In Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’, Prospero is the main character. He is the usurped king of Milan. He is living in the magical island for twelve years with his daughter Miranda. Caliban is the native of the Island. One of the themes of ‘Tempest’ is Nature Versus Nurture. Prospero is the product of nurture and Caliban is the product of nature. Prospero is the king of Milan, a civilized man. Caliban is a savage. He is the son of witch Sycorax, who ruled the island before Prospero arrived. Prospero along with his daughter Miranda was driven from his kingdom by his brother Antonio to sea, in to a small boat. They survived and eventually found themselves in the magical island. Prospero by means of his magical knowledge is able to create magical spells with the help of spirits inhibiting the island. He uses his magic and commands spirits like Ariel only to avenge the wrong done on him. As we find in the play, Prospero creates a storm through his magic. A boat is found trapped in the storm, among the passenger are his brother Antonio, King of Naples Alonso and his son Ferdinand, the king’s brother Sebastian and Golzalo, his advisor. But he does not harm any of them. They discover themselves safe in the enchanting island.
Caliban is the offspring of witch Sycorax. On his arrival on the island, Prospero attempts to teach him human language and had no intention of enslaving him. He cannot be improved as tries to rape Miranda. This statement is true as is evident from his speech to Prospero: “O ho,O ho! would’t had been done!/Thou didst prevent me; I had peopled else/ This isle with Calibans”, (Act1, SceneII). Caliban uses the language only to utter powerless curses to Prospero. Prospero by dint of his mystic powers makes him his slave and binds him to a hard rock. Caliban dislikes Prospero as Prospero has usurped his position as the king of the island: “This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,/Which thou takest from me. When thou camest first”, (Act1, SceneII).As the son of Sycorax who was the ruler of the island, he is rightfully the king of the isle.
In the play Caliban is described as the deformed spirit. He is the savage slave of Prospero. Prospero is a refined man, the king of Milan. He is a man is superior to nature. He is not only a man but also the sovereign who posses a higher status in society. His magic is more powerful than that of Sycorax because of its different nature. Sycorax is a goetist so her magic is as potent as that of a demon. Prospero is a theurgist. He does not act for his own benefit but in order to produce what is good. He uses his supernatural powers to test Ferdinand’s love for Miranda. He saves the life of Gonzalo and Alonso and he makes his brother face his crime. When he came to the island, he realized Ariel from the magic of Sycorax. In the end he forgives all including Caliban. He frees Ariel from the position of a slave. Caliban is described as a villain by Miranda. Trinculo, a jester and Stephano, a butler think him as some kind of fish with four legs. Caliban accepts that he tried to ‘violate the honor’ of Miranda but feels no regret which shows his lack of conscience or soul. He curses Prospero through out the play and invites cramps as punishment. He gets drunk along with Trinculo and Stephano. In his drunkenness, he takes drunken Stephano as his master. He along with Stephano and Trinculo plots the murder of Prospero. But in the last act of the play Caliban accepts the goodness of Prospero: “How fine my master is! I am afraid/ He will chastise me”, (Act 5, Scene I). He realizes that he has been a fool in worshipping Stephano, the drunken fool.
In the play, Prospero is the product of civilization and Caliban is the product of wild and untamed nature. He is a savage and remains a savage till the end. Whereas Prospero is the monarch, who uses his supernatural power to get back the kingdom of Milan. When he realizes that he no longer requires his power, he parts from his precious book. Prospero and Caliban can be compared in many ways. Both are displaced kings in their own way and both are trapped on an island. Both try to regain their freedom and their position. In the end Prospero goes back to Milan and leave Caliban along on the island.
Citation:
A Teacher Resource Guide by Laurie Sales: The Tempest
17March2007.18March2007;http://www.mccarter.org/Education/tempest/index.html#contents;
Everything2 on: The Tempest
17March2007.18March2007;http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=2851;AM on: The Tempest- study guide
17March2007.18March2007;http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/shakespeare/tempest.htm#top;
Tempest- by William Shakespeare
17March2007.18March2007;http://www.readprint.com/chapter-8421/William-Shakespeare;
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Vishnu And Shiva At The Norton Simon
History of Asian Art 3A Banerji Vishnu and Shiva at the Norton Simon In Southeast Asia art is influenced by Hinduism and is often depicts just a few characters: primary the god’s Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. Although the subject matters are often of the same representation, at times they can be hard to distinguish from one other to the untrained eye. Despite the variances of artistic styling, diachronically and synchronically, the symbolism remains the same. Through understanding the iconography of Vishnu and Shiva one can retell the story of Hindu art.
The distinguishing traits that set Vishnu apart from other figures are that he is rendered with a crown, often looking like a tall cone shaped hat. His chest is shown with the srivasta mark, or a jewel, symbolizing his wife Lakshmi. He has two main consorts Lakshmi and Saraswati. Draped from Vishnu’s shoulders is a garland of flowers, vanamaalaa. Although other deities will also have multiple arms, Vishnu is always depicted to have four arms. The two front arms indicate the physical world and the two back arms denote the spiritual realm. His mount, vahana, Garuda is a zoomorphic eagle with the head of a man.
He also has many avatars in which he is portrayed as. Vishnu is found holding four items; a conch shell, a wheel or disc weapon representing the chakra, a mace, and a lotus flower. Within the collection of artworks in the Norton Simon Museum Vishnu is depicted in ways that both easily recognizable, and subtle. Sometimes works will even give the impression of Vishnu but are actually other deities or figures. Vishnu is clearly represented in a 10th century brownish-grey schist relief called “Vishnu as Vaikuntha. ” This three-headed version of Vishnu, shows Vishnu as the boar avatar and man-lion avatar.
