What are the possible source of The Tempest? (2023)

What are the possible sources of The Tempest?

Shakespeare's imagination was inspired by the shipwreck described in William Strachey's letter of 1610. In the same year, Sylvester Jourdain published A Discovery of the Bermudas.

Shakespeare's The Tempest was likely inspired by a shipwreck that occurred on the island of Bermuda in 1609.

Prospero's cloak and books are the source of his power. He deliberately takes off his cloak at two points in the play: once when he tells Miranda of their history, and again at the end of the play when he gives up his magic.

Ferdinand states that he has been 'weeping' over his father and comments 'The ditty does remember my drowned father'. The alliteration with 'ditty does…

Shakespeare's three most likely sources were the Geneva Bible, the Bishop's Bible, and the Book of Common Prayer. The works prior to 1598 show more influence from the Bishop's Bible; the works thereafter align more closely with the Geneva Bible.

There are just two primary sources for information on the Bard: his works, and various legal and church documents that have survived from Elizabethan times. Naturally, there are many gaps in this body of information, which tells us little about Shakespeare the man.

The source for most of the English history plays, as well as for Macbeth and King Lear, is the well-known Raphael Holinshed's Chronicle of English history. The source for the Roman history plays is Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans Compared Together, in the translation made by Sir Thomas North in 1579.

The tempest that begins the play, and which puts all of Prospero's enemies at his disposal, symbolizes the suffering Prospero endured, and which he wants to inflict on others.

In The Tempest, power and control are dominant themes. Many of the characters are locked into a power struggle for their freedom and for control of the island, forcing some characters (both good and evil) to abuse their power. For example: Prospero enslaves and treats Caliban badly.

The Tempest Summary. Prospero uses magic to conjure a storm and torment the survivors of a shipwreck, including the King of Naples and Prospero's treacherous brother, Antonio. Prospero's slave, Caliban, plots to rid himself of his master, but is thwarted by Prospero's spirit-servant Ariel.

How old is Miranda in The Tempest?

Just under fifteen years old, Miranda is a gentle and compassionate, but also relatively passive, heroine. From her very first lines she displays a meek and emotional nature.

Why does Miranda think that Ferdinand might be a "spirit"? Miranda believes that Ferdinand might be a spirit because he is the most attractive man that she has ever seen.

Ferdinand enters carrying a log, which he claims would be an odious task except that he carries it to serve Miranda. His carrying of the logs is a punishment but one he willingly accepts because thoughts of Miranda make the work seem effortless.

Hamlet is based on a Norse legend composed by Saxo Grammaticus in Latin around 1200 AD. The sixteen books that comprise Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum, or History of the Danes, tell of the rise and fall of the great rulers of Denmark, and the tale of Amleth, Saxo's Hamlet, is recounted in books three and four.

There are thus three texts of the play. An earlier Hamlet play, now lost, may have been a major source. Sources may also include other contemporary works, including accounts of drinking at the Danish court and of "melancholy."

The two kinds of sources

There are two kinds of sources: primary and secondary. The main difference between a primary and a secondary source is when they were made.

Shakespeare's primary source for Romeo and Juliet was a poem by Arthur Brooke called The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Iuliet, written in 1562. He also could have known the popular tale of Romeo and Juliet from a collection by William Painter, entitled The Palace of Pleasure, which was written sometime before 1580.

Shakespeare's works have strong themes that run through each piece. And again, these themes are still relevant today – love, death, ambition, power, fate, free will, just to name a few. So Shakespeare's works are timeless and universal. That also makes them relatable.

What are the major features of Shakespeare's drama?

Revenge and Forgiveness

Relinquishing revenge in favour of forgiveness would have been an appropriately moral story at the time The Tempest was first performed.

The main conflict in the play is between Prospero and his brother, Antonio, who overthrew Prospero as Duke of Milan and ordered him and his daughter to be set adrift. Other conflicts include the following: Prospero vs Alonso: Alonso, a longtime enemy of Prospero, supported Antonio's overthrow of Prospero.

The Tempest ends with a general sense of resolution and hope. After four acts in which Prospero uses magic to split up, disorient, and psychologically torture his enemies, in the final act he lures everyone to the same spot on the island and forgives Alonso and Antonio for their betrayal twelve years prior.

Shakespeare weaves the theme of treason throughout The Tempest. The first instance of treason occurred in the play's prehistory, when Antonio conspired with King Alonso to assassinate Prospero and succeed him as the new Duke of Milan. The attempt to kill Prospero was both political treason and brotherly betrayal.

