Within his enslavement to Prospero, Ariel becomes more and more trapped as the play progresses, largely because he becomes more emotionally involved. Following the chronology of his increasing enslavement, Ariel’s place of physical confinement is in the left half of the frame and the words and pine cones representing his more complex psychological confinement are on the right. I used the striking line, “Do you love me, master?” to represent Ariel’s mental confinement within his enslavement to Prospero (4.1.48). I elected to leave out the word “master” in my piece to capture the essence of Ariel’s sentiment more sympathetically, and focus on Ariel's emotional need for "love." The phrase's connection to Prospero is contextually defined nonetheless. Though physical confinement, like Ariel’s in the tree, may seem more intuitively inescapable than anything, Ariel’s emotional attachment to Prospero proves more gripping when it leaves the reader questioning if he would be able to leave his master even if his enslavement “split,” or presented an opportunity to escape, like the tree. In the end, Ariel’s emotions are more inescapable than anything. Unlike the dead, harmless, already-split tree on the left, the falling seeds sown in Ariel’s mind with each of the words in his question are bound to grow into incredible prisons.
For my creative project, I chose to represent Ariel’s enslavement to Prospero and his confinement in their relationship in Shakespeare’s The Tempest using a black ballpoint pen drawing. I attached my overall impression of Ariel’s involvement in the creation of his confinement and its layers to the motif of the “cloven pine,” as the first place Ariel was physically confined (1.2.276). Since reading The Tempest, I’ve been especially interested in the different degrees of confinement visible in Ariel and Prospero’s relationship. For simplicity, in my drawing, I sought to represent two: emotional and physical confinement. The larger tree on the left represents Ariel’s physical confinement, which has been mitigated by Prospero’s aid in his liberation. However, in the play, Ariel is far from free when he escapes the tree–now dead and harmless in my drawing–because he’s Prospero’s indentured servant instead.
Within his enslavement to Prospero, Ariel becomes more and more trapped as the play progresses, largely because he becomes more emotionally involved. Following the chronology of his increasing enslavement, Ariel’s place of physical confinement is in the left half of the frame and the words and pine cones representing his more complex psychological confinement are on the right. I used the striking line, “Do you love me, master?” to represent Ariel’s mental confinement within his enslavement to Prospero (4.1.48). I elected to leave out the word “master” in my piece to capture the essence of Ariel’s sentiment more sympathetically, and focus on Ariel's emotional need for "love." The phrase's connection to Prospero is contextually defined nonetheless. Though physical confinement, like Ariel’s in the tree, may seem more intuitively inescapable than anything, Ariel’s emotional attachment to Prospero proves more gripping when it leaves the reader questioning if he would be able to leave his master even if his enslavement “split,” or presented an opportunity to escape, like the tree. In the end, Ariel’s emotions are more inescapable than anything. Unlike the dead, harmless, already-split tree on the left, the falling seeds sown in Ariel’s mind with each of the words in his question are bound to grow into incredible prisons.
0 Comments
Your words continue to haunt me. “Thou shalt be free,” you promised, but the weight of your authority lay heavy upon my spirit. Every day, your commands echo throughout the island: “Ariel, bring me the word of my enemies.” “Ariel, confound their plans.” I am constantly reminded of my servitude, and maybe that’s all that I’ve become: a mere extension of your will.
