In Act 1, Prospero and Antonio are revealed to have a dysfunctional relationship. Antonio has forced Prospero from the authority of the Duke of Naples. Antonio has acquired governmental authority through the betrayal, but the questions remain:
Who really has the upper hand in this relationship? Who has the authority AND the power?
In Scene 1, Antonio is introduced to be traveling in a ship with the king of Naples. In this scene, the only proof of his position is the fact that it is mentioned by the Boatswain. Antonio curses the Boatswain just as the mariners do. This shows that Antonio is just as base as the mariners, who are considerably low on the job food chain during this era.
In Scene 2, as Prospero limns the story of his brother’s betrayal to Melinda, there are implications that Prospero has magical power. Prospero has engendered the very tempest that has overthrown the ship with these powers. As he orders around Ariel, the ghost, he reveals that he has freed her from the imprisonment of magic. THrough his own disparaging words, Prospero demonstrates power that goes beyond his brother’s: the power to control the dead.
The wrathful Prospero throws his weight around in the way that he treats Ariel and Caliban. On the island that Prospero has been exiled to, Caliban is a physical slave to Prospero. In this scene, Ariel is presumably an indentured servant; she began the tempest in order to obtain her freedom. The dependant positions that the two are placed in demonstrated that Prospero has authority on the island.
Antonio has acquired great power in his betrayal, but only to a certain extent. Antonio is limited as the Duke, an underling of the King. Prospero, on the other hand, is the king of an island. Prospero has his own slaves and an heir, while Antonio only has the shifty position of the Duke and more money than the other underlings. So far, on the scoreboard, Prospero has the three points while Antonio only has two.
Power is, as Emily Dickinson once said, “A fickle food on a shifting plate.” In this case, Prospero has shifted the plate, and Antonio is at his mercy.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Frankenstein's Characters
In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is the failed romantic. He tries to go into Romanticism during his early years by studying works from Agrippa and performing Alchemy. As he dives deeper into study at Ingolstadt, he actually represents Classicism.
During the Age of Enlightenment, artists and scientists tried to keep certain classical ideals alive despite the growing transition that physics and architecture had brought. Victor tries to revive the classical forms of natural science through his own growing studies at the university by studying ancient philosophers and scientists. The fact that Victor can stand for Classicism illustrates the diversity in his ideals and methods.
By embracing both the antiquity of his ancient mentors and the novelty of his own anatomical discoveries, Victor ends up creating the monster. This creation represents the impact of science's growth on the classical society that Victor stands for. During the Age of Enlightenment, most clergyman showed disgust towards the growing power of science in society. Mary Shelley uses the relationship between the monster and Victor to demonstrate this attitude to her readers.
Shelley also uses Henry Clerval to represent the Romantic era. Henry contrasts with Victor's Classicism largely because Henry is focused on what is already in front of him while Victor focuses on inward ideals and situations. During the Romantic era, artists painted and poets composed on environmental scenes the way that Henry relishes every detail of the countries the two visit in chapters 18-20.
Shelley also uses the catastrophe in chapters 18-20 to predict the downfall of both eras. Henry Clerval appreciates the details of the natural settings and art of each country. Victor loves Henry because of his manner, but the monster abruptly ends the relationship by murdering Henry. After the end of the Romantic era, the Industrial Revolution (also represented by the monster) brought every person's focus to modern machinery and nearly ended the focus towards the natural world and antiquity. The Romanitc Era reflected certain ideals of the Age of Enlightenment, just as Henry was linked to Victor. So in the end, science brings down the Romantic Era and Classicism.
Image Courtesy of I Luv Cinema
During the Age of Enlightenment, artists and scientists tried to keep certain classical ideals alive despite the growing transition that physics and architecture had brought. Victor tries to revive the classical forms of natural science through his own growing studies at the university by studying ancient philosophers and scientists. The fact that Victor can stand for Classicism illustrates the diversity in his ideals and methods.
By embracing both the antiquity of his ancient mentors and the novelty of his own anatomical discoveries, Victor ends up creating the monster. This creation represents the impact of science's growth on the classical society that Victor stands for. During the Age of Enlightenment, most clergyman showed disgust towards the growing power of science in society. Mary Shelley uses the relationship between the monster and Victor to demonstrate this attitude to her readers.
Shelley also uses Henry Clerval to represent the Romantic era. Henry contrasts with Victor's Classicism largely because Henry is focused on what is already in front of him while Victor focuses on inward ideals and situations. During the Romantic era, artists painted and poets composed on environmental scenes the way that Henry relishes every detail of the countries the two visit in chapters 18-20.
Shelley also uses the catastrophe in chapters 18-20 to predict the downfall of both eras. Henry Clerval appreciates the details of the natural settings and art of each country. Victor loves Henry because of his manner, but the monster abruptly ends the relationship by murdering Henry. After the end of the Romantic era, the Industrial Revolution (also represented by the monster) brought every person's focus to modern machinery and nearly ended the focus towards the natural world and antiquity. The Romanitc Era reflected certain ideals of the Age of Enlightenment, just as Henry was linked to Victor. So in the end, science brings down the Romantic Era and Classicism.
Image Courtesy of I Luv Cinema
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