Monday, August 3, 2009
The Tempest
I found that Shakespeare portrays a dismal message through his plot and character relations. He depicts two pairs of brothers in which one of the pair attempts to murder the other in order to rise in society or social class. The characters that plot against their brothers, Antonio and Sebastian, are shallow, corrupted by greed, and driven by jealousy. A similar sibling relationship is captured in many pieces of literature across the centuries, from the book of Genesis to Steinbeck's East of Eden. Shakespeare creates paranoia in readers to relay his belief that we cannot trust anyone. Antonio and Sebastian converse about a plan to murder Alonso, while he is sleeping in the same vicinity. This portrays that Sebastian is literally plotting behind his back and thoroughly enforces the fear that readers should always be prepared for attack. I really enjoyed The Tempest. My favorite parts were the satire provided by Trinculo and Stefano, the two drunken members of the King's party. Overall, it was a great read once you get past the complicated Shakespearean language, and really enjoy the humorous and ironic story of a shipwrecked, messed-up, royal family, four stars.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The concept of deceiving others is also present in The Taming Of the Shrew. When you stated how no one is able to be trusted, i thought how much i agree with this, espically in Shakespeare's plays. In this play Lucentio, Hortensio, and Tranio all take on the role of someone whom they are not and in the end it blows up in front of them.
ReplyDeleteIt is so weird to think about those characters plotting to kill their brothers. Sure, my brother and I fight, but we would never truly hurt each other. I feel like reading this play would just be difficult for me to understand, although I know murder to get to the top is a common theme in Shakespeare's plays. I wonder if that means Shakespeare ever wanted someone dead because he was jealous or greedy.
ReplyDeleteThe concepts of greed and jealousy seem to be present in almost every one of Shakespeare's plays. In The Taming of the Shrew, the characters also prove to be jealous and greedy, as well as preocupied with their rank in social class and society. The Tempest seems like it is a play with a very complex and confusing plot line.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ashleigh in that greed and jealousy are present in many of Shakespeare's works. Even in King Lear, these two emotions play a huge part in the storyline.
ReplyDeleteBeing one of the most famous playwrights, Shakespeare had the ability to create tales that readers can still identify with even 400 years after his death. It must say something about those two emotions -- greed and jealousy -- that they, of the whole spectrum of human emotion, still create a strong emotional reaction in today's readers.
As soon as i read that one brother makes an attempt to kill the other, i immidiately thought of Cane and Able. (I assume when you mentioned Genisis this is what you are refering to.) This ties in perfectly with the theme of greed and jealousy. These were Cane's sole reasons for murdering his brother.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jenna, this book might be weird for me because i also have an older brother.