Long before Bob Carr introduced Restorative Justice

Transcription

1 THE IMAGINARY JOURNEYS OF THE TEMPEST BY DAVID STRANGE Long before Bob Carr introduced Restorative Justice conferencing in New South Wales and Sigrid Thornton found herself in Pearl Bay, and Oceanic Air Flight 815 malfunctioned over the Pacific stranding Sawyer, Shannon and Boone, Shakespeare gave us The Tempest, a play about one man s attempt to liberate himself and his teenage daughter from the spiritual tedium of exile. The teacher s dilemma in guiding students of The Tempest through the prism of imaginary journeys is the attraction of remaining in exile. That is, to focus on the phantasmic elements of the play (the wedding masque, the harpy, Prospero s relinquishing of magic, the tempest itself) at the exclusion of all other scenes - perhaps with a dose of Gonzalo s speculative Had I plantation of this isle speech for good measure. The specific temptation is to ascribe the imaginary journey solely to the responder and thereby ignore the role it plays in the development of Shakespeare s manifold characters. This is a mistake which leads to an intellectual cul-de-sac; a form of cram school literalism which would have students simply train-spot the imaginary journeys of the audience before the great magician decides to bury his staff fathoms deep in Act Five. It is a common enough error - one recently made by Bell Shakespeare in their Sydney Opera House production; a staging which eschewed pyrotechnics and enchanting music in order to stress the power of the responder s imagination to fill deliberate voids in sight and sound. A production which, with the exception of Ron Haddrick s Gonzalo and an excellent middle section by Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban, brought on wondrous heavy sleep We split! We split! The problem of dividing The Tempest between three separate texts Undertaking The Tempest in Area of Study is fraught with difficulties, not the least of which is that a complex play is necessarily reduced to four or five rehearsed paragraphs as opposed to the threaded argument demanded in the muchmaligned King Lear elective or Antony and Cleopatra in Powerplay. Moreover, the artificiality of combining discussion of The Tempest with two or three related texts compromises an essayist s thesis; juggling material as varied as a Shakespearean tragicomedy, song lyrics, Romantic poetry and a novel extract can understandably lead to muddled thinking. The need for students to render their various components under the pressure of examination compels teachers to be pragmatic in how they choose to analyse the imaginary journeys of the core text. Bearing in mind that this writer is not an Area of Study marker, the apparent choices in ascending levels of complexity would seem to include: i) A sole focus on the responder s imaginary journey through the phantastical elements of the play a shallow and simplistic reading which does not satisfy the marking requirement for depth of analysis ii)a focus on the play as Shakespeare s farewell to the stage: Prospero the magician as an extended metaphor for Shakespeare the dramatist - once again, an over-reliance on the responder s imaginary journey. An academic cliché besides conveniently ignoring that Henry VIII post-dates The Tempest iii) A focus on Caliban as the embodiment of the European colonial s dreaded cannibal : the play as a (remarkably twentieth century) reflection on the evils of imperialism - a narrow focus which relies too strongly on the responder s political sensibilities rather than their imaginary journey iv) A focus on Prospero s so-called journey from revenge to forgiveness - an idea with tenuous links to imaginary journeys unless it is argued that Ariel s descriptions of Alonso and Gonzalo s suffering entice Prospero to suddenly forgive his enemies. The idea is in a fast lane to the land of cliché but more importantly ignores the probability that Prospero s grand design is to bring his enemies to the isle both in order to regain his Dukedom and rescue his daughter from spinsterhood; a delicate balancing act which precludes capricious changes of heart - we remember Prospero s anxious questioning of Ariel after the tempest regarding the safety of the shipwrecked crew v) A focus on the various characters as Jungian archetypes of Prospero - a seemingly complex idea until it is realised that most students pat themselves on the back once they have stumbled upon the notion and thereafter resort to a Wizard of Oz-style critique positioning Ariel as Prospero s conscience; Ferdinand as Prospero the romantic hero; Caliban as bestial Prospero; Miranda and Alonso as kindly-hearted Prospero. Students of this persuasion invariably raise the symbolism of Prospero placing his enemies within the magic circle as evidence for the reunification of his being. As with any attempt to present a psychoanalytic critique of text, the approach is bound to be weak and generic unless it is bravely researched; psychoanalysis often yields unedifying conclusions. If we are to honestly explore the idea that Caliban represents a bestial side of Prospero s being ( This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine ) we necessarily must recognise that it is Caliban who has attempted intercourse with Miranda - Caliban who conspires with Stephano and Trinculo to assault the teen-aged virgin and murder her father; a disturbing thought which nonetheless draws us to further consider that it is perhaps an element of metaphor 18

