Tempest essay

Prompts:

Write an essay of approximately 1,200 words (4 to 5 pages) in response to one of the prompts below. Your essay should contain a clear thesis statement. In a critical essay, the thesis statement should be arguable: that is, a reasonable person should be able to disagree with it. Something like, “Magic plays an important role in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest” would not be a good thesis. Nobody would disagree with that statement. Your thesis should be supported by quotations from the text. Your job is to analyze this textual evidence in order to show how it supports your thesis. No matter which prompt you choose, you should focus on the language of the play. Your essay should largely consist of analysis and interpretation. That is, focus not on what happens in the narratives but rather on the thematic significance, the ideas of the work under discussion. Pick one of the three topics from below. Abosoloutley no plagurism is tolerated or else work will receive an automatic F.

1) Do a close reading of Prospero’s speech beginning at line 146 of Act 4, Scene 1 (“You do look, my son, in a moved sort…”). Explicate the language of this passage (words, images, symbols, and tropes) to show how it expresses larger themes or ideas that are crucial to the play as a whole. Part of your task is to persuade the reader that the passage is crucial to the scene and the play.

2) You may write about the prompt above using any other passage from the play. Other good options are Trinculo’s speech in Act II, Scene II, lines 18-38 or Prospero’s epilogue. Again, your focus must be on the language of the passage. Show how it relates to the language of the play as a whole.

3) Several characters in the play state their desire to be lord of the island, and each presents a vision of what their island society would look like. Compare and contrast two or three of these visions, explaining how each character views power and order. The goal of this essay is to show what The Tempest as a whole says about power and order. Questions to consider: How do characters of the play exert power over each other? Why do the characters from Naples and Milan seem to want to order and control the island, whereas Caliban and Ariel seem to live by different principles?