This past week, my class and I completed reading and analyzing one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays called The Tempest. Shakespeare has been deceased for about four-hundred years however, his work still lives on as schools and teachers make it a priority for students to learn about Shakespeare. The most important takeaway from analyzing Shakespeare’s work involves his use of rhetoric and how we can use it as well as how it is used in the world today. Today, I am going to share my experiences and takeaways from reading The Tempest, and uncover why Shakespearean Literature is still relevant in modern times.
Reflection & Importance of Rhetoric
The Tempest is a simple tale of betrayal, vengeance, and change told in a mythical setting filled with fairies, monsters, and magic. My experience reading this play was a struggle and a surprise in the same moment. The reason being is I have never read one of Shakespeare’s works before as this was my first time. The language used in this play was difficult to understand but after further reading, it became easier to read and analyze. To my surprise, the message and themes in The Tempest were very similar to historical issues and modern experiences as well. The Tempest addresses this question with a small cast of characters who end up in an unusual situation, on a remote island that’s totally detached from their familiar society. The Tempest demonstrates that people will behave as their society has instructed them to, even when they are completely removed from it. Though they may speak or think of making a “new” society which is better than the one they came from, their actions still reflect their old societal ideals. Here is an example of how Shakespeare’s work reflects on society:
In the story, Caliban tries again to gain power for himself. He encounters Trinculo, a jester; and Stephano, a butler, shortly after the shipwreck. The three of them all share one thing in common: a low place in society. Caliban sees in his new companions an opportunity to escape Prospero’s control. He suggests to Stephano that they kill Prospero, hinting at the good life they would have if Prospero were out of the way. Prospero finds out about their plan with Ariel as his spy and is ready when they come to kill him. The would-be murderers are caught, and Stephano and Trinculo are returned to their masters at the end of the story, as is Caliban. Encouraged by their unusual circumstances and their companionship, they had tried to change their place in society but found themselves still lacking the power to do so. This inability to argue with society’s expectations does not just apply to the lower-class characters of The Tempest, though. When Prospero and Ariel shipwreck Antonio and the other aristocrats on the island, he let one be separated from the rest. This one was Ferdinand, the king’s son. With a song, Ariel leads Ferdinand from the sea to where Prospero and Miranda are. By creating an encounter between his daughter and the king’s son, Prospero intends to have his daughter fall in love with this aristocrat, thus securing a high place in society for her. His plan works and Ferdinand and Miranda immediately take a liking to each other. However, Prospero insists that they do not engage in activities that would not have been considered appropriate for an unmarried couple in the society they came from. When Prospero catches them in a “embrace,” he scolds harshly at them. Though there is no society around to judge Miranda’s or Ferdinand’s character, it is still important to Prospero that the young lovers refrain from anything that would not be approved of by society. These values expressed in The Tempest are exactly how trends, mainstream media, and people around the world interact with each other. The only difference is that the times which we are living are different from the times Shakespeare lived in.
Shakespeare was, and still is, one of the greatest masters of the English in the history of the language. Teachers rightly continue teaching his works as exemplary models of what literature ought to encompass and what an author ought to inspire within his audience. However, teaching Shakespeare merely from a poetic or literary standpoint negates a huge portion of what Shakespeare considered when composing his plays and sonnets: rhetoric. Students can resonate with the prominent message of his play. The scripts are a good source for English literature and knowledge. Shakespeare is the foundation of modern language and therefore it would be severe to remove him and his writings from history.
Rhetoric This Week
With the current outbreak of COVID-19, I have viewed a great majority of rhetoric from the media and news. Such as memes, overbuying, and harassment of those of Asian decent. Largest effect of this rhetoric I have seen is from the President’s statements on the current outbreak. In this climate, it is essential that we reject attempts to find scapegoats instead of solutions, that we rebuff reactionaries who seek to sow division and hate rather than unity and cooperation.
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