The Temoest as a Theatrical Contribution

The Tempest as a Theatrical Contribution

William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, is just another one of this authors’ timeless pieces that have allowed him to become known as one of the greatest playwrights in many generations. The Tempest revolves around four main protagonists, Miranda, Ariel, Caliban, and Prospero. Yet one question remains to be unanswered; how did The Tempest come to become a written text? Was it simply handed down from one generation to the next, or did it travel from Shakespeare’s time until it was finally transferred to a piece of paper? One main answer would be how the play itself has traveled from one generation to the next. Cambridge University teacher Christine Dymkowski, who studies Shakespeare’s works, has focused on the transformation of The Tempest from stage to stage, rather than the work itself. This study is the basis for understanding this work, as well as understanding the diversity that The Tempest is capable of.

To begin, one important clue to how The Tempest became a written work would be the stage history of the play. On Hallowmas night in 1611 The Tempest was presented at Whitehall before the king. The transformations of the play since its opening in 1611 have been radical, in the sense that the play has not been the same. Its different interpretations have led The Tempest to become highly sought out in the theatrical world, mainly because of its accessibility to be improvised. Dymkowski claims that “it serves as a mirror powerfully reflecting contemporary concerns, be they social, political, scientific or moral" (Dymkowski 1). Another aspect of The Tempest that Dymkowski recognizes is its historical content by pinpointing three main scenes in the play; the storm scene, the island setting, and the plays overall thematic approaches. Dymkowski then concludes how during the successive era, the presentations of the storm scene along with the rest of the play, the spectacular, realistic, and stylized forms of writing represented many different ways of tying together different styles of writing.

In addition to Dymkowski’s recognition of The Tempest being an influential theatrical play, Ian Johnston, a professor at Malaspina-University College, agrees with the assumption that The Tempest is more well-known for its contributions to the theatrical culture. He states that “it is obviously a wonderful vehicle for displaying the full resources of the theatre: dramatic action, special effects, music, magic, monsters, dancing, storms, drunken humour, and so on” (Johnston 1). Another fascinating approach to Johnston’s study would be Prospero’s experiment in comparison to the theater itself, “the theatre--that magical world of poetry, song, illusion, pleasing and threatening apparitions--can, like Prospero's magic, educate us into a better sense of ourselves, into a final acceptance of the world, a state in which we forgive and forget in the interests of the greater human community” (Johnston 1). One other way in which Johnston views Prospero’s character would be his transformation on the stage, which is much more understandable in sight rather then reading it in the text.

“The theatre metaphor also helps to explain why, in the last analysis, Prospero has to surrender his magical powers. Life cannot be lived out in the world of illusions, delightful and educative as they can often be. Life must be lived in the real world, in Milan or in Naples, and Miranda cannot thus entirely fulfill herself on the island. The realities of life must be encountered and dealt with as best we can. The world of the theatre can remind us of things we may too easily forget; it can liberate and encourage youthful wonder and excitement at all the diverse richness of life; it can, at times, even wake people up to more important issues than their own Machiavellian urge to self-aggrandizement, and, most important of all, it can educate us into forgiveness. But it can never finally solve the problem of evil, and it can never provide an acceptable environment for a fully realized adult life” (Johnston 1).

Many sources agree that Prospero’s character is a direct representation of Shakespeare himself, along with Johnston’s views of Prospero’s character throughout the centuries.

Another consistently changing aspect in the performances of The Tempest would be their loyalty or lack there of to the original text. Since the play leaves many opportunities to be