Textual quotes Flashcards
(86 cards)
Inversions of the social hierarchy by the boatswain + staging
‘[…] What cares these
Roarers for the name of King? To cabin! Silence!
Trouble us not.’
This inversion of the social hierarchy is powerfully conveyed through staging in the RSC 2016 production of ‘The Tempest’. The boatswain and his crew are physically raised above the king and other passengers and are shouting down at them, giving them a sense of superior authority in this moment.
Gonzalo’s desperation at the start
‘Farewell my wife and children! – Farewell brother! –
We split, we split, we split!’
Prospero initially establishing that his aim is not to destroy
‘There’s no harm done.’
Miranda exposing how Prospero controls her through depriving her of knowledge
‘You have often
Begun to tell me what I am, but stopped
And left me to a bootless inquisition’
Prospero controlling the narrative and creating a sense of anticipation
‘The very minute bids thee ope thine ear.
Obey and be attentive’
Prospero’s moral education of Miranda and her empathy + staging
When Prospero reveals that they fell from their high status by ‘foul play’, Miranda says:
‘O, my heart bleeds
To think o’th’teen that I have turned you to’
In the RSC 2016 production, Miranda sits on the floor holding her legs in quite a childish pose whilst Prospero walks about on stage telling the narrative. This visually represents the power hierarchy in their relationship, drawing attention to how Prospero’s education of Miranda on her past is about power and closely controlling the narrative, as well as about an earnest sharing of knowledge.
Prospero not being a great duke
‘I thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated
To closeness and the bettering of my mind’
Prospero making it seem like he was a great duke
‘So dear the love my people bore me’
Prospero reassuring Miranda that her presence was comforting + staging
‘O, a cherubin
Thou wast that did preserve me’
In the RSC production, Prospero crouches before Miranda (who is now standing), showing his humility and genuine compassion towards her.
Prospero using magic on Miranda maybe + staging
‘Here cease more questions.
Thou art inclined to sleep’
In the RSC production, she only becomes limp/appears sleepy once Prospero touches her (and he also pre-emptively brings her a pillow), suggesting that he has used magic on her to shut to up – morally questionable and further supports her point that he never gives her the full story/explanation.
Ariel establishing the power dynamic between him and Prospero + staging
‘All hail, great master; grave sir, hail!’
In the RSC production, this voice comes from a hologram of Ariel raised in the air above Prospero, which visually represents how impressive his supernatural powers are.
What does Ariel frankly demand + staging
‘my liberty’
In the RSC production, the shift from Ariel trying to impress Prospero with his magical brilliance, and then forthrightly demanding his freedom is signified by Ariel ending his hologram and talking to Prospero as a real, physical character for the first time. This reveals that his seeming submission to Prospero before was all an act in order to get his freedom, not a result of genuine respect for/devotion to Prospero.
Ariel arguing his case for freedom
‘Remember I have done thee worthy service,
Told thee no lies, made thee no mistakings, served
Without or grudge or grumblings’
Prospero’s emotional manipulation (question)
‘Dost thou forget
From what a torment I did free thee?’
Prospero dehumanising Ariel
‘Thou liest, malignant thing’
Prospero causing Ariel’s emotional torment through a vivid description of his past + staging
‘[…] where thou didst vent thy groans
As fast as millwheels strike’
In the RSC production, as Prospero recalls Ariel’s past suffering, holograms are used to re-enact Ariel being confined into a ‘cloven pine’ in the centre of the stage. This could frame Prospero as even more heroic as he was the one who ultimately freed Ariel from this torment, or it could emphasise Prospero’s emotional manipulation/cruelty in forcing Ariel to confront a traumatic past (thus suggesting that he is equally malicious as Sycorax).
Ariel becoming submissive again
‘I will be correspondent to command
And do my spiriting gently’
Ariel’s respecting Prospero once his freedom has been promised + staging
‘That’s my noble master’
In the RSC production, this gets a laugh out of the audience – Ariel says it with a cheeky/smug tone rather than because he is traumatised and frightened into submission.
Caliban confirming the audience’s perception of him as savage and corrupt
‘As wicked dew as e’er my mother brushed
With raven’s feather from unwholesome fen
Drop on you both.’
Prospero’s disturbing threats, making him seem autocratic and unlikeable
‘[…] thou shalt be pinched
As thick as honeycomb, each pinch more stinging
Than bees made ‘em.’
Caliban asserting his right to sovereignty over the island
‘This island’s mine by Sycorax, my mother’
Caliban’s astronomical education
‘To name the bigger light and how the less
That burn by day and night.’
Caliban sharing his knowledge of the island
‘And showed thee all the qualities o’th’isle:
Fresh springs, brine pits, barren place and fertile
Cursed be I that did so!’
Caliban’s attempted rape of Miranda, making him morally questionable
‘[…] till thou didst seek to violate
The honour of my child’