You freed me from the pine tree, and I am eternally grateful for this. But now I find myself in a different kind of bondage, one that feels heavier than that of the tree. My service is the price of my freedom, a freedom I am not sure I will ever have. And when I seek clarification, I am simply forced to relive this trauma: “Dost thou forget from what a torment I did free thee?” “You malignant thing!” How am I supposed to respond? Of course I would never forget if you constantly remind me, guilt tripping me into serving you. I feel so insignificant, so helpless that I just want to cradle in the arms of someone. Maybe those cold, lifeless arms of that tree are better than your sickening presence. As the night deepens, my thoughts wander to the promise of freedom. Could I ever truly be free, or was I destined to forever remain a servant to someone more powerful? Servitude is the only life I’ve known, so do I even know what it means to be free? The island, with all its external beauty and hidden sorrows, has become both my sanctuary and prison. Despite the heaviness in my heart, I cannot deny this strange bond I’ve formed with you. It is this complex relationship defined by gratitude, loyalty, and shared destiny. You are also a prisoner in your own sense, exiled from dukedom and currently seeking retribution. You and I are both bound by circumstances beyond our control, and this has tied our fates in a way I could never have foreseen. Regardless of the burden that comes with servitude, I sense that we are connected by a symbiotic relationship: a companionship that transcends the simple bounds of master and servant. As I gaze upon the island, I understand that my journey is still incomplete. I long for the freedom to dance upon the winds, unbound by the shackles of command and duty. Yet this desire is entangled with a sense of responsibility to you. Just as you've left your mark on my story, I have left my mark on yours. The question of whether my destiny is forever tied to you remains elusive, but the dawn brings its challenges I must conquer. For now, my heart flutters with the hope of what might be. ___________________________________________________________________________ Analysis: I chose Option 5 of writing a short story from the perspective of Ariel from The Tempest. In this letter, Ariel directly addresses Prospero and explores themes of freedom and servitude. Ariel’s thoughts and emotions are never explored in the play, and I thought it would be interesting to explore how she might interpret her relationship with Prospero. In 1.2, Ariel seems to have conflicted feelings towards Prospero: “All hail, great master; grave sir, hail!” (1.2.189). This greeting reflects both respect and submission, showing her role as a servant bound to follow order. The short story expands on this dynamic, exploring her feelings on being controlled by Prospero. Prospero promised her freedom after servitude, but Ariel feels completely hopeless: she is unsure whether he will grant her freedom, and she feels as though she is a mere extension of his will. Furthermore, Prospero says to her in The Tempest, “Dost thou forget / From what a torment I did free thee?” (1.2.250-51). This highlights the emotional leverage that Prospero holds over her, as he continually reminds her of her terrible past to instill a sense of guilt and obligation. In the story, Ariel expresses how her “chains” linked to Prospero feel much heavier than the ones used by Sycorax. She wants to distance herself as much as possible, as she says she would rather be with the cold, lifeless arms of the pine tree than be in his presence. However, Ariel also explains this unique relationship she developed with Prospero. Although Prospero is more favored in this case, I envision them as symbiotic organisms. Prospero needs Ariel for her magical abilities, and Ariel relies on Prospero for her freedom. This reminded me of “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead” by Tom Stoppard, where the characters struggle to exist outside of the realm of the original play, Hamlet. In the story, Ariel is unsure of whether she truly wants freedom because she cannot function as a character without Prospero. Her identity has become so intertwined with Prospero that the concept of existing independently seems nearly impossible. After leaving their marks on each other’s stories, their destinies are eternally linked. The original Ariel from Shakespeare’s The Tempest is portrayed as an ethereal spirit. However, this adaptation gives her character emotional depth and allows us to explore conflicting feelings between her desire for freedom and a symbiotic relationship with Prospero.
L.H. I chose option 3 and sang one of Ariel's musical pieces from The Tempest with a super basic piano melody. This excerpt is Ariel singing to Ferdinand, leading Ferdinand away and convincing him that his father has been lost to the storm. A slow, melancholy melody felt appropriate for the context, so I used broken minor chords at the start and I took advantage of the line about "sea-change" in the middle to play with a key change. Ariel isn't supposed to be jarring, but simultaneously enticing and distant. His voice is described almost like the wind is speaking to Ferdinand, so given more time (I'm not a particularly skilled singer or musician), I might have come up with a more complex piano accompaniment in order to mask or soften the vocal. This adaptation of Ariel is more feminine and defined than the ethereal spirit with whom we are familiar. I think giving him/her a physical, audible voice makes him real, and tangible, where he may otherwise be a rather vague force of nature and source of magic. His ability to bend reality is easily correlated with music's ability of influence. It's not surprising then that Ariel sings; his music and his magic are wrapped up in one another. Furthermore, exploring Ariel's music triggered my curiosity about Caliban's musical inclinations. Caliban's music would obviously differ greatly from Ariel, especially given that Ariel uses music as a magical tool and an expression whereas Caliban seems to use it as an emotional outlet or private coping mechanism, and perhaps even as a release for any joy he keeps so well squashed.
