![]() – / – / – / – / / – – If not/ I’ll die/ your maid./ To be/ your fellow/ Miranda: I am/ your wife,/ if you/ will mar/ry me / If he had felt this was about women and meant to degrade them, surely he would have also edited Miranda’s metering to set her apart from the men. We had discussed earlier that when Shakespeare works his metering into the dialogue of Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo, he uses it in a way to make them look less sophisticated, educated, or more common. Ferdinand speaks in trochee’s, “I had / rather/ crack my/ sinews/ break my/ back”, and when Miranda speaks she does the same, “As well/ as it/ does you/ and i/ should do/ it/ with much/ more ease…”. However, if we were to look at the meter for example in Act 3, Scene 1, line 25- 36, we would see that the way that she speaks is no different than the mens. I was able to show evidence by showing parts of text where Miranda spoke very little against the mens long lines. Shakespeare cleverly uses this half-line to show the insignificance of this thought in the minds of these two characters.Įarlier in my thesis statements I had tried to prove that Miranda was looked down on as a woman and was degraded by being the only woman in the poem. Sebastian is not really that concerned with conscience, because only a few lines later he has become fully convinced by Antonio’s proposition and is ready to kill his brother for the throne of Naples. By cutting this line in half, Shakespeare is showing the audience that this thought is only half-formed. Up to this point, the dialogue between Sebastian and Antonio has contained at least five feet per line. Sebastian’s question constitutes a full line, but it contains only two and a half feet. Antonio quickly dismisses this question and continues to convince Sebastian that his plan is worthwhile. Sebastian asks, “But for your conscience?” (II i, 270). Sebastian remembers that Antonio committed a similar act to become Duke of Milan, so he questions him concerning his conscience. ![]() One example of this phenomenon occurs when Antonio is convincing Sebastian to kill his brother and usurp the throne. In _The Tempest_, Shakespeare uses meter to create meaning. It could indicate that while Gonzalo is now a councilor and in a position of power, he did not come from a “noble” family originally. Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo, however, start speaking in meter again as the Mariners run around and slowly begin to exit, as if this sort of speaking is reserved for those of the upper-class only and serves to set them apart from the “commoners.” In order for these “commoners” to not learn this higher form of speech, those who speak it refrain from doing so around the “commoners.” At the end of the scene, Gonzalo goes back, however, to speaking in prose when he is alone at the end of the scene, which seems to be rather odd. This could be used to indicate the confusion that is experienced on board the ship as they brace themselves to handle the storm. While one could attribute this to the nature of the characters and their lower status in society, this style of speaking is also used by Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, and Gonzalo when they speak later in the scene. In Act I Scene 1 of _The Tempest_, the play opens with the Master and Boatswain talking in prose to one another. They are now free from this “spell” and so, too, is the meter from the catalexis. This change in meter, in a way, signifies the freedom that bestows Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo. The diction is free of the catalexis: “Untie| the spell.| How fares| my grac|ious sir?/ There are| yet mis|sing of| your com|pany/ Some few| odd lads| that you|remem|ber not” (V: i: 253-255). Now, Prospero is speaking in iambic pentameter. Prospero does not break from this until he instructs Ariel to “Set Cal|iban| and his| compan|ions free” (V: i: 252). ![]() Aside from the first line, the rest are all following this catalectic meter of 5+ feet. At| picked lei|sure,/ Which shall| be short|ly, sin|gle I’ll| resolve| you,/ Which to| you shall| seem prob|able,| of eve|ry/ These happ|ened ac|cidents | till when,| be cheer|ful/ And think| of each| thing well.| Come hi|ther, spir|it.” (V: i: 246-51). Five of the first six lines are catalectic: “Do not| infest| your mind| with beat|ing on/ The strange|ness of| this busi|ness. Prior to releasing Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo, one sees an interesting shape of meter from lines 246-255. After showing his true identity as the Duke of Milan, Prospero releases his captors. In Act V of Shakespeare’s _The Tempest_, Prospero reveals himself to his captors.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |