Shakespeare's plays were always performed at...

A 'tempest' is...

Prospero once was...

Ariel and Prospero's relationship involves...

Caliban feels...

Analysing a Character in Literature: How is Caliban Presented?

﻿Welcome, everybody. It's Mr Dyke here with another English lesson based on The Tempest. Before we begin, make sure you've got a pen at the ready, pen of a different colour that you can mark your work with, clear away any other distractions that you might have. It will also be useful to have your notes from previous lessons so that you can refer back to them if at any point you get stuck. Once you are done with that, write down today's title which is on the screen: The Theme of Love: Ferdinand and Miranda. Let's start with a recap as always. We'll now recap. Today we're going to be focusing on Prospero and Miranda, and the reason for that is because, obviously, we're going to be looking at Miranda in more detail today, so we want to remember everything we can about the relationship between these two particular characters. So we are recalling everything about Prospero and Miranda, focusing on their relationship and what you know about Miranda specifically. So pause now, just for two minutes, and write down everything you can remember about them. Okay. Now here are three really key points. So you might've written some more, you might've worded them slightly differently, but here are three really key points I want you to specifically have written down. So first of all, Miranda has lived on the island since she was a baby. She knows very little outside of the island, and has encountered very little beyond the island, especially in the way of men. So Miranda has only ever known two men, her father, Prospero, and Caliban. Prospero is the ruler of the island and possesses magical powers. That's an important thing to remember when we start to read the scene in which we meet Ferdinand, because Prospero is very much going to be in control of Miranda's love and Miranda's life. Because going by typical societal structures in Elizabethan England, any father would be the primary person in control of his daughter's future, marriage, wealth and status and all of that kind of stuff. So Prospero will ultimately be exercising his power over Miranda's future in that respect. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. So, today we're going to be focusing on the moment in which these two characters meet. Now, we've actually skipped this scene because we've focused on other things, such as Caliban and Trinculo and Stephano and the other characters. So Ferdinand and Miranda meeting did happen a little bit earlier, but it just happened at the side. And I want to focus on that now, because this is going to be very much a key theme that runs through the rest of the play. Remember that this is a comedy, which means that we would expect it to end in a lighthearted way with a marriage, and these are the only two characters which seem to have any kind of romantic relationship. So we expect these two characters to have that positive storyline and a positive part of their journey. However, in many Shakespearean comedies, that love doesn't always go smoothly. So if any of you know 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', all the love and relationships within that play take a lot of sorting out. There's a lot of problems and barriers along the way, so we'll have to find out what barriers Ferdinand and Miranda have in order to enjoy their love. So let's summarise the scene first and summarise when Ferdinand enters. So Ferdinand was obviously washed up separate to all of the other sailors and all the other mariners and nobles that were on that ship, and Ferdinand has washed up on the beach. So Ariel, playing music and singing, enters and leads in Ferdinand. So Ariel is in control. Prospero tells Miranda to look upon Ferdinand, and Miranda, who has seen no humans in her life other than Prospero and Caliban, immediately falls in love. It's love at first sight for Miranda. Ferdinand is similarly smitten and reveals his identity as the Prince of Naples. Prospero is pleased that they are so taken with each other, but decides that the two must not fall in love too quickly, so he accuses Ferdinand of merely pretending to be the Prince of Naples. When he tells Ferdinand he is going to imprison him, Ferdinand draws his sword, but Prospero charms him so that he cannot move. Miranda attempts to persuade her father to have mercy, but he silences her harshly. So when we first meet Ferdinand, there's that immediately barrier to their love. It's important to recognise that Prospero is a good father, and whilst he's protective over Miranda, he does want what's best for her, and he will be pleased that she has met someone who she can fall in love with. However, if you think about what Prospero is trying to do in the play, he is trying to obviously engineer a way in which he can take his vengeance on Alonso and Antonio. He needs to use Ferdinand in a very specific way. So he's not going to allow them to be together straight away, hence why he's done this. So let's read together how that scene goes. As always, make sure that you are making a note of the key events as we read them. So a good rule of thumb is just to make a note for each slide, something you learn, something that has happened in that