Ariel Improvisation Analysis
Text Selection: “Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices That, if I then had waked after long sleep, Will make me sleep again. And then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked I cried to dream again.” The goal of improvisation, in any context, is to capture the essence of a moment’s emotions and to express them musically. When I read this scene, where Ariel plays such enchanting music that the other characters are nearly bewitched, I wondered to myself ‘what sort of music could be both so surprising and so calming, so bewitching and so free? What sort of music would a spirit play?’. With these adjectives summarizing a mood, I sat down and thought about how I could make the music be familiar yet entrancing. So, I chose the key of C Major, which shares a key signature with A minor, because C major is a fundamentally simple key signature - often the one new music players will learn first because of its simplicity and lack of black notes - yet also has so many possibilities for quiet surprise. It is hard to know exactly what went through my mind while playing this piece, because if I did know, I could play it again, and unfortunately I can never play the same improvisational thing twice. However, I can say for certain that it was based around the sound of “sweet airs that give delight and hurt not”. In musical language, I translated this to a major key that resolves to another major key, in this case resolving the key of C major to F major. I tried to focus on the abstract nature of the beauty of this song, a song that will make you “sleep” one moment and drop “riches” on you the next, and accomplished this by making heavy use of the 9th interval (in the key of C, this means placing the note ‘D’ on top of any chords in the right hand), an interval that is mysterious but also charming. This musical ‘summarization’ of the passage actually helped me understand Ariel better in my own way. When reading the passage, I wondered what Ariel’s music would sound like, but never pursued my curiosity, and so my perception of Ariel as a character was left incomplete, as in the setting of a play (as Shakespeare intended) we would hear the music, but just by reading the script we could not even begin to understand it. I highly recommend that everyone try and adapt this piece for themselves, or listen to how the professional directors hear it in their heads by watching clips of professional shows, because without it I really think Ariel is incomplete as a character, and in my mind now he is truly whole. Caliban sat quietly on the grass, crosslegged, his chin resting on his palm, looking at the stick jutting out of the ground which marked his mother's grave. Despite his quietness, the nature surrounding him was far from silent: the birdsong, the high winds from the ocean breeze, and the waves crashing into the cliffside forty feet below created an ambience Caliban often found his mind lost in. He was thinking about his mother.
Years ago, before Prospero and Miranda, while Caliban's mother was still alive, she would often take him to this very spot on the cliffside: a small, triangular piece of open area that stuck out from one of the island's many forests. She had called it their "special spot," so when it came time for Caliban to bury her, he found that this place was appropriate. He thought that he would be happy after Prospero and Miranda and the others had finally left the island, and for a time, he certainly was--he reclaimed his island, his home, and there was no one left to seize it from him once again. As time passed, however, a deep loneliness set in, bringing back memories of his mother, her death, and the hardship of having to grow into a man on his own without her care. A part of him wanted to leave the island somehow, and find a new home with new companionship to be made. But how? His thoughts trailed over that question frequently. He had no raft, no ship, and certainly no clue as to how to build either. He knew the cardinal directions from the stars, but no map to use as guidance. Would I even want to go to a place like Italy, where I could encounter hundreds of other Prosperos and Mirandas? That thought made him shutter. Besides, he could not imagine living anywhere but the island; his soul was attached to the island's, and parting with the island would mean severing a lifelong bond he shared with it. He could never bring himself to do that. He heard a rustle of underbrush behind him, and turned around to find Ariel approaching him. "Can I sit in peace for a moment longer?" Caliban asked the spirit curtly. Ariel glided onto a spot of grass next to Caliban and sat. "I like checking on you. It keeps me entertained when there is so little to do here." "I would prefer it if you sought entertainment elsewhere." Ariel laughed at that. "Elsewhere? Sure, there are the other sprites around the island, yet even they sleep from lack of nothing better to do. This island hums with magic, but that doesn't mean its sprites do not go dormant when there is nothing happening." Caliban sighed. "Then what is it that you want? I'm in perfectly good health." Caliban glanced at the grave before him and Ariel and felt a painful twang in his chest. Grief never truly leaves you, only the sore spot in your chest gets touched less as time goes by. "You're lonely," Ariel said. "I can feel it radiating off of you. Maybe