The Tempest (Oxford Shakespeare)
One of Shakespeare's most famous but also enigmatic plays, for many years the story of Prospero's exile from his native Milan, and life with his daughter Miranda on an unnamed island in the Mediterranean, was seen as an autobiographical dramatisation of Shakespeare's departure from the London...
show more
One of Shakespeare's most famous but also enigmatic plays, for many years the story of Prospero's exile from his native Milan, and life with his daughter Miranda on an unnamed island in the Mediterranean, was seen as an autobiographical dramatisation of Shakespeare's departure from the London stage. The Epilogue, spoken by Prospero, claims that "now my charms are all o'erthrown", appeared to reflect Shakespeare's own renunciation of his magical dramatic powers as he retired to Stratford. But The Tempest is far more than this, as recent commentators have pointed out. The dramatic action observes the classical unities of time, place and action, as Prospero uses his "rough magic" to lure his wicked usurping brother, Antonio, and King Alonso of Naples to his island retreat to torment them before engineering his return to Milan. However, the play is full of extraordinary anomalies and fantastic interludes, including Gonzalo's fantasy of a utopian commonwealth, Prospero's magical servant Ariel, and the "poisonous slave" Caliban. The creation of Caliban has particularly fascinated critics, who have noticed in his creation a colonial dimension to the play. In this respect Caliban can be seen as an American Indian or African slave, who articulates a particularly powerful strain of anti-colonial sentiment, telling Prospero that "this island's mine, by Sycorax my mother,/ Which thou tak'st from me". This has led to an intense reassessment of the play from a post-colonial perspective, as critics and historians have debated the extent to which the play endorses or criticises early English colonial expansion. --Jerry Brotton
show less
Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780192834140 (0192834142)
Publish date: June 11th 1998
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Pages no: 258
Edition language: English
Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.
I went to see The Tempest in the Globe theatre in the summer of 2013. And while it was some time ago, it really helped me to understand the play. The tempest, Shakespeare's final play and considered to be one of his least understandable is not an easy read but an interesting read it is. Filled wit...
Even though I gave The Tempest five stars, it's still not quite up there with how much I loved Macbeth and Othello. I would consider The Tempest the most romantic of Shakespeare's plays I have read so far. At least this one doesn't have people settling for those that they decide to make do with (Twe...
It can be really annoying as you read a book and pick up all of these wonderful ideas about the themes and suddenly discover that you have forgotten them by the time you get around to writing the review. Honestly, it happens to me all the time, and it is even more annoying with these Shakespeare Sig...
I boarded the king's ship: now on the beak, Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, I flamed amazement - Ariel, The Tempest 1.2.227-229 The Tempest has been in my top five Shakespeare plays ever since I read it; in fact, I think it's probably my second favourite, behind Henry V. The play is ...