The Tempest Critics

Barton – storm the storm contains no hint of the marvelous or extraordinary
Barton – social the normal social responses have been dislocated
Todd – Trinculo Trinculo’s role is combining with Stephano in providing comic releif
Todd – prospero and Ariel Prospero takes pleasure in Ariel’s successes
Todd destiny Prospero controls the destiny of the other characters
Todd Caliban Only Caliban’s body is enslaved
Todd beauty Miranda’s outward beauty is a reflection of her inner merit
Todd – Alonso Alonso emerges from the experience as purified and repentant
Todd – Stephano Stephano’s murder plot is based on folly rather than evil
Riga Prospero Prospero can be viewed as a beneficent kindly figure
Kozinsky Prospero Prospero is a selfish and venegful tyrant
Westlund – Prospero Prospero is a deeply subjective character
O’Toole – Caliban Caliban’s language is that of a slave who binds himself to his master
Mason – Power Shakespeare is indicating alternatives to traditional power models
Beck – Prospero Prospero is an all knowing character with the perfect plan in place
Jaimeson sides of Prospeor Areil and Caliban represent two sides of Prospero’s perosnality
Tanner – Prospero all the venom on Prospero’s island is secreted by men
Tanner Miranda Miranda’s pitty must be innate since their is no-one to teach it to her
Tanner – Sebastian and Antonio The real monsters of the island are Sebastian and Antonio
Adams – comic Stephano and Trinculo are comic and incompetent
Garbar – reality A place where reality is transformed
Chaudhury – caliban and Stephano Caliban appeals to Stephano to achieve his desired end
Delvin – Caliban Caliban is master of the situation
Haddon – Stephano Stephano is the real monster
Moseley – Anti-masque [reference to the anti-masque] ‘despite this harmony, there is still discord on the island
Moseley – masque The purity of the masque juxtaposed with the impure conspiracy to seize power
Moseley repulsive Stephano and Trinculo are far more repulsive than Caliban
Moseley – Masque meaning A masque is ‘a means of saying the unsayable’
Moseley – good marriage Prospero presents the idea of a Good Marriage’
Moseley – blessing It is an elaborate way for Prospero to pronounce his blessing on the couple
Moseley – education An example of how the play concerns itself with education
Andrew green power Prospero is the major source of power within the tempest
Andrew green composer He can be seen as the composer of the events of the play
Andrew green magical they find themsleves helpless in the face of his magical arts
Andrew green orchestra the mighty storm is thus a thunderously orchestrated work of art
Andrew green sadistic at times the music and sounds prospero invokes take on a sadistic quality
Andrew green power struggle ugly nature of power-struggle within politics
Andrew green confusion the strange power of music to control adds to the sense of mystery and confusion
Andrew green melancholy remains a figure of strange melancholy (prospero)
Bradshaw transformation the tempest is his story , his psychic journey of self-transformation
Mcdonald – language to listen to the tempest’s language is to become deeply sceptical about the operation of all kinds of power – poetic. political and critical too
Sir Peter hall – blasphemous the most blasphemous play that shakespeare ever wrote…is about a man on an island who is allowed to play God and who doesn’t just dabble in witchcraft, but actually performs it
De Grazia – histories and power not only are their histories similar and their powers interchangeable but both sorceress and magician are driven by the same passion – anger
D. J, Palmer to the casebook on the Tempest – Masque The Tempest as a whole shows the influence on Shakespeare’s dramatic techniques of the Court Masque, a form of positive entertainment which reached new heighs of splendour and lavishement under James 1
D. J, Palmer to the casebook on the Tempest – Caliban Caliban may derive his name from a simple anagram of ‘cannibal’ and the contrasts with the drunken sailors are with the corrupt Antonio, which reflects so favourably upon him, are in line with Montaigne’s attitude
D. J, Palmer to the casebook on the Tempest – caliban britality ‘Caliban in his brutality and cunning, is scarcely an idealised representation of the savage’
Professor Kermode Nature and Art ‘Tempest is primarily a pastoral play composed of the theme of nature and art’. In this context ‘art’ embraces all aspects of man’s endeavour to improve on nature, not competing with her but co-operating in order to sustain a life worthy of his rational and moral nature