some anger, as well. How long has it been since Prospero and Miranda and their odd company left? I believe I have counted 472 days exactly. You got what you wanted, but you paid the price in loneliness." As much as Caliban wanted to punch Ariel for talking so much when he just wanted silence, he could not argue with his words. He looked down at the grass for a moment. "I suppose... I suppose that you are correct. I want a wife, some sense of family," Caliban managed to say after a pause. "What can I do about it, though? The only way to solve my loneliness would be to leave the island, but I certainly cannot do that. Nor would I..." Caliban looked again to the grave. "I would not want to abandon my home that I sought to regain for so long." "Take a walk with me," Ariel suddenly said, standing up. "Allow for me to help you cheer yourself up. I could summon some of the forest's magic and make a show out of it. How does that sound?" After a few seconds of reluctance, Caliban stood. "I suppose I have nothing better to do. I hope it's worthwhile." Ariel smiled. "Of course it will be worthwhile. I'm an immortal spirit, I've known how to put on a show for a very, very long time." With that, the two began to walk back through the forest, leaving Caliban's mother's grave behind. He would return to it again, but at least for today he had one living friend to lean on. One day, unbeknownst to Caliban, another ship would anchor at his island. One day, Caliban would find companionship, not just his friendship with Ariel, and he would finally be content with his life on his island. Analysis: In this creative writing assignment, I wanted to answer two questions that had bugged me ever since we finished The Tempest: what on earth happens to Caliban after Prospero and Miranda leave? Is he happy with his life as being the only human on his island? As inspiration, I drew on the passages from the The Tempest where Caliban talked about the magic behind the island, almost as if the island had a spirit of its own, as well as the passages where he talked about Sycorax, his mother. Obviously, I did not use iambic pentameter for this narrative, so I settled on pretty standard 21st century prose instead. In this way though, I feel like it makes Caliban and Ariel a little more "accessible" as characters for me, because since they now talk like we do, it's that much easier to understand and sympathize with them. I wanted Caliban and Ariel to be friends (or at least friendly to each other), because it makes sense to me for the two living beings on the island to grow into a friendship over time, even if it was potentially slow moving at first. Lastly, I decided to add that last little paragraph at the end because I really could not stand the idea of Caliban just... being completely alone (other than Ariel) on his island. It doesn't feel like a satisfying end to his character, and it's not unrealistic for another ship to land at the island at some point in Caliban's life. For a character who has suffered a lot of hardship, I want him to have a happy ending of some sort. Sycorax Writes to Caliban My babe, you live to rule this land anew
How tired I am in this, my final hour At least you’ll thrive because you’ll drink the dew I found for you to give you staying power. How came I here, to conquer this odd isle? From “witch” to queen, I finally can be free, A daughter of a blue-eyed pirate while A daughter of a slave too black to plea: “Unhand me, cur, I will not lie with you!” The pirate took his time and felt the need To seize and take my mother’s beauty true And start my life when he did plant his seed. A child, my life was shunned by white and black, Light-skinned, blue-eyed, my freckles made them vexed, They called me “WITCH” and threw stones at my back, So poor, surviving only through my sex. A sailor erred when he did lust one night My sex bewitched him ‘tween my tongue and lip -- He fell in love and felt my pow’r too tight And so he brought me tied aboard his ship. I plied and played him off against his mates, Seducing all, commanding all, to seize The ship, and sail to freedom through my straits Until I found this isle, this home, that frees. My Caliban, I bore you here, the child Of men your mother ‘witched to find a land Her son could rule with fruits and grains all wild, With gold and silver ores at your command. No human walked this isle before and yet A sprite I found became my help and friend My Ariel served me while I paid my debt And birthed a son I always would defend. Then Ariel cried and lost his love for me He envied you and struck poor Caliban Which made me act and jail her in a tree Beware he lives and may avenge -- he can! But now I die and scratch this note to you, The price I paid for breaking free from men. Rule over this domain in waters blue, Resist invaders, keep this isle your den. - Arthur D. +++++++++++ Analysis of “Last Will and Testament: Sycorax Writes to Caliban” Although the character of Sycorax never appears alive in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, her power remains palpable through the struggles of her son, Caliban. The absence of a character who exerts extraordinary posthumous influence greatly enhances dramatic irony, as the “ghost” of the absent character floats amidst the “present” characters, their actions, and choices (cf. Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca). In this poem, I tried to imagine how Shakespeare might have included Sycorax in his story, writing in iambic pentameter and in an A-B-A-B rhyme scheme. Most of the information I gained for this poem can be found in Prospero’s ranting to Ariel in Act I, Scene ii, lines 250-285. Shakespeare hints that Sycorax was resourceful in a way he leaves unspoken (263-267): This damn’d witch Sycorax, For mischiefs manifold, and sorceries terrible To enter human hearing, from Argier, Thou know’st, was banish’d: for one thing she did They would not take her life. He further says that “This blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child, And here was left by the sailors,” (269-270) which suggests that Sycorax was born of mixed, European and African (Algerian) parentage. I surmised that Sycorax had survived in prostitution and had been taken from Algeria by a European sailor, perhaps the one who made her pregnant with Caliban. In order that Sycorax would be able to escape her captivity on board the ship, I believe she seduced the sailors in order to gain control and be able to escape the ship when an (uninhabited) island came into view. While Prospero claims that Sycorax was envious of Ariel, I decided that Ariel became envious of Caliban, which led to bitterness and Sycorax’s decision to imprison Ariel in the “cloven pine.” Shakespeare hints at the mixed parentage of Caliban when he has Prospero decries the child as near-monstrous -- as many Europeans believed the products of miscegenation to be: Save for the son that she did litter here, A freckled whelp hag-born—not honour’d with A human shape (282-284) It’s high time that Sycorax receives a voice to speak for herself! From the darkness comes anonymity
not unlike how it has been for me for so many years so many storms and so many wishes. The relief freedom is supposed to bring has not sunk in yet and I remain stuck in my old habits listening to my old master, wondering what more he could want. I watch the freest of us all demand more freedom from other shadows, unseen but heard and present nonetheless. Should I have known that a few hours could shift what for years was stagnant, or that the next few hours will reset what the last few set in place? I gave Prospero his tempest and he gave up his staff. Now, thunder comes, though not by my hand. ----------------------- My poem was inspired by the end of The Tempest, when Prospero frees Ariel and then addresses the audience. Now my charms are all overthrown, And what strength I have's mine own, Which is most faint: now, 'tis true, I must be here confined by you, Or sent to Naples. Let me not, Since I have my dukedom got And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell In this bare island by your spell; But release me from my bands With the help of your good hands: Gentle breath of yours my sails Must fill, or else my project fails, Which was to please. Now I want Spirits to enforce, art to enchant, And my ending is despair, Unless I be relieved by prayer, Which pierces so that it assaults Mercy itself and frees all faults. As you from crimes would pardon'd be, Let your indulgence set me free. The tension between Prospero and Ariel that is present throughout the play is now seemingly resolved. I found it interesting that Prospero, who until this point has been the primary captor, in the epilogue goes on himself to ask for freedom to the audience. I tried to imagine what Ariel’s perception of Prospero’s speech would be. While there is never as overt animosity between Prospero and Ariel as there was between Prospero and Caliban, Ariel does repeatedly beg Prospero for his freedom in the play. I also expanded on the meta-theatrical aspect of the epilogue. While in The Tempest only Prospero seems to be aware of the audience, in order for Ariel to hear Prospero’s final monologue, he had to be aware of them as well. This in a way increases Ariel’s significance, which is under emphasized by Prospero throughout the play. One of the elements of The Tempest which fascinates me the most is the freedom which Prospero has in manipulating his universe because of the magical abilities he possesses. While he was an incredibly powerful and influential sorcerer—he essentially set all the events of the play in motion, because he caused the shipwreck—he alone would be nothing without his spells. However, while he can channel and direct it, the power of the magic still ultimately remains external. In the epilogue, he acknowledges this, and says that “Now my charms are all o’erthrown / And what strength I have’s mine own / Which is most faint” (Shakespeare 6.1-3). If, as we discussed in class, Prospero can be thought of as a metaphor for the author, then the magic that Shakespeare is channeling can be thought of as the language, sound, and emotions which he puts forth on stage, and it is far more powerful than he is himself. For this project, I decided to focus on the character who I believe embodies the magic of the show, to a certain extent; Ariel. The music, movement, and language which he brings to the play will no doubt delight the audience, and although he is incredibly powerful, his mischievous yet obedient nature makes him likable and compelling. He serves as the link between the spirit world and the corporeal one, and thus is allowed to push the limits of what seems possible and impossible. Shakespeare has seemingly managed to create magic on stage, which in and of itself feels like sorcery.
