nicholas lambert - week 3: the tempest and the timeline
TRANSCRIPT
The Tempest and the Timeline
Ravensbourne Theory and Context Course
The Tempest is Shakespeare’s8inal play, written in 1610-‐11.The story describes the intricatescheme weaved by Prospero, therightful duke of Milan, to regainhis former domain after beingdeposed by his brother and theKing of Naples.
Though exiled to a remote islandwith his daughter Miranda,Prospero is a magician of greatpower who compels spirits toserve him. He causes hisenemies’ ship to run aground onthe island, and then bewitchesthem for a while, to punish theirtreachery. Miranda falls in lovewith the King’s son, Ferdinand,and ultimately everyone isreconciledProspero and Miranda by William Maw Egley; c. 1850
Shakespeare weaves a talearound Prospero’s magicalactivities, following him as hesets up everything from thestorm at the beginning to themasque at the end, which bringsall the strands together.
As a Renaissance magician,Prospero’s powers come frombinding spirits to do his bidding.His main servant is called Ariel,who represents the elements of8ire and air.
Most of Prospero’s displays ofpower are elaborate illusions,combined with a shrewdunderstanding of humanpsychology.
The Tempest by James Henry Nixon; c. 1840
Much of the interest in The Tempest comes from the idea that Prosperois Shakespeare, the master playwright constructing a staged reality toterrify and delight his audience.
In Peter Greenaway’s 8ilm adaptation, Prospero’s Books, Prospero isseen writing the play’s text and later adds it to a folio of Shakespeare’sworks.
Prospero’s Books byPeter Greenaway, 1991
Sir John Gielgud asProspero
The play re8lects on the nature of illusion, spectacle and the role of the “artist”.In Renaissance England, the “arts” included areas such as mathematics andchemistry, and the “artist” was a master practitioner of one of these disciplines.Alchemists frequently referred to themselves as “artists”. The division betweenthe Arts and Sciences, and between Fine and Applied Art, had not yet occurred.
Visual artists and architects such as Inigo Jones produced lavish theatricalspectacles called masques, combining acting and music, that led to thedevelopment of opera.
Prospero’s Books byPeter Greenaway, 1991
Similarly, there was no real division between we now call “science” and“magic”. Not only was there widespread suspicion of scienti8ic knowledge, butthe world was perceived primarily as a magic and religious construct. It wasconsidered possible to control its underlying forces.
The Elizabethan mathematician and magus Dr John Dee was a famous 8igurewho spanned the scienti8ic and magical worlds. He studied cartography,cryptography and geometry, was a close adviser to Queen Elizabeth I andcoined the term “the British Empire”. He also used mediums to talk to angels,conducted alchemical experiments and acted as a spy. He was a model forProspero
John Dee (1520-‐1609)by a 16th c artist andQuentin Blake
As the 16th century turned towards the 17th, scienti8ic rationalism began to replace themagical worldview and technology -‐ already important through gunpowder, ships andthe printing press -‐ began to transform society. The modern-‐day equivalent of theProspero 8igure is the scientist, with an array of knowledge and technologies at theirdisposal.
This idea informed the 1956 8ilm Forbidden Planet, directed by Fred Wilcox and starringLeslie Nielsen. The island becomes a remote planet; Prospero’s role is taken by DrMorbius, Ariel is represented by Robby the Robot, and instead of Caliban there is a maligninvisible force that affects everyone apart from Morbius and his daughter Altaira.
The Forbidden Planet1956.
The Tempest is also about the discovery of the New World, the Americas, which wastaking place throughout the 16th century. The play was partly inspired by the accountof shipwrecked English sailors on Bermuda that was published in 1609.
Prospero’s role as lord of the island, and his enslavement of its original inhabitantCaliban (whom he educates until Caliban attempts to rape Miranda), is now seen as astudy of colonial power and its effects. Prospero exploits the magical powers of hisisland after Caliban informs him about them, leading to his own enslavement.
The Forbidden Planet1956.
The Tempest is the last of several “late plays” from Shakespeare that include Pericles,Prince of Tyre; Cymbeline; The Winter's Tale. These “romances” include commonelements such as pagan gods and goddesses, masques and dancing, scenes of potentialtragedy averted at the end, and a reconciliation between long-‐lost family members.They are neither strictly “comic” nor “tragic” but end on a happy note.
It is signi8icant that Prospero’s 8inal speech includes a symbolic farewell to magic,when he breaks his wizard’s staff; and a real farewell signifying the conclusion of all hisschemes and his retirement to Milan where “every third thought shall be my grave.” Heasks the audience to free him from the island by clapping at the end of the play. Is thisalso Shakespeare’s farewell to play-‐writing?
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
The Tempest is not merely a Renaissancefable. It incorporates several themes thatstill resonate today:
1. Art and illusion; the artist as magician2. Art and power: the artist asmanipulator3. Art and technology: the artist as user ofscienti8ic knowledge4. New worlds and their exploration andcolonisation -‐ in fact, The Tempest wasthe 8irst use of the term “Brave NewWorld”5. The role of the artist in society
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
The Tempest and the timeline. What is the connection?
Basically The Tempest was written at a speci8ic juncture: the rise of the Age of Empire, theAge of Science and the end of the Renaissance and the medieval-‐magical worldview. Itlooks both back and forward.
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
Timelines can show at a glance the evolution of something, e.g. Photoshop
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
Timelines can show at a glance the evolution of something, e.g. computers and processors
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
Timelines can show at a glance the evolution of something, e.g. Nokia phones
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
Timelines can show at a glance the evolution of something,e.g. the history of 20th century art
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
Timelines can show at a glance the evolution of something,e.g. the history of 20th century art
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
Timelines can show at a glance the evolution of something,e.g. the history of 20th century art
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
Timelines can show at a glance the evolution of something,e.g. the history of 20th century art
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86
Timelines can show at a glance the evolution of something,e.g. the history of 20th century art
John Gielgud as Prospero in1991, at the age of 86