First, I love Shakespeare. I have read some of his work. However,
this is my first time reading The
Tempest. I am not going to lie; I am a little lost on what is happening in
this act. I think I have the general gist of the section, but I am hoping
someone could help me understand it a little more. From what I am
understanding, the first part is having the characters on board a ship with a
storm happening. I had to look back at the list of characters multiple times to
remember who is who, so I may have missed something. The second part with
Miranda and Prospero I understood a lot more than the first part. I believe
what is happening here is the father and daughter are talking about the circumstances
that brought them to the island they are living on. What I got out of this is
the ex-duke, Prospero, was betrayed by his brother and put on a ship with his
daughter and were put on the island for twelve years. The brother did this to
become the new duke I believe. What I had the most trouble with was the ending
of the act where Prospero, Miranda, and Caliban are talking. Is Caliban being
disrespectful to his master, Prospero, or is he just joking around? Then when
Ariel comes in I got confused who she was and what she was doing. Again, I have
read Shakespeare before, but I am having trouble with this first act trying to
understand what is happening. Sorry for writing a blog such as this one; usually
I try to talk about what we read and my insight into it, but I am not going to
be in class on Monday so I am trying to get an understanding so I am not lost
on the next two acts.
I would
really appreciate any help on this subject (they say teaching someone helps to
teach you).
I’m sorry to hear you are having such a hard time with the beginning, but I understand. Shakespeare is not easy in the least, but don’t give up! I hope our last class helped to explain what is going on in the first Act of the play. You are right that the shipwreck left men deserted on the same island as Prospero and company. Prospero and Miranda also discuss how they came to be deserted on the island in the first place. Prospero’s brother overthrew him and cast his family out of Milan. Caliban and Ariel are both servants to Prospero, but Caliban is the disfigured son of a witch who previously ruled the island. Ariel is a ghostly figure (think Mephistopheles for Paradise Lost) who does Prospero’s bidding to wreck the ship. At the end of the first act, Prospero is plotting something involving Ferdinand, Miranda and the other shipwrecked men on the island. I am curious to see how the plot thickens as we continue reading.
ReplyDeleteYes,thank you very much. i read the sparknotes on this section and it helped a little, but what helped me the most was the discussion in class. this also helped me, too. thank you very much. I am also interested to see where this play will take us. i have read Shakespeare before and i love his work so i hope i like this one as well.
ReplyDelete