Live Journal Entry Week 8
Live Journal 8
“A tempestuous sound of thunder and lightning heard”- this first stage direction delves us deep into the heart of the play and is a symbol that Shakespeare was not only a poet with a great command of the English language but also a great playwright that had an excellent command of the stage as well. The Tempest is the first of this semester’s Shakespeare plays that I had read before this semester began. It is also the only Shakespeare play I have seen as a live production so it is the first time I can comment on how viewing such a production brings the rich, vivid and lively language of Shakespeare to life. While this may sound clichéd, it truly does bring it to life. It is actually quite a strange feeling to study a play in depth as we did and view it afterward. Interestingly though, while the viewing brought an interpretation of the play to life, it was reading the play that brought true understanding. The Tempest has a plethora of universal themes and a multitude of characters that bring these themes to life through human interaction and mystical beings. With terms like “Sea-change” and “brave new world” appearing in The Tempest and hence becoming stalwarts of the modern English vernacular, The Tempest continues the impact that Shakespeare had on the English language. I wonder though, is Prospero’s final speech which many argue is Shakespeare’s farewell to the theatre, more significant than the play itself? Would The Tempest have been as powerful a text had it not be Shakespeare’s last?
“A tempestuous sound of thunder and lightning heard”- this first stage direction delves us deep into the heart of the play and is a symbol that Shakespeare was not only a poet with a great command of the English language but also a great playwright that had an excellent command of the stage as well. The Tempest is the first of this semester’s Shakespeare plays that I had read before this semester began. It is also the only Shakespeare play I have seen as a live production so it is the first time I can comment on how viewing such a production brings the rich, vivid and lively language of Shakespeare to life. While this may sound clichéd, it truly does bring it to life. It is actually quite a strange feeling to study a play in depth as we did and view it afterward. Interestingly though, while the viewing brought an interpretation of the play to life, it was reading the play that brought true understanding. The Tempest has a plethora of universal themes and a multitude of characters that bring these themes to life through human interaction and mystical beings. With terms like “Sea-change” and “brave new world” appearing in The Tempest and hence becoming stalwarts of the modern English vernacular, The Tempest continues the impact that Shakespeare had on the English language. I wonder though, is Prospero’s final speech which many argue is Shakespeare’s farewell to the theatre, more significant than the play itself? Would The Tempest have been as powerful a text had it not be Shakespeare’s last?