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Both Prospero and Shakespeare control time in The Tempest very carefully. All the action takes place in one afternoon – the same time as it takes for the audience to watch the play.
PROSPERO: Ariel, thy charge Exactly is performed; but there’s more work. What is the time o’ the day?ARIEL: Past the mid-season.PROSPERO: At least two glasses. The time ’twixt six
and nowMust by us both be spent most preciously.
[I.2.237–241]
PROSPERO: Now does my project gather to a head.My charms crack not, my spirits obey; and timeGoes upright with his carriage. How’s the day?ARIEL: On the sixth hour – at which time, my lord,You said our work should cease.PROSPERO: I did say so,When first I raised the tempest.
[V.1.1–6]
What effect might seeing events played out in ‘real time’ have on the audience?
How do you think Prospero feels in Act Five, Scene One, lines 20–24?
Look carefully at line 20. Do you think Ariel has feelings, or not? If you were the director, how would you ask your Ariel to deliver this line?
If you were the director, how would you ask Prospero to deliver line 19? Sharply? Gruffly? Sarcastically? In surprise? Curiously? Indulgently? As if ashamed?
Do you think Ariel is solely responsible for Prospero deciding to forgive his enemies, or had Prospero’s character already begun to change? Give reasons for your answer!
In the early sixteenth century there was a very thin line between science and magic. On the one hand, many reputable scientists were convinced of the validity of ideas we would now describe as unscientific superstition.
Even Galileo (1564–1642) believed in the influence of the heavenly bodies on human destiny, and Elizabeth I consulted astrologers about many important affairs of state.
On the other hand, witchcraft remained a capital offence.
Many village wise women who prescribed folk remedies (some of which have now been scientifically proven to be effective) were burned as witches.
Do you think Prospero has used his magic for good rather than evil?
Give reasons for your answer.
Think back to Act One, Scene Two. Prospero contrasted his own learned, rational magic with the ‘sorceries’ practised by Caliban’s mother, the ‘foul witch Sycorax’ (1.2.257–293).
After you had finished reading Act One you made predictions about what revenge Prospero would take on his enemies. Return to the table you completed and review your