2 Prospero s grand design to marry off his daughter to avoid the incest taboo (if not of a literally sexual kind, then at least of a psychological variety) - she deserves a second act to her life just as he desires a third vi) A focus on the distinction between memory and speculation in the role of imagination (as per Professor Tony Cousins lectures) - a perfectly competent idea which received a leg-up in the 2006 HSC by means of a question centred on the role of speculation in imaginary journeys. The distinction between memory and speculation allows for the subtle difference of the imaginary journeys of Miranda and Gonzalo, whom Prospero places on flights of speculation about the brave new world, and Caliban and Alonso, respectively forced to remember cramping pains and the injustice of exiling a Milanese duke. Moreover, the focus of the 2006 question would seem to indicate the Board of Studies guiding teachers and students towards a more complex analysis of imaginary journeys than that raised in i) and ii) This article examines the concept of imaginary journeys in The Tempest through reference to the following ideas: i) The relationship between physical (or sensory) experiences and the imaginary journeys of memory and speculation in their aftermath - including a scene by scene analysis of its development in the play of logic and the mundane order of the real world. Within the designation of speculation, the imagination might also be said to encompass the realm of aesthetics and divinity. Indeed the basis of all empathetic thought (and thus spiritual growth) is our ability to imagine another person s feelings. If we rely on an Oxford denotation, the imagination is: A mental faculty which forms images or concepts of external objects not immediately present to the senses or not directly experienced. Our imagination then is a projection of a fictitious reality not yet surfaced or else a recreation of what has been. If I forcibly hit the back of my hand against a table and experience pain, I am not imagining it - I have no need to - my tactile senses are engaged. If I cease hitting the table and wait a moment as the pain subsides and recall my experience, I draw on memory, that is, I draw on a faculty of my mind that forms images of events not immediately present to the senses. Conversely, I might imagine the simultaneous pleasure and pain of winning a rugby league grand final without ever being likely to experience that event. That is, I can draw on the mind to speculate how it would have felt to have stood alongside Greg Alexander on the winner s dais in 1991 and thereby sense that experience. Such speculation is of course the basis of our nightly REM dreams and idle day-time fantasies. STAGE STAGE 6 5 ii) The grand design of Prospero to bridge his enemies knowledge of their crimes to speculations about the suffering they have caused, towards creating a synthesis of understanding; a design extended to his own daughter and Ferdinand iii) The dramatic conceit of the various characters as a split of Prospero - a more detailed analysis than that traditionally offered by adherents of the archetypes theory; one that places major and minor characters in the context of Prospero s troubled psyche iv) The symbolism of pregnancy, labour and birth to underscore the transitional state of the exiles and Prospero himself on the isle; men and women on a collective imaginary journey leading to their spiritual rebirth What is the imagination? The Imaginary Journeys focus would have students: Explore the ways in which texts take us into worlds of imagination, speculation and inspiration from journeys of intellectual discovery to those of pure imagination. It is tempting to place (sic) at the end of the last sentence, it being difficult to understand what the Board of Studies means when it defines an imaginary journey as pure imagination, unless they did not intend to create a circular definition and were instead referring to fantasy, dreams or stream of consciousness thinking championed by the modernists. What is certain is that imagination is in stark contrast to the formality A truly imaginary journey (as opposed to a merely physical one) is a venture undertaken in the aftermath or anticipation of sensory experience. At the risk of adopting a literalist position then, what is commonly studied as an imaginary journey in The Tempest is perhaps a misnomer. The lords and mariners do not imagine their ship is splitting as Ariel seizes the top mast and her ministers flame amazement on the deck; what they endure is very much a physical journey, a ride of the senses as visceral as any experienced by a shipwrecked crew. Ferdinand experiences the visitation of Cero, Iris and Juno through the senses of his eyes and ears as acutely as Caliban receives cramping pains in the joints of his limbs. That is, both experience a journey of the senses as opposed to anything resembling a journey of the imagination; neither draw on memory or speculation during experiences which are overwhelmingly sensory. Even the cask-wine swigging 101 Philosophy brigade know that a basic tenet of Epistemology is that reality is a difficult concept to pin down - how do we know that what we call consciousness isn t the dream of some far-away, astral god? If we all find out on the way to the bright light that our lives were an elaborate trick, and our sensory experiences as illusory as the Buddhists tried to tell us, would that sublime truth presently negate the sensory experience of our stinging paper cuts, throbbing head aches and terror at being chased by snarling Dobermans? As regards to the supposed imaginary journey of responders metaphor 19

