Monthly Archives: February 2014

“But this rough magic/I here abjure.”

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act Five, Part One By Dennis Abrams ————————— Act Five: Ariel reports that the spirits of Alonso and the other Neapolitans have been broken, and Prospero instructs him to release them. Ariel leads the group in by magic, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Act Five, Ariel, Caliban, Cleopatra, Comedy, drama, Ferdiand, Henry V, language, literature, magic, Mark Van Doren, Milan, Prospero, romance, rough magic, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Shakespeare, The Tempest, William Shakespeare, writing | 3 Comments

“The Tempest ends, like the other plays in Shakespeare’s last period, in reconciliation and forgiveness. But the ending in The Tempest is grimmer, and the sky is darker…”

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act Four, Part Two By Dennis Abrams —————————- From Auden: “Falstaff’s kingdom is made up of Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban. Trinculo recalls all of Shakespeare’s earlier clowns, Stephano resembles Sir Toby Belch, and Caliban recollects both Bottom and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Act Four, Ariel, Caliban, Comedy, drama, Falstaff, Ferdinand, frank kermode, language, literature, Macbeth, masque, Miranda, Othello, Prospero, Rilke, Shakespeare, slave, song, The Tempest, tragedy, W.H. Auden, William Shakespeare, writing | 1 Comment

“We are such stuff/As dreams are made on, and our little life/Is rounded with a sleep.”

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act Four, Part One By Dennis Abrams —————- Act Four: Prospero admits that the tasks he assigned Ferdinand were to test his love for Miranda, and he now gives them his blessing to marry with a masque performed … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act Four, Ariel, Caliban, Comedy, drama, entertainment, Ferdinand, Ferdinand Miranda, island, language, law and order, literature, masque, nature, property, Prospero, Shakespeare, slave, such stuff as dreams are made made on, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, tragedy, wedding, William Shakespeare, writing | 6 Comments

“Here we meet the truly extraordinary thing: we are now considering as possible something directly contradicted by our own experience.”

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act Three, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ————————— From A.D. Nuttall: “Meanwhile the civilizing agents in the drama are a morally dubious lot. Stefano and Trinculo are vulgar as Caliban himself could never be, and even Prospero is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Act Three, Ariel, Caliban, Comedy, drama, entertainment, island, Julie Taymor, language, literature, Miranda, Prospera, Prospero, romance, Shakespeare, The Tempest, William Shakespeare, writing | 4 Comments

“The isle is full of noises,/Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.”

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act Three, Part One By Dennis Abrams ——————————- Act Three: Prospero has enslaved Ferdinand and made him carry logs, but the young man does so willingly in order to serve his beloved, Miranda. Secretly watched by Prospero, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Wrinkle in Time, Act Three, Ariel, Caliban, Christopher Marlowe, cloven pine, Comedy, Dr. John Dee, drama, Ezra Pound, Ferdinand, Giordano Bruno, Gonzalo, island, language, literature, Milan, Miranda, Montaigne, Northrop Frye, prison, Prospero, Prospero's island, romance, Shakespeare, slave, storm, The Tempest, William Shakespeare, writing | 6 Comments

“The history of mankind is madness, but in order to expose it, one has to perform it on a desert island.”

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act Two, Part Two By Dennis Abrams ———————————- To continue where I left of last time with Jan Kott: “The Tempest has two endings: a quiet evening on the island, when Prospero forgives his enemies and the story … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Act Two, Ariel, Caliban, Comedy, desert island, drama, Dream Shakespeare, Giordano Bruno, Jan Kott, language, literature, Miranda, nature, power, prologue, Prospero, Prospero's island, Shakespeare, struggle for power, The King, The Prince, The Tempest, William Shakespeare, writing | 1 Comment

“A most ridiculous monster, to make a wonder of a poor drunkard”

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act Two, Part One By Dennis Abrams ———————– Act Two: Alonso and his companions are searching for Ferdinand. Ariel, who remains invisible, send everyone to sleep except Antonio and Sebastian, Alonso’s brother. These two then plot to murder … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act Two, Ariel, Caliban, cave, Comedy, Cymbeline, drama, entertainment, island, language, literature, Miranda, New World, Prospero, Scyorax, Shakespeare, slave, The Magic Flute, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, tragedy, William Shakespeare, writing | 2 Comments

“Shakespeare, in this, the last play completely from his hand, is inventing science fiction.”

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act One, Part Two By Dennis Abrams —————————— An interesting take from A.D. Nuttall: “In the television series Star Trek Captain Kirk of the starship Enterprise says ‘Are you feeling emotion, Mr. Spock?’ Spock, as his ears show, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged . Mr. Spock, A Midsummer Night's Dream, act one, Ariel, Bermuda, Caliban, Captain Kirk, Comedy, drama, entertainment, Forbidden Planet, H.G. Wells, language, literature, Miranda, Montaigne, On Cannibals, Prospero, Puck, science fiction, Shakespeare, Star Trek, tempest, The Tempest, Virginia, William Shakespeare, writing | 4 Comments

“This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,/Which thou tak’st from me.”

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest Act One, Part One By Dennis Abrams ————- MAJOR CHARACTERS Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan, living in banishment on an island Miranda, Prospero’s daughter Antonio, Prospero’s brother, the usurping Duke of Milan Alonso, King of Naples Sebastian, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged act one, Ariel, Caliban, Comedy, drama, entertainment, Ferdinand, language, literature, magic, Miranda, Prospero, Robert Browning, Shakespeare, The Tempest, This island's mine, W.H. Auden, William Shakespeare, writing | 3 Comments

“But what the world is cannot be said in a sentence. Or even in a poem as complete and beautiful as ‘The Tempest.’”

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Dennis Abrams

The Tempest An Introduction By Dennis Abrams ——————————– The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s most cherished works. Yet, at the same, it can seem his most abstruse, and even at time unfathomable. It recounts the story of an exiled Italian … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ariel, coloniialism, Comedy, drama, entertainment, Introduction, language, late plays, late romance, literature, magic, Montaigne, On Cannibals, Prospero, romance, Shakespeare, The Tempest, William Shakespeare, writing | 3 Comments