‘Identify an idea in the text and explain what the reader can learn from it’ Essay.

Introduction

One idea in The Tempest by William Shakespeare is the theme of revenge. Revenge is prevalent throughout the play in many instances, the most important of which is through Prospero inflicting pain on his brother for removing him from his position and banishing him. The theme of revenge is also portrayed through the treatment of Caliban by Prospero after he had attempted to rape Miranda and again when Caliban plots to kill Prospero in return to how Prospero was treating him. The theme of revenge can teach the reader valuable lessons that they are able to relate to their own lives and the lives of others.

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Perhaps the first and the most important instance where revenge is carried out in the play is through Prospero’s conjuration of a tempest and the intention behind why he created it. Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, was very devoted to the study of magic. He trusted his brother Antonio, so much so to let him run the affairs of the state while Prospero closeted himself away in his library, further immersing himself in his magical studies. Little did Prospero know, but Antonio was busy learning how to run Milan and eventually took complete advantage of Prosperos trust, convincing the King, Alonso, to usurp Prospero from his position as Duke of Milan and give the title to Antonio. Prospero and his daughter Miranda were banished and set adrift in a small boat, to die. Twelve years on and Prospero has been living on an island, refining his magic that gives him the power he needs to punish his enemies. When a ship carrying Alonso, Gonzalo, Ferdinand and Antonio is passing the island after returning from the wedding of Alonsos daughter to the Tunis of Africa, Prospero conjures a Tempest to violently threaten the lives of those aboard. Ariel, Prosperos servant, sees to ensure that everyone made it to shores alive and unharmed, however in separate groups, leaving each of them to think the others dead. Prospero, along with Ariel, prepare a banquet in the middle of nowhere, which the royal party stumble upon. As the men prepare to eat, Ariel appears and causes the banquet to vanish. He then accuses them of their wrongs to Prospero and says that it was for these sins that Alonsos son, Ferdinand, has been taken.
The conjuring of the Tempest, the dispersing of the royal party and the confrontation from Ariel were all acts initiated by Prospero to inflict pain and right the wrongs that had been done to him in the past. In Prosperos eyes, he was giving them the pay back that he thought they deserved. Prosperos ways teach the audience about the unjustly and hypo- critical acts that one can carry out when they feel they have been treated unfairly or wrongly. Prospero sees what he has done as acts of justice, inflicting pain on the men who have wronged him, just as they did to him many years ago; when really they are acts of hypocriticalness. Prospero also does not hesitate to involve and make other suffer in doing so either, such as punishing Gonzalo, the honest lord, who has done nothing but help him and his daughter, including on their exile where he loaded their boat with necessities. At some point/s in our lives we get involved in situations where we are treated unjustly and our first reaction, as was Prosperos, is to make the perpetrator ‘pay’ for what they did, by making them suffer, the same way they made us suffer. Hopefully, through Prosperos actions, the reader can learn that by dishing out exactly what another serves to you, in terms of revenge, is not the most logical and mature way to deal with a situation, especially when you involve innocent people in your vengeance.

However, it is evident that Prospero changes his mind about completing his plan for vengeance. He realises that his passion and fury were urging him towards revenge. He decides that it is not worth the loss of his noble traits and honour in order satisfy this desire. Prospero realises that what he in fact seeks is not revenge, but reconciliation, which is only attainable through forgiveness.
“Though with their high wrongs I am stuck to th’
quick,
Yet with my nobler reason ‘gainst my fury
Do I take part. The rarer action is
In virtue than in vengeance.”
It is made clear, in this quote, that Prospero is deciding to spare his foes of his plan of great vengeance. Prosperos actions are ones everyone has at some point envisioned in one form or another. The thought that vengeance often feels so much better than the thought of exchanging the both unoriginal and empty ‘im sorrys’ and I ‘forgive you’s’ that are often the conclusion of such situations.

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Another instance at which revenge is carried out is through Prosperos treatment of Caliban following Calibans attempt to rape Miranda. Caliban was the son of the evil which of whom initially ruled the island up until Prospero and Miranda’s arrival. Caliban taught the pair all of the tricks, treasures and tips to aid them on the island and in return, Prospero and Miranda fed him and taught him to speak. Violating all respect and friendly relations, Caliban attempts to rape Miranda. ‘I have used thee- filth as thou art- with humane care, and lodged thee, in mine own cell, till thou didst seek to violate the honour of my child’. In return, Prospero confines Caliban to an isolated dwelling near a rock outside of Prosperos cell and enslaves him to carry out all of the pesky island chores such as fetching wood and building fires. Prospero also punishes Caliban by giving him terrible, painful body cramps for misbehaving and talking back, whenever Prospero feels the want to do so. Prospero also sends spirits to torment him while he works. ‘For this, be sure tonight thou shalt have cramps, side stitches that shall pen thy breath up;urchins. Shall for that vast of night that they may work, all exercise on thee; thou shalt be pinched as thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging that the bees that made ’em’.
This occasion of revenge towards Caliban is carried out by Prospero for a reason different than to just deal out torture for wrongdoing. The motive behind this revenge was the for the protection, safety and security of someone he loves, Miranda. Through this instance of revenge, the reader can learn about how for every action, there is an opposite and exact (or even worse) reaction. If our action is bad or hurts somebody, the result can be a very negative reaction, leaving us with feelings of regret. People who have been involved in a situation where someone has violated their trust, breached friendly boundaries or taken advantage of them can relate to this act of revenge.

