The Tempest : 5

Smoke & Mirrors

As so often with Shakespeare, this play is about appearance and reality.The most ‘realistic’ scene is the shipwreck, - no other play begins with quite such a coup de théâtre as The Tempest’s

storm.

The storm is followed by much more fanciful1 scenes.

However, we eventually2 learn that it is the shipwreck which has been an illusion and the other scenes that are ‘real’.

The boundaries3 of reality are an important theme and mistaken beliefs abound4:- Ferdinand and Miranda each mistake the other for a supernatural being,- Caliban takes Trinculo and Stephano for gods.- Alonso and Ferdinand each believe the other is dead.- Stephano mistakes Caliban and Trinculo for a two-headed, four-legged

creature.

Consider the layers of reality during the masque:- the goddesses are supernatural, but they are merely portrayed5 by actors

presenting a masque.- However, those actors are themselves supernatural, Ariel’s cohorts6.- Yet in reminding Ferdinand of this, Prospero reminds us that these spirits

are themselves actors in The Tempest. - Then Prospero goes on to dissolve that reality as well7, along with “the

great globe itself” because “we are such stuff as dreams are made on”.

The dizzying effect similar to the gender game in As You Like It or the multiple audiences in The Spanish Tragedy.

All of the characters are more or less in Prospero’s power and they become increasingly uncertain about the borders8 between appearance and reality.

1 fanciful – unrealistic 2 eventually – (false friend) in the end 3 boundaries – frontiers, limits 4 to abound – be frequent 5 to portray – represent, depict, act6 cohorts – (in this case) fellow spirits 7 as well – too, also 8 borders – frontiers, boundaries, limits

Prospero draws the other characters into a maze9 of increasing complexity.- Their experiences all seem vividly real and painful but, in the end, the

causes of their suffering turn out to be largely10 illusory.

The point is that:“The world is stranger than man thinks and the experiences of the moment,

no matter11 how intense, lose their reality in the miraculous process of change and transformation through which all life passes.”

Alvin Kernan

Mind Map

9 maze – labyrinth 10 largely – mostly, more or less 11 no matter – irrespective of

Dreams

On the island sleep and waking are states that are oddly hard12 to distinguish.

Dreaming is centrally important to the perception of illusion and reality; “We are such stuff as dreams are made on” Miranda describes the little she remembers of Milan as “far off; / And

rather13 like a dream” (memory as dream) Miranda falls asleep during her father’s discourse The mariners remain asleep throughout14 the main15 action of the play Alonso and Gonzalo are overcome with sleep16

Prospero sleeps every afternoon Caliban describes his dreams in graphic detail Caliban cries to dream again because the imaginary world of the dream

seems preferable to the real world. (dream as escape)

Just as in a dream, strange events, shapes and sounds seem real - dream is the blending point17 between fantasy and reality.

Prospero must choose between continuing in his dream world or returning to his social reality. - We could compare the choice to that of kicking drugs18.

12 oddly hard – surprisingly difficult 13 rather – somewhat, surprisingly, quite 14 throughout – during all of 15 main – principal, primary 16 to be overcome with sleep (-come/-came/-come) – fall asleep involuntarily 17 blending point – point of fusion 18 to kick drugs – decide to stop using narcotics

The Nature of Work

The Tempest is also a discourse about work. Two conflicting view of work existed then, as now; 1. the idea that work strengthens the character (“the Protestant work

ethic”, if you like) i.e. creative work, and 2. the opposing idea that work was soul-destroying (i.e.19 toil20).

On the one hand, Gonzalo describes his dream “communist republic” in which no-one has to work and in which there is no private property.

On the other, Prospero firmly believes in the therapeutic value (for others!) of hard work, - Ariel and Ferdinand are presented as archetypes of willing workers. - By contrast, Caliban is the reluctant drudge21.

It is interesting to note how the new phenomenon of unemployment was being created at the time The Tempest was written by the Enclosures22, - promoted by rural landlords (such as Shakespeare himself)23.

