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).

Parallels Of Faustus and Prosperos Use Of Magic

During my reading I noticed that just like Faustus, Prospero used his magic to just mess with the lives of others. Neither man used their magic to the fullest of their abilities. Faustus used his magic as we all know to purely mess with others. Like when he ate all that guys hay and what not. But Prospero is kind of doing the same thing here. He came to this island and enslaved the only other person (Caliban) on the island.. A person that was trying to help him survive and learn everything about the island and what it had to offer.. He constantly tortures Caliban for cursing and not doing his chores fast enough, when in all honesty Prospero could probably do all of these chores with a whoosh of his cloak. In Act 2 Scene 2 Caliban is verbalizing his anger for Prospero while collecting wood. When Caliban sees Trinculo he is so afraid that he cowers under his cloak believing Trinculo to be one of Prosperos spirits come to "torment" him. Both men could be using their magic to better others lives or their own, but instead use their magic to be obnoxiously cruel to others for their own personal gain.

Antonio + Sebastian or Abbott + Costello?

I really enjoy Shakespeare's tragedies but never had really but never had been able to get into his comedies much, until now. I love the way the first part of Act II flows. It's very syncopated and rhythmic. Looking at Lines 35-50, Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo just hit each other with one liner after one liner. It actually reminded me of the famous Who's on First Routine by Abbott + Costello. I'm sure for Abbott + Costello, this took a lot of practice to nail down the timing and delivery, so the fact that Shakespeare was able to write it, and actually put it on paper, seems really impressive to me, because I can't imagine writing one liners is easy! When I was reading this, I actually read it as quickly as Abbott + Costello do their routine, which made it even more entertaining to me! Whether Shakespeare intended that or not, I found it really enjoyable.

Merlin the Magical Mystic

What makes a mystic and what makes a magic user? Up until this point there was some sort of line between the two such as the difference between a midwife sacrificing her child to Satan to understand the future and Margery Kempe crying because of her visions in public. One was influenced by God himself and the other was for more selfish means. But where does that leave Merlin? Clearly he has abilities to see prophesied events, but one part really stuck out to me that made me think the magic vs. mystic line was muddied:

"...I am the son of a demon who seduced my mother...He gave me the ability to know all things said and done in the past and that is how I know what life your mother has lead. Our lord wanted me to have that memory because of my mother's virtue and her true repentance, and because of my own submission to the commandments of the Holy Church...granted me the power to know the things that are to come."

So...he's the son of a demon and knows the past...but also knows the future because he's aligned himself with God...can he pick one? But, in my own view this muddies up the line between magic and mysticism again. Yes, it's true Merlin woks under God, but what about the gray area BEFORE he joined the church? Much to think about...Maybe the truth is that Merlin is both and can be both because of who he is?

blessing or a curse?

“In this way the boy knew the things of the past through the devil, and the knowledge of the future came to him from God, who thus wanted to counterbalance the other’s work. Let the boy, then, decide which way to turn: to choose the Devils path or our Lords.”(309)

Was this ability God gave him going to be a blessing or a curse. It is a big responsibility and can be a lot to handle having “knowledge of the future”. 

Why did God decide to keep his “gift” of knowing things of the past when it came from the devil. Did God want Merlin to have this temptation, so he could choose God? Did God have that much confidence in Merlin, where he knew he would choose good?

God had the ability to take away the "gift" from the devil, so why wouldn't he?

So. Much. God.

