Автор: Пользователь скрыл имя, 01 Декабря 2011 в 20:30, реферат
The Tempest is supposed to have been written in 1610–1611. But it was staged firstly on the 1st of November 1611 by Shakespeare troop. This was the most successful play of the last Shakespeare’s period. The beginning of the play is tragic, but everything ends in a comedy.
MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION OF UKRAINE
Ivan Franko
National University of Lviv
ESSAY ON:
Written by:
Victoria Yermakova
Student of foreign languages faculty
Group Інп
– 22
Lviv – 2009
The Tempest is supposed to have been written in 1610–1611. But it was staged firstly on the 1st of November 1611 by Shakespeare troop. This was the most successful play of the last Shakespeare’s period. The beginning of the play is tragic, but everything ends in a comedy.
The main character of this play, Prospero used to be the legitimate Duke of Milan. Unfortunately his brother Antonio stole his title and banished Prospero to a Mediterranean island with his three-year-old daughter Miranda. A great lover of the arts and in particular books, Prospero has learnt the powers of magic and during living in exile he is looking for revenge for what his brother Antonio has done to him. The spirit of air, called Ariel, tells that the ship with his “enemies” is going through the island he lives on. He uses his magic power and makes the tempest to scare the whole crew on the board and scatters its passengers about the island.
Prospero exhibits three major character traits: he is man of authority; another trait is protectiveness and great love to his daughter. And the third trait uncovers itself in the end of the play. Nobody knew how Prospero would treat Antonio, but in the last scene we find out that Prospero’s words are full of forgiveness.
Prospero knows a lot of spells, reads a lot of books, has a great influence on Ariel. This is because Ariel is his debtor:
[…] Чего ты хочешь от меня?
Свободы!
Чтоб я тебя до срока отпустил? И слышать не хочу о том! […]
Ах, неблагодарный! Забыл ты, от каких мучений страшных я спас тебя?
О нет!
[…]
Еще два дня послужишь, и я тебя на волю
отпущу.
And that’s why Prospero can control all Ariel’s powers and use them for private purposes. Due to such things he obtains his forcefulness and authority.
Prospero is protective of those who are close to him especially Miranda. From the very beginning we can say that Miranda loves and respects his father too. He is teaching her new things, protecting her, he considers her to be his guardian angel who gave him courage to survive. Miranda in return obeys his father, listens to him and holds by his pieces of advice. When she falls in love with Ferdinand, Prospero makes some kind of examination to him in order to find out if Ferdinand loves his daughter and will take care of her. He also shows his protectiveness in these words:
[…] Но если ты кощунственной рукой
Ей пояс целомудрия развяжешь до совершенья брачного обряда –
Благословен не будет ваш союз. Тогда раздор, угрюмое презренье
И ненависть бесплодная шипами осыплют ваше свадебное ложе,
И оба вы отринете его. Так охраняй же чистоту, пока
Не озарил
вас светоч Гименея. […]
Prospero is worrying a lot for his daughter and for her future. The only thing that Miranda is almost begging his father – is not to torture Ferdinand. She believes that he is good guy and doesn’t want her father to make him to work hard and to feel like a slave. Of course father understands that he treats Ferdinand too strictly, but he needs it to check the earnest of what this guy is saying.
The trait of forgiveness we can see from his attitude to Antonio and Caliban. Who expected Prospero to be so forgiving person? Even after that fact that Caliban hates Prospero, tries to kill him and to rape his daughter Miranda, it is very kind of Prospero to forgive with such words:
[…] Эй ты, в мою пещеру отправляйся, c собой возьми приспешников своих.
Коль вы хотите заслужить прощенье – все вычистите там и приберите.
Because of Antonio Prospero with his daughter had to live on the island for 12 years, but nevertheless Antonio is also forgiven, because he is brother of Prospero and no matter what he has done. Miranda’s farther thinks that all of them have experienced enough and that he has made his revenge eventually. That’s why to hate Antonio to end of his life is wrong and Prospero says:
Тебе ж, злодей (чтоб уст не осквернить, тебя назвать я братом не хочу),
Твой
давний грех прощаю. Все прощаю. Но герцогство
ты должен мне вернуть.
It is the choice of main character not to use strict methods to make revenge. Prospero doesn’t kill anyone, he does not say the king that Antonio tried to kill him with the brother of King. The only things he uses – these are Ariel’s power and his own magic spells, which help Prospero to make a tempest. Even so, Prospero asks Ariel no to kill anyone in the storm, just to scare them a little. Prospero is a very kind man, judging from all things he had done – he didn’t want to hurt anyone and to go against moral rules. White magic helps him to do everything fairly. And due to this choice the play ends in a comedy where all except Caliban go home being friends and family.
The Tempest is a play which relies greatly upon the image-making power of language and uses transforming power of music. Caliban describes the island as a perfect place and his airy counterpart Ariel is a spirit who sings and does all transformations commanded by his master. At the end of the play he is released, and Prospero’s final words to the audience tell us that he recants of his magic abilities too.