In the Renaissance, politics, theatre and religion were closely intertwined. Rulers regularly justified their authority in religious terms, and displayed it in a highly theatrical manner. Meanwhile in England the theatre per se was not only directly connected with royal power (Shakespeare’s company were royal servants, ‘the King’s Men’, who regularly performed at court), but was regarded as potentially powerful in its own right, capable of influencing the political loyalties and moral characters of its audience either for good or for ill – powers traditionally reserved for religion. Finally, religion was both highly politicised and full of high theatre, whether in the elaborate rituals of the church or in the spectacular executions prescribed for heretics. Common to all three, and tying them together, was the dazzling nexus of power and wonder, a nexus that Shakespeare explores throughout his dramatic career, nowhere more intensively than in The Tempest.
In this class we look in depth at Shakespeare's last great drama, in which the playwright returns with extraordinary sharp-sightedness to the great intertwined themes of politics, theatre, and the supernatural. Where do power and wonder come from, how and in whose interests are they used and abused, and why do we seem to need them so?
In order to address questions like these, we will need to look more broadly at how the themes of power and wonder are explored in the play. Shakespeare’s drama, including in his late plays, is often highly experimental; but The Tempest seems to stand apart as an experiment conducted in almost laboratory conditions. Throw together a few characters on a bare island or a bare stage, it seems to say, and watch as they spontaneously assume roles and establish a political hierarchy, complete with a method of allocating labour and resources, a system of reward and punishment, and a religion. What does such an experiment say about human nature, about our natural and supernatural needs, and about our moral potential? And what does it say about those who assume the authority to govern us… or who try to set us free?
The course will involve extensive close reading of the set text, so students must bring a copy with them to every class, and should also become as familiar as possible with the play in advance.