Scene by Scene Revision Flashcards
What are the key events of Act 1 Scene 2?
- Miranda asks Prospero to calm the storm and show mercy to the people on board - establishes her empathy and willingness to challenge her father
- Prospero lays down his mantle and tells Miranda the truth about her life before the island - establishes a trust between them, marks the point where Miranda becomes a “woman”
- Prospero challenges the veracity of Prosperos story and he puts her to sleep (indicates Miranda’s growing need for independence/ Prospero’s desires to control even through magic on those he loves)
- Ariel requests his freedom and Prospero snaps - shows Ariel’s desire for independence and Prospero’s short temper
- Truth of Caliban’s crime against Miranda emerges, establishes the genre blurring and his role of a villain, foreshadows discussions of Miranda’s virginity
- Miranda sees Ferdinand for the first time - establishes a connection between the two worlds
- Ferdinand proposes to Miranda - foreshadows the happy ending of the play, establishes Miranda as an accomplished flirt
- Prospero tests Ferdinand’s faithfullness
What are the key events of Act 2 Scene 1?
- Scene opens with all passengers from the ship, except for Ferdinand, gathered on stage
- Gonzalo begins with a speech celebrating survival of the storm and relative safety on the island, King Alonso cant be cheered because he is sure Ferdinand has drowned (Establishes good characters from the bad)
- Antonio and Sebastian whisper among themselves and belittle both Alonso’s grief and Gonzalo’s utopia
- Ariel now enters, unseen by the group on stage, and puts all of them to sleep, except for Sebastian and Antonio
- Antonio and Sebastian devise plot where Sebastian will seize his brother’s crown, much as Antonio had years earlier seized his brother’s title and property
- Ariel awakens Gonzalo in time to prevent the murders. Antonio and Sebastian quickly concoct a story to explain their drawn swords warning of noise of bulls or lions
What are the key events of Act 2 Scene 2?
- This scene opens with Caliban cursing Prospero (for the first time, audience is given a close look at Caliban and his “depression”
- When he hears someone approach, Caliban assumes it is one of Prospero’s spirits, coming to torture him once again. Caliban falls to the ground and pulls his cloak over his body
- The King’s jester, Trinculo, enters. Looking for shelter when he sees Caliban with his body partially covered by cloak –> initially thinks he is half man half fish (Caliban has not been civilized)
- Trinculo immediately sees possibilities of taking the “monster” back to civilization to display it
- After touching Caliban, Trinculo decides his “find” is not half man-half fish, but an islander. Trinculo decides to seek shelter under Caliban’s cloak with the storm coming - this scene involves low comedy, the kind of slapstick more dependent on action than words.
- Stefano sees financial possibilities of Caliban but all the poking by him makes Caliban think he is about to experience a new form of torture - he has been conditioned to expect worse
- After pulling the cloak from Caliban’s head, Stefano begins to pour wine into Caliban’s mouth. Trinculo emerges from under the claok and, happy to find another survivor of the storm on the island, joins Stefano and Caliban in drinking wine
- Caliban decides that Stefano is a god, dropped from heaven. Caliban swears devotion to this new “god” and the three leave together, amid Caliban’s promises to find Stefano the best food on the island - a new social group develops that mirrors the betrayal of Scene 1. However, Sebastian and Antonio might represent real danger to Alonso but Trinculo and Stefano’s only represents impotence.
Key events of Act 3, Scene 1 of the tempest?
Ferdinand is set the task of fetching logs for Prospero’s cell
Miranda and Ferdinand flirt
Miranda reveals her name
Miranda “proposes” to Ferdinand
Prospero gives approval to the match but comments on the outstanding business he must resolve
Key events of Act 3 Scene 2 of the Tempest?
- Stephano and Trinculo agree to Caliban’s plot to murder Prospero
- Caliban promises Miranda to Stephano in return for his help
- Ariel, watching, decides to report back to Prospero
- Ariel then plays strange music to disorientate the plotters and lead them away from Prospero
- The music frightens Trinculo but Caliban offers comforting words
- The men must follow caliban to “safety”
Key events of Act 3, Scene 3 of the Tempest?
- Tone of the play now begins to shift and distinct moral/ religious tone takes over and the noblemen are confronted with the past and their sins
- Gonzalo is tired from walking and wants to rest
- Antonio and Sebastien see this as an opportunity to revisit their plot to murder him and Alonso
- The men spy a mirage-like banquet which they are keen to consume
- As they sit down to eat/drink they are confronted by Ariel in the form of a harpy
- Ariel challenges the three wicked men one by one, informing them that it is because of their misdeeds that they are on the isladn
- The men draw their swords but Ariel admonishes them as “fools” who fail to realise that he is “invulnerable”
- Prospero praises Ariel for his work and reutrns to his cell to arrange the marriage between Miranda and Ferdinand
- Alonso and Gonzalo appear to be moved by what they have heard but Antonio and Sebastien are unchanged
What are the key events of Act 4 Scene 1?
-Prospero apologises to Ferdinand for his previous harsh treatment of him
-He gives his explicit blessing to their marriage but warns Ferdinand against sex before marriage
-Ferdinand agrees
-Prospero arranges a masque to celebrate the forthcoming nuptials
-Iris, messenger of the gods, summons Ceres
-Ceres offers Miranda and Ferdinand different symbolic gifts
-Ceres checks that Venus and Cupid are nowhere around
-Juno offers the lovers different symbolic gifts
RETURN TO COMIC SUBPLOT
Prospero remembers Caliban’s conspiracy against him
Ferdinand and Miranda are shocked to see him so enraged
Prospero laments Caliban’s inhuman nature, despite his “human” attempts to help him
Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo reach Prospero’s cell
They are distracted by rich clothing and gifts, and are then attacked by “spirit dogs” who drive them away
What happens in Act 5 ?
Prospero resolves to bring together the three disparate groups
Ariel informs Prospero that Antonio, Alonso, Sebastien and Gonzalo are exhibiting some contrition for their previous actions
Prospero goes on to renounce magic
Prospero uses Ariel to gather everyone before him and oversees the process of revenge and reconciliation
He adresses those who have wronged him and those who have been loyal
He reveals to Alonso that his son, Ferdinand is not dead but is in fact engaged to Miranda palying chess, appears to set boundaries for their relationship
Prospero offers forgiveness to all
Some characters show remorse but others do not
Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo arrivein a drunk state
Propsero acknowledges his responsibility for Caliban and sends him back to the cell
Prospero promises to tell the full story of his life to the assembles company, while they wait for morning and the journey home to Italy
Prospero gives Ariel their long wished freedom and addresses the audience directly,