Professor Kermode – royal blood Miranda and Ferdinand are contrasted with Caliban since their royal blood gives them an innate nobility lacking in the monstrous offspring of a with and a demon, while…Antonio and Sebastian show how noble birth may be betrayed by unnatural vices
Professor Kermode – breeding ‘Caliban is ineducable as Prospero realises, but Antonio’s breeding makes him the more dangerous enemy; Caliban will sue for mercy, but Antonio remains unreconciled
Professor Kermode – Teaching ‘Caliban cannot responds to Prospero’s attempts to teach him, he is a foil to Miranda; in that he resents the tasks imposed upon him by Prospero, he is a foil to Ferdinand; in that he plots with Trinculo and Stephano, he is a foil to Antonio; in that he urges his fellow conspirators to ignore the flashy clothes left by Prospero to distract them, he is a foil to Trinculo and Stephano. He is both a villian and a clown
Professor Kermode – learning ‘learning is a major theme of the play’
Professor Kermode – tempest and victorians The tempest became for may Victorians, above all an allegory of Shakespeare’s own artistic genius… his great speech ‘our revels now are ended… was interpreted as Shakespeare’s own farewell to the stage
Professor Kermode – twentieth century Twentieth century interpretations of the play are generally more aware of its discordant and disturbing elements
Leslie Fiedler – Caliban Caliban represents all the victims of colonial suppression and exploration by a master race, presenting for some future release, those anarchic anergies of a ‘dark divinity which the master of arts have failed to take into account’
Frances Yates – Prospero ‘It is inevitable and unavoidable, in thinking of Prospero, to bring in the name of John Dee, the great mathematical magus of whom Shakespeare must have known’
Trevor R. Griffis – Caliban ‘revealing account of Caliban on the stage and his critical reception there, from the Edwardian period to our own day, relates performances of the role to the change from imperialist to post imperialist attitudes towards race and class. F. R Benson, for instance, is described as preparing for the part by studying the monkeys in the zoo to give his Caliban a suggestion of the Darwinian ‘missing link’ a grotesquely bestial character who is subjected by right and necessity. Beerboh Tree’s Caliban was also ‘the ignorant native to whom Prospero had brought enlightenment’
Jonathan Miller’s production of the Tempest in 1970 emphasised the colonial possibilities of the play. Caliban was taken seriously together with Ariel, as embodying opposing responses of native black population to European settlers
Francis Baker and Peter Hulme point out that the play concerns with usurpation and liberation extend beyond the Prospero-Caliban relationship and that Prospero’s disturbance on remembering Caliban’s plot and his interruption of the masque is of particular significance
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’ – Ariel Ariel is shown as the agent to prospero’s purpose. he is Prospero’s instrument in controlling and developing the actionn
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’ – Caliban Caliban… is the physical as opposed to the spiritual; earth and water as opposed to air and fire. That he may, like Ariel, be considered in closest relationship to Prospero himself is witnessed by Propero’s admission: ‘This thing of darkeness’
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’ – Antonio Antonio persuading Sebastian to murder the king is a striking recapitualisation of Macbeth
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’ comedy The comedy involving Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo is delightful but scarcely subtle
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’ clowns The poet while giving his clowns full rein in comic appeal, allows them no dignity
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’ Stephano Stephano is a burlesque of the power-quest, with all the absurdity of a barbaric despotism
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’stephano and ambition Stephano parodies the essential absurdity of tyrannic ambition
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’Ferdinand and Miranda Ferdinand and Miranda… are representative of beautiful and virtuous youth
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’Prospero – control Prospero who control this comprehensive Shakespearian world, Automatically reflects Shakespeare himself
G. Wilson Knights essay ‘the Shakespearian superman’Tempest magic Prospero uses his tempest-magic to draw his enemies to the island and there renders them harmless
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – newness a sense of newness, of wonder, or excitement discovery… pervades the play, transcending its restricted geographical and paucity of action
