My post is late - Just like these writers' opinions on witchcraft!

I felt a huge sense of relief reading chapter 10 of K/P. Finally, the mode of thought has begun to change - sure, the Church still believes in witchcraft and magic and their prevalence, but it's recognizing that anyone can be accused of it at any time just because someone else says so, and now we're seeing an inkling of "innocent until proven guilty." There's definitely some classism going on between the "enlightened" and the lowly commoner, which is unfortunate, but at least more voices are speaking out against widespread witch hunting besides Weyer. Some of these voices openly mock witchcraft believers, telling them to "go to their grandams maids to learne more old wives tales" (p. 398) (good on you, Reginald Scot).

I did find it very strange that one of Salazar's big proposals was forbidding people to even talk about magic among themselves: "The Tribunal is to publish an edict imposing silence regarding the whole question of witchcraft" (p. 413). The people are encouraged to speak only with their confessors or the Tribunal, whether they feel guilty or accusatory. I guess I can understand why - considering the cases described in which introducing magical ideas into a community seemed to directly result in confessions and accusations - but why reduce talking about it in larger communities where the ideas had already taken root? Why not work out, publicly, why a set of evidence isn't enough to convict a person of witchcraft? Why not tell the people about the placebo effect that magic can have on a person? Why not educate the people about...oh, right, classism.

Speaking of classism (and moving on), the characters as they're shown in the first act of The Tempest really didn't inspire a lot of good feelings in me. The whole royal party putting down the boatswain and threatening to hang him was horrible! He was probably the reason that they even survived (spoiler!), so I would have treated him with the utmost respect, even in a horrible storm. And Prospero? Don't even get me started on him. He's a manipulative, mean man who didn't even want the throne when he had it; he puts his daughter to sleep so she doesn't see his machinations; he employs spirits and is cruel to them at the slightest hint of disobedience (especially Caliban); he stops his daughter from falling in love and only wants her to "his" way...the list goes on. Were it not for Ferdinand, who seems to have a slight bit of honor, and Miranda, who is too innocent for her own good, I'd be rooting for the spirits to break free and take everyone out.

I don't want to predict too much for later acts, but with their powers combined...?
Source: utopiaorbust.wordpress.com

The Tempest aka Hilarious

I really love Shakespeare, and the Tempest is one of his plays that has always caught my attention because it is such a different style, and scholars debate on what genre it falls into (already it sounds fascinating). Is it a romance or a comedy?....let's be honest, it's a rom com.

I was of course extremely interested in the relationship between the magical beings in the play, Prospero and Ariel. So Prospero rescues Arial from a witch (whoa witchcraft) and then also begins to use Ariel as he pleases. Was he even rescued? I feel like he was enslaved and then enslaved again, he really was never free. But also I think that is another point of the play. The characters really have no freedom: one being trapped on an uncivilized island, and two having Prospero as the leader of all things. It's really interesting seeing the monarchy between four people, until of course, the other shipwrecked chaps are involved.

Speaking of the shipwrecked chaps. I really love Trinculo and Stephano especially because I'm a sucker for comedic relief characters. However, when they both stumble across Caliban and think he is a mutant fish and and a monster it is really dumb, but hilarious. Their innocent and unplaced humor is still funny even in this time because of its ridiculousness. They both mostly think of profit (money) and drink which is something related to civilization. They go as far as to give the native Caliban some booze and he starts calling them gods! The whole situation is weird but I really like the corruption of nature (Caliban) with the poison of civilization (liquor).

 Trinculo (left), Stephano, and Caliban from Tempest (2010)

Also the movie was okay, but also now I sometimes confuse Prospero as a woman it's a problem.

Sparknotes to the Rescue

            I read Act 1 Scene 1 and had no idea what was going on.  I was willing to at least try to read the Tempest without using Sparknotes but to no success.  This is not my first time reading Shakespeare but I remember having such a hard and frustrating time reading it I was dreading reading the Tempest for this class.

            I really enjoyed Act 1 scene 2.  It was interesting to see Prospero manipulate his daughter as an attempt to get back into power, and marry his daughter to the new King of Naples since the old king dies in the shipwreck.  Reading it from the book was a challenge though.  I didn’t understand what was really going on till I read it on Sparknotes.  The language used in the text from the book is very hard to understand and follow so most times I just glance over it or skip words.  The first Act seems to be setting the scene for later events and giving backstory to help you understand what is going on for later scenes and acts. 

            I would love to see this on stage, even if the original text is used on stage.  I feel that having the visual cues from the actors on stage and set on the stage would make it easier to follow because the viewer would have clues as to what is going on.  As for just reading the text and having to imagine everything, I tended to focus more what was going on in my head.  When I started reading I at first thought they were in a castle while the storm was going on, then I figured out they were on a boat.  Had a hard time following who was who and it was really hard to read because I like having a picture of what I am reading in my mind.  If I don’t understand what the text is saying it gets very frustrating, makes it hard to follow, and completely ruins a chance for a mental image of what is happening.

