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Use of Speech in The Tempest

This paper will analyze the way characters in The Tempest, by William Shakespeare speak to one another and what types of speech are used in communicating to one another. First, however, there will be a brief outline of both the plot and the historical context of ôThe Tempest.ö

Historically, one of the first references to ôThe Tempestö is a record of a production at the royal court in November 1611, with another account of it being performed for a wedding of the Princess Elizabeth to the Elector Palatine in 1612-13. Scholars believe that it was a relatively new play even then as it drew upon travel accounts that were unavailable to the public in England before 1610 (Evans 1606). These details are probably why the island is depicted as being a mix of Mediterranean and New World elements (Evans 1607).

ôThe Tempestö is also grouped with several other plays known as romances, which were all written towards the end of ShakespeareÆs career as a playwright (Evans 1606). These plays included ôPericles,ö ôCymbeline,ö and ôThe WinterÆs Tale,ö and like these other plays, ôThe Tempestö has elements of both tragedy and comedy, as well as some elements of fantasy, with love being the central interest (Evans 1606). Fantastical settings and stories of magic were popular at the beginning of the 17th Century and were often, as in the case of ôThe Tempestö and ôMidsummer NightÆs Dream,ö considered appropriate entertainments for weddings (Evans 1606).

The basic outline of the story is that Prospero, once a duke of Milan and now a magician, was set adrift at sea with his young daughter, Miranda, by his brother Antonio and Alonso, the King of Naples. Eventually, Prospero and Miranda landed on this island and have since made a life there for themselves. Prospero turns to the study of magic and frees the spirit Ariel from a tree and takes him, as well as Caliban, the monster born of the witch who imprisoned Ariel, as ...

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Use of Speech in The Tempest. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 14:41, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1701570.html