INGL 3103
Analyze and expose your thoughts for the play: " Una Tempestad"
- Prospero:
a) Religion: I don't feel him to be a particularly religious character, all that was mentioned of him was that he was a wizard of sorts. However, on his daughter's wedding he "brings down" a few Greek Goddesses to bring her blessings and some strange God, that appears out of nowhere, whom brought a rhythmic music along with him and danced all over the place. That's as much as Prospero seems to have to do with religion in my opinion. The play doesn't seem to show much of a religious side to his character.
b) Oppression: Okay, this one here is a bit tricky so bare with me here! Prospero was both a victim of oppression AND an oppressor. He was a victim of oppression at the beginning when his brother wronged him so that he would lose both his tittle as "Duke of Millan" and his crown causing him to be exiled to an island with his daughter. However, in the play he always plays the role of the oppressor, this is mostly towards Caliban, whom is one of the people he enslaved. He would constantly force Caliban to do harsh labor even under horrid weather conditions and it was not unusual for him to insult him as well as his religious and cultural beliefs, Prospero would also beat Caliban often.
c) Freedom: It is told that Prospero was "stripped" of his freedom long before the play's actions had even taken place. He often reminisced upon his past throughout various scenes in the play, expressing freely his undying hatred towards those who betrayed him. On the other hand, he also kept both his slaves (Caliban and the sea monster who's name I cant recall at the moment.) and his daughter under his utter control, But eventually, he gave freedom to them. First, he gave the sea monster his freedom for his absolute loyalty to him. Then he gave his daughter a certain freedom by letting her get married to the prince she feel in love with. And lastly, Caliban, whom he never really freed BUT he gave him a chance to win his peoples island back by fighting with Prospero to the death, and by default also grating him the chance of freedom he so desired.
2. Caliban:
a) Religion: It is never mentioned in the play which is Caliban's religion exactly, however, at one point in a conversation that he and Prospero were having it is implied that he practices voodoo. His character is portrayed to be very religious and culturally inclined, even when Prospero tried to kill his spirit it was his beliefs that ultimately gave him strength to go on fighting for his freedom.
b) Oppression: Throughout the whole play he is the one who suffers the effects of oppression the most. As mentioned previously, Prospero was his oppressor, he mistreated him and forced him into harsh labor and also would purposely insult his religious and cultural beliefs.
c) Freedom: Throughout the play Caliban is constantly fighting for his freedom, plotting various plans to take over the island in order to get Prospero back for the horrible treatment given to him as well as to earn his freedom.
3. Shadows:
a) Religion: On Miranda's Wedding the shadows portrayed different types of Greek Goddesses and there was even an inclusion of a strange God who danced wildly with the shadow Goddesses. The shadows also showed a scene in which Caliban is using his "voodoo magic" to conger up some kind of wrath from the "island" but really it was just a manifestation of his own hate represented throughout supposedly religious themes.
b) Oppression: The only scene portrayed by the shadows that shows oppression is the scene in which Prospero is telling the story of how he lost his crown as well as his tittle and was exiled to the island with his daughter Miranda. In this scene we see him literally losing his crown and thats pretty much all we get to see.
c) Freedom: I don't recall there being a scene portrayed by the shadows were freedom is shown or even indirectly expressed.
- Answer the following questions:
- Caliban has many speeches within the play. What effect do these speeches have on your perception of the character?
- Caliban's speeches give us a more profound look upon who he really is and what he stands for, I believe that without those speeches the character would lose it's importance and amount of impact in the play. In fact, I found myself intrigued by his character as soon as his first speech ended because he was such a strange character whom even in a mist of despair still had the strength to fight back to his oppressor and in his speeches he made so many things clear for the audience as well. His speeches were filled with such realistic passion that it was almost impossible to get bored or ignore him. In conclusion, I feel like without his speeches Caliban's character would lose its impact on the audience and it would make him seem like he is of less importance; without his speeches we would also never get a clear perception of who he is and what he clearly stands for.
2. How does Miranda's character change over the course of the play?
- The only actual change I viewed on Miranda throughout the play was that she went from devoting herself completely to her father to devoting herself to a prince she randomly met on the island. Miranda is kind of pointless character in the play really. She doesn't actually change through it she just changes who her attention is focused towards.
3. Through the eyes of Trinculo and Stephano, how do they envision the island's potential?
- They saw a place where they would no longer live to serve someone else, a place where they could express their greed.
4. How did Dr. Isel Rodriguez use the limited resources of her bare stage to create a sense of realism?
- Considering her limited resources I think she did a fairly good job. The visuals were not realistic but the ambiance sounds were spot on!
5. Give your opinion of the play.
- In general I think the play was pretty entertaining. I mostly enjoyed the sounds and the small amount of comedy they included. There was no flaw in actual presentation, everyone seemed to know their lines well and no mistakes with the shadows or lighting.
6. Mention a theme, what character represents it, and explain why.
- Theme: Freedom
- Character: Caliban
- Explanation: Throughout the entire play Caliban is fighting for his freedom. That's pretty much the whole point of his character really. He stands for freedom, freedom of to practiced his religion, freedom of culture, the freedom to do things for himself and not forced down by others.
