Into the Forest discussion

Our original tale for this group read is: The Tempest by William Shakespeare.

Spoil away!

Here's a funny thing about The Tempest: whenever I see it, it puts me to sleep. I drift off (not always literally; sometimes I just sit with hands in fists, wishing everybody would talk faster) when Ariel starts luring the clown characters into the wild.

It’s been years since I last read The Tempest. It follows the familiar pattern of all Shakespeare’s comedies in that it begins with conflict and ends with a happy resolution. I still see parallels between Prospero and Shakespeare because they both direct and manage a play (Prospero’s theatrical illusions and Shakespeare’s stagecraft) with Prospero’s final speech as Shakespeare’s farewell to the theatre. But what stood out for me as I read it this time were its heavy political overtones, specifically colonialism and its impact.

A foreign power (Prospero) lands on an island rich in natural resources, subjugates the indigenous people (Caliban) through fear and superior technology (Prospero’s ‘magic’). The indigenous people initially welcome and help the strangers. Eventually they recognize their land has been appropriated and they retaliate. But they lack the necessary tools to succeed. (In Caliban’s case, his attempt is crude: he tries to rape Miranda to increase his numbers—people the island with more Calibans to outnumber the enemy.) He is punished, labeled a “savage,” and forced to serve his master. He aligns himself with two ne’er do wells, Trinculo and Stephano, with the intent to overthrow one master and replace him with another. The plot is discovered, but all is forgiven in the end. Caliban is released from subjugation but only after Prospero has re-instated himself as Duke of Milan and secured his return trip to civilization.

I was struck by Prospero’s language when speaking of/to Caliban. It is replete with insults and words that demean and belittle. Caliban is deemed less than, marginalized, othered. Prospero tries to justify his actions by reminding Caliban of the benefits he received as a result of his exposure to “civilization.” Perhaps Prospero's final request to the audience “to set him free” (forgive him?) in the Epilogue suggests his recognition that his treatment of Caliban has been unduly harsh.

As you from crimes would pardon’d be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

Years ago I saw a production of The Tempest in the outdoor theatre in Regents Park in London. It’s very powerful. And it has some of the most beautiful lines in Shakespeare. I particularly love Caliban’s speech in Act III, scene ii:

Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.

I still love the play. It’s just that now I’m seeing it with a different set of lenses. I’m sure some of you may have other ways of reading it, which I hope you will share with the rest of us. That the play lends itself to different interpretations is a testament to the genius of Shakespeare.

Not that we needed any more proof.

Tamara wrote: "It’s been years since I last read The Tempest. It follows the familiar pattern of all Shakespeare’s comedies in that it begins with conflict and ends with a happy resolution. I still s..."

The Tempest is sometimes grouped with the comedies because it has a happy ending, but more recently it's been grouped with the "Romances." It has less emphasis on humor and romantic love than Shakespeare's other comedies. It's more like a tragedy in its handling of serious themes, except with a happy ending and fantasy elements.

The Prospero/Caliban relationship is fascinating, especially as compared to the Prospero/Ariel relationship. Why does Prospero treat his two servants so differently? The traditional interpretation is that Caliban tried to rape Miranda, but did he? Prospero says he did, but Prospero spends the Acts I-IV lying and manipulating, so I'm not sure that's what really happened. Maybe he's using that as an excuse to subjugate Caliban and make him fetch wood. As Prospero says in Act I, "Who else will fetch our wood?"

There is a fan theory that Caliban is actually Prospero's son. At the end of Act V, Prospero says of Caliban, "This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine." Elsewhere, Prospero says that Caliban's father was the Devil. Is Prospero calling himself a devil because of the ill he has done since coming to the island?

This was handled well in a staging I saw recently. Ariel was aloft and often above Prospero, urging him to be merciful, and representing his nobler self. Caliban was crawling and low, representing Prospero's viler aspects. When Prospero yelled and cursed at Caliban, the actor's performance hinted that he was cursing at himself; at the shameful aspects of himself. At the end, when Alonso is meeting Miranda, Prospero silently reconciles with Caliban by whispering something in his ear and stroking his head.

In the play as written, Caliban's fate is completely unclear. Some people think he stays on the island alone; some think he rules over Trinculo and Stephano on the island; some suggest that he goes on the boat as Prospero's servant. In Hag-Seed, Margaret Atwood suggests that Trinculo and Stephano would want to take him back to Milan and exhibit him in a cage.

Phil wrote: "The traditional interpretation is that Caliban tried to rape Miranda, but did he? "

He did.


Caliban: Oh ho, oh ho! Would ’t had been done!
Thou didst prevent me. I had peopled else
This isle with Calibans.

Mary wrote: "Phil wrote: "The traditional interpretation is that Caliban tried to rape Miranda, but did he? "

He did.


Caliban: Oh ho, oh ho! Would ’t had been done!
Thou didst prevent me. I had peopled else..."

Would what had been done? Did he attempt to seduce Miranda? Did she come on to him? Did she send him mixed signals and then overreact when he tried to kiss her? She says in this scene that she was kind to him and taught him to read, but that's not really the whole story.

That was in response to Prospero's charge of rape.