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The final example of revenge occurs when Caliban plots to kill Prospero because of how Prospero was treating him. Trinculo, the court jester and Stephano, the bulter stumble upon Caliban as he is cursing Prospero for the mean things he does to Caliban, such as sending spirits to torment him while he works. He also complains of apes that chatter and bite him, hedgehogs that prick his feet and snakes that hiss him into madness. After an interesting encounter, Stephano makes Caliban drink from his wine flask. Several swigs later and Caliban is convinced that these two men are gods, what with the celestial liquor that Stephano carries. Caliban, continuing to drink, swears himself to be Stephanos new servant and agrees to show his new master the best of the island. Stephan and Trinculo, both very drunk, are sure everyone on the island is dead and are happy to be the new kings of the island. Caliban plots and instructs Stephano and Trinculo on what must be done to Prospero in order for them to gain power over the island. Caliban tells his new friends of what an awful man Prospero is, repeatedly cursing him for all he does to Caliban. Caliban says that the key is to take Prosperos magic books, which will leave him powerless. He announces that once they have done this, they can kill Prospero and have his daughter, Miranda as their queen and promises that all the pretty linens and items in Prosperos house will belong to them. “As I told thee, ’tis a custom with him I’ th’ afternoon to sleep. There thou mayst brain him, having first seized his books; or with a log batter his skull, or paunch him with a stake, or cut his wezand with thy knife. Remember first to possess his books, for without them he’s but a sot, as I am, nor hath not one spirit to command; they all do hate him as rootedly as I. Burn but his books.” This plot of revenge to end Prospero’s life can teach the audience that our intuitive logic about revenge is often twisted, conflicted and dangerous and that it can be a violent response to anger, injury and humiliation. Simultaneously, this occurrence of revenge can also teach the reader about the irrational and un-thought-out plans that people can make when in an hallucinogenic state.

Conclusion

Revenge originates from the primal need for self defence. Through Prospero inflicting pain on his his brother for removing him from his position and banishing him, to the treatment of Caliban by Prospero after he had attempted to rape Miranda and also when Caliban plots to kill Prospero in return to how Prospero was treating him, we can see that once the damage is done the clock cannot be turned back and the damage is permanent. People seek revenge in a hope to accomplish different things for different reasons whether it be to erase shame and humiliation, to restore pride, teach a lesson, make an aggressor suffer and feel their pain, punish people who break rules or demonstrate their power so that they no longer feel powerless. Through the theme of revenge in The Tempest by William Shakespeare, above all the reader can learn that successful strategies of revenge look far into the future and recognise that retaliation through vengeance can only spiral toward tragedy, they more often than not do not solve any damage but indeed make it worse and are best stopped before they are started.

Summary of The Tempest by William Shakespeare

The play is set on a remote island where Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan and his daughter, Miranda have been stranded since having been banished there twelve years ago. Antonio, Prospero’s jealous brother and Alonso, the King of Naples removed Prospero from his position and duties and set him a drift with his daughter Miranda. Unknowingly, Gonzalo, Alonso’s counsellor, had secretly supplied their boat with some food, fresh water, “rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries,” and “volumes” (books) that Prospero held in dear regard. Prospero possesses magic powers due to his great learning and is served by a spirit, Ariel, whom Prospero had rescued from a tree in which he had been trapped by the cruel witch, Sycorax, after he had refused to obey her. Sycorax had died before Prospero’s arrival. However her son, Caliban, a deformed monster and remained on the island and was the only non-spiritual inhabitant before the arrival of Prospero. Calk an taught Prospero how to survive on the island and in return, Prospero and Miranda taught Caliban religion and their own language. After Caliban attempted rape of Miranda, he was then compelled by Prospero to serve as the magician’s (reluctant) slave. Under his slavery, Caliban has come to view Prospero very negatively; he is often seen verbally despising him and has grown to resent him and his daughter. Prospero and Miranda, in turn, view Caliban with disappointment and disgust.

