Discoveries can provide new insights that transform an individual’s perception of themselves and the world. Both William Shakespeare’s tragicomedy The Tempest (1611) and Laura Palmer’s memoir, Mystery is the Precinct Where I Found Peace (2002) highlight how introspection enables individuals to be emotionally transformed. Furthermore, both texts reveal how by reconsidering prior assumptions, individuals may discover renewed perspectives and future possibilities.
Emotional discoveries can arise from introspection in response to provocative encounters. In The Tempest, Renaissance Humanism’s emphasis upon self-reflection is embodied in Prospero’s overcoming of his initial vengefulness and discovery of compassion. Having been usurped as Duke of Milan, Prospero is metaphorically characterized as embittered through the dramatic monologue describing his usurpers as “the ivy which had hid my princely trunk”. Prospero’s fixation upon revenge is reflected through his use of sinister sibilance in “shorten up their sinews … let them be hunted soundly” which emphasizes the ironic inversion of the roles of conspirator and victim. However, servant Ariel’s empathetic characterization of the entrapped nobles as “brimful of sorrow and dismay” catalyzes Prospero’s process of self-reflection. Prospero subsequently discovers compassion, highlighted through the juxtaposition of the binaries of revenge and forgiveness in his epiphany “The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance.” Similarly, the initially “perfidious” King Alonso is confronted by Ariel’s critical dialogue “you did … supplant Prospero”. This provokes Alonso’s introspection and discovery of repentance for betraying Prospero, reflected in his figurative language “The affliction of my mind amends … thy dukedom I resign.” In contrast, Sebastian’s failure to introspect and acknowledge his misdeeds is reflected in his defiant hyperbole “one fiend at a time, I’ll fight their legions o’er.” Moreover, Prospero’s conciliatory metaphor in his aside to Antonio, “whom to call brother would even infect my mouth, I do forgive thy rankest fault” is met with silence revealing how Antonio’s lack of introspection precludes him from transforming into a reformed individual. Ultimately, Shakespeare portrays emotional discoveries as the result of meditation.
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Similarly, in Mystery is the Precinct Where I Found Peace, Palmer reveals how emotional discoveries are catalyzed by introspection in response to provocation. Palmer’s reporting on the Vietnam War reflected a growing public distrust of the Johnson administration and caused her to discover greater compassion. Initially, Palmer metaphorically characterizes herself as naïve in the recount “I grew up in the glasshouse of idealism.” However, Palmer’s encounter with soldiers brutalized by war precipitates her loss of innocence, as revealed through the metaphor in her anecdote “Those interviews plunged me into the coldest chambers of war’s sadistic heart.” This parallels Ariel’s empathetic characterization of the nobles “Your affections would become tender” which provokes Prospero to discover a restorative, rather than corrective, interpretation of justice. Furthermore, Palmer’s discovery of empathy upon her visit to the war memorial is reflected in the hyperbole “Each of the fifty-eight thousand names had become part of me.” Moreover, Palmer’s personification and metaphor “landscape of tragedy and sorrow, where grief stood like an implacable sentry” reveals how she discovers compassion upon introspection. Finally, Palmer’s realization of the power of love is conveyed through her anaphoric epiphany “The love, the love … took on new meaning” mirroring the restoration of the natural order symbolized by the stage direction of Prospero embracing Alonso. Overall, both texts demonstrate how introspection leads to emotional discoveries.
Discoveries challenge an individual’s existing assumptions about their world, leading to renewed perspectives and future possibilities. In The Tempest Prospero employs magic to perpetuate the Great Chain of Being’s hierarchical power structures. Prospero is initially characterized as a tyrant, through the ironic comparison to the witch Sycorax in his dialogue to Ariel “thou, my slave … was then her servant” reveals how he subjugated Ariel to a worse form of servitude. Prospero similarly limits Miranda’s experiences, evident in her duologue “I do not know one of my sex … nor have I seen more … than you and my father”. However, Miranda’s encounter with Ferdinand causes them to discover love, evident in Ferdinand’s divine metaphor likening Miranda to a “goddess”, which is paralleled by her hyperbole “nothing ill that can dwell in such a temple”. Consequently, Prospero is provoked into accepting their marriage as a future possibility, reflected through the divine imperative in his aside “Heavens rain grace on that which breeds between ‘em!” Prospero subsequently acknowledges his misuse of authority, with his rejection of magical power symbolized in his assertion “I’ll break my staff … I’ll drown my book.” Finally, the rhyming couplets which elicit closure in Prospero’s soliloquy “my charms are all o’erthrown, and what strength I have’s mine own” celebrates a future of responsible leadership. Ultimately, Shakespeare reveals how discoveries can lead to renewed perspectives of the world and future possibilities.
Similarly, Palmer reflects on how individuals may discover new understandings of the world and future possibilities by reconsidering their prior beliefs. Her reports on veterans reflected an increased awareness of PTSD after the Vietnam War. Palmer’s initial indifference to the experiences of veterans is reflected through her detached tone “It never connected at any deep level”. However, her personification “I was writing about dead soldiers. But as I listened, they came alive.” paradoxically reveals how her reporting causes her initially limited perspective to be supplanted by a more nuanced understanding of war’s inhumanity. Palmer’s cumulative questions “How could there be this much pain? … Why wasn’t anyone paying attention?” reflect how just as exile prompts Prospero’s recognition that he was “neglecting worldly ends”, the messages left for fallen soldiers cause Palmer to discover a personal understanding of loss. Her newfound understanding of war’s ongoing psychological effects is reflected in the anaphoric metaphor: “the war that starts when the shooting stops… The war fought in a mind loaded with trip wires”. Furthermore, Palmer’s encounter with a veteran compels her to discover future possibilities of rehabilitation conveyed through the ironic contrast “could have mapped out a life of anger… his real heroism is in healing”. This mirrors the future of responsible leadership symbolized in Prospero’s renouncing of magical power and imperative “fetch me my hat and rapier.”
Ultimately, Palmer highlights how discovery has enriched her understanding of loss through the ironic simile “Vietnam could be relentlessly demanding. But … like the heart of love itself, Vietnam gave back far more”. Overall, both texts reveal how reconsidering prior assumptions enables individuals to discover renewed understandings of the world and future possibilities.
Ultimately, both Shakespeare and Palmer highlight how emotional discoveries are the result of introspection in response to provocative encounters. Both composers also reveal how new perspectives and future possibilities arise from the reassessment of prior assumptions.
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