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – Island the island to some degree epitomises Europe’s age of discovery
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan GOnzalo Gonzalo’s amazement at Ferdinand and Miranda’s sudden appearance, as well as Miranda’s joyous surprise at a ‘brave new world’ woth ‘such people in ‘t’ echo the response of European explorers to exotic places, fauna and flora
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan Gonzalo’s assertaion Gonzalo’s assertion, that all the Neapolitans have ‘found’ themselves during their afternoon on this enchanted island is optimistic, but he correctly judges that most of them were radically changed by their experience
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan prospero found Whether Prospero has indeed found himself in the play’s course is a matter of intense critical debate
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan Prospero and Ariel As prospero instruction to Ariel make clear, the plot consumes the hours between 2pm and 6pm
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan Prospero overthrow Prospero’s overthrow is nearly repeated in Antonio and Sebastian’s plans to murder Alonso and Caliban, Trinculo and Sebastian’s plan to assassinate Propero
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – Atmosphere the atmosphere of the Tempest’s enchanted island is created largely through sound…Of greater import than the individual songs announced by the stage directions in the pervasiveness of music conveyed by the text
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – reaction to Prospero One reaction to Prospero almost inevitably determines one’s response to the entire play
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – view of Prospero by 20th century By the late 20th century, Prospero had come to be viewed as a tetchy, if not tyrannical imperialist
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – incest An underlying motive for his urgency for the match with Ferdinand may be incestuous feelings for his own daughter
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – prospero and control prospero displays a superb combination of powe and control in his relations to others
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – Prospero – authoritarian His (propsero’s) stance throughout is authoritarian… when Prospero resumes his ducal robes at the play’s conclusion, there is some question as to what kind of ruler he will be now
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan magic Magic in his technology, a means to end of getting what he wants. But a central ambiguity of the play is what he wants
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – P darker side Prospero’s darker side… is emphasised by his being the mirror image to Sycorax
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – subordinates Although prospero handles both subordinates with threats of confinement and bodily pain… at the end he sets Ariel free ahead of schedule and, perhaps, leaves Caliban to fend for himself when the Europeans return to Italy
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – Ariel for most of the play Ariel gladly and expeditiously complies with his master’s requests However, in Simon Russell-Beale’s performance as Ariel in the 1933-4 production by the RSC he was palpably resentful of Prospero
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – spirits Ariel is a non-human, through rational spirit, he has independent thoughts and feelings
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan caliban = monster Stephano and Trinculo persistently demean Caliban as ‘monster’. But Caliban is of human form and, in most respects, of human qualities
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan Caliban = male? Miranda… includes Caliban in her list of three human males when she calls Ferdinand ‘the third man that e’er I saw’
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan celestial liquor Stephano’s ‘celestial liquor’ parallels Prospero’s magic
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – another form of magic The tempest itself can be compares to one form of magic, the academical process. The title is the alchemical term for the boiling of the alembic to remove impurities and transform the base metal into the purest gold. If we see Prospero’s goal as the transformation of fallen human nature – Caliban. Antonio, Sebastian and Alonso – form a condition of sinfulness to a higher degree of mortality, the play’s episodes mirror the alchemist process
