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Generally agreed to be Shakespeare's last play, THE TEMPEST was most likely written in 1610. Twelve years before the action begins, Prospero--Duke of Milan--and his daughter, Miranda, were stranded by Prospero's brother, Antonio, on a remote and idyllic island where Miranda has grown up happily among the beasts and flowers, never seeing any man but her father. Many years later, Prospero uses his powers and the help of Ariel, the sprite, to effect a shipwreck--hence the play's title--that brings Antonio to the island, along with the king of Naples and his son, Ferdinand, who promptly falls in love with Miranda. Their love story, juxtaposed with Prospero's revenge on his brother and his final act of mercy, form the basis of a simple plot. A combination of tragedy and romantic comedy, the play includes a happy ending that, finally, leans toward the latter. Unlike Shakespeare's other plays, THE TEMPEST is full of magic and exoticism and what we now think of as special effects, using evocative music and extravagant imagery to create a mood of enchantment that, nonetheless, confronts serious questions about reality and illusion. Some interpretations of the play see Prospero--who, in his dazzling last speech, renounces his magic powers--as the aging Shakespeare bidding farewell to the theater. THE TEMPEST is also interesting because its events take place in a 24-hour period. And it is, of course, the source of a famous phrase: when the sheltered Miranda first lays eyes on Ferdinand, she exclaims, Oh brave new world, that has such people in it!
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Shakespeare In Japan
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The 43-year old British editor of a New York magazine, Annie Graves,
is struck by tragedy; her daughter has been hit by a truck while riding her horse in a snowstorm in upstate New York. The teenaged girl loses a leg, and the horse is left too wild for anyone to control. Annie becomes determined to tame the horse as a way of demonstrating to her daughter that healing is possible. The quest to heal the horse leads the two women to a'horse whisperer', a man in Montana whose voice can charm the horse.
Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005.
For personal use only.
All rights reserved.