particular scene. If you need to pause at any point, obviously you can do that, and I will explain as many of the words and as many of the concepts as we go as possible. So we're going to start off with Ferdinand and we're going to look at how he describes Miranda when we he sees her. So take a close look at the language used by Shakespeare to describe the meeting of these two characters. So Ferdinand starts by saying, "Most sure, the goddess Of whom these airs attend! Vouchsafe my prayer May know if you remain upon this island. And that you will some good instruction give How I may bear me here. My prime request, Which I do last pronounce, is O you wonder! If you be maid or no." So look at the words that Ferdinand's using to describe Miranda. There's a lot of words linked to importance and God. So "goddess", you've got him describing her as a "wonder". And he's actually asking her whether she is a figment of his imagination or not. Is he seeing things or is she a real maid? By maid he just means a real person, a real woman. So he's questioning whether what he is seeing is true. Miranda: "No wonder, sir. But certainly a maid." So she's saying, "No, I'm not a wonder. I'm not a goddess. I'm not a spirit. I am just a normal girl." Ferdinand: "My language! Heavens, I am the best of them that speak this speech, Were I but where 'tis spoken." And Prospero, he's going to interject here. "How? The best? What wert thou if the King of Naples heard thee?" "A single thing, as I am now, that wonders To hear thee speak of Naples. He does hear me, And that he does I weep. Myself am Naples, Who with mine eyes, never since at ebb, beheld The king my father wracked." So Ferdinand is revealing that he thinks his father is dead and that he is the Prince of Naples. And Miranda is saying, "Alack, for mercy!" So she feels sorry for him. And as we know, Miranda feels emotions, she's very empathetic, as she was revealed when she saw the shipwreck. So she's going to feel real sorrow for Ferdinand because of him losing his father, or thinking he's lost his father. Pausing there, what does Ferdinand think Miranda is on first viewing? And what does Prospero realise from Ferdinand's speech? So pause there, just spend two minutes answering those two questions. Okay, let's continue. So Ferdinand says, "Yes, faith, and all his lords, the Duke of Milan And his brave son being twain." Prospero is going to talk aside. So, "The Duke of Milan And his more braver daughter could control thee If now 'twere fit to do 't! At the first sight They have changed eyes." So Prospero is realising here that his daughter and Ferdinand are falling in love. They have changed eyes. So he is recognising the fact that this is important for his daughter, and it'll no doubt feed into his plans. Miranda, aside: "Why speaks my father so urgently? This is the third man that e'er I saw, the first That e'er I sighed for. Pity move my father To be inclined my way!" So Miranda's frustrated that Prospero isn't necessarily being kind and welcoming to Ferdinand, and Miranda's kind of fighting her own corner there and saying that she's not met many other men before, so why is he proving a barrier? Ferdinand, to Miranda, "Oh, if a virgin, And your affection not gone forth, I'll make you The queen of Naples." So he's offering to try and make her the future queen of Naples. Offering to, essentially, promise to marry her. That's how much he is in love with her. Prospero: "Soft, sir! One word more." And then he's going to say aside, "They are both in either's powers, but this swift business I must uneasy make lest too light winning Make the prize light." So he's actually saying there that he is not going to make this easy for them both. He's going to make them work for their love and prove their love before he allows it. Prospero's going to speak to Ferdinand. "One word more. I charge thee That thou attend me. Thou dost here usurp The name thou owest not, and hast put thyself Upon this island as a spy to win it From me, the lord on 't." So Prospero is behaving in quite a suspicious and mean way about Ferdinand, accusing him of being a spy and that his intentions are to take over the island from him. Pausing there, so two quick questions. What does Ferdinand propose to do for Miranda? And what does Prospero decide should happen? Pause there and answer those two. Two minutes. Okay. Let's continue. So Miranda: "There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple. For if the ill spirit have so fair a house, Good things will strive to dwell with 'it." So Miranda is describing Ferdinand as a temple. Think about what that implies. And that nothing ill can dwell in it. So she's describing him as this kind of perfect thing. Prospero to Ferdinand: "Follow me." And Prospero to Miranda: "Speak not you for him. He's a traitor." So Prospero is behaving in a way which is demonstrating his control over the two of them. Ferdinand: "Come, I'll manacle thy neck and feet together. Seawater shalt thou drink. Thy food shall be The fresh-brook mussles, withered roots, and husks Wherein the acorn cradled. Follow." So Prospero is prepared to treat Ferdinand like a prisoner. He's going to manacle his neck and feet together. He's going to essentially tie him up with chains, treat him like someone who's captured, and this is all part of Prospero's plan. Pausing there, then, and