19 i.e. – (id est) that is 20 toil – hard repetitive uncreative work 21 drudge – menial, servant, dogsbody 22 Enclosures – situation in Early Modern England in which poor people were forced off the common land in the

interests of efficient agriculture23 in 1610 James I, for whom The Tempest was written, encouraged The House of Commons to adopt a

programme of enclosures

A Work About Nature

From one perspective (e.g. Montaigne’s and Gonzalo’s) a natural society without all the accretions24 of ‘civilization’ would be a happy one.

From another, something natural is by definition imperfect and needs to be refined through Art.

Any worldview based on the Great Chain of Being has to take the view that nature is at the bottom under the hierarchy of society.

Prospero’s “Art” is to control Nature through his spirits. - If humanity is to live in harmony with the rest of Nature he cannot allow25

it to run wild26.- What is ‘natural’ must sometimes be ordered so that it reaches its full

potential.

Humans are also part of Nature and if they are allowed to run wild – to follow their ‘natural’ inclinations – chaos would result.

The purpose of civilization is to- bring order and - enable humans to use their natural inclinations within a framework of

control.

Fathers also nurture their children so that they also achieve their full potential.

The Tempest can be seen as an exploration of the relationship between nurture, civilization and art – on the one hand – and Nature.

Civilizing also involves self-control: a skill Caliban fails to acquire. - The basis of Prospero’s education is reason, chastity and self-control.- Self-control is a key attribute that makes us human.

From this perspective Caliban is the personification of the wild man, - capable of some sensitivity and beauty but predominantly evil (or at least

amoral). - attempts27 to civilize him have failed28 and so he is not fully human.

24 accretion – sth. added from outside25 to allow – permit 26 to run wild (run-ran-run) – be out of control 27 attempts – efforts 28 to fail – be unsuccessful

But we have to ask:“Is his evil genetically inherited from his parents (a witch and the Devil) or because he is uncivilized?”

Caliban is natural in the sense that he has no self-control and does not think through the consequences of his actions.

Caliban demonstrates no sense of morality nor any ability to understand or appreciate the needs of anyone other than29 himself.

Although he can appreciate nature’s beauty, he is self-centered. - In this, he is little more than an animal; he wants to indulge his desires,

without control.

In one sense it is perfectly natural for Caliban to lust after30 Miranda, the only female on the island- but from the perspective of civilization, Miranda’s value is in her chastity:

more or less the first thing Ferdinand asks on meeting her is “If you be maid or no?" (I.ii.431). His immediate concern is to her chastity.

Caliban’s attempted rape should make him obnoxious to us but even if he tried to seduce Miranda (forgetting the question of her age for a moment), he would still be loathsome31 to Prospero because a loss of virginity would render her valueless in the marriage market.

This is what being free means to Caliban, whose cry for freedom (II.2, 177-178) clarifies many of his actions.

The play is not categorical about determinism, however. - As Miranda says (with surprising insight32 given her isolation!) in Act II,

Scene 1, “Good wombs33 have born bad sons”.

There is room for34 an alternative interpretation: - Caliban is aware35 that he is not the legitimate son of Prospero – rather36

like Edmund in King Lear – so he rebels against the patriarch.

29 other than – apart from 30 to lust after – feel lascivious desire for 31 loathsome – detestable, hateful 32 insight – perspicacity33 womb /wu:m/ – uterus 34 room for – the possibility of 35 to be aware – be conscious 36 rather – somewhat, surprisingly

Miranda, by contrast, behaves37 in the way it would have been considered natural for an adolescent girl to behave towards her father, - especially since her father is her only protection against the would-be

rapist, Caliban.

Moreover, notice that ‘unnatural’ Antonio and Sebastian – products of European court life – are far worse38 than Caliban.

The central characters who must learn self-discipline and restraint, however, are Prospero and Ferdinand, not Caliban.

