Evaluation

The performance on Tuesday was a really positive one. Our goals from start to finish were matched in a way in which we communicated to the audience how we modernised the play, The Tempest. Moments in the play where I came on stage and I know I could've been much more stronger in my voice but physically I was quite strong. My choices were one where I would react to whatever was happening on stage and also reacting to what people were saying too and that only made my performance better.

To begin with, when I came on I was unsure of what my objective was which is unfortunate because I've learnt that it's always important to have an objective before you go on stage. Either way I found myself saying the lines without much meaning and I felt that doing this made my performance below par but after I came off stage and went back on I was back on track, knowing what I was saying and why I was saying it.

Furthermore, I found that being active always on stage helped me to better my performance and my appearance on stage; I knew that reacting to everything that happened on stage naturally would be interesting for the audience to watch. I also believed that it was challenging being a split character mainly because I had different things to do compared to my other co-actor and I found it hard to adjust to when it was my turn to speak but in the end I found it easy to do mainly because the rhythm and the flow of the words came naturally and instinctually.

To conclude, I know now that I need to make my objectives clearer whenever I move or speak. This is essential because then I can make it clearer for myself and also for the audience my experience throughout the story. In addition, I felt that in order to make my voice clearer I would have to definitely work on my articulation which I have been doing during the summer break.

Themes within The Tempest and how the play echoes the Shakespearian times.

The Tempest was written in 1611 and he was able to create a play that would appeal first to King James and his nobles then later on to the London public. He targeted the factors that appealed to the public the most which was a right mixture of fantasy, philosophy, spectacle and humour.

The Tempest was probably the last play Shakespeare wrote entirely by himself before he left London to lead the life of a man of property in Stratford. During the years he lived in London he wanted to see how Theatre was and realised a dramatic change in what people liked and what they wanted to see at the Theatre and this made him really sensitive to the things he wrote.

The Illusion of Justice

The Tempest tells a fairy straightforward story involving an unjust act, however the idea of justice that the play works towards seems highly inlfuenced by Shakespeare's life since this idea represents the view of one character that controls the fate of all the other charatcers. Though Prospero presents himself as a victim of injustic as he's left with his daughter wanting someone against his will and his own man (Caliban) turning against him but Prospero's idea of justice and injustice is somewhat hypocritical. Although he is furious with his brother for taking his power, he has no uneasiness of feeling to enslave Ariel and Caliban in order to achieve his ends.

The Difficulty of Distinguishing "Men" from "Monsters"

Caliban's exact nature is an ambiguous one. Prospero refers to him as a 'devil on whose nature can never stick'. Both Prospero and his daughter Miranda have contradictory views of Caliban's humanity, they believe that their education of him has lifted him from his brutish status and ways.
The inhuman part of Caliban drives out the human part; the 'good nature' that is imposed on him.
The play leaves the matter of Caliban's balanced lifestyle of his eloquent speeches with the most degrading kind of drunken, servile behaviour.

Colonialism

The Tempest is often regarded as a comment on colonialism. The huge colonies of the British Empire were at their earliesr stages of exploration when it was written. Shakespeare would have read the accounts of people living in Virginia who in 1610 nearly perished, but with the assistance of the local Indians who showed them where to fish and how to cultivate local plants, they were able to survive and keep up. Caliban, like the residents of Virginia, soon regretted the welcome they gave to those who became their oppressors. Meanwhile the trans-Atlantic slave trade was in its infancy, the first African slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619, three years after Shakespeare's death but the enslavement of both indigenous peopl;e and Africans in South America and the Carribean had already begun.

The Allure of Ruling a Colony 

The nearly uninhabited island presents the sense of infinite possibility to almost everyone who lands there. Prospero first found it in its isolation, an ideal place for his daughter to learn new things and to grow into the female he wants her to be. The tone of the play toward the hopes of the would-be colonisers is undercut by a sharp turn from the shipwrecked who see no opportunity in the isle apart from Gonzalo's fantasy in which he becomes a kind of parody of Prospero.

Masters and Servants

Nearly every scene in the play either explicitly or implicitly portrays a relationship between a figure that possesses power and a figure that is subject to that power.

Water and Drowning

The play is awash with references to water. The most important overall effect of this water motif is to heighten the symbolic importance and meaning of the tempest itself. Without the reference to water the play wouldn't be what it is. It is as though the water from that storm runs through the lanmguage and action of the entire play. For example, Stephano and Trinculo are always drunk and this is because of drinking and the main catalyst of wine and beer is water.