He holds in his upper hands a lotus flower and conch shell while his lower hands touch the heads of a club-women and wheel-man. His body is also embraced by a garland. In a sandstone rendering of a Hindu Deity, 7th century from Thailand, Si Thep, Mon-Dvaravati period, art historians are unsure if the piece belongs to Vishnu or Surya, the sun god. The piece is fragmented and simply portrayed. He sports a hat and a broken sun disc is fashioned behind him. The hat resembles one of Vishnu’s key attributes but the lack of other symbols and the additional sun disc leaves art historians unsure of the deity’s identity.
Although there are telling attributes to recognize Vishnu by, sometimes the lack of multiple icons and the integration of other symbols makes it challenging to distinguish one deity from another. According to the Norton Simon Museum’s description of Shiva he is found with a vertical third-eye symbolizing omniscience and ability to eradicate ignorance, a double-sided drum signifying the creation dance, a cobra indicating his reign over death, a raised left foot representing liberation, flames of destruction denoting Shiva as the destroyer, and Ganga the river goddess caught in Shiva’s matted hair and brings the water of life.
Shiva is often found standing on the demon, or dwarf, of forgetfulness/ignorance (Norton Simon Museum). Aside from these symbols it is also characteristic of Shiva to be seen with a crescent moon in his hair, a trident, a deer, his consort Pavarti, his vahana the bull, and a garland of skulls. In an 11th century bronze rendering of “Shiva as the Lord of Dance (Nataraja)”, from Tamil Nadu India, Shiva is easily recognized. The piece is a dancing male figure with one foot raised and four arms in rhythmic gestures. Shiva stands on the dwarf of forgetfulness and the sculpture is encircled by flames.
In his matted hair, which is a sign of his asceticism, is Ganga. She is portrayed just off center to the right and slightly behind the crescent moon which looks like a barrette. In his right hand he holds a two-sided drum and in his left hand a flame. A discreetly sculpted snake wraps his right arm. This piece is easy recognized as Shiva especially because the figure is shown dancing which is a traditional portrayal of Shiva. The Norton Simon also displays other figures dancing such as Ganesha and Krisna, but the symbolism greatly differs and so the works are easily told apart.
Another rendering would be, “Shiva with Uma and Bull,” from Vietnam, ancient Champa, 10th – 11th century. This piece is a sandstone works and in style looks very different from the Nataraja from India. It shows a seated Shiva with his wife Uma and vahana Nandi, the bull. The Norton Simon suggests that the piece’s background is phallic and represents the lingam, another iconographic symbol of Shiva. Although it portrays a different aspect of Shiva and is the artistic technique various one would still know it is Shiva by the symbolism of the bull.
In the Asia Art Garden at the Norton Simon is unique 16th century representation of Shiva in the form of “Bull with Shivalingam and Other Deities” from Rajastan, India. The bull represents Shiva and is marked with many symbols. On the crest of the bull’s back is a lingam. In his ears are his two sons, Ganesha, and Kumara and his peacock. The bull’s front left leg is marked with a cobra, while the right is labeled by Shiva’s trident. Interestingly on the sides of the bull are a turtle, a fish, lotus, and a conch shell which all represent Vishnu.
It is not uncommon to find symbols of other deities in renderings or in temples to gods the primary god. But the main god will be in the focus and in a temple it will be in will be in the center with Ganesha facing south, the alternate god facing east (if it’s a Shiva cave: Vishnu and if it’s a Vishnu cave: Shiva), Brahma facing north, and Durga/Devi facing west. On the Bull there is also a swastika symbol which in India culture represents circumambulation, revolving around the sun, and a form of meditation. Ironically there’s also a symbol that looks like the Star of David. Figures that resemble boar avatars can also be found.
As one can see there are many ways in which Asian art depicts Vishnu and Shiva. In the Norton Simon alone there were examples of Vishnu and Shiva from Thailand, India, Cambodia, as well as neighboring countries, which all had distinct styles. The deities were rendered as themselves and were symbolically portrayed through avatars and icons. Regardless of the means one can discern Shiva and Vishnu from each other and other figures through the iconography which is canonized throughout Southeast Asia. Works Cited: “Norton Simon Museum. ” Asian Art A». N. p. , n. d. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.
Dramaturgical Theory Analysis
Dr. Erving Goffman developed the dramaturgical theory of society, which uses theater terminology to describe social interactions. The theory suggests that life can be compared to a play with moral lessons. According to this theory, we are all actors and actresses who require scripts, costumes, and sets to perform our roles. A crucial aspect of this theory is the distinction between front stage and back stage.
Of course, we all know the difference between these two when speaking of a literal theater production. The front stage is where the performance takes place in front of an audience. The backstage, behind the curtain, is where actors and actresses can be themselves without worrying about being judged by the audience. Similarly, in life, the front stage is what people want us to see while backstage is where people selectively choose to only tell certain things to certain people.
Backstage is when there is no acting and your true feelings show, but most people never see this. I have performed in many plays at my high school and have a good understanding of the difference between front and backstage. One time, I thought I had turned off my microphone after going behind the curtain, but I had not. So, I started talking about how I missed a whole section because of screaming kids. I was going on and on until I realized the entire audience was listening.
It was quite embarrassing, to say the least. In my regular everyday life, I exhibit both front and back stages. For example, when I’m around a crowd of people and upset about something, I act like everything is fine instead of explaining what’s wrong. This is an example of front stage behavior because I pretend and only let the audience know so much. However, when around just my friends, I tell them exactly how I feel – an example of being back stage because I no longer hide my emotions.