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – Sycorax Sycorac’s witchcraft, it is also morally superior. The distinction between two types of magic is erased. Jonathan bates has argued. having his protagonist openly speak words that some in his audience would recognise from Medea’s speech in Ovid’s Metamorphoses was Shakespeare’s signal that the magical power is not really benign and must be rejected
From the introduction to the Arden edition of the Tempest by Virginia Mason Vaughan and Alden t. Vaughan – subconscious mind Ariel and Caliban came from the subconscious mind;in its most reductive form, Ariel in his supergo, Caliban his libido
Ann Thomas – feminist ‘what kind of pleasure can a woman and a feminist take in this text? she argues that Miranda is so utterly unassertive that even Victorian women could find little in her enthuse over and that 20th century females find Miranda an extremely feeble heroin and scorn to identify with her’
Introduction of the New Casebook on the Tempest edited by R.S White – mood ‘he is a man of mood swinging between triumphant vindication, anger and despair’
Introduction of the New Casebook on the Tempest edited by R.S White god-like Older critics gave him almost god -like status and they certainly saw his power as benevolent and justifiable
Introduction of the New Casebook on the Tempest edited by R.S White – bad ruler Prospero had originally been a ‘bad’ ruler because he neglected the worldly affairs of state; then he learns the art of ruling in the simple, experimental environment of the island prepares himself to be a ‘good’ ruler of Milan
Introduction of the New Casebook on the Tempest edited by R.S White – annexed Prospeor annexed the island from its native inhabitants
Introduction of the New Casebook on the Tempest edited by R.S White – Prospero’s control Prospero control of the islands ‘natives;, Sycroax, Caliban and Ariel; and romance plot between Miranda and Ferdinand which is rather recalcitrant in resisting Prospero’s full control
Stephen Orgel’s introduction to the Oxford Wold Classics edition of The Tempest – miranda’s role Miranda’s role in Prospero’s account is both supportive and passive, bu the relationship between father and daughter… is presented as neither simple nor straightforward
Stephen Orgel’s introduction to the Oxford Wold Classics edition of The Tempest – betrothal The betrothal of Ferdinand and Miranda is an essential element of the broader reconciliation towards which the play strives. The disarming of traditional enemies through marriage in the next generation is not only a comic conversion; it is a piece of renaissance stagecraft
Ann Barton’s introduction to to the penguin edition of the Tempest – Wonder ‘Wonder is the basis of Miranda’s nature, as of her name and her occasional interjections which are full of astonishment and compassion’
introduction by Virginia Mason Vaguan and Albert T Vaughan in the Arden edition of The Tempest – Miranda not meek Miranda is not as meek and submissive as she is often portrayed. She clandestinely (she thinks) meets Ferdinand…and then disobey’s her father’s command not to reveal her name. Earlier, her stinging rebuke of Caliban reveals an assertive women. Despite her occasional disobedience and outspokenness, Miranda remains the chaste ideal of early modern womanhood
Stephen Orgel’s introduction to the Oxford Wold Classics edition of The Tempest -chastity Central to Prospero’s obsession with themes of chastity and fertility Miranda is his raison d’etre her marriage and future children his promise of immorality
Micheal Billington guardian review of the Globe tempest – father first and foremost a father
charles Spencer Telegraph review of the tempest at the globe – Ariel and prospero It is through the influence of the spirit Ariel that Prospero’s feelings become more tender, but it is significant that his hard-won forgiveness of Antonio
charles Spencer Telegraph review of the tempest at the globe – Caliban James Garnson is an outstanding feral Caliban, his body painted to resemble the red, white – veined rocks on the island so that he seems physically part of the place. he captures both Caliban’s sense of grievance (character is now often regarded as an archetype of colonial oppression) while doing full justice to some of the most descriptive passages in the play
charles Spencer Telegraph review of the tempest at the globe – Ariel Ariel’s mixture of the ethereal and the petulant
Micheal Coveny – Independent review of the globe tempest – prospero Brilliant tactic to elaborate is portrait of a loving and devoted father who is trying to steer the life of his daughter Miranda – a thankless, insipid role attractively enliven by Jessie Buckley while ensnaring his enemies and renouncing his rough magic, things keep going wrong, but he gets there in the end