Ah.... The Tempest.... We Meet Again...

I love this story, and re-reading it for class reminds me of the bitterness that I have for not being able to see it in Central Park earlier this year, but anyways…

In regards to this class and what we have thus far understood magic to represent—demons, crazy women and witches, among other things—Prospero and his experience with magic is refreshing. Surely, his interest in magic has implications, hence the life on an island, but Shakespeare seems to be less focused on the demonic implications of magic, and more so the abilities of the art of magic. Nevertheless, Miranda refers to her father’s magic as “his art,” but contextually she is referencing this art as something negative: the storm is hurting these men and she cannot understand why, saying “If by your art...you have/ Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them/…I have suffered/ With those that I saw suffer!” (1.2.1-6). Prospero, though, has control over the situation, almost like a director orchestrating a dangerous scene for a film—a car crash or even an explosion—where he or she knows that the situation is under control, and that the people are safe. It is a new idea of a magician that Shakespeare is portraying. Doubled with the idea that this is a father, who cares for his daughter, and appears to have been protecting her from the pain of his personal experience with magic and the people on the ship.  

We are reminded though, of the negative forms of magic, but it appears that they are represented as evil in the play as well—the “foul witch Sycorax” (1.2.309). She is exactly what the people from pretty much every text in the anthology would hang by the stake and kill, and she also appeals to pretty much every modern negative connotation and association of witches. She is portrayed as a hag, evil and has an almost deranged quality that, by nature, Shakespeare’s audiences knows to dislike and distrust her. Even outside of what we learn about Sycorax, we know that she is no good, simply because of what we know about witches. At least for myself, ignoring what I already know about this play, I imagine that one must be concerned about what to think of Prospero. Is he the opposite of Sycorax on the witchy-evil spectrum, or is he just as bad, taking Ariel as a servant. Considering he essentially stole the island from Caliban and his mother, I am not entirely sure.

Also, I loved this. 

Maybe you will too!

Curiosity

All I can say is Thank the Lord for Sparknotes. I have always struggled with comprehending and analyzing readings in modern day English, let alone older English. Sparknotes has been extremely helpful because next to the original text, they have the modern text, which makes it much easier to understand because when I got confused I could just slide my eyes over to the other side. The summaries at the end of each scene were also very helpful to conclude everything. I have not read many plays written by Shakespeare, only Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. I did not enjoy Romeo and Juliet, but I did really like Macbeth so I am curious to see how I will feel about the Temptest.

Act I Scene I did not particularly interest me. Although it did remind me of Life with Pi just because it was about a ship during a storm. Though, this is the only similarity. I do think starting a story or play off with an action scene is a great way to get the reader’s attention though, just not for me personally.

Act I Scene II was much more interesting. I enjoyed hearing the different background stories. I still am a little confused about Prospero and his brother and the ship, but I am hoping after class, or as we continue to read that that will make more sense.

I have already learned to like Ariel and Miranda. I am not quite sure how I feel about Ferdinand though; I have not read enough in the play to know much about him. Prospero seems to be a cool wizard. I feel bad that he had an evil brother that usurped him.As for Caliban, I am not a fan. He does seem to have some evil in him. But why? I want to learn more about Ariel and Caliban and how they lived with the witch Sycorax. I am also looking forward to seeing how the love of Miranda and Ferdinand either blossoms or withers.

I am looking forward to read more and find out about the characters, even though it is a hard reading.

Hooray! Done with Kors and Peters!!

This was my first time reading Shakespeare on my own and I have to say it was a bit difficult to understand. The first scene was confusing, but it made some more sense once I read the second scene. There are a lot of characters in this play that all come up in the beginning, which made it difficult for me to remember who each one was. There were a few specific things that I didn’t understand in this act. I wondered how Miranda and Prospero were able to survive on this island only with their two servants. It wasn’t clear to me if Prospero’s magic was what was keeping them alive or not. I also didn’t understand why Prospero put Miranda to sleep when he started telling his story. And the last thing I was unsure about was why Prospero made a storm around the ship, but I’ve gathered that this probably going to explained later in the play and it’s an important part of the plot. If anybody can provide some clarification for me about the play, that would be awesome.

   This week we were also supposed to read the last chapter by Kors and Peters and I think it ended in the best way possible. I think it was great how we moved through all the different texts and ideas about witchcraft to the explanation of how the craze came to an end. I thought it was interesting that one of the main ideas that discounted those who believed in witchcraft was that they didn’t really understand God and the world he made. I would have thought this chapter would have been made up of educated men telling everybody that witchcraft was impossible. Instead it they attributed the belief in witchcraft to confusion and fear. Even though I thought disbelief and skepticism of witchcraft would have stemmed from logic, I found this chapter to very satisfying.  

