Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Painting With Words Language as Art in The Tempest - Literature Essay Samples

In Shakespeares romance, The Tempest, Miranda instructs Caliban, I endowed thy purposes / With words that made them known (I.ii.357-8), affirming the power of language to transform the insubstantial into a forceful and purposeful entity. As Prospero conjures up tempests, masques, and spells, Shakespeare creates a linguistic pageant of lush imagery, tense staccato exchanges, straight-forward narration, and lyrical songs to intensify different moments in and expose major themes of the play. The Tempest begins with an abrupt, monosyllabic exchange between the Boatswain and Master that evolves into a series of confused, frenzied conversations  ­ tempests of language  ­ that convey the helplessness, fear, and consternation faced by the crew. The play moves toward elevated poetry delightful music, and masques of mysticism, all of which converge in Prosperos poignant valedictory speech in which he surrenders his magic powers  ­ after asserting his authority as an artist  ­ and p roceeds to accomplish the prescribed reconciliations that resolve the drama:Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves,And ye that on the sands with printless footDo chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly himWhen he comes back; you demi-puppets thatBy moonshine do the green sour ringlets make,Whereof the ewe not bites; and you whose pastimeIs to make midnight mushrumps, that rejoiceTo hear the solemn curfew; by whose aid(Weak masters though ye be) I have bedimmedThe noontide sun, called forth the mutinous winds,And twixt the green sea and the azured vaultSet roaring war; to the read rattling thunderHave I given fire and rifted Joves stout oakWith his own bolt; the strong-based promontoryHave I made shake and by the spurs plucked upThe pine and cedar; graves at my commandHave waked their sleepers, oped, and let em forthBy my so potent art. But this rough magicI here abjure; and when I have requiredSome heavenly music (which even now I do)To work mine end upon their senses t hatThis airy charm is for, Ill break my staff,Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,And deeper than did ever plummet soundIll drown my book. (V.i.33-57)The sound patterns and connotations of Shakespeares language convey Prosperos temperament. Prospero begins by poetically describing the magical inspiration of fantastical creatures, ascends into a charging affirmation of his power to perform the impossible, and concludes in a gentle tone as he lays his magic powers to rest.Prospero employs images of magic to confirm the potency and beauty of artistic power. In calling upon elves (33) and demi-puppets (36), or dwarves, both existent only in the imagination  ­ he conveys arts capacity to transcend nature and humanity with airy wonder. Prospero refers to moonshine (37), suggesting the enchantment of the demi-puppets' activities, and connoting a sense of the unsubstantial or imaginary, which both he and Shakespeare enliven through art. Elves, demi-puppets, and moonshine illustrate th e supernatural elements of Prosperos artistry and contribute a sense of playfulness and jollity to the serious, tragicomic drama. By recalling the influence of these supernatural powers, Prospero affirms his ability to create out of nothing, to perform the impossible using his artistic powers. Just as the demi-puppets craft green sour ringlets, Prospero creates tempests, spells, and mini-dramas. Shakespeares image of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves relates the beauty of nature reflected in the supernatural creations. Prospero echoes this poetic beauty with cadences of sound that resonate with lulling musicality: elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves, / And ye that on the sands with printless footŠ / puppets Š / Šsour ringlets (33-4, 36-7). The consonance gives the lines a flowing rhythm and incantatory tone that reinforce the mysticism of both the speech and the play.While his speech begins in a mood of happy fantasy, Prospero soon reminds the au dience of his artistic powers that, paradoxically, constitute his whole being and also lead to his exile from Naples and temporary unawareness of Calibans death plots upon him. While he credits the elves and dwarves for their aid of inspiration, he labels them weak masters (41) in a parenthetical aside that sarcastically subverts their abilities by comparing them with the magical powers of Prospero, the authoritative master. Prospero leaps into a cascading monologue, comprised of images of power, which presents a portrait of the artist as an old man who seeks recognition of his magic. Prospero uses a form of the pronoun I twelve times during the speech, which confirms his obsession with his own powers and continues the egotism he displays throughout the play, namely in his dealings with Ariel (I.ii.244-304) and Caliban (I.ii.324-9, 344-8, 365-71).Prosperos ability to accomplish the impossible reveals an irony in the speech, for who can realistically bedim / The noontide sun, call forth the mutinous winds (41-2), or set roaring roar (44) between the heavens and the