The Tempest – William Shakespeare
King Alonso of Naples, his son Ferdinand and a few others sail home after attending the wedding of Alonso’s daughter in Italy. They encounter a rough storm which is caused by Prospero. He lives on an island with his daughter Miranda and Ariel, a spirit who is also Prospero’s servant. Prospero used to be the Duke of Milan until his brother Antonio conspired with Alonso and took over his position; with the tempest he now wants revenge.
When they have to get off the ship, they come ashore on the island. Prospero and Miranda have lived there for twelve years and Miranda has never seen another man, except for her father and Caliban, who also lives on the island. She falls in love with Ferdinand.
During the plot, there are various attempts to take over the island or to become the ruler of Naples. Yet, every time Ariel or Prospero comes in the way. Eventually, Prospero forgives them all for their betrayal and he rehabilitates as the Duke of Milan.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
Mr. Utterson is a lawyer who is friends with Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson is concerned about Jekyll because he has written a will that leaves all his money to Mr. Hyde. Utterson does not trust Mr. Hyde. One day, the lawyer is asked to identify the body of a murdered man, Sir Danvers Carew, one of Utterson’s clients. Hyde is suspected of the murder, but he has disappeared. Jekyll swears that he has not seen Hyde and has broken with him forever. The case remains unsolved and Jekyll becomes more sociable than he had been.
Suddenly, he locks himself into his laboratory, yelling to the servants through the door, directing them to gather chemicals for him. The servants recognize a change in his voice and think that their master has been murdered and another man has taken his place in the lab. They call Utterson who breaks down the door. On the floor lies Hyde, who has killed himself with poison. Sadly, Utterson assumes Hyde returned and killed Jekyll, but the doctor’s body is nowhere to be found. He does find, however, a letter, written by Jekyll.
Jekyll explains that he seeked for a way to seperate his good side from his dark side, and how he discovered a way to do that by transforming into someone who was free of conscience: Mr. Hyde. To transform he used a poison. Yet, slowly he started to change into Mr. Hyde even without taking the poison: his evil side took over. The only way to get rid of Mr. Hyde was to kill him and thus also Jekyll.
Themes in The tempest
-Slavery & the supernatural
These themes are characteristic for The tempest, because Ariel (and Caliban) are Prospero’s servants or slaves. Especially in this passage in which Prospero asks Ariel to cause the storm in order to wreck the ship. This passage highlights these themes because Prospero demands Ariel to cause the tempest, so slavery plays a major role in this passage. Also, the supernatural comes back in this passage. Normally, people can’t cause a storm, let alone a spirit as Ariel. Causing this tempest is the reason of the story. Without the storm, Alonso and his entourage would have sailed home and the story would have never taken place.
Also, during the story, Prospero demands much more from Ariel and Caliban, and his supernatural powers are taken advantage of.
Literary elements in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
-Point of view & setting
This passage (see addition 2) and the whole story is written in the omniscient narrator. He knows the story and what will happen next. That’s the point of view of this passage. The other literary element of this passage is the setting, at the beginning of the page, it is told that Mr Utterson arrived at his bachelor house (place), he came to his house in a sombre spirit (mood or atmosphere). That is another part of the literary element ‘setting’. The last part of this element is the time, It happened in the evening, at least, that’s what is said in the passage.
Opinions on the books
-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
I would recommend Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, because this book is still relevant today. Struggling with finding out who you are and who you want to be plays a important role in the book and a lot of people are still experiencing this every day. Also, the book is accessible for almost all ages. As a reader, you want to read more and more. You don’t want to stop, at least, I didn’t. I think that is really important for a book. For students, this book is really good literary book.
-The tempest
The tempest is actually a play, yet it is really accessible as literature. The story is really well written, with great use of the English language. It is really understandable and fun to read. Personally, I like books better than plays, but for The tempest I make an exception. I would recommend this, especially to other students of my age. It is a play that is worth reading.