37 to behave – act, conduct oneself 38 far worse – much worse

Purgatorial Trials

The play includes a series of purgatorial trials: There is the testing of Ferdinand’s love.

He recognizes the nature of the trial and realizes39 that only through servitude and suffering can he win his freedom and Miranda.

Alonso sees the ‘death’ of his son as a punishment for his crimes and he atones – he is purified through suffering.

Moreover, the king and his followers are rendered ‘distracted’40 (V.i.12) Antonio and Sebastian also suffer their purgatory but they remain

impenitent. Their incapacity for remorse is punished by a “ling’ring perdition worse than any death can be at once”.

Drunken Stephano and Trinculo the Clown go through a comic purgatory finding themselves in a ‘pickle’ (V.i.282); they don’t learn from their suffering but are not condemned as evil in the way that Antonio and Sebastian are. The servants are simply beneath any type of moral enlightenment.

Indeed41, all of the island’s visitors are subject to a purging experience of some sort42.- Compare this purging experience to that of the restorative forest in As You

Like It.

39 to realize – (false friend) become conscious 40 distracted – (in this case) mad, crazy 41 indeed – (emphatic) in fact 42 sort (n.) – kind, type

Subjectless Kings & Masterless Men

When Caliban says:For I am all the subjects that you have,Which first was mine own King: ...- He is betrayed by his own words. When he was alone on the island he had

no subjects and could not be described as king. Prospero has at least three subjects (Miranda, Caliban and Ariel) as well as sundry unnamed spirits.

This is presumably a parallel with Gonzalo who also would be king with no subjects.

The subjectless king is a recurring theme. - What sense is there in Sebastian plotting to kill his brother Alonso when

there is no means off43 the island?

Indeed44, the series of subjectless kings and masterless men ties into contemporary debates about master-servant conflicts.

In this play more than any other authority depends on context. - In the storm the boatswain orders the king and his court below decks

(“Keep below!”)- the ship is a common metaphor for the state (“the ship of state”)

“What care these roarers for the name of king?” [I.i.16-17]

Later we have Ferdinand, who believes he is now king of Naples, carrying logs like a servant.

Prospero does a very specific thing when his enemies arrive on the island; he separates them into four groups:- the sailors stay on the ship asleep,- Ferdinand is drawn off to meet Miranda, - the king and his courtiers form another group, and- the comic servants separately encounter Caliban.

43 means off – way of escaping from 44 indeed – (emphatic) in fact

The characters have been separated into classes- The servants, without their masters, are drunken, anarchic and

eventually45 rebellious.- The masters without their servants dream of founding unachievable

dynasties and plot46 against each other. Indeed, the king, without a son – his raison d’être – becomes completely ineffectual and literally suicidal.

The separation of the shipwreck survivors into groups in this way is found in Li Tre Satiri.

45 eventually – (false friend) in the end 46 to plot – conspire

The Testing of Ferdinand

Why does Prospero treat Ferdinand so harshly?- Prospero trusted Antonio and later Caliban and was let down47.

As a result he does not trust appearances and needs proof; goodwill must be tested.

Ferdinand is expected to subdue the Caliban within him.

Prospero probably has some reason to question Ferdinand’s sincerity: Notice that he mentions that he is prince of Naples twice48 in his first encounter with Miranda but doesn’t bother to find out her name until their second meeting… Men!

Could ‘white’ magic just49 be a metaphor for the healing powers of a younger generation?- Alonso’s desperate description of his supposedly drowned son who is

“deeper than e’er plummet sounded” is almost identical to Prospero’s description of where his book is going to end up50.

47 to let sb. down (let-let-let) – disappoint sb., frustrate sb. 48 twice – x2 49 just – (in this case) simply 50 to end up – be in the end

A Play about Freedom

A major theme of the play is: What does it mean to be ‘free’?

‘Freedom’ is the mentioned at the end of Acts I, II and IV and ‘free’ is the last word of the entire play.

Freedom for Shakespeare requires self-discipline:- Ferdinand, Miranda and Prospero all exercise the self-discipline that

Caliban lacks51, and their success and happiness are contrasted with his misery52.

