Hello everyone! I am so terribly sorry that I have not updated my blog in the last week. The bell jar truly descended this week, but fortunately it has also been a wonderful week! I have gone through two proms and a gargantuan amount of school work. But I am back!
This week I decided to stray away from my normal prose-related posts and instead share my comments on William Shakespeare's beautiful play The Tempest. I know that many of you may already be a little skeptical, as Shakespeare tends to be a greatly admired, but also feared man, since people assume that "Shakespeare is not for them" or that they will not understand it. I am here to exclaim that "You are wrong!!!!" Shakespeare can be so easy to read with the right tools, and it can be extremely enjoyable. Many of his plays contain all of the fantasy, drama, chaos, and lust that are so prevalent in the popular novels of today. And now is the time where I give a quick shout-out to my wonderful, sophomore-year English teacher who fostered my love for the Bard... Love you Mrs. Brewer!!!!
For those of you who I have now convinced that they may enjoy one of Shakespeare's masterpieces, I strongly recommend that you begin with a few Shakespeare's easier classics, like my favorite A Midsummer Night's Dream. After you have put a few of his plays under your belt, and hopefully enjoyed them, I urge you to read The Tempest (c. 1610), which is believed to be one of the last plays William Shakespeare wrote alone. The Tempest is the story of an aging, exiled duke and magician, Prospero, who uses his magic to create a "tempest" - or a storm - that will bring a ship containing his enemies (which include his brother) to his peculiar little island. He then craftily utilizes his servant, the spirit Ariel, to spin a web of complications and journeys for the new arrivals on his island. By the play's finish, the ex-Duke has fostered marriage, forgiveness, and justice among the other characters. (I am sorry for being so vague with this particular plot line- it is relatively complicated, and I don't want to spoil anything.)
This play is particularly admirable for its diaphanous, mystical tone and the way Shakespeare forms the dramatically different characters. Halfway through the play I found myself not liking any of the characters and doubting the morality of Prospero himself. Shakespeare, however, works his magic quickly in the last two acts, giving the individuals new levels of complexity and justifying their previous actions in the play. In addition, the epilogue of the play is particularly moving. In it Prospero delivers a passionate soliloquy, vowing to give up his magic forever and requesting the applause, approval, and forgiveness of his audience. Many consider this to be Shakespeare's "retirement speech," taking the persona of the artful magician who, like Shakespeare, may have altered the thoughts of those around him through his art. The themes of the master-servant relationship and the variety of humanity further enhance the wonderfully entertaining story.
So,quit doubting your literary skills! Go pick up one of the Bard's play and get your Shake on!
(pardon the terrible pun)
Painting of Ariel and Prospero by William Hamilton
"O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! Oh brave new world
That has such people in't!"
- Prospero's daughter, Miranda
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