Essay on Importance of Setting in Shakespeares The Tempest

Importance of Setting in The Tempest The island of magic and mystery that Shakespeare creates in The Tempest is an extraordinary symbol of both the political and social realities of his contemporary society, and of the potential for a reformed New World. Shakespeare’s island is a creation which allows the juxtaposition of real and idealised worlds, and shows his audience both what they and what they ought to be. The seventeenth century was a time of ideological upheaval in Europe, with Medieval ideas of a hierarchical and ordered society being challenged by Renaissance thinkers. For the dynastic powers, including England under Elizabeth I, colonialism was an important opportunity to realise territorial ambition and prove religious†¦show more content†¦Antonio is morose and cynical, remarking that it is as if the island â€Å"’twere perfumed by a fen† and has everything â€Å"save means to live†. The most interesting reaction is from Gonzalo, whose comic vision of an impractical but i deal commonwealth is the first utopian dream in the play: â€Å"I’ the commonwealth I would by contraries Execute all things; for no kind of traffic Would I admit†¦ No occupation, all men idle, all, And women too, but innocent and pure; No sovereignty-â€Å" Gonzalo delivers this speech to provide comic relief to his audience, but it has much greater significance. His optimistic attitude, â€Å"you have cause, so have we all, of joy† and vision parallels the excitement of the discovery of a New World in the seventeenth century. Additionally, the island is the perfect setting for Shakespeare to present man as a zealous political animal, free of the faà §ade and superficiality of ordinary society. Antonio and Sebastian plot almost immediately to murder Antonio, considering political gain despite the predicament in which they find themselves. Additionally, Stephano, Trincullo and even Caliban have their own political plot – to murder Prospero. Stephano remarks â€Å"this will prove a brave kingdom to me†, and Caliban tells of his dreams of heavenly riches: â€Å"the isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs, that delight and hurt not†¦ and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open, and show riches Ready to drop uponShow MoreRelatedThe Adaptation of The Tempest by William Shakespeare to the Film Prosperos Books531 Words   |  3 PagesThe Adaptation of The Tempest by William Shakespeare to the Film Prosperos Books When adapting a play for the screen, a director’s primary responsibility is to visualize an enactment that remains true to the original work’s perception. In addition to this task, the director must also build upon the foundations laid by the script; without this goal, (s)he would have no reason to have undertaken the project in the first place. 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The responses which the characters in The Tempest offer to their immediate surroundings reveal much about their individual traits, at the same time they allow the audience glimpses of Prosperos island as different parts of the island are isolated in the play. The island itself and the sea that surrounds it may be seen as encompassing elemental nature and throughoutRead MoreEssay on The Moor in the Works of William Shakespeare4150 Words   |  17 PagesThe Sources and Representations of the Moor in the Works of Shakespeare      Ã‚  Ã‚   One theme consistently reemployed throughout Shakespeares plays is that of the Other. The Other is usually characterized as a character that is somehow separated, stigmatized, or noted as being different from the mainstream ideal. For the Elizabethan England of Shakespeares time, it may have been a self-defensive maneuver against the encroachment of something which threatened too close to home (Bartels 450). BryantRead MoreEssay on William Shakespeares The Tempest2363 Words   |  10 PagesWilliam Shakespeares The Tempest Generally acknowledged as one of Shakespeares final plays, The Tempest may be described as a romantic tragi-comedy - where love and contentment prosper despite the threatening presence of evil forces. However, beyond the almost fairy-tale like exterior lies a seemingly direct approach to a greatly topical debate at the time. This was the supposed contrast between civilised and uncivilised persons, brought to the fore as a resultRead More Uncovering Worth Unknown: The Constancy of Love in Sonnet 1162370 Words   |  10 Pagesfamous for his plays and for his sonnets. These sonnets discuss everything from the importance of children to the troubles of rival poets, and have even been divided into two distinct subgroups—those of the â€Å"Fair Youth† and those of the â€Å"Dark Lady†Ã¢â‚¬â€because of the differences between the two. However, a common theme that runs throughout nearly all of them is that of love. Illustrating and exemplifying love, Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 provides a classic example of this theme, as Shakespeare both definesRead MoreFemale Sexuality in Shakespeare4830 Words   |  20 Pagesactivities.† (Valerie Traub, â€Å"Gender and Sexuality in Shakespeare† p129)  Margreta de Grazia claimed â€Å"nothing threatens a patriarchal and hierarchic social formation more than a promiscuous womb,† (Margreta de Grazia, †Å"The Scandal of Shakespeare’s Sonnets,† in Shakespeare’s Sonnets: Critical Essays,p106)   and pivotally, both plays examine the supposed risk of unrestrained female desire. Also, the sexual relationships existing in the  Sonnets  appear to subvert  Ã‚  stereotypical gender ideas founded in the