The author of Prose Merlin does a really good job of including God as a character of this story of Merlin to reconcile religion with supernatural. God is literally everywhere as a way of telling the reader, “Hey, I know a lot of weird stuff is happening. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re super Christian. Super. Christian.” Some of this is demonstrated just in the dialogue. On page 310, a woman says, “unless God puts it right.” On page 341, there’s a “God willing...” And, on page 350, Queen Helaine is the most beautiful and worthy woman “know to either God or man.” And there are SO many more examples. Basically, these moments of referencing God show that no matter what is happening, God is at the forefront of everyone's mind, and that is why they’re able to accept Merlin’s supernatural abilities. It’s explained over and over: “[Merlin has] knowledge of all things done and said in the past and that it comes to [him] from [his] demonic origin. Our Lord, who is all-powerful, has also given [him] the wisdom to know the things that are to come” (327). Every time this is mentioned, I imagine the writer saying, “MERLIN ISN’T SPECIAL. YOU KNOW WHO IS SPECIAL? GOD’S SPECIAL.” Because even though there is some demonic stuff going on, God is always presented as the stronger of the two. Demons gave Merlin “knowledge;” God gave Merlin “wisdom.” There’s a difference. By saying “demonic origin,” there is an absence of action. In comparison, God “has given” Merlin his ability, which casts God into more of an active role.  Also, Merlin doesn’t just say, “God gifted me this cool thing.” He has to add in that side note, “WHO IS ALL-POWERFUL," in case people forget that God’s a big deal.  

Magic or Mysticism?

In reading “The Prose Merlin” the reader can clearly see that Merlin is capable of doing some pretty magical things. He speaks only a few months after birth, moves some heavy stones, and predicts the future. Despite being the son of a demon, he attributes his abilities to God. For it is He who gifted Merlin the ability to know the future in order to prevent him from serving the devil. Despite his evil father, Merlin is saved from Hell by God. In fact, this is not the only time religion comes up. It appears later in Merlin’s making of the third round table where he says that in its creation, the Trinity will be represented (328). It is also spoken about the empty space left at the round tables to represent the spot for Judas who turned his back on Jesus during the Last Supper. With all the religious shadowing in the text, it creates a larger idea. That Merlin is not some magical man whose powers come from an unknown source. Instead, it creates the idea that perhaps like Margery Kempe or Julian of Norwich that he is a mystic. Everything that he sees is by the grace of God. Overall, this allows to author to show the idea that everything that happens in the world is by the grace of God and not magic or the will of the devil. 

Merlin's Foreshadowing

The analogy of the lake of Diana is clearly foreshadowing for future events that happen between Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. The way Faunus dies parallels the way Merlin meets his end at the end. If I had to guess who Felix represents I would say it is Lancelot since she seems taken by him as a child when she meets him in the tower where she talks to Lancelot's mother. Now, as to who the father of Faunus would parallel I can't say. It could be Arthur that eventually seeks out vengeance for Merlin's death or it could be a character not introduced in the reading. I think it's really interesting that Merlin was the one to deliver the foreshadowing to his own death, because, as the reader, it was kind of frustrating to see someone with so much foresight not see that his own story was a story of his own demise. But I guess that's the point, his heritage, his reliance on his foresight, and his human vices were all used against him... in the end he was his own weakness.

Not the Apples!

Merlin was driven into the woods to live as a hermit by the death of his companions.

"Could injurious fate be so harmful as to take from me so many and such great companions, whom recently so many kings and so many remote kingdoms feared?  O dubious lot of mankind! "

The sacrifice of his companions in battle is very similar to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that led Margery to go insane with grief and Julian to become, similar to Merlin, closed off from the outside world. Now Merlin was not having visions, but he could not function in society knowing that his companions had been taken from him. 

Merlin was  grieving in the woods shut off from the outside world, until winter came.

"Here once there stood nineteen apple trees 9 bearing apples every year; now they are not standing.  Who has taken them away from me?  Whither have they gone all of a sudden?  Now I see them - now I do not!  Thus the fates fight against me and for me, since they both permit and forbid me to see.  Now I lack the apples and everything else"

Now I know an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but this scene illustrates an idea larger than just apples. Everything dies. Whether it's Merlin's companions, Jesus, or apples, these people are losing things that they care for and are not able to move on from them, letting it drive them mad. Merlin did not have a healthy relationship with apples, as Margery did not have a healthy relationship with Jesus, both letting their passing grieve them to an extend to where their harm outweighs their benefits. 



https://www.inverse.com/article/34066-rick-and-morty-jerry-hungry-for-apples-ad-jerry-horse-hospital

