1.1 Dramatic Reading of Shakespeare's The TempestBy Dr. Greg MartinGenre: SpeechTags: Caliban, Prospero, Shakespeare, TempestDownload : MP3 AudioWelcome Back! � We are picking back up, now, with Shakespeare's The Tempest. It is one of his four Romances and according to the nineteenth century, his last play. It is indeed NOT his final play, but we can talk about it as likely his lost great play, and the last play he wrote by himself. The nineteenth century (and many uninformed critics and scholars today) consider The Tempest his final play because the themes of the play suggest it as a "farewell" to the theatre. The problem is, Shakespeare did not say farewell. He went on to write Henry VIII and with Fletcher, The Twe Noble Kinsmen and Cardenio (a lost play). Never the�less, we have it in our minds that it is his�last great play. � I find that Northrop Frye provides the best�overall explanation of the way the comedies evolve. We get the slapstick of plays like The Comedy of� Errors early on, the high romantic love stories of MND, AYLI, and TN in the middle of his career, and the four Romances with all of their mythical (and odd) features at the end of his career. � The first scene of the play is a dramatic rendering of the initial situation we find in so many comedies: chaos. The chaos which Prospero and Miranda experienced is now being mimicked in order to bring the wedding party to justice. this raises another important theme in Shakespeare's works and in this play in particular--mercy vs. justice/revenge. Many other plays suggest the danger of human revenge ("Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord" because revenge, as Hamlet and Titus discover, destroys the avenger). Does The Tempest? Let's come back to this later. � For now, notice the way, too, that the aristocrats and noblemen in this scene interfere with the work of the sailors. Consider how Shakespeare explores the them of overreaching (or in this case, "under" reaching). The Boatswain must fight with the members of the wedding party (excluding Ferdinand, interestingly enough) in order to do his job. Notice that he must make repeated requests for them not to interfere with his work and that the "assist the storm." In a sense, it is the fact that Antonio assisted the chaos�originally created by Prospero (by studying too much) that led to this situation in the first place. Here again we have mirror plots. � It is a short scene, but it is important in setting up these themes and the initial situation of the play--chaos. � I have two new features of the�show to introduce in this series of episodes. � First, I have started using some sound effects. You will notice these in the very first scene. I am torn about doing this for two reasons. First, my original conception�was to read the plays out loud to make a�FULL reading possible. To much flair may detract from the reading. However, I opted to try to make the shows more interesting and lively. Please submit comments�and suggestions on this new feature. Also, please note that I have purchased these sound effects for commercial purposes. The license ("Sound effects provided by www.a1freesoundeffects.com.") allows me to use the sounds for commercial purposes. Thanks to a1freesoundeffects! Please let me know how the sounds work in your systems or on your iPods/MP3 players. I reviewed the file numerous times with earbuds, and I think I have found a good volume level. Please offer comments below. � Secondly, I have recruited a former student and a burgeoning thespian to read the role of Miranda. Many students and other audience members requested that I use women to read the roles of the women in the plays. I am excited to invite Kelsey to particpate on this project. We performed in William Gibson's The Miracle Worker together, and she has played many important roles for our school's theatre program and in the Cincinnati region. In addition, she was a wonderful asset in my Honors American Literature course last year. Thanks, Kelsey! You all may hear more of he because she will be in the Shakespeare course in the spring of 2007. � So, without any further ado, enjoy this magical, mythical tale of love, mercy, revenge, and justice. � Dr. Martin �   �  

[ Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:20:21 GMT ]

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