The Tempest

I chose to write my blog about the beginning of the play because it is so different than what we are used to and what we have read in other Shakespeare plays. The opening scene is the most dramatic and interesting. It opens with a sound (thunder and lightening) which is immersing and forboding. Is this an act of fate? It is out of human control and it gives the audience the actual experience of what is going on and what the characters are experiencing. We are taken out of the theater and brought onto the ship and the island. As we discussed in class, we are taken out of Eruope and transported into other geographic place, we are removed from politics just as they are in Europe. There is also a sense of magical realm happening in this play. Both Stephano and Trinculo are influenced by the magic of the island thinking that that they are beyond the realm of their own morality. Although Prospero succeeds by bringing Ferdinand and Merinda together by magic, their union is not meaningful in any way. The religious aspect of their union and the traditions are more important than the accomplishments of Prospero's magic. However, Ferdinand feels that Miranda and him were meant to be and that it was fate, but would they have found each other if it weren't for Prospero's magic? I think it is interesting that Prospero is the only character who wants to replicate society on the island and also has the most control. Maybe it has to do with the fact of his brother dethroning him and sending him and his daughter away to the island.

When thinking about the ship, it can be compared to a community. There are a lot of people and everyone is different, everyone looks different, serves different purposes and has different duties. There is no authority and the ship relies on people doing particular jobs, division of labor. This play is about a shipwreck, but is also a comedy. One may say it is a disorder because the play opens with a destruction of community. Disorder can also be known as class, confusion and/or error.