The play begins with a Tempest, orchestrated by Prospero strikes a ship carrying Alonso, Ferdinand, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, and Trinculo, who are on their way to Italy after coming from the wedding of Alonso’s daughter, Claribel, to the prince of Tunis in Africa. On the island, Prospero informs Miranda that it is time she learned more about herself and her past. He explains to Miranda the story behind why he has orchestrated the tempest in order to make things right with them once and for all. After Prospero charms Miranda to sleep, he calls upon Ariel to ensure that everyone had made it to the island alive. Prospero used her magic to ensure that that shipwreck survivors were separated into three groups, leaving Alonso and his son, Ferdinand, to believe each other to be dead.

Three separate plots then diverse and alternate through the play. In one, Trinculo and Stephano, the court jester and the butler who are both drunk, stumble upon Caliban. Trinculo and Stephano immediately see a way to make money by exhibiting Caliban as a monster recovered from this uninhabited island. After drinking a little himself, Caliban is convinced the two men are gods and hatches a plot to murder Prospero and involves his two new acquaintances as accomplices. Prospero’s spirit, Ariel is listening, however, and reports the plot to Prospero.

On another part of the island, Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo are discussing their shipwreck and marooning until Ariel appears, invisible, and plays music that puts all but Sebastian and Antonio to sleep. These two then begin to discuss the possible advantages of killing their sleeping companions. Antonio persuades Sebastian that the latter will become ruler of Naples if they kill Alonso. Sebastian is convinced, and the two are about to stab the sleeping men when Ariel causes Gonzalo to wake. Everyone wakes up, and Antonio and Sebastian concoct a ridiculous story about having drawn their swords to protect the king from lions. Alonso and his party then continue to search for Ferdinand.

On another part of the island again, Ariel, invisible, enters playing music and leads in the awed Ferdinand. Prospero works her magic to encourage a romantic relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda; the two fall immediately in love. He is the only man Miranda has ever seen, besides Caliban and her father. Prospero is happy to see that his plan for his daughter’s future marriage is working, but decides that he must upset things temporarily in order to prevent their relationship from developing too quickly. He accuses Ferdinand of merely pretending to be the Prince of Naples and threatens him with imprisonment. When Ferdinand draws his sword, Prospero charms him and compels him to become his servant, ignoring Miranda’s cries for mercy. Prospero puts Ferdinand to work hauling wood. Ferdinand finds his labor pleasant because it is for Miranda’s sake. Miranda, thinking that her father is asleep, approaches Ferdinand and tells him to take a break. The two flirt with one another. Miranda proposes marriage, and Ferdinand accepts. Prospero has been on stage most of the time, unseen, and he is secretly pleased with this development.

Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban are now drunk and raucous and are made all the more so by Ariel, who comes to them invisibly and provokes them to fight with one another by impersonating their voices and taunting them. Caliban proposes that they kill Prospero, take his daughter, and set Stephano up as king of the island. Stephano thinks this a good plan, and the three prepare to set off to find Prospero.

Alonso, Gonzalo, Sebastian, and Antonio grow weary from traveling and pause to rest. Antonio and Sebastian secretly plot to take advantage of Alonso and Gonzalo’s exhaustion, deciding to kill them in the evening. Prospero causes a banquet to be set out. As the men prepare to eat, Ariel appears ‘like a harpy’ and causes the banquet to vanish. He then accuses the men of their wrongs to Prospero and says that it was for this sin that Alonso’s son, Ferdinand, has been taken. He vanishes, leaving Alonso feeling vexed and guilty.

Prospero now softens toward Ferdinand and welcomes him into his family as the soon-to-be-husband of Miranda. Prospero then asks Ariel to call forth some spirits to perform a masque for Ferdinand and Miranda. A dance of reapers and nymphs follows but is interrupted when Prospero suddenly remembers that he still must stop the plot against his life that Ariel had notified him of. Ariel and Prospero then set a trap by hanging beautiful clothing in Prospero’s cell. Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban enter looking for Prospero and, finding the beautiful clothing, decide to steal it. They are immediately set upon by a pack of spirits in the shape of dogs and hounds, driven on by Prospero and Ariel.

Prospero uses Ariel to bring Alonso and the others before him. Prospero confronts Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian with their treachery, but tells them that he forgives them. Alonso tells him of having lost Ferdinand in the tempest and Prospero says that he recently lost his own daughter. Clarifying his meaning, he leads the men back to his home and draws aside a curtain to reveal Ferdinand and Miranda playing chess. Miranda is stunned by the sight of people unlike any she has seen before and Ferdinand tells his father about his marriage.

Ariel releases Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano, who then enter wearing their stolen clothing. Prospero and Alonso command them to return it and to clean up Prospero’s cell. Prospero invites Alonso and the others to stay for the night so that he can tell them the tale of his life in the past twelve years. After this, the group plans to return to Italy. Prospero, restored to his dukedom, will retire to Milan. Prospero gives Ariel one final task—to make sure the seas are calm for the return voyage—before setting him free.

William Shakespeare’s attitude to slavery

There is no way of completely accurately determining William Shakespeare’s attitude towards slavery because we are unable to ask him the question directly today. However, through scholars’ interpretation of some of his works, we are able to hopefully understand how he may have viewed the subject.

Slavery occurs on a widespread basis in The Tempest. The obvious slaves are not the only slaves, as Prospero has basically got everybody entranced when he wants, to do whatever he wants them to do. He can also control the way that they think.

The first and most obvious slave is Ariel. Ariel is an airy spirit who is promised his freedom by Prospero if his job is done well.

In The Tempest, William Shakespeare portrays the character Caliban as a savage, horrid beast and as the slave of Prospero. Through Prospero’s ownership, Shakespeare views Caliban as a lesser being. Prospero symbolises the Western power dominating an island and its inhabitants; while Caliban represents the islander who is forcefully controlled by the Westerner.

The over powering attitude that Prospero exhibits, symbolises the white man’s conquest over other cultures. The concept of one man being more powerful than another stands as a contributing factor for the immoral relationship between Prospero and Caliban. Caliban represents the indigenous islander who cannot escape the brutality of his master.

William Shakespeare emphasises that Caliban represents the way Western civilisation pictured people of the Caribbean islands at the time. People of the West inaccurately imagined the Caribbean people as monsters and deformed beasts. Shakespeare’s image of Caliban as a beastly, savage was done intentionally. In the play, Caliban is often labeled an animal or something less of a human. Shakespeare creates a complex analysis of the western’s perception of the Caribs through these offensive terms. To the westerner the only distinction between an animal and Caliban, is that the islander can speak an accepted language. The part animal, part human aspect of Caliban represents the way people envision how and islander appears physically, but what Shakespeare does by having Caliban speak is transforming a creature of horrible appearance into a real person with thoughts and human emotions.

In the end of the play, Caliban rises above his master and defies him. This plot line challenges the reader’s expectations and in result makes the slave the conqueror. This unusual but most important plot twist conveys how Shakespeare saw Caliban as something more than a creature. Shakespeare intended for the reader to see a Caliban in a new light by the end of the play. Not as some savage animal but as a character who had true emotions just like the reader would. In addition, the closing scene may have been a future warning for revolution and destruction against the colonisers of the world. In many ways, Caliban appears horrid and ugly but internally Caliban represents a beautiful person who has emotions and character just like all people, and no matter how the Europeans at the time depicted and perceived these Caribs to be; they are people of true beauty.

William Shakespeare never traveled to the Caribbean Island’s so his visualisation of what Caliban should be appears to be based on the assumptions and literary documents of his time.

In conclusion, The Tempest is a very good play to demonstrate the monstrosity of slavery in society in William Shakespeare’s day. The play teaches lessons about slavery, about classes of people, and how they react to their surroundings. The Tempest also provides a good insight into William Shakespeare’s personal view of slavery.

Slavery in America Timeline

History of slavery in America timeline

1619
In Jamestown, Virginia, approximately twenty Africans are sold into slavery to the British North American Colonies. They appear to have been indentured servants. Nevertheless, the institution of a hereditary lifetime service for blacks to the white man soon develops.

1660’s
The practice of slavery becomes a legally recognised institution in British America. Colonial assemblies begin to enact laws known as slave codes, which restrict the liberty of slaves and protect the institution of slavery.

1705
The Virginia Slave Code codified the status of slaves, further limited their freedom, and defined rights of slave owners. It stated that non-Christians brought to Virginia would be slaves, even if they converted to Christianity. It also allowed slave owners to punish slaves without fear of legal repercussions and specified the rewards for the recapture of runaway slaves.

1775
Founding of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery (PAS), the world’s first antislavery society and the first Quaker anti-slavery society. Benjamin Franklin becomes Honorary President of the Society in 1787.

1787
The Northwest Ordinance bans slavery in the Northwest Territory (later becoming the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin). The ordinance together with state emancipation laws create a free North.

1793
The U.S. Congress enacts the ‘Fugitive Slave Law’ which allows slaveowners to cross state lines to recapture their slaves. They must then prove ownership in a court of law. In reaction, some Northern states pass personal liberty laws, granting the alleged fugitive slaves the rights to habeas corpus (a legal action or right by means of slaves can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment) jury trials, and testimony on their own behalf. These Northern state legislatures also pass anti-kidnapping laws to punish slave-catchers who kidnap free blacks.

1807
U.S. President Thomas Jefferson signs into law the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, forbidding the importation of African slaves into the United States.

