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Essay by Barbara A. Mowat
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"Come, kiss the book!" As Shakespeare's final play, The Tempest is appropriately a culmination of his motifs and themes amassed beforehand in previous work. You have the jester, the underhanded political aspirants, the outcast, the young naive fools hopelessly in lust, and the omniscient schemer behind it all. What may have disappointed Elizabethan audiences may have actually been this mix, since it was such a combination that it felt more as if the plot was just regurgitating old plot devices but rest assured, the Bard works up a fine troupe of spirits under a firm lead to work our minds.
The story involves the shipwreck of Italian nobles that leaves them unscathed and in even better condition than on the ship save the fate of King Alonso's son Ferdinand. Meanwhile, the wizard Prospero calls upon his spiritual underling Ariel and receives confirmation that his revenge upon those who sentenced his exile has begun.
Like all Shakespearean characters, they're real to the point that you may be disgusted at them and later realize how close you are with their vices. With a seeming reunion of all his characters, this makes for a perverse tale. Prospero commands a wide array of spells to delight and fright but once his tale of woe is told, it's pitiful that his learned nature led him to exile and pettiness and by the story's end he's the same. Antonio and Sebastian are heartless fiends who've only a mind for power by any means and even knowing this, we laugh at their sniping witty wordplays with their fellow nobles, particularly the saintly Gonzalo. Caliban is a tragic figure demonstrating the evils of colonial enslavement and even then his misadventures with the drunken self-proclaimed celestial monarch Stephano and Trinculo, the smart fool, so to speak, make great comedy.
There's a great scene where Prospero realizes that Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo want to kill him, comic characters all against a wizard, and he takes it seriously. It's rightfully absurd but when his previous dictatorial behavior towards his deluded and imprisoned servants is recalled, it calls to mind Of Mice and Men, where Slim says, "Take a real smart guy and he ain't hardly ever a nice fella."
When Stephano says to Caliban, "Come, kiss the book!" with a booze bottle, we realize just how intoxicating the Bard was and are tempted to leave it at that. But when bookworms and literary professors are observed in the throes of their obsession, maybe it's not such a ludicrous comparison after all.
Not the Bard's best I like Shakespeare, but the Bard was having an off day with this one.
It rambled, it didn't have the down-to-earth feel of his better stuff, it had the passion of a comedy and the humor of a romance; it was tepid. It felt contrived thoughout. It would probably be a splendid opera, with the potential for great costumes, set, and songs, while noone minds the limp plot and saccharine ending.
The thing I missed most was the stark exposure of human nature of his other works, the unadorned truth that shows up for better or worse. "The Tempest" showed a cranky old man miraculously transform into the joyful father of the bride despite the decades of solitude and grudge-bearing. I'm not following this, as mentioned it sounds operatic, not dramatic.
E.M. Van Court
"Come unto these yellow sands..." One of Shakespeare's most beloved works, The Tempest is a classic tale of adventure that combines revenge drama, romance, and comedy, all of it driven by magic and the supernatural. The play also uses manifold references to ancient myth to develop its sense of seabound peril, while drawing brilliant parallels to the colonial impulse that was then rapidly on the rise in Europe. Indeed, one of The Tempest's most singular triumphs is how it metaphorically addresses the complexities of colonialism in ways that somehow manage to speak to 20th and 21st century concerns. Of course, Shakespeare being the genius that he is, there's more to it than that- this is also a story of love, revenge, redemption, and political intrigue, full of well-drawn characters and unexpected plot turns. It doesn't rank with Shakespeare's best (in my opinion, anyway)- it doesn't have the stunning emotional impact of Hamlet or the labyrinthine psychological exploration of Macbeth. It's a gem, but a slightly minor one compared to his greatest masterpieces. But then again, what isn't?
A later work of Shakespeare This play is a fantasy and romance. The story is of a wise old magician and his unworldly daughter. There is a gallant young prince and a cruel, scheming brother. It is very much like a fairy tale written in Shakespeare's wonderful prose. In it ancient wrongs are righted and true lovers live happily ever after. The play is also an allegory, and it holds so much of Shakespeare's mature reflections on life. It is enjoyable.
Good Seller The book was recieved in good shape and very fast. We ordered several bookes from different places and this was the first one we recieved.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