Lets Give 'em Something to Talk About

I hate to admit that I closed Kors and Peters with a satisfied smirk on my face and breathed a very deep sigh of relief. The fact that this chapter was called "Belief, Skepticism, Doubt, Disbelief" was really exciting because these were all aspects of the scare that was witchcraft, but it was also the order of the chaos throughout the years. The belief came first and spread like wildfire, with wild accusations and fingerpointing until everyone thought everyone else was a witch. The skeptics came as the knowledge grew, like people who were supposed to be trusted, like church officials, knowing a suspicious amount about witchcraft. Should we have been skeptical of witchcraft existing or should we have been skeptical about who was fighting it? Doubt came following soon after due to the sources of facts being unreliable and too convenient at times and the finally, disbelief came into play. Disbelief meaning that the belief in witchcraft was gone for the most part, but also the shock and disbelief that this had gotten so largely blown out of proportion. It went from a spark of an idea to a forest fire to nothing. But I don't understand how something like this just disappears.

I could understand if new evidence came forward that called off all inklings of witchcraft, but there never was that one end everything epiphany. It just spiraled and spiraled until a few people said, hey, that's enough. In the end, witch trials are deemed useless, and while I agree that they were and that "witches" were tried unfairly, why did nobody try to explore the issue further? Maybe they weren't witches, but something was happening or had to have happened to get these rumors started in the first place? How can a whole part of the world go from being so hellbent on murdering witches to just not caring at all? I feel like this closing should have brought about a new search or a new replacement craze. All of these leaders were on a mission to stop at nothing until they could rid the world of witches and then they just gave up? Why the loss of power and energy? There has to be something more. This chapter said that this time stood by the belief that those who deny Christ are denying God. This would make it clear that anyone who worshipped someone or something other than God was a sinner. So maybe they weren't witches, but what were they? Who or what were they following?

The craze ends with everyone quitting and shoving the issue under the rug. Let people believe what they believe and pretend to be anything they want and they'll be punished in the end. That crazy desire to end all wrongs just vanishes and I can't wrap my head around it. This isn't the conclusion that we have been waiting for. People literally burned at the stake for the craze and now it's just over. So if something could just drop and end this quickly, then why did it even last for so long? Why end now? Was this just a time waster? Now there are new issues and people disobeying God is simply a thing of the past? Was there a new craze or trend that was about to spread?

I'm glad that these trials and the craze itself came to an end, and I wasn't expecting someone to come outside and announce "all witchcraft is a lie. Go back to your lives" or anything, but I also can't fathom how something so big just disappears. Maybe everyone was just so tired of the lies stacking up and the ridiculous time it all consumed that it was deemed a waste of time, but this all seems a little suspicious to me. Like some sort of witchcraft.

Act 1 Scene 1 aaaaand Lost

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). 

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! .....

It's Very Shakespearean

So this reading assignment has shoved how terrible I am at reading old(er) English so far up in my face that light is no longer able to reach my eyes. The summaries at the beginning of each scene helped a lot with giving me the foundation I needed to work with, but then I had to use the bricks of detail given to me by Shakespeare to build a proper house of story understanding in the neighborhood that is my mind. Normally I'm a pretty good carpenter, but now instead of normal house-pieces it's like I'm working with some sort of weird stone blobs and odd shaped doors that are just really hard to figure out how to put together. Then if you can't figure out how to fit the plot-pieces together and you just start placing them wherever or leave some out because you don't think they're important for the structure, then they don't fit right you get some weird shape but you think "a little mistake is fine, nobody will notice when it's done" and then you keep building, but the mistakes keep piling up and then your house ends up looking really awkward and ugly and nobody wants to live in it.

 I turned Hamlet into an M.C. Escher painting.

Basically the task I set for myself while reading this was to figure out who the heck it is that I'm supposed to be rooting for (joke's on me and it's probably going to turn out that everyone's terrible and anyone who I actually like will die anyway, as per Shakespeare). My current consensus is thus: The king and duke are assholes, the slave kid started out pretty cool but then turned out to be a creepy rapey weirdo, the daughter and the prince are the arbitrary hormonal teenagers that decide they're in love because they are opposite gender and happened to make eye-contact, Ariel is just a perfect wonderful innocent little spirit who can do no wrong, and the wizard guy doesn't seem too bad, except I feel like his grudge about being out-duked is going to go bad places AND HE'D BETTER KEEP HIS PROMISE TO FREE ARIEL OR I SWEAR TO GOD. What I'm saying is, screw the mortals, Ariel is my protagonist.

There's no doubt a lot of details that I missed, since I don't understand half the things these people say and the stuff on the left pages IS NOT VERY HELPFUL. Seriously though, half the time there's a phrase I don't understand and the book refuses to help me, half the time it decides to help me with something that I'm honestly insulted it thought I couldn't figure out on my own ("incharitable: i.e. uncharitable" Really? REALLY!?), and some of the time it actually aids me in figuring out the story. (I may have rounded these values.) Basically all I picked up from the whole first scene was that the ship was sinking, and in retrospect I guess the prince guy was on it? So if anyone picked up on any details that would probably affect my character opinions, please tell me I feel so helpless.