Mysterious Noises

Much of the noise of the play is musical rather than all sound effects and much of the music is played by Ariel but in our case Ariels. The noises, sounds and music of the play are made most significantly by Caliban's speech about all of the noises and sounds of the island which seem to creep Stephano and Trinculo out.

The Tempest

The Tempest symbolizes the suffering Prospero endured and which he wants to inflict on others because of this. Prospero must make his enemies suffer as he has suffered so that they will learn from their suffering something he believes he has but truly hasn't. The play also is a symbol of Prospero's magic and the freightening side of his power.

Prospero's Books

Like The Tempest, Prospero's books are a symbol of his power from all of his studies. The books are also a symbol of Prospero's dangerous desire to withdraw entirely from the world, somethingt in which everyone on the island fear. It was his devotion to study that put him at the mercy of his ambitious brother and it is this same devotion to study that has made him content to raise Miranda in isolation and to allienate her from the rest.

Discussions in lesson Part 2

In the sixteenth century plays were of course much different than they are now. Female parts weren't given and if there was a female role, teenage boys would have to play it mainly because their voiced hadn't been broken yet. They were only able to rehearse for a few hours before the play actually happened so this meant that they were told to just get on with line learning then on the day of the performance that's when they were told how and where to come off the stage etc.
Plays weren't performed for people's entertainment but more to be heard and to be seen and that was the main objective of performances back then.
Last but not least, in most playhouses and Inns they would have upstage doors where the good characters would enter from so the audience know if they are good and downstage doors for the bad characters to let the audience know if they are a bad character. This was mostly performed on a thrusted stage.

Discussions in class

In 1547, the end of the medieval period and the beginning of early morden period during the power balance had changed the Church and in result of this the Church had become increasingly separate from the state economy. Geographically new worlds were being discovered and plays were now able to be printed in Masses and this caused a religious movement; Protestant movement that spread throughout Europe and this meant that hypocrisy began to end.

During this period it was clear to see who was of lower class, who was middle and who was upper class and in result came about the 'merchant' class which was a class referred to traders in cities and towns. This period was now classified as the renaissance period which meant there was this belief that literature and great art was being produced and this would help the world progress into bigger things. This was proven correct as the world was developing in resources and entertainment and there was a clear improvement in literature and philosophy. 

Henry VIII was in power during this time and in order to divorce from his wife Catherine of Aragon he had to switch from the Catholic Church into Church of England which he became the head of. Even though this had happened the country was still Catholic and the people of England saw this as a chance to end the hypocritical nature of the Catholic Church and this was known as the reformation period. Henry then reacted quickly and began to fill the country's pockets by transferring all the money that went to the monastery to the state and executed anyone that opposed him. He felt that by doing this, people would be in fear of him and he would then be known as the most powerful king. 

Henry had died in 1547 and it was clear to see that the country had been struggling after his death as there were four monarchs in the space of 11 years. His son, Edward, became king in 1547 and died of tuberculosis in 1553. Next in line was a woman, Lady Jane Grey who was a Protestant and had a very short stint and only reigned for 9 days and then was quickly taken off the throne because of her views. Queen Elizabeth I became queen in 1558 and she wanted peace and civil security so she had spies patrolling England making sure there weren't anyone opposing this. 

 

What tempted Shakespeare to write The Tempest

It is said that Shakespeare had written The Tempest through much influence from his life and thought it would be effective to write things in the play. Shakespeare had a family friend who was a British Admiral who coasted away with his crew to the Bermuda area but much of the drunk characters and such chaos was influenced from the bias view that he had that most sailors were drunk most of the time and would only care about drinking, not their task on sea.

To continue, although this was one of Shakespeare's shortest plays, simply constructed he made sure it was one that showed much richness in characters and their lives as this was the most common thing going around in theatre so he wanted this play to grab not only a certain target audience but everyone. Also going with the playhouse and inn style theatre uses, he wanted most scenes to have a musical feel to it along with highly formed styles of drama, this was seen in many scenes, one being with Ferdinand and Miranda in Act IV Scene I.

It's also suggested that Shakespeare had taken in passages that he read from Erasmus' Naufragium (The Shipwreck) in 1606 and this helped him with the wrecking of the ship and how it was wrecked in The Tempest, leading everyone (the characters) on the island to not trust each other and almost this sense of someone being a Gustapo to one another.

