Questions tagged [the-tempest]
Questions about Shakespeare's play 'The Tempest', probably written in 1610–1611. In addition to being the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone, the play is also notable for being the only Shakespeare play that respects the three unities (unity of action, unity of time and unity of place).
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How can we reconcile the bareness of Shakespearean stages with the complex stage directions of The Tempest?
I learned recently that in Shakespeare's day, stage dressing was often minimal. This makes sense given that there was a wide variety of theatre styles, the stages were often uncovered and surrounded ...
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1answer
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How did Shakespeare get away with staging witchcraft in his plays such as in Othello, Macbeth, or The Tempest?
The themes of witchcraft and magic loom large over Shakespeare’s later plays. While there is no overt use of magic and spells in Othello, per se, as compared to the witches in Macbeth conjuring on ...
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239 views
The Unity of Action in Shakespeare's “The Tempest”
Many critics claim that Shakespeare's play The Tempest follows all three classical unities. For example:
The play observes the three Unities: the action is confined to parts of the same location, the ...
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2answers
126 views
Which of these sources is right about “The Tempest”?
This is part of a quote by Ferdinand in the beginning of scene 1 of act 3 of "The Tempest":
But these sweet thoughts do even refresh my labours,
Most busy, least when I do it.
According to ...
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1answer
207 views
When was Shakespeare's The Tempest first analysed from a “post-colonial” perspective?
A recent answer from verbose mentioned:
Postcolonial approaches to The Tempest cast Prospero as colonizer, exercising imperial control over the original inhabitants of the island: Caliban and Ariel....
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1answer
82 views
Where did Edmond Malone place the Tempest in the chronology of Shakespeare's plays?
In an excellent answer to one of my previous questions, verbose writes:
Since The Tempest is the first play printed in the First Folio, it was often assumed to be an early play. Scholars such as ...
5
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0answers
556 views
Is Caliban of Shakespeare's “The Tempest” based on a real life character?
In the book ‘Over the Edge of the World’ the author Laurence Bergreen has described Ferdinand Magellan's daring circumnavigation of the globe in the sixteenth century was a three-year odyssey filled ...
11
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1answer
817 views
Origin of symbolic interpretation of Prospero's breaking of his staff?
At the end of The Tempest, which is generally believed to be the last plays that Shakesepare wrote alone, Prospero breaks his staff and drowns his book. This has often been read as Shakespeare telling ...
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1answer
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In Margeret Atwood's “Hag-Seed,” where is Caliban?
Margeret Atwood's Hag-Seed is a metafictional retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Many elements of The Tempest are clearly recognizable (e.g. Felix is very obviously Prospero), while others have ...
