Magic in The Tempest
Bergmann, M. S., & Green, A. (2018). The Tempest: the abdication of creativity. In The Unconscious in Shakespeare’s Plays (pp. 57-73). Routledge.
In this article, the author illustrates how just as concerts develop from the collaboration of various instruments, Shakespeare has incorporated various approaches to enhance our understanding of his work. In their works, creative authors always need to indicate and hide their struggles as assumed by psychoanalysis. Thereby, readers of Shakespeare’s work always find the added rhetorical questions as pleasure as it enables them to get his works and ideas better. This article covers several topics which through the use of the psychoanalytic techniques in the assessing of plays and characters, the author exposes more information about Shakespeare’s concealed agenda, mental health, and motivations in The Tempest.
Frazer, E. (2018). Political power and magic. Journal of Political Power, 11(3), 359-377.
This article refers to ways through which the power of magic is seen through politics or as a metaphor through which dominion and sovereignty is depicted. In Shakespeare’s work, the themes of magic, politics, domination, and sovereignty are a source of illumination for how Shakespeare illustrates his work. According to the article, questions get raised on how skepticism is well illustrated on the power of politics in association to alleged magic skepticism; and how magicians depicted by Shakespeare in his text bring about illumination on how political actors conduct themselves. This article also argues about the chances that indicate theatrical storm are well evaluated in The Tempest play. It shows how Shakespeare carefully praises the storm impacts which are staged in such a way that the dramatic language of his actors and actresses are shown.
The Tempest happens to be an independent written play by William Shakespeare. In the world of literature, it happens to be the examination of childhood amnesia. It majorly deals with the hardships encountered by a father in permitting his daughter so as she could form a relationship with another man. Based on how Shakespeare has written this play, it seems like he is trying to give readers the reasons as to his abdication action hence requesting for permission. Prospero, whose Shakespeare disguise realizes what he once considered as magic island via something similar to his reflection. The traumatic childhood that he once experienced forces him to abandon his creativeness, which is magic. Magic has thus helped Shakespeare find a better way to show his anger. Thus if the observed theory is correct, a bit of something may be supplemented to the psychoanalytic magic theory in the play. Shakespeare describes Prospero as someone who is being controlled and inspired by two factors, which are love and magic.
Thereby, both of these articles try to give us an idea of how magic has helped bring out the themes visible in The Tempest. Magic is used to provide a more in-depth meaning as expressed on how Prospero applies his magic and the various impacts it has on the play. According to Frazer 2018, magic has been incorporated to indicate the power, domination, and sovereignty that Prospero had in this setting. Magic is used to show the real character of humanity. It thereby forms a very strong theme in this play. Prospero makes use of magic to show the charisma of those whom he ensnares through the use of his spell. For instance, “amid Prospero’s fabricated tempest, with clapping thunder and roaring waves drowning sound, Antonio reveals his murderous tendencies by threatening the boatswain with hanging if he doesn’t rescue them from peril. Conversely, Ferdinand shows his love for Miranda to be true when Prospero binds him with charm.” These characters thus bring about the theme of violence and of love, which is well described through the use of Prospero’s magic.
References
Bergmann, M. S., & Green, A. (2018). The Tempest: the abdication of creativity. In The Unconscious in Shakespeare’s Plays (pp. 57-73). Routledge.
Frazer, E. (2018). Political power and magic. Journal of Political Power, 11(3), 359-377