Expository Paragraph

A.    Characters:
1.      Prospero:  A man who was of noble descent, he was so intrigued with studying science and magic that he left his political duties to his brother Antonio, but Antonio betrayed him and exiled his brother leaving Prospero on a ship without sails.  But he arrived on an island and became its ruler.  He symbolizes oppression due to the fact that he has taken over the country and enslaved its inhabitants.

2.      Caliban:  The only child of Sycorax (a witch that died prior to the story) he is described as a monster with a disfigured face, he was taught the common tongue by Prospero, but he used this newfound knowledge, used it to insult Prospero and tried to rape his daughter. This caused Prospero to enslave him forcing him to work by chopping wood in the hot sun.  He symbolizes freedom due to the fact that he has shown rebellious behavior around Prospero and plans on making a revolution to overthrow him.

3.      Shadows:  They are used to represent deities such as the masked goddesses that Prospero invites to celebrate Miranda and Fernando’s wedding.  Also they are used to represent events such as when the king of Naples and his court take part in the banquet made by Ariel.  The shadows represent religion because they are used to represent deities and things that the spectators can’t visualize in the stage.

B.     Answer the following questions:
1.      Caliban has many speeches within the play.  What effect do these speeches have on your perception of the character?  Throughout his many speeches Caliban shows me that his greatest wish is to be free and rule the island that he has inherited from his mother, but Prospero poses himself as an obstacle due to the fact that he is in charge and has enslaved Caliban which is preventing him from fulfilling his wish.

2.      How does Miranda’s character change over the course of the play?  The changes in Miranda’s character are minimal at most.  At first she is very attached to her father, but as she begins to fall in love with Fernando she grows to be somewhat more independent, this is shown when she leaves the island with the king and his court while Prospero fights Caliban in one final showdown.

3.      Through the eyes of Trinculo and Stephano, how do they envision the island’s Potential?  They think that the island is a kingdom in par with any of the European kingdoms.  This is shown when Stephano names himself king of the island and appoints Trinculo as his second in command, the reason for them believing a deserted island with barely a dozen inhabitants has the potential to be a kingdom and believing all of the lies Caliban feeds them is because they are very drunk.

4.      How did Dr. Isel Rodriguez use the limited resources of her bare stage to create a sense of realism?  She used all of these resources to their maximum potential.  It is evident by the various props she uses, the authentic middle age clothing the actors wear, the sound effects from the speakers and the use of puppets to recreate scenes that couldn’t have been interpreted by the actors.

5.      Give your opinion of the play.  The play was very well interpreted by the actors and even though the stage had limited space it was compensated with its props.  Although it was a little confusing thanks to its ambiguous ending. Overall it was a very enjoyable experience and I wouldn’t mind watching it again.


6.      Mention one theme, what character represents it, and explain why.  Stephano represents theme of comic relief because this characters stupidity and naïve nature (in part thanks to his alcohol abuse) helps take the edge off the play, without him it would be dull and a little boring.

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