3 during the supernatural events of the play, why distinguish our experience of these scenes apart from any others? The play itself (or any dramatic work for that matter) is a conceit requiring its audience to imagine the events they view are real and of consequence. What logically distinguishes the magical events of The Tempest from any other element of its staging as an imaginative experience of the responder? Beyond the syllabus requirement for students to compose on how set texts lead to self-reflection, the academic point of interest for students of The Tempest ought to be: what have the characters learnt in the aftermath of their physical (or sensory) experiences? How have these experiences enriched their understanding of themselves and others as a result of their invigorated imagination? In the aftermath of shipwreck, Ariel s music, the harpy and Prospero s miraculous reappearance, what have Alonso, Ferdinand and Antonio learnt about themselves and the pain of others in a similar predicament? That is, how have their sensory experiences resulted (if at all) in the most human of all feelings for Prospero - empathy? To what degree is their empathetic reaction an intention of Prospero s grand design to create an ideal world? Their understanding/ Begins to swell, and the approaching tide/ Will shortly fill the reasonable shore/ That now lies foul and muddy. A reflection on this last question leads us to consider that an element of Prospero s grand design is to have his enemies combine the knowledge of their evil deeds against him with an equivalent sensory experience of that same suffering. In this way, Prospero intends that their combined knowledge and experience will lead to a synthesis of understanding for his experience - a precursor (if not a condition) of his eventual pardon and willingness to drown his supernatural powers. That Antonio and Sebastian do not repent is immaterial to the validity of the present idea; their recalcitrance adds an element of realism to the play and underscores the naivety of the overtrusting Duke who shares with Gonzalo an idealistic view of the possibilities for mankind. The non-repentant lords do point to the essential problem however in any claim that the play is about Prospero s transformation from revenge to forgiveness: he forgives them despite their lack of contrition; he frets about their safety after the shipwreck; their lack of remorse is ultimately immaterial to his plan to crown Miranda, Queen of Naples. It is therefore instructive for students to consider the difference between physical (or sensory) experiences in The Tempest as opposed to journeys based in memory and speculation. This will lead to a consideration of another important element of Prospero s grand design - the establishment of a model regency for Miranda and Ferdinand. What are the various journeys in The Tempest? What is the distinction between memory, speculation and sensory experience in the play? Note: Having learnt of Professor Tony Cousins distinction between memory and speculation in 2004 while inviting him to speak at my then school, but not having subsequently booked the engagement, nor having heard his Macquarie University lectures, I draw upon his distinction but not to, the best of my knowledge, the content of his theory. Notwithstanding that the syllabus rubric identifies speculation as a strand of the imagination, Professor Cousins notion specifically establishes a distinction within the concept of imagination between speculation and memory. The point being that the original idea is plainly not my own, and like a 60 s musician motor-vated by a Chuck Berry riff and wishing to acknowledge the inspiration, I advise that any potential citation of this section dealing with this distinction ought to be credited to Professor Cousins. Act One Prospero and Ariel place the ship s crew on a distinctly sensory (or physical) journey during the tempest (Act 1, Scene 1) Prospero places Miranda on a journey of speculation about the fate of the crew; it produces the desired effect within her - compassion: O I have suffered with those that suffer! (Act 1, Scene 2) Prospero places Miranda on a journey of memory about her early childhood in Milan and their perilous voyage to the enchanted isle (Act 1, Scene 2) Ariel places Prospero on a journey of speculation about the sinking of the ship in the tempest (Act 1, Scene 2) Prospero places Ariel on a journey of memory, recalling his harsh treatment received at the hands of Sycorax: Dost thou forget / From what a torment I did free thee? I must once in a month recount what thou hast been / Which thou forget st (Act 1, Scene 2) Prospero continually threatens Caliban with torture: cramps; side-stitches; pinches; stripes and aches - a journey of memory and speculation (Act 1, Scene 2) We learn that Prospero by his powers has placed Ferdinand on a journey of speculation that his father is drowned; Ariel by his music takes Ferdinand on a physical journey through the isle; Ariel s song furthermore guides Ferdinand s speculation about the transformation of his father s body deep at sea Full fathom five thy father lies / Of his bones are coral made / Those are pearls that were his eyes (Act 1, Scene 2) Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love at first sight - a flight of the senses approximating an inner journey (Act 1, Scene 2) Prospero promises to set Ariel free in two days for his efforts metaphor 20