Caliban doesn’t even seem to understand freedom during the play - he only wishes for “a new master” (II.ii.185).

David Lindley defines The Tempest as “a play about the illusion of freedom”.

51 to lack – not have 52 misery – (false friend) unhappiness

Miranda

Innocent and obedient – Miranda is a perfect hate-figure for feminist criticism (Prospero can be seen as the ultimate53 patriarch).

However, she is not as meek54 and submissive as she is often portrayed.- she clandestinely (she thinks) meets Ferdinand without permission (as she

admits at III.i.58-59) and then disobeys her father’s command not to reveal her name (as she admits at III.i.36-37).

- she is capable of the angry ‘abhorrèd slave’ outburst at I.ii.352-63. It is reasonable to assign her this speech (as the Folio does) since we know she has taught Caliban about the celestial bodies, as Caliban admits at (II.ii.135-38). These lines show she is capable of defending herself and is resentful; i.e. those 12 lines make her human.

However, even if the lines are not given to her the criticisms against her character are a little unfair; - she is, after all, only 14 and has only known two other people, her father

and Caliban.- She is the product of Shakespeare’s most overprotective father.

In any case Lilla Grindlay sees Miranda in a more positive light:“Her repeated use of the imperative voice, and the ease and enthusiasm with which she offers to carry the logs (for Ferdinand) indicate a certain energy and independence of spirit.”

Miranda uses plain and direct language but she is no country girl- she speaks only in blank verse throughout55 the play!

Prospero’s insistence on his daughter’s celibacy – and his punishment of Caliban for threatening it – might seem extreme today, but its importance was real at the time.- Ferdinand twice [at I.ii.428 and at I.ii.448] implicitly states that her

virginity is a prerequisite for their marriage.

53 ultimate – (false friend) definitive 54 meek – submissive, obedient 55 throughout – during all of

Ariel

Ariel and Caliban can be seen as poles in a neo-Platonic dualism- Ariel is a spirit of the air, who works illusions on the mind- Caliban is a creature of the earth, whose world is entirely physical.

If Caliban is an untransfigurable56 brute, representing the physical, Ariel is a metaphoric spirit. - More than any other character, Ariel is “such stuff as dreams are made

on” (i.e. immaterial).

Similarly, Harold Bloom defines Ariel as “a spirit of the elements air and fire”- complementing Caliban, who represents earth and water.

Ariel is not human- he is loyal but he has little original thought and cannot feel like a human.

One has to ask to what extent Ariel exists beyond Prospero’s imagination. - He is “invisible to every eyeball” [I.ii.302-03] except that of Prospero. - He never interacts with anyone else (and nobody else mentions him). - There is no evidence that either Miranda or Caliban know that he exists. - So, we could say that he is just a projection of Prospero’s will – the means

that Prospero uses to do magic, nothing more.

Prospero depends on “bountiful Fortune” (I.ii.178) to bring his enemies within range of his magic.He knows of the approach of his enemies’ ship through astrology. However, after that he works entirely through Ariel. - It is Ariel’s appeal to Prospero that he should forgive his enemies at

V.i.17-24 that changes the end of the play. - If Ariel is simply an extension of Prospero’s will for reconciliation,

Caliban could be an extension of his resentment.

Ariel and Caliban are essentially allegorical, representing human possibilities. Ariel embodies our potential spirituality, Caliban our propensity to waste that potential in materialism and sensual pleasure.

Charles Boyce

56 untransfigurable – who cannot be transformed into something more elevated, irredeemable

Trinculo

Trinculo’s name comes from trincare (= to drink greedily)

A consistently drunken jester, who is a servant of Alonso’s - He is a dull fool mostly, not capable of any real action, and providing a

good deal of comic relief.

When Caliban meets him, he immediately dislikes him and his inebriated insults.

However, Trinculo does become a part of Caliban’s plan to murder Prospero and take over the island, - though Trinculo proves completely ineffective in this.

