Talk:The Tempest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is part of Wikipedia's Elizabethan theatre coverage, and has come to the attention of WikiProject Elizabethan theatre, an attempt to create a comprehensive and detailed resource on the theatre and dramatic literature in England between 1558 and 1642. If you would like to participate in the project, you can choose to edit the article attached to this page (just like any other article!), or visit WikiProject Elizabethan theatre, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.

Contents 1 Inspirations 2 Edits 3 Unity of action 3.1 The Name Ariel / Shakespere's Authorship 4 Caliban 5 Ariel 6 Shakespeare Paper? 7 Map?

[edit] Inspirations

The Tempest plays a prominent role in the recent computer game Indigo Prophecy and in the John Fowles novel The Magus

I also remember seeing parallels to Link's Awakening, but maybe that was just me. --BDD 16:26, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Edits

I added in Themes and Tropes section instead of "Interpretations" though incorporating some of its ideas, as (a) the biggest part of that was about Prospero as Shakespeare, though it noted itself that that theory is discredited, and (b) there was some rather random stuff which, fine, was (mainly) valid, but not imperative to the play. Hopefully the ones I've put in cover the main ideas in the play; I realize there are lots of others.

I've also added in stuff in sources, and stuff about characters' names, as, well, someone else started it.

- May 07 2005 -

PS - I think the "Plot" section was (and post-me) still is badly written - can anyone make it sound better?

I just don't see any reason to include this - and the assertion that Shakespeare attempted to achieve classical unity is both a piece of conjecture and not very likely. "and is the only one in which he more-or-less-successfully attempts to abide by the prescribed "unities" of classical drama. Unity of place is achieved by setting the play on a remote island, and unity of time by having all the action take place within the space of a few hours"

                                            - 12 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Hey... Seems to be a problem with this page (I'm guessing wikispam); the image in the 'plot' section seems to be a photo of five girls, not "Ferdinand and Miranda, from The Tempest, Act V, Edward Reginald Frampton (British, 1870-1923).". Had a look for a previous image, but I can't see one. Afraid wiki formatting isn't really my strong point, though, so I don't really know what to do about it... Thought I ought to mention it, though. --JTA 11:57, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

It's Loreena McKennitt, not McKinnitt. http://www.quinlanroad.com/ 68.237.187.37 07:01, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Unity of action

Hey, this is my first post so please bear with me. The matter of whether Shakespeare did or did not attempt a play which conformed to the principles of unity aside, it is necessary to rewrite the section regarding unity of action, as it is a matter of contention whether it is precisely observed. Joseph Warton, for example in "Remarks on the Creation of Character" wrote that "The action is one, great, and entire, the restoration of Prospero to his dukedom" ("Remarks on the Creation of Character" in "The Tempest: A Casebook ed. D. J. Palmer p. 42 - 47) Although such an interpretation may be challenged, it is certainly true that Prospero is responsible for most of the action of the play, except, as Middleton Murry noted "There is but one accident in the Tempest, the accident which brings the ship to the island" ("Shakespeare's Dream" in "The Tempest: A Casebook ed. D. J. Palmer p. 109 - 119). I would be grateful if somebody could resolve this. Dondavidoff 18:55, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Hello, does 'unity of action' have to mean one person causing everything? I thought it simply meant that there shouldn't be irrelevant subplots. Correct me if I'm wrong. By the way, you can sign and date your posts by typing four tildes (~~~~). The Singing Badger 16:50, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Hey. You're right, unity of action does not mean it has to all be the cause of one person, but in the context of "The Tempest" this ensures it. All the subplots are created by Prospero's methodical scattering of the various shipwrecked characters where he wants them and with who he wishes, such as, for example, his allowing Ferdinand to be the first to meet Miranda. Because of this, it could be argued that there are NO subplots, and that is why there is an adherence to the unity of action. Oh, and thanks for the help with the tildes! Dondavidoff 15:22, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

OK cool, but I don't see why the accidental arrival of the ship at the island conflicts with this; it's related to the story of Prospero, so it doesn't break the unity of action. Right? The Singing Badger 20:11, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

Right. The article just needs to be changed to how the unity of action is adhered to. Dondavidoff 10:19, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

The statement that 'The Tempest' is "the worst play of them all" is absolutely inappropriate to a junior high school essay on the play, let alone an encyclopedia article. Not only is it a statement of opinion, but it also ignores the fact that there are several other plays which are (arguably, of course) much more worthy of the 'honor.' I cannot claim to be a Shakespearean scholar, but I believe that such a sweepingly negative critique of this play would not be supported by the relevent literature, at least not so long as 'Timon of Athens' is still around, or whichever one it is where people are cooked and eaten. --PurpleChez 20 July 2006

[edit] The Name Ariel / Shakespere's Authorship

In The "Article" Section it is written, "Ariel, an airy spirit The name is certainly suggestive of the "air" element, directly opposing the character to Caliban, who is called "thou earth" by Prospero. In Hebrew the name means "lion of God" - it is therefore interesting that Ariel's voice is once mistaken for the "roar of lions. Ariel's name is indeed not mistaken for the roar of lions, this is merely a quick thinking excuse made by Antonio and Sebastian who are caught standing above Gonzalo and Alonso with their swords drawn about to kill them."