1855-1856
A miniature civil war, known as Bleeding Kansas, erupts in the Kansas Territory over the issue of slavery. In May 1856, a proslavery group attacks the town of Lawrence, destroying and stealing property. In response to the this incident, racial abolitionist John Brown and his followers attack a proslavery settlement at Pottawatomie Creek, killing five men. By the end of 1856, nearly 200 Kansans have been killed and property worth over $2 million has been damaged or destroyed.

1858
Illinois Republicans nominate Abraham Lincoln for the U.S. Senate. In accepting, Lincoln delivers his “House Divided” speech in which he asserts that the nation can not endure permanently half-slave and half-free.

1863
President Abraham Lincoln issues The Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all U.S. slaves in states that had seceded from the Union, with the exception for those in Confederate areas already controlled by the Union army.

1865-1920
Following the American Civil War, hundreds of thousands of African Americans are re-enslaved in an abusive manipulation of the legal system called “peonage.” Across the Deep South, African-American men and women are falsely arrested and convicted of crimes, then “leased” to coal and iron mines, brick factories, plantations, and other dangerous workplaces. The system slows down after World War I but doesn’t fully end until the 1940s.

The Sea Adventure Influence on The Tempest

Most experts believe that the wreck of the Sea Venture had a significant influence and served as an important inspiration to his play ‘The Tempest’. There is much evidence that indicates that William Shakespeare read of this real-life event in a letter written by William Strachey, detailing the experiences of his survival, upon the shipwrecked Sea Venture. The Bermuda’s history as an enchanted isle no doubt attracted Shakespeare’s attention and the magical qualities of Prospero’s island were likely to have somewhat been based on the stories from Atlantic sailors who heard eerie cries in the night when sailing past Bermuda. Some modern scholars see the characters of Prospero, Caliban, and Ariel as a metaphor for the strained relationships between English colonists and peoples of other races, including local inhabitants and imported slaves. Some scholars believe that the character of Ariel was probably inspired by what the sailors saw after the wreck of the Sea venture. The Virginia Company Secretary William Strachey, one of the survivors, reports seeing in the aftermath:
‘An apparition of a little round light, like a faint star, trembling and streaming along with a sparkling blaze,…shooting sometimes from shroud to shroud, tempting to settle as it were on any of the four shrouds:…half the night it kept with us, running sometimes along the mainyard to the very end, and then returning.’
The logical explanation for what William Strachey actually saw was a phenomenon called “St. Elmo’s Fire”—the luminous plasma created by an electric field originating from a volcanic eruption or, is this case a storm (Tempest).
There are clear parallels between William Strachey’s letter and the events described within The Tempest and although the play is above all a work of his imagination, Shakespeare weaves through it many details from accounts of this storm, so it is more than likely that Shakespeare was familiar with the letter and was inspired by it to write a play based on some events within it.

Sea Adventure Newspaper Article

A 300-ton merchant ship, the Sea Venture, was the flagship of a fleet of nine ships that was to bring the largest group of colonists and cargo yet to Jamestown, Virginia from Plymouth, England. The colony in Jamestown needed more able-bodied workers, soldiers, food, supplies, and money.
The fleet departed England in June of 1609 and would be the third resupply voyage to the Jamestown colony. Among those aboard were Christopher Newport, captain; Sir Thomas Gates, lieutenant governor of Virginia; Sir George Somers, admiral of the fleet and William Strachey; future secretary of the Virginia Company in Jamestown.

The first seven weeks of the voyage were relatively uneventful, however the scene soon turned into a nightmare. Only a week from Virginia, the fleet sailed into a monstrous tempest. The huge storm tossed the ships about on the open ocean and the Sea Venture became separated from the rest of the fleet. Despite her impressive size, the Sea Venture was no match for Mother Nature. Because the Sea Venture was brand new, the caulking and joining was still loose and the vessel began to come apart. The force of the hurricane battered the ship, causing multiple leaks that initiated flooding in the hold. All of the men on board worked hard to save the dying vessel, pumping out water and even throwing their possessions and cargo overboard.

On July 28, 1609, the fourth day of the storm and the point at which most of the passengers and crew alike believed they were doomed, Sir George Somers spied land. Captain Christopher Newport sailed the ship (although it could barely be called that any longer) as close to the islands as possible and, as he was unable to anchor, wedged the ship between two large rocks. All of the 150 men and women aboard survived the wreck and escaped to the shores of Bermuda, known to the English as “The Devil’s Islands”.

The shipwrecked party stayed on Bermuda for about nine months. The crew and passengers spent these nine months foraging, fishing, hunting, praying for their survival and hoping to be rescued. Only the strong leadership and discipline of men like Thomas Gates and George Somers prevented chaos. After salvaging all they could from the wreck of the Sea Venture, the group began to construct two small new ships, the Patience and the Deliverance, to carry the survivors the final distance to Jamestown. At last, on May 10, 1610, the two new ships set sail for Virginia, laden with supplies and all of the survivors but two, who remained on Bermuda and allowed the English to maintain a claim to the islands. Before they could even make open water, they met the newly arrived military governor, Lord de la Warr, with his three ships of new settlers and supplies.