earth? Prospero affirms art as a vehicle of creativity and transcendence. No task is too arduous or inconceivable for his capacious imagination to construe. Shakespeare also creates a sense of urgency within Prospero, who delivers this twenty line speech in two sentences (33-50, 50-57). Phrases like mutinous winds (42), roaring war, red rattling thunder (44), and rifted Joves stout oak (45) convey Prosperos brewing desire to convey the power of his magic. The alliteration in roaring war and red rattling creates a mood of madness, which characterizes Prospero as a magician, frantic in his outpourings of emotion. Images of natural disaster  ­ winds, earthquakes, and the opening of graves  ­ parallel the plays frenetic speech patterns and illustrate the artists influence upon the audiences imagination. Shakespeare juxtaposes the beauty of the green sea and the azured vault (43) with the roari ng war and red rattling thunder created by Prospero, which enforces the power of art to transcend reality. While Prospero cannot literally make the earth tremble or the winds blow violently, he can shake the promontory (45-6) of his enemies imaginations, and, within this realm, can order graves to open, spirits to descend, and tempests to occur. Roaring connotes riotous and noisy revelry (Oxford English Dictionary), which reverts to the plays opening scene of noisy confusion caused by the creation of the tempest. Prosperos noisy revelry in this speech confirms his need to emphasize the artists power to realize the impossible. Shakespeare characterizes both Prosperos magic artistry and his own linguistic artistry as potent, suggesting authority, great power, and commanding influence, all of which Prospero embodies throughout the play. He becomes a potentate, both the designer of the plays dramatic schemes and the emblem of its acute artistry. The language of Prosperos speech ill ustrates his fluctuating emotions: complacent happiness, powerful authority, and collected tranquility. After his charging defense of his artistic powers, Prospero demonstrates his control over the dramatic action. But (50) signals a shift in temperament, as Prospero decides to abjure (51) his rough magic (50) and incite the play to its anticipated conclusion. In a parenthetical aside, he admits that even the magician who, by the spurs plucked up / The pine and cedar (47-8), needs the assistance of some heavenly music (52) in accomplishing his tasks. This reference, (which even now I do) (52), opposes his previous aside, (Weak masters though ye be) (41), illustrating Prosperos declining artistic vitality and anticipating the dramatic surrender of his powers.Prospero imparts a commanding authority even in his artistic farewell. He does not delicately set his magic wand aside, but break[s] [his] staff (54) and bur[ies] it certain fathoms in the earth (55). Similarly, he does not gently place his book of magic in his library, but drown[s] it deeper than did ever plummet sound (56-7). The hyperbole illustrates Prosperos obsession with both his art and himself, which he consolidates as a single entity. Despite his powerful emotions conveyed through metaphor, overstatement, and sound patterns, Prospero fades into nothingness by the plays conclusion. His epilogue is a plea for applause and recognition: rather than boasting about his magical powers, he begs, Release me from my bands (E.i.9). This speech illustrates Prosperos decline from mystical happiness and powerful emotion to a gentle, controlled abandonment of his magic, and leaves the audience questioning whether, after all of his efforts to reconcile his enemies, Prospero really prospers.Prospero notes the airy charm[s] (54) that his magical powers effect upon Ferdinand, Miranda, and his enemies. Airy connotes something both imaginary and visionary, but also composed of air (Oxford English Dictionary ). Prospero gives air, or substance, to the unreal through his magic. Similarly, Shakespeares drama exists only in the imagination until the reader or actor enlivens it by infusing physical breath to empower the words on the page. Art gives breath to the imagined, the unknown, and the seemingly impossible. Just as Prospero the magician bedims / The noontide sun (41-2) and creates the rough magic (50) of the tempest, Shakespeare the poet incarnates the unsubstantial through his language. His gentle breath fills the sails (E.i.11-12) of the readers imagination, setting them afloat in the adventurous waters of artistic creativity. On one level, Prosperos speech initiates his apex as an artistic magician and propels the ensuing resolutions in the larger drama. On another, however, it symbolizes the poets power to paint with words, to create an ordered depiction of the imaginary, and to give, as Theseus insists in A Midsummer Nights Dream, to airy nothing, / A local habitation and a name (V.i.16-17). Works CitedAiry. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.Potent. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.Roaring. The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Nights Dream. Ed. Wolfgang Clemen. New York: Penguin, 1998.Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Ed. Robert Langbaum. New York: Signet, 1998.