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Comparing The Tempest And Lasse Hallstrom's Film Chocolat

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“Imagination. A journey of the mind”. Imagination transcends all facets of reality allowing us to embrace the limitless progenies of the mind, value new perspectives and assess our own worth in life. Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Lasse Hallstrom’s film ‘Chocolat’ are a testament of how imagination influences the perspectives of individuals.

In The Tempest an imaginary land is created far from the veracity of the sublunary world. It is adept that the play commences with the tempest, foreshadowing imminent anarchy. This paradoxical distortion however, leads to renewal. Prospero, the providential father manipulates events on the island through his ‘art’ and embarks on a journey of introspection, forgiveness, magnanimity and love through his imagination. His yearning to avenge his usurpation is challenged by the love of Miranda and Ferdinand, teaching him that ‘the rarer action is in virtue, than in vengeance’. This explicitly shows his mental amelioration and the broadening of his mind to reconcile. Prospero’s self- assessment is further evident when he remarks that ‘this thing of darkness I acknowledge mine’, thus metaphoric for Prospero’s recognition of his limitations. Introspection leads him to surrender the ‘art’ and …show more content…

Vienne, a single mother is an enticing figure whose arrival to the town is preceded by a ‘sly wind’, much like The Tempest. She plays Prospero’s role as she catalyses a change in people through her efficacious chocolates, challenging them to steer away from social paradigms. Red is symbolic of the exotic nature of Vienne’s imagination. However, her nomadic disposition reflects on her imagination which is instead used as escapism. She recognises the abuse of her powers at the cost of others around her and like Miranda; she too is exposed to reality and surrenders her imagination to sustain the natural

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Amidst the characterization, Irony and foreshadowing, and mood the theme is eminently evident. These literary elements show us the theme that in order to overcome your fears you have to face them and ‘leap’ over them. Firstly, through the characterization of the daughter and the mother, Anna Avalon, the theme is displayed fairly vividly. The lucidity of how these personalities are brought to life make complex concepts easier to grasp.

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In addition to Caliban, Prospero's yearning for vengeance also creates internal issues for himself. After Ferdinand and Miranda announce their marriage, Prospero claims his "rejoicing / At nothing can be more," because he must "perform / Much business appertaining," (Shakespeare, 95-99). Usually, a father focuses more on his daughter getting married, however Prospero can only focus on his plans for vengeance. Some believe that the characters internal struggles were caused by the wrongdoers, and not a lack of forgiveness; however, at the end of the play, after Prospero becomes a more virtuous character, his conflicts with his brother and Caliban are resolved, clearly showing that their focus on vengeance is what caused the internal struggles.

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Prospero’s Magic, the Age of Death and the 1610 Anthropocene When Prospero -- the hero in William Shakespeare’s last play The Tempest -- buries his magical books near a cliff of an uninhabited island, he sings out the first song of the “Anthropocene” at the edge of the great globe. As the Duke of Milan, he and his daughter are exiled to the isolated island for 12 years, during which process he uses his magic to enslave the natives on the island, including “ a savage and deformed slave” -- Caliban (Shakespeare 3). One may argue that the master-slave relationship shows Shakespeare’s postcolonial reflection while others may think that this viewpoint takes too far from Shakespeare’s original intention. Steve Mentz, in his essay “Enter Anthropocene, c.1610,” interprets The Tempest through lenses of the 1610

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In the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, the continent of Africa struggled through imperialism and colonialism from most European Countries. Shakespeare’s last individual play titled The Tempest, can be translated into a metaphor for European colonialism on Africa during the 1800’s. In this interpretation of the play, the main character Prospero represents the European conquerors, and Caliban and Ariel represent the native African people. This suggests that Prospero controls them in cruel and unfair ways. I believe that this is translation of the play is inaccurate, because although in some sense Prospero does control Caliban and Ariel, he has a valid reason to, unlike the Europeans.

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Prospero’s transformation of costume “this rough magic I here abjure … I’ll break my staff” added with a blend of destructive personification and elevated “I’ll drown my book” suggest a positive consequence as he has rejuvenated himself by abolishing his tools of destruction. Conversely, his magic powers had kept him isolated from Milan as well as distracting him from the purse of his Dukedom and by giving up what was essentially his identity, Prospero self-realization has revealed that he has transformed from a cunning and manipulative illusionist to a modest and humble being. The use of stage direction “they all enter the circle which Prospero had made, and there stand charmed; which Prospero observing, speaks”, suggest Prospero’s regal nature as person and the aura that surrounds him whilst speaking. The experience of discovery can be confronting for oneself, however it seems that Prospero has accepted the change within him. The use of metaphor to about the ocean to describe the spell that is casting of from Alonzo, Sebastian, Gonzalo and himself in the line “their understanding begins to swell, and the approaching tide will shortly fill the reasonable shore that now lies foul and muddy”, demonstrates their returning to