With new hope, everyone returned to Jamestown, determined to succeed in what they set out to do. The people who chose to remain on the islands established a permanent residence in Bermuda, which later became a supplier of materials to Virginia and trade was established between the two colonies. Over the years Bermuda developed into an overseas territory within the British Commonwealth.

Among the survivors of the Sea Venture, William Strachey described the experience most vividly in a very long letter (twenty-two folio pages when finally printed), written in Virginia to an unnamed lady in England. Another survivor, John Rolfe, planted the tobacco seed he brought back and produced the first profitable crop of tobacco in 1614.

The Tempest First Performance Poster

Biography of William Shakespeare

The personal history of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery as there are only two primary sources that provide historians with a basic outline of his life. One source is his work; the plays, poems and sonnets. The other is official documentation, such as church and court records. However, these sources only provide little information on specific events that occurred throughout his life and even less on William Shakespeare himself.

William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare, a glove maker and tradesman, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. William Shakespeare was baptised on April 26, 1564, at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. At that time, infants were baptised three days after their birth, thus scholars have come to the conclusion that Shakespeare was born on April 23 (or a date near), the same day on which he died at age 52. William had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Edmund. William Shakespeare would most likely have attended the local grammar school, King’s New School, where the curriculum would have emphasised a classical education of Greek mythology, Roman comedy, ancient history, rhetoric, grammar, Latin, and possibly Greek. Throughout his childhood, Shakespeare’s father struggled with serious financial debt. Therefore, he would not have attended any form of tertiary education.

At the age of 18, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, a lady six years his senior. The consistory court of the Diocese of Worcester issued a marriage licence on 27 November 1582. The couples first child, Susanna, was born in 1583, and twins, Hamnet and Judith, arrived in 1585. Hamnet died of unknown causes at the age of 11 and was buried 11 August 1596. In the seven years following the birth of the twins, William Shakespere left few historical footprints until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The historical record concerning William Shakespeare during this period (1585-1592) is incomplete, contradictory, and unreliable; scholars refer to this period as his “lost years.” William Shakespeare reappears in 1592 as an “upstart crow” in Groats-Worth of Wit; a pamphlet by playwright Robert Greene.

It is not known exactly when Shakespeare began writing, but records of performances show that several of his plays were on the London stage by 1592. Between 1590 and 1592, Shakespeare’s Henry VI series, Richard III, and The Comedy of Errors were performed. When the theatres were closed in 1593 because of the plague, the playwright wrote two narrative poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece and also probably began wiring some of his sonnets. By 1594, he had also written, The Taming of the Shrew, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Love’s Labor’s Lost. Shakespeare also wrote several comedies during his early period: the witty romance A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the romantic Merchant of Venice, the wit and wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing, the charming As You Like It and Twelfth Night. Other plays, possibly written before 1600, include Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Having established himself as an actor and playwright, from 1594, Shakespeare became a shareholder in the Lord Chamberlains Men; a company owned by a group of players (including Shakespeare) that soon became the leading playing company in London. His plays were performed by only the Lord Chamberlain’s Men from then on. He remained a member of this company for the rest of his career, often playing before the court of Queen Elizabeth I. William Shakespeare went through one of his most prolific periods around 1595, writing Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Merchant of Venice.

Records of Shakespeare’s property purchases and investments indicate that the company made him a wealthy man. In 1597, he bought the second-largest house in Stratford, New Place. Two years later in 1599, William Shakespeare and his business partners built their own theatre on the south bank of the Thames River, which they called the Globe. By 1597,15 of the 37 plays written by William Shakespeare were published. After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, the company was awarded a royal patent by the new king, James I, and changed its name to the King’s Men. During King James’s reign, Shakespeare wrote many of his most accomplished plays about courtly power, including King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra.

In 1605, William Shakespeare purchased leases of real estate near Stratford for 440 pounds, which doubled in value and earned him 60 pounds a year. This made him an entrepreneur as well as an artist, and scholars believe these investments gave him the time to write his plays uninterrupted.

In 1609/1611, Shakespeare’s sonnets were published. Although unfortunately he did not live to see the First Folio of his plays published in 1623.

In 1616, with his health declining (depending on which source you are ready from, other suggest that he documented in his will that he was in ‘perfectly good health) William Shakespeare revised his will. Since his only son Hamnet had died in 1596, he left the bulk of his estate to his two daughters, with monetary gifts set aside for his sister, theatre partners, friends, and the poor of Stratford. A fascinating detail of his will is that he bequeathed the family’s “second best bed” to his wife Anne. Some scholars see the bequest as an insult to Anne, whereas others believe that the second-best bed would have been the matrimonial bed and therefore rich in significance. He died one month later, on April 23, 1616.

