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Anna Quindlen, Bill Bryson, Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, Harper Lee, John Steinbeck, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Tertullian, Thomas Paine, 1984, A Raisin in The Sun, Animal Farm, Beowulf, Fahrenheit 451, Frankenstein, George Orwell, Hamlet, Into The Wild, Lord of The Flies, A Modest Proposal, All Quiet on The Western Front, Allegory, Antigone, Between The World and Me.
Symbolism of the Book Prospero’s Cloak and BooksProspero’s cloak and books are revealed as the authentic source of his magical ability. Only twice does he remove his cloak; when he is explaining to Miranda their history and her true identity and again, at the end of the play, when he chooses to give up his … Read more
“You taught me language, and my profit on’t is I know how to curse. The red plague rid you for learning me your language! (I.ii366-368) Dictated by Caliban to Miranda and Prospero, this statement clearly illustrates the tumultuous relationship between the slave and master (or the colonized and the colonizer). Caliban is regarded as a ‘savage’ … Read more
ProsperoThe true Duke of Milan, who has been stripped of his rule and exiled to sea by Antonio, his brother, and Alonso, the King of Naples. Prospero, along with his daughter, Miranda, have lived for twelve years on an island inhabited by them and a group of spirits. Prospero has become the powerful leader and … Read more
Book Summary The Tempest begins on the deck of a navigator’s vessel that is being ravaged at sea by a violent tempest in Act I, Scene I. The seamen fight with all of their might to lower the ship’s sails in a bid to control the ship. Passengers, Antonio, Alonso, Ferdinand and Sebastian, worried by the growing noise … Read more
Through the years there has been much debate as to whether Shakespeare’s The Tempest is an Allegory to European colonization and colonial life, or if it is his “farewell to the stage” with a complete overview of the stage and a compilation of all of his characters into a few, in which the playwright himself … Read more
In Act 3, scene 4, Shakespeare utilizes the ominous storm pounding down upon the suffering Lear in order to elucidate the storm which actually affects Lear the greatest–the internal storm caused by the ingratitude shown by his daughters Regan and Goneril. Prior to Lear’s speech, Kent urges the King to enter a nearby hovel for … Read more
The Tempest consists of a series of rebellion, treacheries, mutinies and conspiracies against authority but the overall view of the dramatic action is much more complex. Many other aspects and themes such as illusion and the supernatural (magic) also play a very important part in shaping the plot. Power struggle is evident from the beginning, … Read more
Through Prospero’s verbal and physical abuse, the enslaved Caliban is unjustly portrayed as a vicious and subhuman beast. Prospero has no feelings for Caliban. Therefore he thinks that Caliban was put on earth for work. Additionally Prospero just thinks he makes fires and does work for him so people should not have sympathy for him. … Read more
Trinculo and Stephano though not major characters in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, serve a large role in the story itself. They mainly serve as the story’s comic relief and they also contribute to demonstrating to the audience how evil has no boundaries. Much of the play revolves around Prospero’s contempt for everyone who betrayed him, … Read more
Caliban, a savage and deformed slave to Prospero, plays a very important role in The Tempest. Caliban represents a being of “pure nature. ” He is referred to as a monster by the other characters on the island. He is a very complex character and he mirrors other characters in the play. Throughout the play … Read more
Caliban the deformed savage on the island from his first appearance in the play is more animal than human. Prospero first refers to Caliban by calling him a, “tortoise” (1. 2. 318). This sets the tone for Caliban’s character in the play as he is labeled as a semi-beast in the play. But interestingly despite … Read more
The magic in The Tempest was able to create many abnormal happenings as well as different feelings that are shown through the characters of Milan. There were two different types of magic that were shown one was represented by witches and wizards, this type of magic was not the beneficial type of magic. The beneficial … Read more
For over a century, and particularly in the past twenty years, a number of interpreters have taken a very different approach to The Tempest, seeing in it the exploration of some particularly relevant political issues. The English critic, William Hazlitt, was the first to point out (in 1818) that Prospero had usurped Caliban from his … Read more
Jane Eyre, A passage to India, and The Tempest all hold within their covers’ stories of women or girls who knowingly and unknowingly affected the lives of men they were involved with. However, the females’ range of influence does vary between the books due the writer’s opinions of the female sex. The strength and influence … Read more
Any good story starts with an observation: an observation of the silent neighbor, the infamously loud aunt at the family reunion or the mysterious stranger, smiling at nothing. William Shakespeare always wrote of these observations. His characters in each of his plays represent some part of society or desire lying within society. “The Tempest”, Shakespeare’s … Read more
The Epilogue of the Tempest by William Shakespeare is an excellent — if not the best — example of Shakespeare’s brilliance. In 20 lines Shakespeare is able to write an excellent ending to his play, while speaking through his characters about Shakespeare’s own life and career. Even more amazingly, he seemlessly ties the two together. … Read more
The Tempest was one of William Shakespeares last plays. Into it, he put his heart and his soul. The epilogue in itself carries enough emotional weight to fill an entire play. The scene where Ariel says that she would feel bad for the men trapped on the island if she were human (V. i. 20), … Read more
In literature as in life, characters are multi-dimensional beings. They possess a wide variety of character traits that make them who they are. In the Tempest written by William Shakespeare, Prospero traits resemble those of the Europeans that came during the exploration of the Americas. Thus, Prosperos treatment of Caliban is similar to the way … Read more
Gonzalo states: “We are people of our own minds and no one else’s,” by this Gonzalo is telling everyone that no one can control what someone sees or does. This is true unless one is using magic to alter the minds and reality of anyone under the influence of magic. In the Tempest, by William … Read more
