The Tempest

I really enjoyed The Tempest. I don't really like to just read Shakespeare, I feel like I have to watch his plays with the book in front of me to really get the most out of them. When I saw this was assigned, I immediately went to Youtube and found a version of the play to watch, and I really enjoyed this performance.

The way the play portrays magic and wizards, or sorcerers, or whatever you'd call Prospero was very interesting. His powers seem limited - he needs his staff, his books, and possibly his "magic cloak" in order to do anything. Furthermore, when he DOES do something magical, it's through the use of a servant - usually Ariel. Ariel seems fairly powerful, able to turn into wind and fire, appear as a harpy, mimic voices, create sounds, etc. Prospero uses this to great effect, but it's still not really him doing it. The one thing Prospero does actually seem to be able to do, to which Caliban attests, is to give people cramps. Malicious, certainly, but not nearly as menacing as the baby-eating witches we've been studying.

I was a bit confused as to exactly what prompted Prospero to forgive Alonso and company of their misdeeds. It seemed to me, from both the text and the version of the play I watched, that the cause was Ariel saying that Gonzalo was crying into his beard. If that's the case, though, then Prospero's intricately-laid plans to bring them to the island alive, keeping the ship intact and all, don't make sense anymore. Eventually I decided it had been his plan all along to forgive Alonso. Then again, his blustering threats throughout the play suddenly don't carry much weight when he reveals his decision to renounce magic, which may just be the whole point. I think the reader/viewer ultimately has to decide that, which plays into the epilogue where he begs the audience for forgiveness.

The End!? (Tempest)

Well the last two acts were in interesting read. To me it kind of seemed to end on a simple happy note. The supposed bad guy turned a new leaf. All was forgiven. Love flourished. Everything tied in a nice little bow. It doesn't seem like a typical Shakespearean ending, with death and dramatic twists etc.
So you have Prospero win. He gathers everyone. All truth is revealed. He renounces his powers and gets his dukedom reestablished. You find that the Boatswains are all alright and the ship is ready to go (pg. 161). Prospero deems everything that occurred as "happened accidents." (pg. 163) I feel that he sugar coated that. I mean he caused a tempest that threw everyone on a island. I think it was more than a little incident/coincidence.
What I really want to talk about is the magic in the story, or should I say "art". If you notice no one really gets hurt from the magic happening in the pages. You have a storm. Everyone gets on the island. Clothes dry. Some are asleep. Nothing really dangerous happens. I was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was expecting a death or sacrifice. At least that is what I pair magic with now after reading Kors/Peters. But this magic was very indirect and sneaky. It was demonic magic or blood sacrifices. It was elemental. The water and air. It is curious to note that Prospero calls his art "rough magic." (pg. 149, line 59)

 His perception is that this was really powerful and scary stuff that he was doing. In reality, if you take what read in other readings, magic can get a whole lot darker and scarier. It is interesting to see his perception of his magic. I like how he coins it "art". If you think of art you think visuals, feelings, interpretation, eccentricities, colors etc. It kind of seems parallel to how is magic works. The entire time Prospero is guiding everyone in places or positions he needs them to be in. He uses the senses as a way to manipulate others. Such as seeing shapes. He also plays on emotions like love (or lust), anger, greed, fear, kind of how art plays with our emotions based on how we look and interpret them.


Overall, I thought this was a odd way to end a story like this. It seemed so simple and to neat. If someone threw me over a boat, had me seeing shapes, chased by dogs (spirits), etc, I wouldn't be so keen to just chalk it up to a sorry.

I dwell in the realm of disappointment.

I have to say I am mildly disappointed with the ending of "The Tempest." There was no big fight scene or dramatic twist. It wrapped up with a nice bow making it boring and predictable. What the heck Shakespeare? I thought a death might occur or some plot twist would say this was all a dream of Prospero’s. Nope. My grief over this matter will last sometime, but alas, I must find the strength to continue…

 What threw me off the most is how easily Prospero gains back his dukedom. Antonio did not even attempt to fight Prospero for the dukedom. He just let the king give Prospero his position back after ‘saving’ is son. I find this to be too easy and submissive. Shouldn’t there have been a fight between Antonio and Prospero? If I were Antonio, I wouldn’t just let my older brother claim what I fought to steal from him the first place. I would be furious and defend my position as Duke even if it’s not rightfully mine.

Besides the less than dramatic ending, I am surprised by Prospero saying he would stop using magic after regaining his dukedom. Why would he? I am not quite sure I understand. It is clear in Act 5 Scene 1 when he says, “I’ll break my staff, / Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, / And deeper than dud ever plummet sound/ I’ll drown my book” (ll. 63-65). Is Prospero done with magic simply because he does not need it anymore? Or is there another reason he would willingly give up the magic?

I wonder if Prospero realizes the reason he got into this mess in the first place is because of his obsession with magic. It became the ruling force over his life when he was the duke. Instead of watching over his people, Prospero buried himself in books, leaving his position vulnerable to being usurped by his brother. After living on this desolate island for years, I’d hope Prospero acknowledges how and why he came to live there. It was not simply because his brother was power hungry, but the fact Prospero neglected his duties as the duke.

When Prospero receives his position back, I suppose there is no longer a need for him to use magic. He has gotten what he wanted and will return to Milan with his daughter. Not only has Prospero improved his position by having his daughter marry the king’s son, but he returns to the place he loves with a better insight into how his behavior should change. I hope that Prospero will not return to his old ways of hiding himself away. As we all know, with great power comes great responsibility. 

Canst thou comprehend?

Literally all I could think about reading The Tempest.

Fun Fact: The song Ariel sings that starts out "Full fathom five" was sang by a group on campus.

So, The Tempest. I was able to catch the jist of it. But I am so caught up in the abbreviated 'the's and other words, and by the curse that Prospero wanted to put on Caliban when he said something that just seemed like he was complaining. Poor guy just wants his land back! Prospero is a manipulating little jerk! In the pre-reading of the play, they were talking about how the characters could be both a villain and a hero, especially talking about Prospero. I'm sorry, but this guy deserves no such title. He made me so angry. The same with the men on the boat. I think my favorite part from scene one was, "Gonzalo: Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard. Boatswain: None that I love more than myself." BURN, GONZALO! Your Boatswain could careless what happens to you and the mighty men on board.

This is going to be a frustrating play to read. I LOVE DRAMA! .....