Trinculo is less charismatic and more cowardly than Stephano. - He resents Caliban’s worship of Stephano.

He seems to be incapable of loyalty and plans to sell Caliban to a freak show if he ever gets off the island.

Trinculo is less vicious than Stephano; he is a follower in a conspiracy he could not have conceived himself. - Stephano and Trinculo are thus, respectively, like Antonio and Sebastian,

within the play’s various parallels and oppositions.

Stephano

Trinculo’s friend, a consistently drunken butler.

He is jolly, inebriated, and somehow Caliban mistakes him for a god because he gives Caliban wine and gets him drunk, so he takes him on as a new master, thinking that he has some magical powers.

Trinculo agrees to Caliban’s plot57 to make him ruler of the island, and gain him the favours of Miranda.

Sebastian represents the new class of servant who is motivated only by money and self-interest (rather than58 loyalty). - He is willing to commit murder for financial reward.

So, by contrast, Shakespeare depicts the ‘civilized’ commoner as worse than the uncivilized islander in that Caliban is at least motivated by the righting of a perceived wrong: he wants justice not material gain.

Stephano’s name comes from stefano (= ‘belly’ in Renaissance Neapolitan slang)- At the end of the play, he makes a pun on his name saying, “I am not

Stephano, but a cramp.” (V.i.286)- Shakespeare took this term from John Florio’s Italian-English dictionary,

A Worlde of Wordes (1598).

In any case, like Trinculo, Stephano is not cunning59, and is completely incapable of carrying out the plan. The two servants represent the plebeian parallel to Sebastian and Antonio.

But, if common Europeans are worse than the uncivilized islanders, the worst characters in the play are the noblemen who contra natura, have no sense of fraternal loyalty.

In Commedia dell’Arte performances such as Li Tre Satiri the zanni confuse a temple with an inn.- commentators see Stephano presenting himself and Trinculo as gods to

Caliban as a version of this. - moreover, the gabardine under which Caliban and Trinculo hide strongly

echoes the cappa magica of the Commedia.

57 plot – conspiracy 58 rather than – instead of, as opposed to 59 cunning – astute

Clothes

Think about the importance of clothing:- Prospero’s magic robe, - Prospero’s ducal robe, - the clothes used to trap Trinculo and Stephano, - Caliban’s gabardine and - the courtiers’ clothes unsullied by the sea-water.

Prospero’s display of ‘glistering apparel’ is essentially a theatrical wardrobe.

Chess

Notice the symbolism of chess – a game focused on cornering your opponent’s king so that he cannot move.

Middleton later took the metaphor further in A Game of Chess (1621) about Anglo-Spanish diplomatic relations.

EXAM QUESTION: To what extent can The Tempest be described as a re-routed revenge tragedy?

EXTENSION

For a podcast exploring the idea of Prospero as self-portrait, listen to:https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/tempest-1

Bibliography

The Tempest by Virginia and Alden Vaughan [Arden Critical Edition of Shakespeare, 2006]The Tempest by R.S. White [MacMillan New Casebook, 1999]The Tempest by T.W. Smith [Brodie Notes, 1991]The Tempest by Loreto Todd [York Notes, 1980]The Tempest by Sandra Clark [Penguin Critical Studies, 1986]The Tempest by Loreto Todd [York Notes Advanced, 2003]The Tempest by Kenneth Pickering [MacMillan Mast Guides, 1986]The Tempest by David L. Hirst [Text & Performance, 1984]Critical Essays on The Tempest by Linda Cookson and Bryan Loughey [Longman Literary Guides, 1988]The Critical Companion to William Shakespeare by Charles Boyce [Facts on File, 2005]The English Renaissance by Andrew Hadfield [Blackwell, 2001]English Renaissance Drama by Peter Womack [Blackwell, 2006]

The Tempest by William Shakespeare: Introduction by Anne Barton [New Penguin Shakespeare, 1996]