Shakespeare brings up sexuality quite often through the play. Since the play is male-dominated, it seems that very time a female is brought into the plot, sexuality is discussed. The first time this theme is mentioned is when Caliban attemps to rape Prospero’s daughter, Miranda. Caliban was son of the witch, Sycorax, who formerly ruled … Read more
Shakespeare lived and wrote in the Elizabethan age, a time when his society was branching out and making itself known throughout the world by colonizing other cultures. Great Britain was reaching for new heights of power. In the play Shakespeare questions the value of this new concept of British imperialism. The Tempest is called Shakespeares … Read more
William Shakespeare used many different writing devices when he wrote his plays. In Act I of The Tempest, the use of contrasts between characters, setting, and ideas were often used to develop the story, and more importantly, the messages that Shakespeare wished to portray by the play. One good example was how some characters in … Read more
The magic in The Tempest was able to create many abnormal happenings as well as different feelings that are shown through the characters of Milan. There were two different types of magic that were shown one was represented by witches and wizards, this type of magic was not the beneficial type of magic. The beneficial … Read more
The Epilogue of the Tempest by William Shakespeare is an excellent — if not the best — example of Shakespeare’s brilliance. In 20 lines Shakespeare is able to write an excellent ending to his play, while speaking through his characters about Shakespeare’s own life and career. Even more amazingly, he seemlessly ties the two together. … Read more
In Shakespeares play, “The Tempest,” an underlying theme of barbarism versus civilization appears. Shakespeare creates characters that exemplify symbols of nature or nurture. The symbolism of the characters is derived from their actions. These actions show Shakespeares view of the uncivilized and the civilized, as well as help the reader develop his own opinion of … Read more
The Tempest, written in 1611, was one of William Shakespeare’s last plays. It has a combination of superb characters, interesting settings, and a good plot lineall held together by the running theme of magic, and its ever- present importance. A closer examination of the magic in The Tempest, and the public’s view of magic at … Read more
From a psychoanalytic perspective, both Caliban and Trinculo of Shakespeares The Tempest are interesting characters. Caliban is very sexual and bitter, while Trinculo is at odds with everything: his situation of being washed ashore and wrongly accused of saying things when he did not utter a word, as well as Calibans worship of an unkingly … Read more
William Shakespeare used many different writing devices when he wrote his plays. In Act I of The Tempest, the use of contrasts between characters, setting, and ideas were often used to develop the story, and more importantly, the messages that Shakespeare wished to portray by the play. One good example was how some characters in … Read more
The Epilogue of the Tempest by William Shakespeare is an excellent — if not the best — example of Shakespeare’s brilliance. In 20 lines Shakespeare is able to write an excellent ending to his play, while speaking through his characters about Shakespeare’s own life and career. Even more amazingly, he seemlessly ties the two together. … Read more
From beginning to end the play-write gives prominence to the problems of dominion, freedom, political failure and of repetition. Like Russ Mc Donald I also believe that Shakespeare devoted his last comedy largely to the exploration of the shapes and effects that possession and the search for power can have on persons. The Tempest’s central … Read more
The Epilogue of the Tempest by William Shakespeare is an excellent — if not the best — example of Shakespeare’s brilliance. In 20 lines Shakespeare is able to write an excellent ending to his play, while speaking through his characters about Shakespeare’s own life and career. Even more amazingly, he seemlessly ties the two together. … Read more
During Shakespeare’s day and age society had levels of classification where some men were considered “superior” to other men. Shakespeare gives us a taste of this hierarchical culture through his play The Tempest. He shows us how “superior” men perceived themselves in contrast to lesser beings due to their race, financial status, and gender. We … Read more
Shakespeare lived and wrote in the Elizabethan age, a time when his society was branching out and making itself known throughout the world by colonizing other cultures. Great Britain was reaching for new heights of power. In the play Shakespeare questions the value of this new concept of British imperialism. The Tempest is called Shakespeare’s … Read more
The theatre metaphor also helps to explain why, in the last analysis, Prospero has to surrender his magical powers. Life cannot be lived out in the world of illusions, delightful and educative as they can often be. Life must be lived in the real world, in Milan or in Naples, and Miranda cannot thus entirely … Read more
In Shakespeares play The Tempest, the cast of characters are squeezed into some archetypal roles. Prospero is our noble hero, Miranda is the beautiful maiden, Antonio is the closest thing we have to a villain. Its our temptation as readers to categorize these characters as roles and not as people, perhaps out of convenience . … Read more
I have chosen Caliban to discuss, since, as an actor, I find him the most interesting character and thus the most enjoyable to discuss. Caliban’s function in the plot is one that is difficult to define. He is not the key protagonist, since this title belongs to the treacherous Alonso in his usurpation of Prosporo. … Read more
Mowats essay emphasizes Calibans significant role in The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. Calibans character, in relation to Prosperos, expresses the actual relations between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of settlers and natives, Caliban being the native of the island, and Prospero, the settler. Miranda and Prospero introduce Caliban to the reader as a villain, slave … Read more
The Tempest, written in 1611, was one of William Shakespeare’s last plays. It has a combination of superb characters, interesting settings, and a good plot lineall held together by the running theme of magic, and its ever- present importance. A closer examination of the magic in The Tempest, and the public’s view of magic at … Read more
The magic in The Tempest was able to create many abnormal happenings as well as different feelings that are shown through the characters of Milan. There were two different types of magic that were shown one was represented by witches and wizards, this type of magic was not the beneficial type of magic. The beneficial … Read more