Dr Moseley - Setting, Symbolism and Magic

Setting Symbolism and Magic

At the time - Jacabethan audience 

They would of seen the play very symbolically.

Approach to the Tempest of a Jacobean Audience

They're ideas would be very different from what a modern audiences 

At the time their were virtually not colonies at the time, therefore no audience of the time could of read it like that. Therefore the negative view of Prospero, being the oppressor, would not of been the way he was seen or presented at the time.

They would of recognised the island as its a theme in many other of plays and writing, particularly for Shakespeare. The heath in Lear, the heath in which HenryVI wanders, the wood of Midsummer Nights Dream where people loose and find themselves. The characters go and find themselves.

Names

Prospero - Take the 'o' off and it spells 'prosper', a positive forward looking word, optimistic.

Miranda - punned on 'that, that should be wondered at'

Ariel - of the air

Caliban - Anagram of cannibal, Michel de Montaigne's essay of the cannibals, which every educated person would of been reading. He shows the inadequacy of the civilised.

Prospero

A ruler who failed, because he concentrated too much on what he wanted, studying his books and magic, instead of ruling his Dukedom. Instead he leaves it for other people to do, similar to Lear.

Although, unlike Lear, he is given a second chance to learn what power is about and what it costs.

An audience at the time would of recognised him as a magus.

What is Mager, what is magi?

The art of understanding the workings world and the universe, of its spiritual and material structures through learning and prayer. To manipulate the forces in the universe to co-operate with the working of God in the affecting of all thing possible and the redeeming of our first parents.

Quoting Frances Bacon and John Milton

Magi were very important people, if they were real. For example Elias Ashmole, Isaac Newton and Dr John Dee who was a very important person at Elizabeths court, were all seen as Magus's and/or Alchemists.  

Prospero can be seen to be built/based on Dr John Dee, he had the best private library in England and, at the time, was possibly the most learned man in England. Prospero is also presented to be very knowledgable and its insinuated that he had a vast library which was why he neglected his Dukedom.

Opposite of Mager is Goetia, which is black magic where your working for yourself. The mager, like the good ruler, is using their magic for the good of everybody. Therefore since Prospero is seen as a Magus its a very positive sign to a Jacobean audience. King James had ambitions in that direction, therefore this theme in the play would of pleased him.

To any Jacobean audience, even a city audience which wouldn't of been very educated, these disciplines of magi and alchemy would of been recognised and understood. Example - Eastwood Hoe, the whole plot is based on the audience having a knowledge of alchemy, it was a city play though which shows how important this understand and science was at the time.

In the Tempest there is a theme of the elements, water, earth, air and fire through characters like Caliban who can be seen to be from the earth and Ariel who is from the air. Also, both Caliban and Ferdinand are seen carrying logs and this act is repeated and talked about in the play, logs are a standard symbol of fire.

The four elements to which everything is made and which have to be brought into some sort of harmonic resolution.

Ariel and Caliban

One of air, Ariel, and one of earth Caliban.

In the play they almost have exactly the same amount of line, implying that they are of the same importance in the play.

Caliban is unquestionably the clowns part and was treated so most definitely at the time and only till very recently has this changed. Its a small part and you can't suddenly make the part the centre of the play, this remains undoubtably with Prospero.

Summary

• There is a lot of background knowledge from the time that a modern audience don't recognise now but would of been observed at the time. Yet this doesn't make a difference, the play can still be understood by both audiences, but alters the way you think about the play and a Jacobethan audience would of engaged with the play symbolically.
• There is a use of symbolism and allegory which the Tempest uses to help us engage with the themes of the play.