4 - prompting the fairy spirit s memory he had once before promised freedom to (Act 1, Scene 2) Ferdinand is charmed from moving by Prospero, bound within a prison wherein he imagines the ecstasy of being with Miranda - a physical and speculative journey (Act 1, Scene 2) Miranda is on a journey of speculation (one again leading to compassion) for the fate of imprisoned Ferdinand, similar to that which Prospero inspires for the fate of the poor souls aboard the sinking ship. Prospero bids Miranda to furthermore imagine Ferdinand to be a Caliban among men, prompting her to declare she has no ambition to see a goodlier man (Act 1, Scene 2) Act Two Gonzalo attempts to console Alonso with the memory that their garments were not so fresh when they were first worn but fails: You cram these words into my ear against / The stomach of my sense (Act 2, Scene 1) Francisco further attempts to soothe Alonso s grief by speculating that Ferdinand is alive: I saw him beat the surges under him, but also fails: No, no, he s gone (Act 2, Scene 1) Four hundred years before John Lennon, Gonzalo attempts to have the lords speculate upon a new Golden Age; a commonwealth without riches or poverty, greed or hunger but alas, he too fails (Act 2, Scene 1) Antonio tempts Sebastian to imagine himself King of Naples while Alonso sleeps: My strong imagination sees a crown/ Dropping upon thy head - persuading him to join in the killing of Alonso and Gonzalo (Act 2, Scene 1) Having awoken to the drawn swords of Sebastian and Antonio, Alonso leads the party on a physical journey to find his poor son (Act 2, Scene 1) Miranda relates her memories of other men and women to Ferdinand, unsuccessfully trying to imagine a shape besides yourself, to like of (Act 3, Scene 1) Ariel enters invisible and sounds hostile accusations ( thou liest ) to inspire Stephano to strike Trinculo (Act 3, Scene 2); this, a journey of the auditory and tactile senses for the jester and butler Caliban places Stephano on a journey of the imagination that he will be lord of the island and populate it through Prospero s daughter after they brain the sleeping man: Having first seized his books (Act 3, Scene 2) Ariel plays the tune on a tabor and pipe - a sensory experience causing Trinculo to speculate that a devil is upon them, and furthermore the exclamation: O, forgive me my sins! Caliban consoles Stephano and Trinculo: Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises (Act 3, Scene 2). Alonso promptly declares of his missing son: He is drowned - a vital element of Prospero s intention that Alonso s speculations will lead to empathy and understanding for what he has perpetrated upon the exiled Duke (Act 3, Scene 3) Sweet music fills the air and several strange Shapes present a banquet before the weary lords, prompting Sebastian s acceptance of supernatural phenomena such as unicorns and the phoenix throne. Gonzalo is prompted to recall the scepticism of his youth about the existence of mountaineers dewlapped like bulls ; thus, a journey of the senses leading both to memory and speculation. Moreover, the banquet inspires Gonzalo to speculate whether the people of Naples would believe their account of the islanders: Who though they are of monstrous shape, yet note / Their manners are more gentle, kind, than of / Our human generation you shall find (Act 3, Scene 3) STAGE 5 Stephano imagines he has stumbled upon a four-legged beast (Caliban and Trinculo beneath a gabardine) and speculates he will profit from taking the monster back to Naples: He s a present for any emperor that ever trod on neat s leather (Act 2, Scene 2) Caliban leads Stephano and Trinculo on a physical journey to show them every inch o th island and partake of the isle s crabs, pignuts, sea birds and clust ring filberts (Act 2, Scene 2) Act Three Prospero places Ferdinand on a physical journey of log carrying; Miranda s insistence that he cease is an element of Prospero s design and her speculation of his discomfort builds empathy for his experience and a growing desire for marital companionship (Act 3, Scene 1) Ariel enters as a harpy, removes the viands and announces that Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian are three men of sin, prompting Alonso to speculate that his own son is certainly drowned, and to experience guilt for his actions against Prospero: The name of Prosper; it did bass my trespass. Thus Prospero has fulfilled a vital element of his grand design, creating understanding within the Neapolitan King for the wickedness of his actions twelve years earlier (Act 3, Scene 3) Act Four Prospero and Ariel stage the masque, as the former assures Ferdinand that the participants are all spirits,nonetheless creating a journey of the senses for the young prince of Naples and his betrothed (Act 4, Scene 1) Prospero ends the masque in anger at the recognition of Caliban s plot to murder him, informing Ferdinand, Buddhistlike: We are such stuff as dreams are made on, placing the metaphor 21