To the world, he left a lasting legacy in the form of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and two narrative poems. William Shakespeare is today widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is also often called England’s national poet. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Influences on and reasons why William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest

The Tempest, a play by William Shakespeare, is believed to have been written in 1610–11 and is also thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote. It is also believed to be one of the onto plays with a completely original plot. For many years, The Tempest was regarded as one of Shakespeare’s comedies; however, the presence of tragedy, comedy, and a good deal of romance means that the play does not easily fit into any of these three genres exclusively.

There is no obvious single origin for the plot of the tempest; it seems to have been created out of an amalgamation of sources.

The Tempest is thought to have been partially inspired by Shakespeare’s reading of a real-life event; a letter written by William Strachey, detailing the experiences of a shipwreck survivor. On July 24, 1609 a fleet of nine English vessels who were apart of The Virginia Company, were nearing the end of a supply voyage to the new colony of the Bermudas when it ran into “a cruel tempest”. The vessels in the fleet couldn’t keep together, and two fared particularly badly. One of them, The Sea Venture, carrying the fleet’s Admiral, ran ashore. The passengers and crew of the fleet’s flagship, the Sea Venture, were stranded for months on a deserted island in the Bermudas, during which time they were believed to be lost at sea. Shakespeare also knew many others who were involved in the Virginia Company venture; Southampton and Pembroke, to whom Shakespeare dedicated a few of his works. There are clear parallels between William Strachey’s letter and the events described within The Tempest, so it is more than likely that Shakespeare was familiar with the text, and was inspired by it to write the play based on some events within it.

Some scholars believe that the character of Ariel was probably inspired by what the sailors saw after the wreck of the Sea venture. The Virginia Company Secretary William Strachey, one of the survivors, reports seeing in the aftermath:
‘An apparition of a little round light, like a faint star, trembling and streaming along with a sparkling blaze,…shooting sometimes from shroud to shroud, tempting to settle as it were on any of the four shrouds:…half the night it kept with us, running sometimes along the mainyard to the very end, and then returning.’
The logical explanation for what William Strachey actually saw was a phenomenon called “St. Elmo’s Fire”—the luminous plasma created by an electric field originating from a volcanic eruption or, is this case a storm (Tempest).

Some modern scholars see the story of Prospero, Caliban, and Ariel as a metaphor for the strained relationships between English colonists and peoples of other races, including local inhabitants and imported slaves.

Another theory suggests that the island is actually a metaphor for London, and the figure of Prospero is a version/representation of Shakespeare himself. Prospero is a man of great power and prestige on the island, possessing the ability through his magic to rule over all creatures, yet he chooses to leave his domain behind and return to a life of peaceful, family rule. Similarly, Shakespeare quit the stage after The Tempest, returning to his family estates in Stratford to live his few remaining years in relative peace. Experts have even suggested that it may be Shakespeare bidding farewell to the theatre and asking forgiveness and love from his audience.
However, other experts deem this relation of the play as strangely direct.

Shakespeare’s last plays were characterised by their originality; he drew less and less on classic stories as he grew in skill and fame. On the contrary however, it is speculated that some of his literature was drawn out of other workings. These include one of Gonzalo’s speeches, which is believed to have been derived from Montaigne’s essay Of the Canibales, and much of Prospero’s renunciative speech is taken word for word from a speech by Medea in Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses. The masque in Act 4 is speculated to have been a later addition, possibly in honour of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V in 1613.

Many scholars argue that The Tempest is a play about ‘reconciliation, forgiveness, and faith in future generations to seal such reconciliation.’ Thus, William Shakespeare may have been going through times in his own life that required these certain characteristics and what better way to express these, than in a play.

One debated aspect of this play is the idea of magic. Magic was a controversial subject in Shakespeare’s day. In Italy in 1600, around the time that William Shakespeare supposedly wrote The Tempest, Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake for his supernatural studies. Outside the Catholic world, in Protestant England where Shakespeare wrote The Tempest, magic was prohibited and forbidden, however not all “magic” was considered ‘evil’. This initiated the study of the supernatural by several, but with a more rational approach to the discovery of unusual phenomenon, in order to not upset anybody. A German man named Henricus Cornelius Agrippa was one of these me, who published his observations of “divine” magic in De Occulta Philosophia. Agrippa’s work influenced Dr. John Dee, an Englishman and student of supernatural phenomena. Both Agrippa and Dee describe a kind of magic similar to that of Prospero’s: one that is based on 16th-century science, rationality, and divinity, rather than the occult. When King James took the throne, Dr John Dee found himself under attack for his beliefs, but was able to defend himself successfully by explaining the divine nature of his profession. The fact that magic was taboo (a prohibited and forbidden subject due to religious or social belief) and was seen upon as evil by most was the likely reason behind why Shakespeare is careful to make the distinction that Prospero presents himself as a rational, and not an occultist, magician. He does this by providing a contrast to him in Sycorax. Sycorax is said to have worshipped the devil and was unable to control Ariel, who was “too delicate” for such dark tasks. Prospero’s rational goodness enables him to control Ariel where Sycorax could only trap him in a tree. Sycorax’s magic is frequently described as destructive and terrible, compared to that of Prospero’s which said to be wondrous and beautiful. Prospero seeks to set things right in his world through his magic, and once that is done, he renounces it, setting Ariel free.