So Margery Kempe and Merlin seem to be very similar

Okay, so recently we just read about Margery Kempe. I noticed quite a few similarities between her and Merlin. Somethings that one might not realize at first. First of all, Margery also went a little crazy, but it was after having her first child getting very sick and then having the tragic run in with the priest during confession and obviously her visions. During her time of insanity, she had to be chained to the bed and isolated. As I was reading this Vita Merlini, I noticed that Merlin too also seemed to go crazy after his experience in the war and also had to be restrained and coerced. Both of them seems to lose it after a traumatic event too. Merlin with the war and Margery with the traumatic birth.
The weird thing is that for Merlin, when he hears this music in the forest, he is instantly better kind of like when Jesus comes to Margery. Although the two things that come to these two people are different, it seems to give them that same feeling of ease and sanity.
Another thing that I noticed that was similar about these two was the fact that Merlin isolates himself in the forest and leaves his wife behind telling her to go ahead and find someone else to marry. In Margery's case, she doesn't leave her husband but she does stop sleeping with him and living with him and devotes herself to traveling for God.
Lastly, they are both given sorts of visions throughout their whole lives that can deeply disturb them. Merlin sees how people are going to die. While it might not explicitly say that this could have disturbed him from time to time I think we can assume it would disturb someone. And in Margery's case, she was seeing these visions of Jesus and his life and death, which at times could be a lot for her to handle hence all the crying.
Both of these people were not considered witches or wizards, but they both seemed to have powers beyond the realm of normal. I think this is an interesting thing during this time that some people would have been seen as witches and burnt at the stake for these same acts but these two are not.

A creature indeed

book 1.6- Margery's reaction to Pieta

"What aileth thee woman? Why farest thus with thyself? We knew him as well as thou."

This quote resonated with me the most after the readings. To me, it sounds ALMOST like a hint of jealousy. Not jealous that she has visions, but jealous of her relationship with God that she claims. It's fair to say that most people in this time were fearful of standing out, everyone is on edge, just one moment away from saying the wrong thing that will get you accused of a heinous crime. People were afraid, and to ease their minds, they had to weed out people that were different from them.

 I think Margery is in some ways, lucky. If it were anyone else having these visions, they would likely be accused of heresy. However, because of her status and continual acceptance of the Church's word, she was able to just slip by. The other church-goers can see the bigger picture of this. They see that Margery is (annoyingly) different. They want to know, why her? What makes her think she is so special that not only she gets to see visions from God but that she isn't persecuted for having these. Her having these visions almost gives her a sense of authority and right. She has been "chosen" as the one or one of the few to see these visions. So when she cries out in the church, what makes her experience different from everyone else.

As they said  "we know hm as well as thou", there were men and women that dedicated their lives to learning the life of God and they don't all see these Godly visions. So does her seeing visions suddenly make her more knowledgable or higher in some way? Through the eyes of everyone else, she shouldn't have the privilege of seeing God when she only knows him as well as everyone else.

A Lack of Grand Magic

An overarching theme of this play is Doctor Faustus’s inability to take full advantage of the opportunity at hand. Faustus has sacrificed his soul to the devil in order to have full use of his own personal demon and his magic, yet he does not seem to choose particularly exciting ways to utilize this. This is highlighted in act four, scene five when Faustus sells a “horse” to a horse-courser, only for it to turn into straw when it encounters water. When the horse-courser returns in a fury and demands his money back, Faustus is ever amused, faking pain and screaming, “Stop him, stop him, stop him! – Ha, ha, ha! Faustus hath his leg again and the horse-courser a bundle of hay for his forty dollars” (4.3.47-49). Although it may not be ethical or wise to sell one’s soul to the devil, it does come with the benefit of having any deed you desire to come to fruition, and Faustus either has overlooked his power or simply does not understand it’s magnitude.

While Faustus never takes full advantage of Mephostophilis in acts three and four, the acts do start out bigger and gradually decline. For example, in the beginning of act four, when visiting the emperor, Mephostophilis creates spirits to resemble Alexander the Great, his enemy Darius and his paramour. Alexander conquers Darius and then embraces his lover: a scene that impresses Faustus’s host. However, in act four, scene seven Faustus is simply sending Mephostophilis to fetch ripe grapes for the Duchess of Vanholt. These actions are two examples that showcase the downward spiral Faustus’s magic and requests seem to be on.