5 audience on a journey of speculation about the ontology of humans (Act 4, Scene 1) Ariel reveals that he has taken Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban on a sensory journey into a filthy mantled pool by means of having them follow the sound of a tabor, and in manifesting glistening apparel guides them to the mouth of Prospero s cell (Act 4, Scene 1) Prospero and Ariel set diverse spirits in shape of dogs and hounds upon Stephano, Trinculo and Caliban, a distinctly sensory journey for the three fleeing rebels (Act 4, Scene 1) Act Five Ariel compels Prospero to speculate about the mental anguish of Gonzalo and his enemies, urging him to release them: Your charm so strongly works em / That if you now beheld them, your affections / Would become tender (Act 5, Scene 1) Prospero s play on words regarding his daughter s impending marriage: To make the dear loss, have I means much weaker / Than you may call to comfort you; for I / Have lost my daughter, causes Alonso to empathise with Prospero s loss, prompting the memory that he has lost his own son and triggering the wish that they were both living in Naples: The King and Queen there! Upon seeing Ferdinand play chess with Miranda, Alonso immediately speculates that he has lost him once again: If this prove a vision of the island, one dear son shall I twice lose (Act 5, Scene 1) Miranda marvels at the wonder of mankind: How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world / That has such people in t!, a speculation which her father immediately undercuts: Tis new to thee Caliban speculates that he shall be pinched to death by Prospero for his part in the conspiracy against him (Act 5, Scene 1) Prospero s design to bridge his subjects knowledge and speculations to create a synthesis of understanding Given that Prospero s enemies know what their actions have effected upon the exiled Duke and are not contrite, the role of the imagination as it pertains to their redemption is to bridge their knowledge (or intellectual conception) of their crimes to an equivalent sensory experience of Prospero s suffering, thus leading to empathy, understanding and penitence of the heart, an appropriate state of mind to justify Prospero s forgiveness. A cynic might add that Prospero wishes to safeguard himself from future insurrections upon return to Milan without the shield of his rough magic. The Epilogue provides a curious hint at this possibility, an idea which is discussed in the postscript of the article. Moreover, the greater part of Prospero s design is to establish a model regency for Ferdinand and his daughter. This is largely effected through placing the young prince on journeys of speculation leading to his empathy for the working men of Naples for the falsely imprisoned and the ordinary subject at large. Within Miranda however, Prospero s careful tutoring has already produced the desired qualities of compassion and empathy (as evidenced by her heartfelt reaction to the storm), and he instead desires to enlighten her as to the cut-throat ways of the world. As will be seen in the following analysis, Prospero s design to transform his subjects with sensory experiences and draw upon their imaginations to create understanding is a plan that is at once purposeful, resolute and largely successful. What have the major characters come to learn through their imaginary journeys? Ferdinand and Miranda They are both in either s powers, but this swift business / I must uneasy make, lest too light winning / Make the prize light. Act 1, Scene 2 In bringing Ferdinand to the isle and immediately imprisoning him after his daughter has fallen in love, Prospero invents a courtship which teaches Miranda that marital love is built upon a gymnast s fine line of patience, kinship, temperance, fidelity and slowly-burning lust. Prospero condones her filial disobedience in Act 3 despite his reluctance to celebrate their union: So glad of this as they I cannot be / Who are surprised withal; but my rejoicing / At nothing can be more. I ll to my book. His actions are those of a pragmatist who recognises (unlike Lear) that he must relinquish control of his child in order for her to be contentedly married and an autonomous adult. Moreover Ferdinand s imprisonment creates within Miranda the desire for love and the time to imagine its delight. Ferdinand meanwhile imagines he has lost his father to the sea, enabling a sensory grief and speculative frame of mind which tests his maturity and willingness to be monarch. In learning what it is to lose a father and endure the work of a commoner bearing his logs, Ferdinand is humbled and made empathetic to all who have endured sorrow, adversity and false imprisonment. Through such an experience he gains the common touch and therefore stands to be a wiser ruler than Prospero, who despite his protestations of popularity, ignored the public mood and unwisely delegated his authority to Antonio in pursuit of his studies. Alonso and Gonzalo The Neapolitan King knows that owing to his plot with Antonio, Prospero has lost his dukedom; by losing his own kingdom for three hours on the island he understands the sensory nature of this loss and is able to recognise the immorality of his actions, and therefore empathise with Prospero as a man who has lost metaphor 22