While none of these are a direct origin or source of the plot of Shakespeare’s play, there is no doubt that they were all part of the cultural and intellectual events around the time at which the play was speculated to have been written and they all would have served to stimulate and influence William Shakespeare’s imagination.

Reflection.

1) Identify the strengths of your group & include examples
The main strength in my group would be that each of my group members researched and understood their blockbuster film aspect extremely thoroughly. This aided in making the script writing an easy and painless process that we managed to complete in 2-3 lessons.
Amy, Maja, Cristyn & I are good friends. This proved to be a huge strength, as being close with one another, we were able to truthfully answer each others questions and we weren’t hesitant to voice our opinions on matters regarding certain aspects of the film production that were being discussed such as costume and location. Being friends was a huge benefit and allowed us to be comfortable working with one another and also have a whole lot of fun in the process.

Another strength my group utilised throughout this project was the ability to work efficiently and effectively around our obstacles. An example of this would be when we were around half way through filming and the room we were using was no longer available to us. Aware that the exact same background and overall look could not be replicated perfectly, we relocated to another room that looked as similar as we could find. We decided we would pass off the mishap in the film as a renovation of our old studio and we carried on as per plan from that point on.

2) Identify and explain some of the challenges your group has encountered + how did you overcome these?
Coming to definite agreements on certain aspects of the film and film production proved to be a challenge. Alike in any group situation, each group member has a different idea that they want to contribute. The challenge in our group was not that each group member was self centred and only liked their own aspect, but that we thought that each other’s ideas were really good. We overcame this obstacle by narrowing down our options based on the availability and attain- ability of equipment/props and although it took a considerable amount of time in some instances, these agreements did get finalised.

Deciding the exact script was a definite challenge for my group members and I. When we were writing the initial script and discussing the amount of information we wanted it to include from each of our individual research documents on the four main aspects, we agreed that the film should include as much information as possible. However, we greatly underestimated how long it would take to speak our information and the process of filming it all ended up being a lot more time consuming than we had previously thought. This unfortunately has meant that our editing out of information to make the film shorter has been reasonably time consuming. And to make matter even more undesirable, the iPad we were using began to have technical difficulties because of the video length. We overcame this challenge by notifying our teacher about the situation we were facing and she kindly gave us more time to complete our project.

Another challenge our group faced was the unavailability of the room we were using to film, half way though our filming. Had we known this was going to occur, we would have chosen an alternate place to film where our backdrop would remain constant. Having to change set was not something we had considered before our filming, so when the challenge arose we spent 5-10 minutes discussing the matter and came to the conclusion that we would pass off the mishap in the movie as renovation of our old studio and we carried on as per plan from that point on.

3) Things I have learnt from this project

From this project, I have gained skills in working constructively and efficiently in a group situation. We were given a task and we were given dead lines. We allocated smaller jobs to one another by pulling apart the overall aim and made a great start. I know my team members well and was not afraid to ask them for assistance/guidance when I required it and they did the same to me when they needed it. We helped each other throughout the entire project and we all oversaw aspects of the film before they were finalised to ensure we all agreed upon them.

I have also personally learnt that filming is something that I really enjoy. I enjoyed learning about the different camera angles and shots and found it really satisfying then being able to go out and film something similar. I was able to use my creative side, deciding which camera angles and shots would effectively portray the message that was being projected.

As with any project, I have learnt more self management skills. This was quite a large project over quite a few weeks and I had to work out what needed to be done by when to ensure that we met the dead line. Unfortunately, we did not cater for technical difficulties and the iMovie applications on the iPad we were using did not cooperate fully. This hiccup did give us a set back as we were unable to finish tasks at the time we planned. However we managed (with help from a technical specialist) to fix the problem and we worked really hard to complete it from there forward. In the future I will now make sure to get things done that little bit earlier to ensure that malfunctions like these can be solved sooner than later.

I have also learnt that a movie is not as shallow as it may seem and there are countless meanings behind every aspect.

4) Would you recommend this project?

Yes, I would recommend this project. It combined group work, creativity, researching, understanding blockbuster film ingredients and a whole lot of fun in the process.