Later, James had the laws forbidding witchcraft in England rewritten. Whereas an offense might have been punishable only by prison time, it was now punishable by death. For most of his life, James upheld the belief that he was meant to rid England of witches. Later in life, after several people who had participated in trials confessed that they had lied, his strong belief began to crumble. Still, his laws against the practice outlived him. Discussion Questions: Do you think, from this production of that Shakespeare himself believed in magic The Tempest, or witchcraft? Or did he include it in his play for some other reason? If so, what might that reason have been? Is there anything in our day, in our culture, that allows us to re-enter the world of Shakespeare’s original audience members, many of whom did believe in magic and witchcraft. Is Prospero’s of magic a mistake or immoral in some way? It is what brought about the loss of his dukedom, but his mastering of the elements is also what empowers him to regain his dukedom. Language as Power (by Katherine Cline) Books and language are at the very core of and in this work, The Tempest, language, one of then main tools of the human imagination, plays a very rich role. The entire play is, like a good novel, an intricate game orchestrated by its author, Prospero. He, in many ways, controls the characters of the play like the pawns in the chess match played by Ferdinand and Miranda, manipulating their surroundings and moving them around the island at his discretion. He sends Ariel to create the tempest and strand the sailors on the island; he separates Ferdinand from his father and subsequently lets him upon” Miranda; he allows “happen Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban to conspire against him; he thwarts them, and he
Later, James had the laws forbidding witchcraft in England rewritten. Whereas an offense might have been punishable only by prison time, it was now punishable by death. For most of his life, James upheld the belief that he was meant to rid England of witches. Later in life, after several people who had participated in trials confessed that they had lied, his strong belief began to crumble. Still, his laws against the practice outlived him. Discussion Questions: Do you think, from this production of The Tempest, that Shakespeare himself believed in magic or witchcraft? Or did he include it in his play for some other reason? If so, what might that reason have been? Is there anything in our day, in our culture, that allows us to re-enter the world of Shakespeare’s original audience members, many of whom did believe in magic and witchcraft. Is Prospero’s of magic a mistake or immoral in some way? It is what brought about the loss of his dukedom, but his mastering of the elements is also what empowers him to regain his dukedom. Language as Power (by Katherine Cline) Books and language are at the very core of The Tempest, and in this work, language, one of then main tools of the human imagination, plays a very rich role. The entire play is, like a good novel, an intricate game orchestrated by its author, Prospero. He, in many ways, controls the characters of the play like the pawns in the chess match played by Ferdinand and Miranda, manipulating their surroundings and moving them around the island at his discretion. He sends Ariel to create the tempest and strand the sailors on the island; he separates Ferdinand from his father and subsequently lets him “happen upon” Miranda; he allows Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban to conspire against him; he thwarts them, and he
The%20Tempest.docx