Somewhere, some time ago, I read of a performance of the play that had the same actor playing the role of Prospero, Caliban, and Ariel to suggest that there are three aspects to the one individual: Caliban suggesting the animalistic side of man and Ariel suggesting the spiritual side.

Caliban's Hour suggests that it was mutal, a reading of the text that I actually don't buy to be honest. There is also Miranda's age to consider. But it is Caliban's response that is really off putting and gives a bit of credence to Prospero's charge. "I had peopled else" - that's fathering children, but notice that Miranda's role is so lessen. And the term violate indicates this as well, it was used for rape.

Not that Prospero is all that of a guy mind. Edited to add: I mean he does take Caliban's isle from him and one wonders if his concern for Miranda is as a father or as someone who has ownership.

So instead of reading the play I decided to watch multiple versions/documentaries about it. I've only watched one so far--Shakespeare Behind Bars, where a men's prison puts on a production of The Tempest.

I both liked it and not. I found it fascinating to watch the actors' discuss their interpretations of The Tempest, and their reactions to their parts. The documentary showed brief clips of their practice, and I wish it had shown more. I would've loved to see longer scenes, and the actors interact, particularly of their final performance.

As the documentary unfolds, the prisoners reveal their crimes, and how the parts they play in The Tempest reflect their own thoughts right now based on their crimes or past experiences. Probably the most powerful was the prisoner who played Prospero, and his meditation on forgiveness.

But...it turns out all but one of the actors are in prison for murdering women and children. All but one! Yet, never once do they reflect on Miranda's rape. The actor playing Miranda reminisces about how he had a similar childhood to her, and how he has a daughter...and that's it. No one actually tackles some of the broader issues of the play, like colonization, as Tamara describes. It's all self-centered interpretations. How the speeches their making reflect their OWN problems...never thinking of their victims. And then it turns out that the drama teacher who has been coming to the prison to instruct them is fired after it's discovered he owns child porn. Wow. So many issues.

I couldn't help but think these guys needed to put on some feminist plays. Maybe a play of The Handmaid's Tale. Some serious lack of empathy was going on. It was disturbing.

In addition to the attempted rape discussed here already, there's the question for me of how weirdly orchestrated Miranda's relationship with Ferdinand is. Prospero sets them up to fall in love, but then plays the tyrannical over-protective father to make her seem less easily won, and it seems unclear to me whether her love-at-first-sight for him is even genuine, or a result of Prospero's magic. At best, he's exploiting his daughter's naïveté to achieve his desired match for her. I was really into the romance storyline of this play when I was a teenager, but now I'm not so sure...

That said, I'm a big sucker for the forgiveness themes, and am generally fond of Shakespeare's "late romances." The last time I saw this play was the Public's Shakespeare in the Park production year before last, and I remember being a little underwhelmed by it. I'm still waiting for a chance to see a totally splendid staging!

Also, fun factoid, I remember learning in college that the performance that Prospero has the spirits perform for the young couple takes the form of a court masque, which was a popular type of entertainment in Jacobean England where members of the court performed the roles, and may have been included since the play itself was performed as a royal wedding entertainment.

Kelsey wrote: "In addition to the attempted rape discussed here already, there's the question for me of how weirdly orchestrated Miranda's relationship with Ferdinand is. Prospero sets them up to fall in love, bu..."

Agree. I'm glad the romance storyline isn't the main emphasis of the play. Actually, this seems to be the case with Shakespeare's other "romances" which tend to end in families reuniting rather than weddings like in the "comedies".

The Tempest remains one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, mostly because of how mysterious it is. We are never really sure what Ariel and Caliban exactly are, beyond being described as "spirits".

Kelsey wrote: "In addition to the attempted rape discussed here already, there's the question for me of how weirdly orchestrated Miranda's relationship with Ferdinand is. Prospero sets them up to fall in love, bu..."

Ferdinand was the first man she'd ever seen outside of Caliban and her father, so the love at first sight is more credible here than in most plots. After that, they are manipulated by Prospero, just like everyone else on the island. It fits well with the Prospero-as-Shakespeare metaphor- he wrote the script for everyone to follow.

Thanks for the factoid about royal masks. That makes some sense to me, because it seemed like the scene called for a large number of actors and costume changes.

I think her love at first sight is genuine something - Love or lust or a combination. I always saw his behavoir as more a test, to make sure Ferdinand was worthy. And is more than some current romance books do. I also think there is a bit of Shakespeare the father in there, considering his daughters marriages.

I really enjoyed this play. I read Othello just prior to this, so the lightness and humor were a welcome relief.

There have been some excellent comments already posted on this thread about The Tempest, they really gave me something to think about.

It is interesting that Shakespeare got his inspiration for The Tempest from an actual shipwreck. In 1609, a fleet of nine ships set sail from Plymouth for Virginia. The flagship was separated from the others during a storm, and the survivors washed ashore in the Bermudas. They arrived in Jamestown almost a year later, in two small ships they had built for the journey. (Taken from the Notes in the Signet Classics edition.)

I always like to watch a stage or movie presentation of a Shakespeare play after reading it; after wading through a number of Hollywood rewrites, I finally found this one. It was made for TV in 1960. The dialogue is true to the play; the only real difference is that it has been arranged in three acts rather than five.

https://youtu.be/4qheHYn3rLY with Richard Burton as Caliban, 1960.