Saturday, May 23, 2020

Shakespeares Use of Language, Imagery and Setting to...

Shakespeares Use of Language, Imagery and Setting to Illuminate Prosperos Journey from Revenge to Reconciliation The Tempest opens on a ship at sea caught in a tempestuous storm. This setting would immediately suggest to the Elizabethan audience, the presence of danger and evil, as they would be familiar with other Shakespearian plays where storms have been used in this way, for example, Macbeth and King Lear. The desperate language of the characters in the opening scene would further reinforce the audiences sense of evil afoot. The panic of the Boatswain is illustrated when he cries A plague upon this howling and the terror of the passengers down below can be heard as they cry Mercy on us!†¦show more content†¦This very active opening establishes the theme for the play and the audience is left anticipating a story of revenge and evil. In Scene II, Shakespeare introduces a contrast to the storm through the setting of the island. At the time Shakespeare wrote the Tempest, such a setting would have been significant to the audience as many new lands and cultures were being discovered. These places were surrounded by myth, superstition and fear of the unknown. The exchange between Miranda and her father Prospero establishes that this is no ordinary island or plot. Mirandas opening speech suggests that her father has magical powers, if by your Art, my dearest father, you have put the wild waters in this roar, allay them. This suggestion that Prospero was responsible for the storm further reinforces the idea introduced in the previous scene, that he is out for revenge, although the reason for his desire for revenge is not clear at this point. The islands setting evokes ideas of magic and strange happenings and suggests to the audience that anything can happen. Mirandas language contains much dark imagery, which adds t o the air of foreboding. Her statement that the sky would pour down stinking pitch has unnatural overtones, suggesting that this was no normal storm. Prosperos expositional speech, which begins on line 36 in Scene II,

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