Historical Context

At the time of Shakespeare's life, the queen was Henry VIII's daughter, Queen Elizabeth I who was in reign from 17th November 1558 - 24th March 1603 and was also referred to as 'The Virgin Queen'. This was the beginning of the 'Elizabethan Era' and saw her Queen of England and Ireland for almost 45 years and saw England enter it's strongest and richest era, going into two wars; one against France, the other Spain.

Society at that time

Being in this era there was a much clearer division between the upper class and lower class groups and to conclude, the majority of the population was poor and had to work extremely hard for their money. The main source wasn't the job you see in today's society but a hard labourship movement, working through farming and craftsmanship. The environment that they lived in were very much damp with any disease around being able to be caught and this was a huge comparison to the upper class who lived in palaces and villas with lucky enough to be servants. In similarity to the London today, the population was expanding rapidly along with the rolling in and out of thieves, violent individuals/groups and beggars. 

All of this was able to happen because no one in the local authority basically had no authority and were police who weren't fully trained to keep peace and armed with the most simplest weaponry. During the 16th century there was an inflation and this only brought more distress and chaos in the streets of London, this saw wages and costs in food rise. In Cumbria which was known as the poorest part of England had people starving to death and this compared to the rich which had no challenge in surviving the worst famine.

In everyone's everyday life in the 16th century, theatre was a main hobby for them. From going to unknown Elizabethan theatre's to the most known in London, Shakespeare's Globe which has been around for centuries but unfortunately destroyed by a fire in 1613 then wu icky rebuilt for people's entertainment in 1614.

Performance Conditions

Throughout all the time Shakespeare was alive and after there were three main types of Elizabethan entertainment to do with theatre; Elizabethan Inn-Yards, Elizabethan Playhouses and Elizabethan Amphitheatres. 

Inns

In most Inns companies with actors would firstly have to negotiate with the owner of the Inn before staging a performance, this is relatively what happens now in many theatres as well as sites for site specific performances. Also being in a Inn you would have to pay for drinks etc and you were made to pay extra if you wanted a view from the balcony while everyone else was below you. 

Playhouses

Most of the playhouses were small but roofed and this only brought more crowds in when it was a snowy day. It was said that each playhouse had signs reading 'suitable for winter and evening production. Playhouses were the most expensive theatres out of all the Elizabethan theatres and attending a public theatre performance would cost around 1-3 pennies but a private indoor performance was around 2-26 pennies. The audience capacity was up to 500 people and musical instruments was essential in everyday performances there. Performing in a place like a playhouse, they always wanted costumes to look sumptuous for the excitement of the audience members who were willing to pay a lot of money to witness this. 

Amphitheatre 

There were 12 amphitheatres in London and 'The Theatre' was the largest one out of them all, built first too. Most amphitheatres were opened roof and some oval shaped to give the audience an all round view. This of course made it harder for the actors to address the whole audience making some performances not well as others would be in an Inn or playhouse. The original capacity for an original Elizabethan Theatre was around 2500-3000 people; this could be seen as a positive to help the actors feel much more supported and backed. 

In theatres like this, there was no heating so plays were put on during the summer for the sun to be shone down on the audience and actors below the no roofed theatre and if there were any winter performance the theatre would be transformed into an indoor playhouse. This affected lighting and such so much of the lighting for performances were very natural with the sun coming up and there was artificial lighting mainly intended to provide atmosphere for night scenes. 

Stephano Character Analysis

Learning my lines for my character Stephano, I've realised many traits and habits in the things he does. For example he always questions himself, most noticeably when he asks 'If thou beest Trinculo come forth!' Then he goes on to say 'Thou art very Trinculo indeed!' So to me it seems like whenever he wants to ask a question he either answers it himself or automatically makes it rhetorical.

Throughout this post I'll be editing my thoughts on what my character does and how he behaves in certain situations.

Stephano And Trinculo

This duo in Stephano and Trinculo create a lot of mischief, especially being the drunkest on the ship and on the island. When both are entered into the scene it's not known by either of them that the other is on the same island but when Stephano addresses Trinculo's being, he responds to the addressing himself by saying 'Thou art very Trinculo indeed!'. Stephano being the boisterous and often drunk butler of King Alonso and Trinculo being a drunken jester and a servent of Alonso, find themselves in the same position on the island. Their plan, along with Caliban is to make Stephano king but of course this doesn't happen as all 3 are incapable of doing so.

In their last lines in the play they go off to say that courage has brought them to where they are. Both men not aware that Prospero, Alonso and the rest are standing close-by. They quickly try and cover up but realise it's too late and have nothing left in their soul but shame, knowing they brought sinful deeds around the island.