The Tempest: My First Time!

I have never read nor seen the play “The Tempest”. The play took place a week early for the C&T reading, but, regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I enjoyed the way Dr. Cherry played Prospero. The comic undertone of most scenes companied with the obvious colonial analysis, seen in Prospero’s control over most of the characters, made for an excellent story. At no time was Prospero not in control of the entire island, even the natives Ariel and Caliban. I cannot help noticing the mystical control Prospero possesses over his daughter. Miranda had next to no freedom in the play, and even her final love seemed to be a tool of her father’s mystical control. There are no other women in the play, and the one that is, is trapped. Interestingly enough, Shakespeare takes Miranda’s lack of freedom further by making her appear, at least as portrayed in this production, as clueless and submissive. I think Shakespeare is assessing the state of women in British society at the time by using painting women in this light.