University:
Georgia Southern University
Course:
ENGL 2111 | World Literature I
Academic year:

2024
Views:

493

Pages:

3
Author:

Jalen W.

Read the following pages in The Tempest, which is available as a pdf in Module 12. Answer the questions below as you read. The Tempest Acts IV and V At the start of Act IV Scene 1, what does Prospero give to Ferdinand? What does Prospero warn will happen if Ferdinand and Miranda have sex before marriage? Prospero commands Ariel to bring in other spirits to put on a performance for Miranda and Ferdinand. What do the spirits appear to be? How is this a sign of the Renaissance? As you read this scene, consider that we in the audience are now watching actors on a stage pretending to be the characters Miranda and Ferdinand, and they are pretending to be the audience for a performance of Roman goddesses who are being played by spirits. Does this make us consider that we are in some sense acting in our own lives? The lines between acting and living are being brought to our attention by Shakespeare in this scene, which is a sort of play-within-a-play. When he remembers that Caliban and Stephano are coming to murder him, Prospero ends the performance. Read his speech carefully. What does he mean when he says, "the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And, like this insubstantial pageant faded Leave not a rack behind"? Will the earth eventually "dissolve"? If it will, what does that mean for us and our physical accomplishments? At the start of Act V, Scene 1, Ariel reports that Prospero's enemies, Alonso, Sebastian, and Antonio are in what place and in what condition? How does Ariel say Prospero would feel if he could see these men? What does Prospero call Ariel (hint--not human)? Notice how in this important speech Prospero emphasizes the common humanity he shares with these men who wronged him. How does Prospero say he feels about their "high wrongs" against him? What does he choose, reason or fury? What does he say was "the sole drift" of his purpose? After Ariel leaves, Prospero makes a speech in which he reminisces about the things he has achieved as a sorcerer. Which of his deeds seems most impressive to you? Why do you think he calls his deeds "rough magic"? What is rough about the things he has done? What will he do with his staff and book? In the Epilogue, what does Prospero say about his remaining strength? In what way does the audience have the power to confine Prospero to the island or send him to Naples? When Prospero asks for the audience to help him with their breath and hands, what does he mean? Notice the language of the theater and of religion in this final speech. Consider Prospero's retirement from magic as representing Shakespeare's retirement from being a playwright.