MM Nov 1

Class opened with a brief overview of the play The Temptest. The highlights that we covered in class were romance, historical context, and cultural context. Dr. Mathur defined romance as any sort of adventure, be it of chivalry or love. Romance itself can also suggest elements of fantasy, improbability and extravaganza. The play was based off of the historic letters written by William Stratchey in 1609. His writings were about a mystical island that he was shipwrecked on and the many adventures he encountered along the way.

Then Dr. Mathur posed the question to us "What are the differences, if any, between Sycrox's brand of magic and Prospero's "art"? On a related note, would you compare or contrast Sycorx and Prospero in their treatment of Ariel?" The class in General came to the conclusion that both characters had an "effect" on other characters by some means. As for the treatment of Ariel, we decided that we are really only given the view from Prospero. So, naturally, Sycrox was made out to be the bad guy who abused and misused Ariel. However, we concluded that they both were equally evil and malignant towards Ariel but since we were given one view, we are meant to believe that Prospero was much better to her.

Finally, Dr. Mathur showed us two clips; The book of Prospero and BBC Shakespeare animated tales - The Temptest. Each clip gave us a little more insight on how the characters interacted with each other. In The book of Prospero we see how cunning and mischievous of a man Prospero really is. BBC Shakespeare animated tales - The Temptest gave us an insight on how Caliba was treated while under the rule of Prospero. Both videos were meant to open our minds to how Prospero may have acted or appeared to others. We also were given our papers back at the end of class. So if you need your paper i suggest you go ask Dr. Mathur.