Now listen. I do not know what was in Shakespere's head. I can only assume he was honoring REAL MAGICIANS somehow by including a REAL AIR CREATURE in his fantasy story. However, I assure you, the REAL ARIEL could never get caught in a tree. :-) The name Ariel is NOT "suggestive" of air just because it sounds like the english word air. I see where you might get that idea however. The name Ariel is-

1.) In Ceremonial Magic seen as The Angel of the Element AIR - See Alester Crowley's book "777" page 29 col. 1 in the appendix "Sepher Sephiroth" num. 242 in the back of the book.

2.) Symbolic name for Israel and Jerusalem. See the Bible Isaiah 29: (King James Version)

As you have mentioned-

3.) The Hebrew Word for "Lion of God" See: Abingdon's STRONG'S Exaustive Concordance of the Bible, in the back in the section HEBREW AND CHALDEE DICTIONARY, page 16, col. 3, num. 739 and 740

Also, whenever you have a Hebrew name ending in "EL" it gererally signifies the name of a significant angel.

It may not belong on this page but I thought I would add-

Also. There is no such person as William Shakespere the famous author. There were several famous people in a writer's guild named with the pen name of "Shakespere" with 1. William Shakspere, the actor from Stratford, 2.Christopher Marlowe, 3. Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, 4. William Stanley, the Earl of Derby, 5. Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, and 6. Roger Manners, the Earl of Rutland.

http://www.sirbacon.org/links/evidence.htm

http://www.shakespeare-oxford.com/guide.htm

http://home.att.net/~tleary/

http://home.hiwaay.net/~paul/outline.html

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/pseudosc/hidncode.htm

http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/authorship/authorship_bacon_marlowe_stanely.htm

http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/shakespeare030.html

http://www.princeton.edu/~rbivens/shakespeare/

http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/b/bacon_francis.html

http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Philosophy/Philosophers/Bacon__Sir_Francis__1561_1626_/

http://www.shakespeareidentity.co.uk/francis-bacon.htm

then there is this view

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespearean_authorship

http://shakespeareauthorship.com/bacpenl.html

--E Petrone 12:47, 18 Nov 2006 (EST)

Oh good. The "Shakespeare Authorship" debate again. I'll not get mixed into that one. Nor yet the "real magicians" thing.

One thing from your interesting comments on the name "Ariel"

The name Ariel is NOT "suggestive" of air just because it sounds like the english word air.

Isn't that the point though? Names can be "suggestive" even if they don't actually mean what they sound like. Yes, Ariel means all those things you said, but to an english-speaking audience you can't escape the fact that it's a homophone for "Aerial" meaning "of the air". Bill Shakespeare - or whoever you think wrote the play/s - would have been aware of that (Hmm. Was "Aerial" a word in Shakespeare's day? It's till got the sound "air" in it - and WS definitely uses phrases like "Airy spirits").

Brickie 17:25, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Caliban

I removed (under the etymology of Caliban) the statement that Caliban is 'black' because Sycorax was an African. It fails to mention that Sycorax was a Tunisian and therefore, not likely to be black.

         -I notice that somebody, without a reference, has claimed Cannibal and Caribbean to derive from the same root.  I doubt it.  Does anyone have an authority?

[edit] Ariel

Have deleted reference to Ariel's voice being likened to a lion's--the text contained both the assertion of this and then the denial of it, stating that the lion reference was merely an excuse by the blackguards for why their swords are drawn. No sense contradicting each other in the article's text. User:Snyrt

[edit] Shakespeare Paper?

The Tempest is currently (2006)the Shakespeare paper for the SATS.

What exactly is this saying? Is it referring to these SATs? And what the heck does Shakespeare paper mean? Google doesn't seem to help, and this edit seems pointless. TK-925 02:23, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

I also find this sentence quite irrelevant to the general theme, content, and style of the article. However, as I have significant experience with SATs, I can venture to say that this line means that The Tempest is the Shakespeare paper (that is, document) that will be the basis from which test material may be derived. It may be part of a list of books that can provide an essay prompt or literature comprehension question. This sentence most likely refers to the SAT II: Literature Exam. LifeScience 16:55, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Seemed irrelevant and possibly inaccurate, so I got rid of it. TK-925 02:53, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Map?

I have just finished reading the script for the play and I noticed that there were many geographical references in it. I think it would be great if someone could find a map of the island featured in the tempest and post it on the article.