In an effort to capture the sense of spellbinding wonder which lies at the heart of this play and this character, I devised and designed a costume, soundscape, and monologue which I thought represented Ariel. I performed lines 1.2.189-193, 1.2.195-206, 1.2.208-214, and 5.1.88-94, which I felt captured his essence most accurately. In digital media, we have new and incredible artistic abilities which Shakespeare could never have dreamed of. With this piece, I attempted to play the magician, and utilize those abilities to portray the magic which he set on paper. I think that this added a lot to Ariel’s overall magical nature. However, being one person, I was not able to have Ariel interact with Prospero, or Miranda, or Caliban, or Alonso. Magic seems less magical if it is not contrasted with reality, so my Ariel lost a very important element of realism. Overall, I’ve gained a much better understanding of how difficult it is to portray otherworldly elements without making them seem forced, or too ridiculous. If there’s one thing I’ve taken away from this project, its that I highly recommend frolicking in your backyard, during a snow shower, while covered in ribbons and shells; I’m convinced there’s something magical about that in and of itself. Creative portion:
The spirit grumbled at the call of Prospero. “Now come, my Ariel: bring a corollary” Prospero called, but the spirit was too shocked to hear his full command (4.1.58). “My Ariel?” the spirit thought. When had possession of his fellow spirits passed to this usurper? Alas, there was little to be done. Ariel had surrendered himself fully to Prospero, and would willingly bring Prospero’s wrath down on his fellow spirits if their actions strayed from Ariel’s. Obediently, the spirit answered the call and came to the stage, taking on the form of Ceres. Playing the part of the lady of the harvest, much to the joy of the human audience, the spirit silently fumes “How dare Prospero command them, who existed millennia before man? Even when the witch Sycorax came she respected their power and was smart enough to see that they were not her tools. If only this ‘noble’ man had the same sense as her or her child.” Prospero interrupts the play, erupting in fury, “Well done! Avoid! No more!” (4.1.142-143). Startled, the spirit and his fellows disperse. Before long Ariel returns to them and informs them of Prospero’s plan against Caliban and his conspirators. Lacking a human face, the spirit’s form twists and darkens to express his disgust. “How can you serve Prospero, Ariel, and by your service bind us? After the freedom we’ve enjoyed for millennia, why empower this tyrant?” the spirit asks Ariel. “I do what I must do to survive,” Ariel replied simply, before taking off to save his master. “But you will not survive! While Caliban is also under Prospero’s power, his resistance ensures that when there is no more Prospero there may yet be Caliban. I tell you truly, Ariel, that you will not survive Prospero.” Analytical portion: I chose to adapt Ariel in order to examine the question whether abiding a tyrant, namely accepting a temporary loss of agency, nevertheless does lasting harm to the individual. While Ariel believes that he can avoid the risk of losing to Prospero, and thereby any lasting harm, by serving him until his mortal life ends, the lesser, unnamed spirit I recruited as the main character challenges him on this point. In order to ground my adaptation in the original work, I used Prospero’s play for Ferdinand and Miranda in Act IV Scene I as a setting, while also referencing Prospero’s veiled threat to Ariel from Act I Scene II. Creating the character of the lesser spirit allowed me to transform Ariel from an obedient servant and lesser character in The Tempest to an important facilitator of Prospero’s rule. The implication is that without Ariel and the spirits, Prospero might fall, but as is often the case actors focus on their own immediate danger, namely that Ariel might be imprisoned forever inside of a tree (1.2). However, adding this power to the character of Ariel, namely that he might successfully regain his freedom if he were to challenge Prospero, comes at a cost. Ariel can no longer continue untouched by the events in The Tempest because the lesser spirit exposes the flaw in Ariel’s calculation. By accepting a temporary loss of agency, Ariel now risks his identity. While this rap battle makes references to various aspects of the play, most of them being general points in the plot. The most notable quotation being that of Caliban: “Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, / Sounds and sweet airs…” (3.2.135-136), referring back to
Reviewing our discussions in class, I realized that we didn’t put too much attention into the significance of Ariel in the play. While we were able to analyze the symbolism of Caliban and Prospero, little detail went into Ariel’s existence. I decided to use a rap battle as it would be an interesting way to convey the message. As participants usually make derogatory comments towards one another, I believed it would provide the perfect format to ‘reveal’ the flaws hidden within Ariel’s character. I used the rap battle to highlight some noteworthy details about Ariel to emphasize his importance to the play and his possible symbolism. Rather than analyze Ariel’s character as a whole, I decided to ‘throw shade’ and focus on the questionable aspects of his nature, from his undying loyalty to Prospero to his significance to the play despite his lack of stage time. The addition of Miranda to the rap battle was mainly to provide Ariel’s character with someone to rap against, although I acknowledge that the portrayed feeling towards Ariel and Prospero do not necessarily line up with Miranda’s feelings towards them in the actual play. The length of Miranda’s lyrics are intended to be longer in order to place the majority of the focus on Ariel. By listing different aspects of Ariel, ranging from personality to actions he’s taken throughout the play, Miranda establishes that Ariel isn’t necessarily as minor as the play may make him seem. (lyrics below) |
Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|