The Tempest in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Feb 28, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it liked it

What was that?

I expected a long drawn out battle of mariners versus a violent sea. There's a few lines of sailors fighting a storm at the start and then the rest is played out on land. Ah, "played," there's the nub! For this is an early 17th century play meant for the stage. Not a likely time and place for a lavish production with a water tank, ship and wind machine, though that would've been hella cool. Some Shakespeareanophile tell me my envisioned production went down at least once back in th What was that?

I expected a long drawn out battle of mariners versus a violent sea. There's a few lines of sailors fighting a storm at the start and then the rest is played out on land. Ah, "played," there's the nub! For this is an early 17th century play meant for the stage. Not a likely time and place for a lavish production with a water tank, ship and wind machine, though that would've been hella cool. Some Shakespeareanophile tell me my envisioned production went down at least once back in the day, please!

Once I figured out I'd been duped, I still didn't know what was going on. The story felt muddled and frankly not particularly intriguing. Apparently an Italian duke is trying to trying to get revenge on those who ousted him by marrying off his daughter to one of the plotters. That I understood. To make this happen, magical spirits are prevailed upon. That I understood. But who was magical, who was human, who was in between, and what was everyone's motivation, that's where I got lost.

Didn't matter. By the midpoint I'd grasped enough to follow along and what I thought was going to be a 1 or 2 star catastrophe turned out to be a fairly enjoyable romp in a semi-fairy land...kind of a mix between Macbeth or Othello and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I listened to an audio version for this reading. I prefer to hear Shakespeare when I get the chance. I may have received a 4.0 in my Shakespeare class in college (a little more impressive than my 4.0 in my mountain hiking class), but that doesn't mean I understand half of what's being said. Put into context, the otherwise archaic phrases often will reveal their meaning.

The one thing that really perplexed me was that the actor playing Caliban, the monstrous humanoid creature stranded for years on the island, played him - as old timey, racist comedians (and Jon Stewart) would say - "Jewy". Think Alec Guinness' rendition of Fagin. Yeah, heavily over the top. Was Caliban Jewish? I thought his mom - the only person he was stranded on the island with - was a witch from Algiers. Now, I don't know from Algiers witches, but this? What is this? Oy vey...
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Sep 19, 2018 Carrie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: play, shakespeare, mgr

I think I am meant to read this book sometime soon. The books I'm reading all connect to the tempest somehow. It's popping up everywhere lately, I believe it is a sign. So I'll be placing this high on the tbr. ...more

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Sep 05, 2018 Vincent Darlage rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

Fun to finally encounter the source for "Forbidden Planet." Ian McKellen and Benedict Cumberbatch (recorded in 2004 before he was really famous) did a great job. ...more

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May 29, 2011 a.g.e. montagner rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: in-english, essays, poetry, criticism, england, theatre, europe, britain, supernatural

In time this has become my favourite play of his, to the extent that I'd read it for the 4th/5th time rather than pick up a fresh one.
Quite short, very dense.
Critical readings usually underline the colonial aspects of the play, which only makes sense if you're teaching EFL to a roomful of teens. Obviously more interesting is the discourse on creation, art-making, ποιήσις.
Prospero as the puppet-master may remind one of the duke in Measure for Measure.

Fantastic out-at-sea opening.

This is also ...more

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