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Summer 2009 The Tempest The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–11, although some researchers have argued for an earlier dating. Its protagonist is the banished sorcerer Prospero, rightful Duke of Milan, who uses his magical powers to punish and forgive his enemies when he raises a tempest that drives them ashore. The entire play takes place on an island under his control whose native inhabitants, Ariel and Caliban, aid (or in the case of Caliban, hinder) his work. While listed as a comedy when it was initially published in the First Folio of 1623, many modern editors have since re-labeled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances.
No obvious single source has been found from which Shakespeare may have derived his plot. However, the play does seem to draw on several then-contemporary accounts of shipwrecks in the New World, as well as the works of Montaigne and Ovid's Metamorphoses. The play's basic structure reflects that of the then-popular Italian commedia dell'arte. It is the only one of Shakespeare's plays which follows the neoclassical three unities. Around the 1950s and 60s, The Tempest attracted a lot of attention from post-colonial critics for its portrayal of Ariel's and Caliban's reactions to foreign control of their island.
It did not attract a significant amount of attention before the closing of the theatres in 1642, and after the Restoration it attained popularity only in adapted versions. Theatre productions began to reinstate the original Shakespearean text in the mid-19th century,[4] and, in the 20th century, critics and scholars undertook a significant re-appraisal of the play's value, to the extent that it is now considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest works.
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the conspiracy against the Roman dictator of the same name, his assassination and its aftermath. It is one of several Roman plays that he wrote, based on true events from Roman history, which also include Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra.
Although the title of the play is Julius Caesar, Caesar is not the main character in its action; he appears in only three scenes, and is killed at the beginning of the third act. The protagonist of the play is Marcus Brutus, and the central psychological drama is his struggle between the conflicting demands of honor, patriotism, and friendship.
The play reflected the general anxiety of England over succession of leadership. At the time of its creation and first performance, Queen Elizabeth, a strong ruler, was elderly and had refused to name a successor, leading to worries that a civil war similar to that of Rome might break out after her death.
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