tempmagic Magic in Shakespeares The Tempest :: Tempest essays

Magic in Shakespeares Tempest         The Tempest, written in 1611, was one of William Shakespeares last functions. It has a combination of brilliant characters, interesting settings, and a right(a) plot lineall held together by the running theme of fantasy, and its ever-present importance. A approximate examination of the prank in The Tempest, and thepublics view of magic at the time, will give insight as to Shakespeares choiceof magic as a theme, and why it has made the correspond so successful and timeless.         Magic presented itself to Shakespeare as a controversial topic, as ithad been the persecution of those believed to perform black magic, (witches)that had been at the forefront of societal concerns since 1050. However, after(prenominal)500 age of witch-hunts, a turning point occurred in 1584, at the publicationof Reginald Scots The Discouerie of Witchcrafte (The Discovery of Witchcraft).This contain was the first major book to denounce witch-hunts and their ringleaders,and bona fide the first book in English to actually hypothesize well-nigh themethods of these so-called witches. It contained one chapter of approximatelytwenty pages describing what we might view as unsophisticated, olde worlde magictricks.         virtuoso would assume that it was this text, and texts succeeding this (TheArt of Juggling, written by Samuel Ridd in 1610 also presented a few how-tos ofmagic) were probably not only what suggested the paper of using magic as a themto Shakespeare, but in addition, provided methods as to how the magic in theplay might be accomplished.         Despite the fact that in retrospective psychoanalysis it is fairly clear thatwitches were nothing more that magicians with a slightly different presentation,audiences were not always aware of and those that were, were rarely convincedbythe two said(prenominal) t exts. Witches were still persecuted and witch-huntsdid not actually stop until the end of the seventeenth century. Therefore,Shakespeares use of magic was controversial, compounded by the fact thatProspero was presented in a largely good lighta move probably made as apolitical statement, as it is known that Shakespeares plays were sometimeswritten to embarrass political suggestions to ability James. However, when Prosperorelinquished his powers at the end of the play, those that did believe in thewitch-hunts were satisfied. Everyone was happy.         After considering the contention that the masque scene was added for thepurposes of compliment to Elizabeth and Fredericks marriage, one could concludethat Shakespeare knowledgeable more about magic after he wrote The Tempest. Thereasoning follows. One could only assume that Shakespeare would have tried tomake the magic in the play as nonchalant and magical as possible.tempmagic Magic in Shakespeare s The Tempest Tempest essays Magic in Shakespeares Tempest         The Tempest, written in 1611, was one of William Shakespeares lastplays. It has a combination of superb characters, interesting settings, and agood plot lineall held together by the running theme of magic, and its ever-present importance. A closer examination of the magic in The Tempest, and thepublics view of magic at the time, will give insight as to Shakespeares choiceof magic as a theme, and why it has made the play so successful and timeless.         Magic presented itself to Shakespeare as a controversial topic, as ithad been the persecution of those believed to perform black magic, (witches)that had been at the forefront of societal concerns since 1050. However, after500 years of witch-hunts, a turning point occurred in 1584, at the publicationof Reginald Scots The Discouerie of Witchcrafte (The Discovery of Witchcraft).This book was the first major book to denounce witch-hunts and their ringleaders,and unquestionable the first book in English to actually hypothesize about themethods of these so-called witches. It contained one chapter of approximatelytwenty pages describing what we might view as unsophisticated, old-time magictricks.         One would assume that it was this text, and texts succeeding this (TheArt of Juggling, written by Samuel Ridd in 1610 also presented a few how-tos ofmagic) were probably not only what suggested the idea of using magic as a themto Shakespeare, but in addition, provided methods as to how the magic in theplay might be accomplished.         Despite the fact that in retrospective analysis it is fairly clear thatwitches were nothing more that magicians with a slightly different presentation,audiences were not always aware of and those that were, were rarely convincedbythe two aforementioned texts. Witches were still persecuted and witch-huntsdid not actually stop until the end of the seventeenth century. Therefore,Shakespeares use of magic was controversial, compounded by the fact thatProspero was presented in a largely good lighta move probably made as apolitical statement, as it is known that Shakespeares plays were sometimeswritten to include political suggestions to King James. However, when Prosperorelinquished his powers at the end of the play, those that did believe in thewitch-hunts were satisfied. Everyone was happy.         After considering the contention that the masque scene was added for thepurposes of compliment to Elizabeth and Fredericks marriage, one could concludethat Shakespeare learned more about magic after he wrote The Tempest. Thereasoning follows. One could only assume that Shakespeare would have tried tomake the magic in the play as fooling and magical as possible.