I haven't read a play by Shakespeare since...I think it was my freshman year of high school. So, that's something along the lines of nine or ten years ago. Needless to say, I am mostly unfamiliar with the writing style of Shakespeare's time. However, I wanted to see how much I could understand simply through a casual reading of The Tempest before I went to any supplementary materials to verify what I thought to be the plot. I was pretty proud of myself to find that I had, by and large, understood all of the most important parts. However, I definitely found out how easy it can be to get lost in the wordiness of certain passages--resulting in a re-reading of the passage at least one or two times--and I also feel like I have no idea what the puns are. I can tell through the feeling I get during certain scenes that humor is being portrayed (at least, I think so...), but I am totally lost as to the humor. Hopefully I'll get better at that.
Anyway, I'm sure you don't want to hear too much about the play since you can read it yourself, but here were a few parts that I found to be interesting:
1. I really liked the boatswain. I just loved how, in the moment of danger to the ship, he told the nobles exactly what he wanted them to do and when they started to get uppity he told them that he cared more for himself than he did for them. This made me laugh, and I decided (even though he only appears at the end after this) that he would be one of my favorite characters in this play.
2. Why does Prospero call Miranda a wench so often? Was it normal in those days? I know I'd get slapped quickly if I were to say it now.
3. I find it interesting that Miranda was the one who first proposed a marriage between herself and Ferdinand. It doesn't seem like many women did that at that time--even today--as far as my knowledge goes, and I suppose it could be attributed to her lack of familiarity with any women of the day or social norms for "modern women."
4. Okay, my favorite part of the play was when the witch Sycorax was first mentioned. Is anybody else a Dr. Who fan? Yes. Direct hit. Does anybody know what I am referring to in saying this? I don't know how many people really follow Dr. Who over here.
Anyways, those are my thoughts on The Tempest.
I like these thoughts. Particularly #3. I found that very intriguing as well, not only because it was her that proposed marriage, but even more that she almost demanded it. Their relationship is definitely an odd one. Like we talked about in class yesterday, I think it's ridiculous that these two claim to be so in love when they have never truly experienced love or even attraction until now, seeing as they'd never met any other man/woman.
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