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Imagination is a skill everyone possesses, but children utilise their imaginations to the full extent, whereas adults do not use their imaginations to their full potential, and this idea is demonstrated through Northrop Frye’s Motive for Metaphor and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. The following quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless” expresses that the world of reality, the world in which adults live in, is one of limited imagination because the adults have experienced the problems that life has to offer and this, in turn, makes them more practical and grounded. While the world of imagination, the world in which children live in, is boundless because children

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Both characters are considered as rebellious savages that are controlled, Caliban by Prospero and John by the World State. The Tempest can be interpreted as a play about colonialism because when Prospero arrived at the island, he imposed his own rules and put Caliban under slavery, just as Europeans when they took possession of the lands of Americans and enslaved them. From this point of view, Prospero and the World State are very similar because they both use their power to control over people and to preserve their own stability (Prospero using his magic and the World State using soma).

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Prospero brands him "a born devil, on whose name/Nurture can never stick.” As Mannoni says, “Caliban does not complain of being exploited; he complains rather of being betrayed”. Even though Prospero understands that Caliban’s bad behaviour is like that of a child, he does not offer mercy and forgiveness as freely and earnestly as one should. Thus, it is through Prospero’s treatment of Caliban that Prospero’s desire for revenge is

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Unlike Shakespeare’s other main characters, he is much more enigmatic. In they play Prospero is portrayed as the rogue who seeks revenge on his brother Antonio for his treachery. In this Shakespearean comedy it becomes clear that Prospero is the heart of power on the island. Evidently Prospero has been wronged by his brother’s usurping which he could not control and now uses his magic as a tool for controlling the events that occur on island throughout the play. The theme of power in this play is hugely significant as it clear that the violence interrogated in this play is in relation to power and the abuse of that power by the protagonist.

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In the play, nature will be predetermined as either good or bad and depending on which, the characters will reflect their nature accordingly through their actions and dialogue. Miranda, Prospero’s daughter, was predetermined as naturally good by Prospero when he says “Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and she said thou wast

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798 Words | 4 Pages

Years were spent on the island by Prospero perfecting his magical abilities and preparing his plans for retaliation against his brother and those who had mistreated him. Prospero has the chance to exact revenge when his adversaries are transported to the island, but he decides to pardon them instead. He states, "The rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance. They being penitent, the sole drift of my purpose doth extend not a frown further" (Shakespeare 5.1.27-30). This paragraph demonstrates Prospero's understanding of the value of forgiving others and his decision to put the interests of justice aside in favor of the greater

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As the play begins, it seems as if the massive tempest is simply a random occurrence, catching the mariners and nobility by chance. However, as the act continues, Shakespeare reveals that the tempest was actually the work of Prospero and his ghostly servant Ariel, who stirred up the seas and set fire to the masts (1.2, 193-194). This establishes Prospero as the executor of a mess of ‘coincidences’ ranging from Ferdinand stumbling upon his daughter Miranda to King Alonso and his party walking directly into the former duke’s cell. Though Prospero may have the same control over the English language as the other characters, Caliban points to his specific source of power. He says, “… for without [his books] /

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The Tempest can often be seen as a play about colonialism primarily because Prospero came to the island that belonged to Sycorax, Caliban's mother. Prospero subdued her, ruled the land and placed himself as its new ruler. He had full control over everything on the island. Caliban actually loved Prospero at first and was fine with an autonomy but not slavery as he lamented: This island’s mine by Sycorax my mother, Which thou tak’st from me.

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The various ways Shakespeare dramatizes and explores power, allows us to obtain a richer impression of the theme of power in The Tempest. Government and authority both carry out important functions in the play. It is the subject of government that initiates the events in the play and it is also the foundation of the progression throughout the play. Prospero is the fundamental piece in the play concerning governance because he used to be the Duke of Milan, but loses his title to his brother Antonio when he devotes too much of his time learning magic rather than ruling his people and seeing his obligations through: “The government I cast upon my brother, [a]nd to my state grew stranger, being transported [a]nd rapt in secret studies,” (p.10). This is also the cause of Prospero and his infant

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The Romantic period believed that emotion was a form of intelligence, and art was a path to transcendence. As a result of the change in beliefs, Romantic poetry is often characterized by nature, imagination, memory, and wisdom. Imagination acts as a source of creativity, and allows us to see what is not immediately apparent. The Romantics believed that we could discover the imagination in nature, which often resulted in a harmony of the two. However, there are times when nature and imagination are in conflict with each other; for example, when imagination acts as an illusion, and distracts us from confronting the issue.

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