Looking to the Past

In Act IV of the The Tempest, Prospero decided to put on a masque to celebrate Miranda and Ferdinand's new union and to honor and bless them with fertility and happiness through the goddesses he has Ariel conjure. This masque involves Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, and Juno, the goddess of marriage. Especially in reference to everything we have learned and discussed in class, it is interesting that, at this time period when religion was such a big influence on peoples' lives and could result in their death, goddesses would be invoked in order to leave blessings on people, even if it was just for entertainment. It seems like a risky thing to do, but it also just seems out of place in this play. Similar to the appearance of Helen in Doctor Faustus, where this mythical figure of beauty is conjured in a similar way for entertainment, and then later on to give Faustus some comfort in his last days. Like in Doctor Faustus, this play already involves magical elements that definitely do not go along with what is believed in the Christian religion, but The Tempest also includes conjured goddesses giving marriage blessings to Miranda and Ferdinand for entertainment. I can't help but wonder at what point did using references to ancient gods and goddesses stop being blasphemous and start being accepted in forms of entertainment or works of literature?

A.) religion B.) magic C.)both

Prospero gives his blessing to Ferdinand but not without making a deal with Ferdinand. He makes Ferdinand promise to keep Miranda's virginity intact until the wedding. I always felt and saw this as a pretty stern christian belief/rule. However, we see a man who has strayed away from the church and entangled his life with spirits pushing this rule on another person. I believe this coincides with the class theme that religion and witchcraft aren't all that different. However, i think we assume most of the time that when we say religion we often think of Christianity. But in the text Prospero references Hymen. No this isn't referencing Miranda's hymen, he did that by saying her "virgin-knot". When he says Hymen he is referencing to Hymen the greek goddess of marriage. Which seems odd considering the time period . The way he says it makes it seem as if he truly believes in it too. I thought this was interesting because what if when we say magic and religion are similar, we don't just mean Christianity. What if magic was designed as a mixture of samples from other religions and beliefs and by doing this it creates more of separation between Christianity and other religions. It's meant almost to throw shade at other religions, thereby creating a stronger Christian following because other religions are similar to "magic and mysticism".  What if the idea of magic is really just a Christian marketing campaign gone bad. Which makes sense based on what we learned in class. We talked about how magic likely came about because things like infant mortality were happening and people needed someone to point at. So the idea of magic and mysticism was created by the church to help unite the people against a common enemy ("magic" more like other religions).

All that was Prologue is now Past

Like a dream, the sea
roils and twists into whirlwinds
that clash against sky.

Helpless figures drown
and gasp, sodden from vengeance's
sour coil. Ships crumble

and tremble; death's shroud
slices through blood; slaves ponder
the wonder chainless

limbs would promise. He,
Prospero, master of the
isle, stares forlorn

at his construction.
The end is forecast, a dance-
dalliance of love

applauded, arranged
by design. The fools of drink                             
and scheming plots meet

feasts and familiar
faces. Magic's slithery
touch pervades the bright-

dark journey of man's
lost and regained valor. Sleep
is found, kept close, and

cradled - conjures fan-
tastical visions of storms
untempered and stern -

of books shimmering
with a desire to know the
unknowable earth.

Man makes false monsters.
Brother moves against brother,
lovers find love, and

the ache of broken
hearts are mended, made true, soft,
free; and like a dream

the peril has passed by -
nefarious pages packed
away; trickery

grows heavy with peace.
The wind tucks itself into
nooks and crannies, still

and satisfied, in
tree shades. The spirits' bodies
contort into wings

when Ariel's acts
of fancy are retired.
Kings, princes, dukes, slaves

are joined in shared awe
of a victory won-made-
held by a man whose

magic shapes them all.
An unseen crowd crows its glee,
and all fades - complete.

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I'm Craving Magic

Prospero: I just do not know if I can give up magic.

Ariel: I don't know, magics not that cool. there are other kinds of books ya know.

Prospero: But I can do so much, like make spirits dance and create storms. Plus I would have to finally set you free.

Ariel: Freedom would be nice, and you're about to be a father in law. Retirement looks good on you.

Prospero: Also this is a cool staff. It would be a shame to break it.

Ariel: * to himself* I'm just trying to be free, man.

Spirits and Fairies

In the wedding between Ferdinand and Miranda, Prospero calls Ariel to summons spirits. Three spirits appear; Iris, Juno, and Ceres. These beings end up blessing the happy couple. This immediately made me think of the three fairies in Sleeping Beauty. They also gave gifts to Aurora, like beauty, musical talent, and for true loves kiss to break Maleficent's curse. 

Prospero the Puppet Master

"Dance Puppets, Dance!"

Keepeth My Daughter a PURE Virgin OR ELSE Fer-boy

Okay this is how this whole discussion of marriage in Act IV would have happened in modern times:

PROSPERO: So my daughter? Yeah, she's a virgin--mainly because we've been stuck on this island since she was 3-years-old. But also, I'm really controlling and focused on the idea of keeping her "pure" or whatever that means, so can you like...just not hook up? Until you're married? You know like us good ol' Christian and law-abiding folks do?
FERDINAND: I don't know man, er--I mean sir...I love her and so I really like, respect her, and if she wants to hook up then...I'm not gonna argue with that to be honest.
MIRANDA: Life! Love! So many possibilities I had never even dreamed of! Let me just live life to the fullest and experience everything!
PROSPERO: MIRANDA, NO! PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE! I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU TOUCH HER VIRGINAL KNOT--
FERDINAND: Hey man...you need to cool it. She isn't your property, and you need to stop acting like this marriage is you passing your property onto me. I love her, and she loves me, and that's totally cool, so we're just gonna ride that totally tubular wave.
PROSPERO: She IS my property and everything needs to go HOW! I! AM! PICTURING! IT! It's my way or the highway so you just need to deal with it or I'll cause another storm and kill your surviving family and friends!
MIRANDA: Wait...what did you say Dad?
PROSPERO: What? Nothing? *casts an illusion spell to make them forget the last ten seconds* What I mean to say is...I care about you, and don't you want to be the best wife you can be to him? To a prince?
MIRANDA: How does what we do in the bedroom make any sort of difference though, father? Won't I still be the person that I am? The person that he fell in love with? How will I be any sort of changed?
PROSPERO: Your...body will be different. And that's what's not okay. You just like...*need* to be a virgin okay?
FERDINAND: *whispers to Miranda* If you had been outside of the island...these are really dated conceptions your father is speaking of. Women used to be seen as property, and that's *totally* not how it is anymore. You can do whatever you want with your body! We'll discuss this alone later tonight.
PROSPERO: I HEARD that--what? Oh. I need to go take care of something. Don't come within two feet of each other until I get back! *runs away*

Prospero Talking to the Audience??

After reading the summary for the epilogue of scene 5, I realized that Prospero was talking directly to the audience. My question is why? Why does he talk to the audience and ask them to applaud him after the play is over, why not just go ahead and end the play there?

Prospero is more human now?

By breaking his staff and drowning his books is Prospero more human? Although being more human is alluded to in the play by bringing his enemies in front of him to show them mercy, I think that giving up his magic makes him more human. Also, another question would be why is Ariel so influential in keeping Prospero from destroying his enemies? Ariel has been doing Prospero's bidding throughout the play, how is it now at the end that he is influencing Prospero?