Assignment: The Tempest Act 1
Miranda and Prospero
1. Characterize the relationship between Miranda and Prospero in the beginning of 1.2. What observations can you make about how they interact with one another? What kind of father does Prospero seem to be—what adjectives describe him? What kind of daughter is Miranda? What adjectives describe her? (NB: “wench” here is not a derogatory term; it simply means young woman in this particular context.)
2. Choose 3 lines/passages from the play that best support your conclusions above. List them (refer to act/scene/line numbers) and offer a brief explanation of what they suggest about the two characters and their relationship with one another.
3. Characterize the relationship between Miranda and Prospero at the end of 1.2. What observations can you make about how they interact with one another when Ferdinand is in their presence? To what degree is Prospero able to manipulate both Miranda and Ferdinand? Are there ways in which he is not in control of them in this scene? Based on what you know of Prospero’s past position and his current powers, what do you think he’s doing with his daughter and Ferdinand in this scene? What larger plan does he seem to be following, and what specific parts of his speeches and behavior make you think so?
2: Ariel & Prospero/Sycorax
1. In 1.2, we get the “back story” on Ariel the sprite. What deal exists between Ariel and Prospero and what particular circumstances occasioned this relationship? We also get the “back story” on a figure named Sycorax, who does not appear in the play. Note who she is, where is she from, and why was she on the Island in the first place.
2. Consider the diction (word choice) in the account Prospero offers of Ariel’s existence prior to Prospero’s arrival on the Island. To what extent has Ariel’s life improved? How does their exchange here define concepts such as liberty and constraint? Note all the words that speak to these concepts. (note especially words related to service, including the discourse of obligation as well as slavery and other modes of labor).
3. Characterize the interaction that takes place at the end of Prospero’s conversation with Ariel. Based on these lines, what is the relationship like between master and servant?
4. Consider Ariel’s songs as well as his role in causing the storm. What sort of labor does he perform for Prospero? Why do you think Prospero can’t do this work for himself?
3: Caliban & Prospero/Miranda
1. Prospero first mentions Caliban when he is speaking with Ariel on the conditions of the latter’s freedom and constraint; what is relationship to Sycorax and the Island on which the play is set?
2. Before we meet Caliban, we hear Prospero and Miranda both offer commentary on his appearance and behavior. What do their comments suggest about him as a character? Choose specific words and phrases that you think are important with respect to Shakespeare’s characterization of him. What is Caliban’s significance in their lives? What does he offer them that they can't do themselves?
3. What is noteworthy about Caliban’s language in his responses to Prospero and Miranda? What about Prospero’s language in responses to Caliban? Be sure to explain why you think certain features are noteworthy in addition to saying what is noteworthy.
4. What is the “backstory” that we get on Caliban’s relationship to Miranda and Prospero? What changed the tenor of their relationship? What have Miranda and Prospero done in response, and how do they justify it?
5. When we first hear of “that Caliban / Whom now [Prospero] keep[s] in service” (1.2.286-287), are we to see Ariel’s conditions of service as different and separate from Caliban’s? What elements of their respective statuses as servants seem to be shared? What aspects seem to be different? Point to specific places in the text that illuminate similarities and distinctions.