The Tempest: The Ideal Father
One thing that was interesting for me to note while reading The Tempest was the similarity between Prospero and Stephano; both were viewed as fatherly figures by Caliban despite weakening his position as a savage being. Compared to slaving for Prospero, Caliban was more eager to serve Stephano for Stephano not only tempted Caliban with an illusionary opportunity to free himself … Continue reading The Tempest: The Ideal Father →
The Magic of Theatre
Magic has always appealed to me. Just the idea of it, the stories of spells and potions with the ability to do a range of things beyond what our mere human abilities allowed. This play is filled with magic. There’s … Continue reading →
This Insubstantial Pageant’s Faded
I was 15 when I was married. He spoke to me softly then, told me in words as gentle as caresses that he would honour me, value me, love me. He had seemed beautiful too, white and flushing pink as … Continue reading →
The Value of Virginity
In The Tempest written by William Shakespeare, one topic that I find interesting is the way virginity is a matter of politics. At this place in time, matters of feminism were inexistent and women were treated fairly stereotypically. A woman … Continue reading →
Sights, Sounds and Words in Shakespeare’s The Tempest
In Arts One this week we discussed Shakespeare’s The Tempest. I just noticed that I have two other blog posts on this book from Arts One as well: see here for a post on the play and on the film Forbidden Planet, and here for one on how to interpret Prospero’s “magic” or “art” and […]
The Tempest: Shakespeare’s Dynamic Duos
It’s no secret that Shakespeare favours the dynamic duos: From Benvolio & Mercurio (Romeo and Juliet), to Antonio & Bassanio (Merchant of Venice), to even Rosencrantz & Guildenstern (Hamlet), Shakespeare continually strives to break up tension in his tragedies by providing comedic relief. One unique example of this rule: The Tempest. Though The Tempest is traditionally considered a comedy rather […]
Breaking News! New Island Discovered in the Mediterranean Along with Native Inhabitants.
A new island was discovered in the Mediterranean by famed researcher Prospero and his daughter Miranda, who hail from Milan, and they are breaking headlines. A male, who calls himslef by the exotic name of Caliban, has been a prominent, … Continue reading →
Reality, Metaphysics, Imagination and Everything in Between
The Tempest’s fantastical elements simultaneously make the play riddled with mystic magic and ambiguity. This opens the text up to…
A female Prospero?
The lack of female presence in The Tempest is depressing from a feminist perspective, considering that the only two females do not shed positive light on their gender. Miranda is passive and rarely makes a real contribution to the play, … Continue reading →
Shakespeare the Social Justice Advocate
I suppose I’ll start off by saying that The Tempest was a bit of a disappointment to me. Now don’t get me wrong. I love Shakespeare. I think he’s a genius. And The Tempest definitely had it’s moments and beautiful lines (“We are such stuff / As dreams are made on, and our little […]