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Week 4 Assignment: Play Analysis

Name of Student

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Institution Affiliation

Date
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Week 4 Assignment: Play Analysis “The Tempest”

Option 1:

The delivery of William Shakespeare's _The Tempest_ brings the play to life through the

elements of spectacle – effective portrayals, lighting, costume, and stage direction. The play,

which is concerned with such issues as authority, retribution and reconciliation, is also

foregrounded in the stage aesthetics, visually and aurally enhancing the play's emotional impact

and plot lines. Actually, Prospero, the main character of the story, the exiled Duke and the

masterful sorcerer, is often described in shades of grey amalgamated into one character,

revealing his good/evil conflict and revenge/forgiveness dilemma. The element of darkness and

lights, together with the theatre sound and music, especially during the tempest scene, is

effective in everything, including the tensions and the suspense that conforms to Shakespeare's

script (Martin & Jacobus, 2018). Besides, Ariel and Caliban introduce the motifs of freedom and

slavery into the play so that the contrast between their actions and appearance illustrates their

slavery types. These creative interpretations assist in proactively overcoming the chronological

difference between the time of the play's creation and the modern audience so as to make the

themes of the play globally relevant and significant.

The staging of this play is very important in the way the audience perceives and interacts

with the play "The Tempest". The element of the island is often depicted via simple but

emblematic stage 'furniture', the symbolism of which is explained by Zeitlin with regards to

lighting to denote the transformations from storm to stormy sea to calm island. Since blue and

green illumine the stage throughout most of the play, this serves to create an other-worldly

ambience, thus cementing the play's themes of magic and enchantment (Carver, 2018). Even the

costumes, which are made in such a manner to recreate the actual status and temper of the
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characters, also serve this purpose. For example, Prospero has a detailed robe which, from time

to time, seems noble as well as savage, which represents the fact that he is both a duke and a

sorcerer. This decision changes Noah's narrative by adding complexities of Prospero's character

by visual means (Cabral & Figueiredo, 2020).

A wide range of emotions is presented in the performance, shifting from dismal and

profound to happy and ludicrous depending on the scenes enacted. For instance, the first scene,

in which the storm destroys everything on the ship and threatens the castaways' lives, is very

dramatic and creates suspense. This is done using loud noises; this is followed by quick

switching of lights that emulate a lightning bolt, and that establishes the theme of the storm. On

the other hand, the scenes with Trinculo and Stephano, the two comical characters, employ

comic relief that makes the audience laugh through the use of physical comedy and non-serious

dialogue (Martin & Jacobus, 2018). These changes of mood provide a wide and vivid picture of

the play and deliver all of its sidelined themes and facets.

Speaking of performance, the understanding of some aspects of "The Tempest" is eased

in the approach to the audience. They are also backed up by excellent makeup, costume and

choreography to ensure in one way or the other, viewers get a clear picture of Ariel as a magical

spirit whose operation is restricted by Prospero. The line, "Full fathom five thy father lies"

(Shakespeare, 1623, I.ii.397), might be sung or said in a ghost-like voice that enhances the

possibility of feeling the terror of the play more vividly. Moreover, some aspects of interactions

between characters, for example, the details of the relationship between Prospero and Miranda or

the aggressive undertone in their dialogue, would be easier to understand within the

performance, as the non-verbal communication of the actors or even the timbre of their voices
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give the meaning and context to the expressions and phrases which may be barely noticeable

when the play is read.

In conclusion, it is possible to notice that the performance of «The Tempest» impressed

and interested; the aspects of Shakespeare's play were revealed with bright and meaningful

gestures on the stage. For instance, lighting, sound, and costumes were inspiring to create

magical qualities of the story and to bring out the real emotion of each character. The

opportunity to watch the play supported the concept of why live theatrical production is a better

method to interpret plays since it provides a visual and audible understanding of the event better

than the continual reading of the text. The takeaway is a fresh understanding of Shakespeare's

play as a complex dramatic work as well as a renewed understanding of staging play as the

method of interpreting the text (Martin & Jacobus, 2018).

References

Cabral, A., & Figueiredo, C. M. (2020). Performative Approaches in Designing Costumes:

Ergonomics in Immersion and Storytelling. In Advances in Design for Inclusion:

Proceedings of the AHFE 2019 International Conference on Design for Inclusion and the

AHFE 2019 International Conference on Human Factors for Apparel and Textile

Engineering, July 24-28, 2019, Washington DC, USA 10 (pp. 337-349). Springer

International Publishing.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20444-0_33

Carver, R. K. (2018). Stagecraft fundamentals: a guide and reference for theatrical production.

Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315212609

Lal, S. (2024). Shakespeare and Social Utopianism: An Analysis of William Shakespeare’s The

Tempest. International Journal of Advanced Innovation and Research, pp. 1-7.

https://ijair.in/index.php/files/article/view/116

Martin, F. D., & Jacobus, L. A. (2018). The humanities through the arts. New York: McGraw-

Hill Education.