6 his kingdom, heir and sense of self. The uneasy speculations prompted by the three hours on the isle grants Alonso an equivalent experience of Prospero s suffering. We remember too that in narrowly avoiding death at the hands of Sebastian, he now also has an equivalent experience of a plot upon his life by an opportunistic brother. Gonzalo is meanwhile innocent of all criminal intent (was indeed a benefactor of Prospero), yet gains in metaphysical leaps and bounds through his sensory experiences on the isle. His knowledge of the evil ways of the Neapolitan court is bridged to his wondrous speculations about the possibilities for mankind on the isle. The new understanding created from his sensory journey is evidenced in his much quoted speech about a commonwealth without services, contracts, agriculture and occupations; essentially the dream of a Christian paradise. His speculations are moreover an ironic statement on the miraculous sustenance of Prospero upon the island, and the beatific results of his own compassion twelve years earlier in supplying the exiled duke with nourishing provisions and his prized books. Antonio and Sebastian Prospero s erstwhile tormenting brother and his companion Sebastian are not sufficiently engaged by their sensory travails to experience empathy for the ousted Duke. While Prospero s concern for the shipwrecked crew belies the notion of his desire for total revenge, seemingly preferring that his enemies be open to the possibility for new understanding, Antonio and Sebastian remain unmoved; Prospero only reluctantly forgives his brother in Act 5. That Antonio is unaffected by his sensory journeys and seeks to opportunistically exploit his exile (convincing Sebastian to kill Alonso, thereby gaining greater sovereignty for himself in Milan), points to an undercurrent of realism in the otherwise phantastical play but also to the prospect of the brave new world through the contrary experiences of Alonso and Ferdinand; the transformative effects of exile creating the desired measures of humility, empathy and understanding within the regent and his son. The dramatic conceit of the various characters as a split of Prospero The purpose of Shakespeare presenting the characters as a split of Prospero is perhaps to illustrate the necessity of his forgiveness of their crimes; the major and minor characters share uncanny similarities to the bitter exiled duke. The imaginary journey of this perspective overwhelmingly belongs to the responder although, it might be argued that an element of Prospero s humility in the Epilogue owes to his recognition of this particular dilemma, and that an important element of his journey is to reintegrate himself into society by drowning his book and accepting that he is mortal. Consider the variety of similarities between the protagonist and the outstanding dramatis personae: Ariel and Prospero I will peg thee in a knotty entrail and make thee howl away twelve winters. Prospero s fairy spirit was also trapped upon the isle for twelve winters (entrapped by Sycorax), and furthermore shares his master s supernatural abilities and longing for freedom. Caliban and Prospero This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine. Prospero shares with Caliban the ignominy and loneliness of exile. Just as the wicked plot of Antonio has forced Prospero and his daughter onto the foreign island, an Algerian delegation has condemned Caliban and his mother to the same fate. Prospero s tyrannical physical tortures of Caliban are reminiscent of his own suffering at the hands of Alonso and Antonio. Caliban is furthermore intimately fascinated with Miranda as the sole woman on the island, an infatuation with uneasy parallels to her father s prudish preoccupation with her virginity and clear interest in maintaining her sexual chastity prior to her marital banns. That Prospero seeks to marry Miranda to Ferdinand is as much to do with securing her physical (and moral) safety in the event of his death than it is a joyous wish to see his daughter find happiness in marriage. Their joint desire to control Miranda, coupled with Caliban s obvious sexual interest in her (evidenced by an attempted rape), leads to a more disturbing premise as discussed earlier in the article; namely, that Prospero recognises within himself a growing awareness for his teenage daughter of marrying age, and seeks to remove himself from their shared isolation to avoid obsessive thoughts of breaching the incest taboo. Ferdinand and Prospero The young prince who is divorced from reality before his isle experience shares similarities to the bookish Prospero, who also knows little of the hardships of the common man until his exile. Prospero trains Ferdinand to be a hard-working, compassionate and empathetic king through his log-carrying travails (reminiscent of Edgar s Poor Tom experience in King Lear). Moreover Ferdinand s thoughtful, articulate and fairlyspoken replies to Prospero s various questions finds a willing listener in the Duke, who recognises a similarity of temperament in the young man s idealism and admirable resistance and optimism under the constraint of imprisonment. Antonio and Prospero Prospero s explanation of his brother s ride to power in Act One reveals that Antonio had the power to cast spells and transform those around him, ( New created the creatures who were mine metaphor 23

7 to what tune pleased his ear ). This being an ironic reference to Prospero s magical powers and Ariel s music. Antonio was the ivy who sucked the verdure out of Prospero, just as Prospero in turn does to Ariel. Consider that it is Antonio who sends Prospero out into the first sea storm just as Prospero places his brother through the tempest of Act One. Antonio s good ministers hurried thus me and thy crying self to the roaring sea just as Ariel s good ministers blow a gust to sink the ship of Antonio on the way back from Tunisia. Trinculo and Prospero Prospero s neurotic ways are evidenced by his insistent questioning of his daughter s attentiveness in Act One; his obsession about Miranda s sexual chastity in discussions with Ferdinand; and his abandonment of the masque to quell the conspiracy of Caliban. The drunken jester Trinculo is similarly always of the belief that he is suffering persecution and is forever figuratively licking his wounds. In Trinculo, Prospero encounters a compulsive and highly nervous clown who is a psychological doppelganger of himself, and a less meritorious but nonetheless aspiring magician known for conducting crude tricks. Stephano and Prospero In Stephano, the ship s drunken butler, Prospero encounters another servant to a higher power who believes himself king o th isle and is intoxicated on his regency, another who arbitrarily wields his power to boss around Caliban only to eventually relinquish his power at the recognition of a higher authority on the isle (refer to the final section of this article for more analysis of this last idea). Alonso and Prospero In Alonso, Prospero has under his spell a foreign ruler who effects the overthrow of another sovereign (as he does to Antonio); a father and ruler who has lost his heir; a despairing ruler who finds himself in the company of desperate and opportunistic lords who seek to topple him. Moreover, Alonso s similarity to Prospero lies in his affection for Ferdinand and willingness to bury himself plummets deep in order to be with his missing child. Prospero is similarly prepared to sacrifice his beloved book and drown it plummets deep to grant Miranda a second chance at life. Miranda and Prospero In Miranda, Prospero has a kindred spirit who is idealistic and naïve in her conception of mankind; a trusting soul whose noble purpose is betrayed by Caliban, just as his own trust is broken by Antonio. Sycorax and Prospero Finally in Sycorax, Prospero shares a child stranded on the isle; a controversial ability to conjure magic; an accusation of being linked to the devil, ( The devil speaks in him - Sebastian); the power and threat to condemn Ariel to a cloven pine; a forced exile at the hands of countrymen; a mysterious reprieve on his life. Just as Sycorax s life is spared for one thing, Prospero s life is apparently saved by the sole virtue of his popularity. Furthermore, the exile of Sycorax has condemned the marital prospects of Caliban just as Prospero s banishment has condemned Miranda s. Sycorax is the only woman besides Miranda who Caliban has laid his eyes upon, just as Prospero is the only man besides Caliban who Miranda has ever sighted. The symbolic imagery of pregnancy, labour and birth to underscore the transitional state of the exiles and their spiritual resurrection Good wombs have borne bad sons. (Act 1, Scene 2) The multiple images of wombs and pregnancy in the text allude to the idea of the rebirth of the shipwrecked men and Miranda; a spiritual resurrection akin to that prophesied in the Book of Revelations. The isle then, is a figurative womb of time in which the subjects grow and thrive prior to their eventual departure for Naples at play s end. The ship-wrecking itself is presented as a figurative birth: You mar our labour (Boatswain); His expression is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging; make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little advantage. If he be not born to be hanged, our case is miserable (Gonzalo); A plague upon this howling! (Boatswain); I ll warrant him from drowning, though the ship were no stronger than a nutshell, and as leaky as an unstanched wench (Gonzalo); We split, we split! ; Stage Direction Enter Mariners wet (Act 1, Scene 1). Moreover the mariners are metaphorically delivered to Prospero s isle stillborn, and remain asleep until Ariel awakes them in Act Five. Sebastian s insult of Boatswain: Incharitable dog and cur suggests the idea of a litter being issued on the island. The imagery of hanging is far too prevalent to be without significance; perhaps punning on a troubled delivery through being choked on the umbilical cord. Thus the King s men narrowly avoid death through strangulation of a symbolic cord; they are belched up on the isle by Ariel and are thereafter sustained by Prospero s shaky providence. Even Sebastian and Antonio (who do not thrive in the figurative womb) couch their plot to kill Alonso and Gonzalo in a birth metaphor: The setting of thine eye and cheek proclaim a matter from thee; and a birth, indeed/ Which throes thee much to yield (Act 2, Scene 1). Pregnancy, labour and birth imagery is prolific in The Tempest as a means to illustrate the extended metaphor that the island effects a spiritual rebirth for its subjects, Miranda and Prospero included. The transitional nature of being in utero and the womb s ability to paradoxically promote growth within a waterbound carriage, serves to symbolise the transformative qualities of the isle itself. Miranda s loss of innocence at the ship-wrecking of the crew is the beginning of a metaphorical impregnation of mind which eventually leads to her brave new world remark upon seeing the assembled lords and crew in Act Five; the wording a pun metaphor 24

8 on the contemporary denotation of brave as a fruitful womb, a meaning also drawn upon by Stephano in his speculations about his kingship following Caliban s promise of Miranda s great beauty. Paul is dead! Speculations - New readings of the Epilogue It is curious that the Epilogue of The Tempest is almost always interpreted by critics as a request by Prospero to his audience to release him from their spell, especially so given that Shakespeare is the composer. Those of us who teach The Taming of the Shrew know better than to presume to know the truth of his final acts. King Lear teachers may have experienced a similar debate in the classroom as to whether Kent saunters off to kill himself (Smithers-like) in the final scene of the play, or whether he merely condemns himself in his grief to follow Lear s path into exile (ironically fulfilling his master s decree of banishment in Act 1). While the Epilogue is validly read as Prospero s direct address to his audience, it might equally be interpreted as Prospero s humble request to his new companions (in the absence of his drowned book) not to leave him stranded on the isle. Another possibility is that the Epilogue is a form of repentance to a higher celestial authority, Jehovah himself, whose vengeance, arbitrary punishments, grand schemes and supernatural powers he has mimicked for the twelve years of his exile. Alternatively, we might keep an open mind and assume that Shakespeare allows for the poetic truth of all three possibilities. The first alternative reading draws upon the intriguing stage direction omitted from the Cambridge School Shakespeare edition [To the others] Please you, draw near. Having already discharged Ariel, to whom is Prospero speaking if not the assembled lords? Any edition of the play will contain the next stage direction: Exeunt all [except Prospero] or else the original Exeunt omnes. That is, the assembled lords and Miranda leave the stage even as he requests that they draw near. As troubling as it may sound to a purist, this ambiguity opens up the possibility for a courageous stage director to enact a dramatic twist on the scale of The Taming of the Shrew; Prospero is left behind on the island and ironically begs once again for mercy. Consider that Prospero s request: But release me from my bands / With the help of your good hands, is perhaps a pun on both the applause of the audience and the assistance of the Boatswain and his ship hands, who also begin the play by disregarding the authority of the natural order. Moreover, Prospero s final couplet: As you from crimes would pardoned be / Let your indulgence set me free, is a curious analogy given the events of the preceding scene, in particular his taciturn pardon of an unrepentant Antonio for the original plot on his life. The possibilities of a such a Vertigo (or open-ended) finish for the stage director lies in the chance it affords to dramatically enhance the post-colonial interpretation. Caliban now rules the isle over his one-time tormentor Prospero, a man whose strength, Is most faint, without his books. Miranda s devotion to her father, Ferdinand s heartfelt duty to his father-in-law, Alonso s repentance, and Gonzalo s benevolence all make such a reading unlikely but not entirely impossible if we adopt a reading which places Prospero as a type of Old Testament Jehovah ironically left behind in the New Testament (or brave new world ) he has created. The other possible reading is that the Epilogue is Prospero s direct address to Jehovah, whose powers he has mimicked during his time on the isle. Consider that Prospero without his rough magic is now as humble and frail as the men with whom he journeys back to Europe. Consider that Prospero s address is reminiscent of the Lord s Prayer in the supplicant s plea for mercy predicated upon forgiveness of other s trespasses: Let me not / Since I have my dukedom got / And pardoned the deceiver, dwell / In this bare island by your spell. Consider that: Gentle breath of yours my sails / Must fill, or else my project fails, might refer both to the favourable comment of the audience and to the necessary winds to return to Naples now that Ariel has been released, a final mark of neurotic Prospero. Moreover the Duke s recognition that his Ending is despair / Unless I be relieved by prayer may well signal Prospero s humble recognition before a wrathful God that he has unduly imitated Him in the practise of his supernatural powers over Caliban, Ariel and the bewitched lords. The newly-dispossessed conjuror seeks forgiveness in the manner which he has granted it to his one-time enemies, that is,freely, indulgently and without reservation. The Tempest as endgame chess - an imaginative exercise. Although the following metaphor is incomplete, it is an interesting idea with which to experiment. Consider that at the play s commencement Prospero is a stranded White King on the back row hoping for a clever stalemate or an improbable checkmate with few pieces remaining. What could the world be with justice at its foundation? What brave new world? White King s strategy is to have his one remaining pawn advance down the board to become a Queen and win the match. Ferdinand, a Black Knight who advances to checkmate the stranded White King (a young man accused of conspiracy by Prospero) is unexpectedly beguiled by the proximity of a protective White Pawn on the back row, ( He draws, and is charmed from moving ). Caliban meanwhile approximates a blind-sided White Bishop and Ariel, a White Queen. Miranda the White Pawn stunningly accelerates to the opposing end of the board and attains the status of Queen. Despite the advantage of two Queens, White King immediately abandons the possibility of checkmate by sacrificing the first of his two queens (Ariel) and is thereafter satisfied to force a stalemate. When White King manoeuvres to come within one square of his opposing Black King, he dramatically resigns (Prospero relinquishes his magic). Rather than forcing the stalemate or checkmating his opponent, White King s resignation forces a dramatic reset of the board. White and Black are restored to their proper place. metaphor 25