. 

-Gabby

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February232012

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Christine’s post made me realize that there is a Wizard’s of Waverly Place episode that relates to the Tempest. There aren’t many parallels between the show and the book, but there is an episode in which Alex charms a school mural in order to make the viewer see whatever they want to see. This is very similar to how the characters of the Tempest sees the island in a different way, case sensitive to their situation. Watch this clip for about two minutes, and I hope you see the connection!

Not only does this connection feel appropriate because of the magic happening in both the show and the play, but both gives each character some sort of entitlement to their own views. Prospero sees the island as his— he is incredibly power hungry and feels entitled to take full control of the island like a king. To Ferdinand, the island is the place where he found Miranda to love, and to Miranda the island is both her home and where she finds Ferdinand. I think it’s really interesting to notice how each person has a different perspective because it helps us understand their characters more thoroughly: Prospero is power-obssessed, Ferdiand/Miranda are hopeless romantics, etc.

ALLIE

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February172012
“I’ll show thee the best springs. I’ll pluck thee berries. I’ll fish for thee and get thee wood enough….I’ll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee Thou wondrous man” (2.2 166-170).”

This quote is when Caliban decides to commit himself to Stephano’s slavery because they gave him alcohol. This quote is important because he decides to do all the dirty work that he promised Prospero before he turned on him. He told Prospero that, “And then I loved thee, And showed thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle. The fresh springs, brine pits, barren place and the fertile” (1.2 402-405). Caliban basically promised Prospero the same things he is promising Stephano, and doesn’t understand that although he may be escaping from Prospero’s slavery, he is actually subjecting himself to the slavery of someone else. Stephano is actually only a power hungry butler who plans on selling Caliban to the zoo, when they are back in Naples, while Prospero is a born and raised duke who took care of Caliban before Caliban tried to rape Miranda. The theme of colonization is prominent throughout the play and I believe that Caliban’s situation is an allusion to the different countries trying to take over native land by conquering the people. Caliban is very naive about the intentions of his “employers” so he believes that he can be free from his torture if he becomes a slave to someone else.

-Amanda

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6PM
This is a photo depicting the scene where Miranda and Ferdinand talk while he carries logs. (I’m mostly going to focus of the shift in Miranda rather than solely this scene.) We are first introduced to Miranda when she is talking with her father, Prospero. She is very submissive and appears to be a very respectful daughter. With her engaged responses like “Your tale, sir, would cure deafness.” (1.2 106), she clearly displays her love for her father. However, when she meets Ferdinand (she thinks he’s a spirit and unearthly, and he is also the first man she’s felt romantic feelings for - he’s the third man she’s ever seen…), her attitude towards her father shifts. She is still respectful, but begins to disobey him because of the intense emotion she feels towards Ferdinand. “My father/ Is hard at study. Pray now, rest yourself./ He’s safe for these three hours.” This line demonstrates Miranda’s shift in behavior. Her love for Ferdinand is triumphing over her devotion and obedience to Prospero. After offering to carry the logs for Ferdinand, she tells him her name. “Miranda.—O my father,/I have broke your hest to say so!” (3.1) She also is acting in a way which her father has taught her not to “ But I prattle/ Something too wildly, and my father’s precepts/ I therein do forget.” And ends the scene by confessing her love and practically proposing to Ferdinand. We see Miranda go from acting completely submissive to the man who taught her everything (Prospero), to sneaking around his orders to be with the man she loves (Ferdinand). -Annsley

This is a photo depicting the scene where Miranda and Ferdinand talk while he carries logs. (I’m mostly going to focus of the shift in Miranda rather than solely this scene.) We are first introduced to Miranda when she is talking with her father, Prospero. She is very submissive and appears to be a very respectful daughter. With her engaged responses like “Your tale, sir, would cure deafness.” (1.2 106), she clearly displays her love for her father. However, when she meets Ferdinand (she thinks he’s a spirit and unearthly, and he is also the first man she’s felt romantic feelings for - he’s the third man she’s ever seen…), her attitude towards her father shifts. She is still respectful, but begins to disobey him because of the intense emotion she feels towards Ferdinand. “My father/ Is hard at study. Pray now, rest yourself./ He’s safe for these three hours.” This line demonstrates Miranda’s shift in behavior. Her love for Ferdinand is triumphing over her devotion and obedience to Prospero. After offering to carry the logs for Ferdinand, she tells him her name. “Miranda.—O my father,/I have broke your hest to say so!” (3.1) She also is acting in a way which her father has taught her not to “ But I prattle/ Something too wildly, and my father’s precepts/ I therein do forget.” And ends the scene by confessing her love and practically proposing to Ferdinand. We see Miranda go from acting completely submissive to the man who taught her everything (Prospero), to sneaking around his orders to be with the man she loves (Ferdinand).

-Annsley

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February92012

This is a clip from the movie The Tempest directed by Julie Taymor starring Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones, and Ben Whishaw. This clip is from around the lines 322-347 when Prospero is criticizing Ariel for complaining about his duties. I love this scene because it gives such a good visual of Ariel becoming the pine, but also the special effects emphasize both Ariel and Prospera’s power. They are able to turn their setting from inside a room into a flashback of Ariels imprisonment, which shows how Prospera and Ariel are able to control the island with their magic. I also like the fact that Julie Taymor made Prospero into a Prospera, male to female. In this scene, Helen Mirren portrays a very intimidating Prospera who I would be equally frightened of, male or female. Another reason why I like Prospero portrayed as a woman is because either way, Miranda cannot tell the difference between parenting. In the text, she has never known her mother, but in the movie, she has never known her father but that doesn’t make a difference because one or the other is still parenting her. What do you guys think of Prospero being portrayed as a Prospera?

-Amanda

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