William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's story of an exiled ruler who uses magic to restore his daughter to power argues that the powerful must show mercy. First performed in 1611, The Tempest explores the consequences of European settlement in the New World.

Time is sometimes marked in seasons, and seasons are associated with the weather. This explains how tempestās—a Latin word for "time," "season," and "weather"—gave rise to tempestuous, an English adjective for things turbulent and stormy.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare puts forth a very positive view of human nature. It shows human nature as very compassionate and caring. What changes a person from their natural state is society. Therefore, Miranda, who has had no contact with the outside world will display more of her human nature.

This idea is a thesis statement. Examples of good thesis statements for The Tempest: In an effort to restore justice, Prospero appears to be a hypocrite, as he enslaves Ariel and Caliban to achieve his goals.

The Tempest

Who is the hero of tempest?

Although The Tempest features many characters with their own plots and desires, Prospero is the main protagonist. Prospero sets the events of the play in motion by conjuring the terrible tempest that shipwrecks his enemies.

Comedy. When the First Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays was published in 1623, The Tempest appeared under the genre category “comedy.” Like all of Shakespeare's other comedies, the play resolves happily, with the promise of a wedding between Miranda and Ferdinand.

The Tempest has a large cast of antagonists, all of whom pose challenges for the play's protagonist, Prospero. The most important antagonists are Alonso and Antonio, who conspired to assassinate Prospero when he was Duke of Milan, and who are responsible for his exile on the island.

Summary. Tempest Shadow, real name Fizzlepop Berrytwist, is a female unicorn pony who appears as the central antagonist of "My Little Pony The Movie".

Act 3, Scene 1 takes us to the romantic heart of The Tempest; it is the scene where the play's two young lovers, Ferdinand and Miranda, confess their love and vow to marry.

Prospero's wife is identified as Miranda's mother, in a context implying that though she was virtuous, women as a class are not, and that were it not for her word, Miranda's legitimacy would be in doubt. The legitimacy of Prospero's heir, that is, derives from her mother's word.

She is enemies with: Caliban – he once tried to attack her and she is not able to forgive his savage behaviour.

Ferdinand is literally in service to Prospero, but in order to make his labor more pleasant, he sees Miranda as his taskmaster.

Caliban curses his master, but has to obey because he is afraid of Prospero's magic 'art'. We learn that Caliban inhabited the island long before Prospero arrived. Ariel then uses magical music to lure Ferdinand to Prospero. When Miranda first sees him she is convinced he is a spirit and the two fall instantly in love.

But I prattle Something too wildly, and my father's precepts I therein do forget. I don't know a single woman, or even seen a woman's face—except my own in the mirror. I've also never met any other men than you, my friend, and my dear father. I have no knowledge of what people look like in other places.

Why is Prospero happy?

Prospero has a plan at the heart of which is bringing Miranda and Ferdinand together. When they fall in love, he becomes happy as his plan is going well.

11. sore injunction: harsh command. 12 Weeps when she sees me work, and says, such baseness.

Based on a novella in Giraldi Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi in 1565, which was possibly read in a 1584 French translation. Shakespeare follows Cinthio's plot quite closely, except in the original, Othello returns to Venice to be murdered by his wife's family. Shakespeare also invented the character of Roderigo.

Shakespeare's source for the story is the account of Macbeth, King of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland, and Ireland familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries, although the events in the play differ extensively from the history of the real Macbeth.

The primary source material Shakespeare used in the composition of Julius Caesar was Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans by the Greek historian Plutarch. Lives was translated into French by writer Jacques Amyot in the early 1560's.

The Tempest Summary. Prospero uses magic to conjure a storm and torment the survivors of a shipwreck, including the King of Naples and Prospero's treacherous brother, Antonio. Prospero's slave, Caliban, plots to rid himself of his master, but is thwarted by Prospero's spirit-servant Ariel.

One is the value of freedom, including the idea that freedom can sometimes be found in service. Granting freedom to the spirit Ariel is an important feature of this theme. The other major theme is forgiveness. Prospero forgives multiple characters who have previously wronged him, including his brother Antonio.

The stories told in Shakespeare's plays are not original. Rather, Shakespeare sourced his plots and characters from historical accounts and classical texts. Shakespeare was well-read and drew from an extensive range of texts – not all of them written in his mother tongue!

Primary Source Example

The play, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by William Shakespeare, is a primary source.

Many literary scholars believe that Shakespeare's main source was an earlier play—now lost—known today as the Ur-Hamlet. Possibly written by Thomas Kyd, the Ur-Hamlet would have been in performance by 1589 and was seemingly the first to include a ghost in the story.