answering one quick question. Two minutes, make sure that's done in a full sentence. Okay, and as always, you need to change to your other coloured pen and be ready to mark your responses. So, what does Ferdinand think Miranda is on first viewing? Ferdinand believed Miranda's a goddess, and that he is seeing things having washed up on the island. So it's almost like she's a mirage. What does Prospero realise from Ferdinand's speech? Prospero realises that Ferdinand is the son of King Alonso, and that he can, therefore, use this to his advantage. So Prospero is factoring Ferdinand into the plan. What does Ferdinand propose to do? Ferdinand wants to make her the Queen of Naples. What does Prospero decide should happen? Prospero accepts that they've fallen in love at first sight. However, he feels it shouldn't happen so quickly, and so accuses Ferdinand of pretending to be the Prince of Naples. And Prospero intends to chain Ferdinand up as a prisoner until he decides he is worthy of Miranda, and give them time to prove their love. Very sinister of Prospero. Okay, we're going to think about how the theme of love is presented, then. And what I've done here is giving you three specific ways that it's done, so three statements which explain how love is being presented. And you've also got three quotations underneath, which demonstrate each of those statements. However, they aren't matched to the correct one. So your job, in a moment, is to pause, and you're going to decide, first of all, which of the quotations is an example of religious imagery? Which of the quotations is an example of a tone of amazement? So remember a tone is kind of a feeling that is created through the words. And which of the quotations demonstrates Prospero's optimism? So the idea of having belief in something. So pause there. You need to write down the three techniques, or the three statements, and then you're going to write down the quotation which matches to that statement next to it. That should only take you one or two minutes in reality, so just pause there and spend that time writing your answers down. Okay, let's start by thinking about religious imagery. So I've said that "goddess", and that use of "goddess" is the quotation that you should've matched to religious imagery. So you can give yourself a tick if you've done that. Now, our next job is to explain those quotations, and how that demonstrates love in the scene. So this is my example. So I've started with the use of religious imagery connotes importance. So you've already written down the technique or statement about religious imagery. Hopefully you've matched the quotation of "goddess" with that. Your job is to explain, and you can do this in your own words, what we learn about the theme of love from this. So I've said, "This suggests a sense of status and beauty which Ferdinand sees in Miranda immediately. He questions whether she is real, emphasising the impact she has on him. It could also suggest how integral this moment is to the rest of the play." Because often when we see religious imagery, that connotes importance and significance. So, make sure you pause now and explain in your own way what the religious imagery in "goddess" suggests about the theme of love. So try and reword it. Pause now, spend two or three minutes doing that. Okay, and you will notice then that a tone of amazement mixes and joins the quote, "You wonder!" It matches to, "You wonder!" So hopefully that is one that you chose. So again, we're going to explain how this describes the theme of love. So the use of a tone of amazement juxtaposes... So that's where you contrast, remember. We've looked at that idea already. Two ideas that contrast. Juxtaposes other darker themes and gives the play a sense of light-heartedness and happiness. So we've got the quotation "You wonder!" Your job is just explain how the use of "You wonder!", when Ferdinand is describing Miranda, how does that create a tone of amazement? How does that present the theme of love in the play? So pause there, just spending three or four minutes explaining that quotation. And this is your final one. So hopefully you've matched Prospero's optimism with the remaining quotation. So it's your job to make sure you've got that one correct. So it should be the third, final quotation that I gave you. Write that down first. And I'd like you just to explain the purpose of Prospero's optimism here. What does it do? So Prospero's optimism does what? Then write your quotation that you've got left down, and then you're going to explain that quotation. So this one is a slightly bigger job. So I'm going to give you around five to seven minutes to do this one. Pause the video now and have a go at that. And that brings us to the end of the lesson. So, as always, thank you very much for your focus, and I look forward to next time.

A Shakespearean Comedy features...

A Shakespearean Comedy is also likely to involve...

A key theme in the Tempest is...

Ariel demands...

Caliban is the only...

The Theme of Love: Ferdinand and Miranda

In this lesson, we will explore the romantic aspect of 'The Tempest'.  We will look at how the relationship between Ferdinand and Miranda is presented and then link this to the wider comedy genre.

Lesson overview:The theme of love: Ferdinand and Miranda

Core Content

Shakespearean Comedy - The Tempest: