Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 8

by Charles Herbert Sylvester

Act III—Scene I. Purpose: To disclose Prospero’s purpose more fully, and to secure our interest in Ferdinand and Miranda.

Act III—Scene II. What is the purpose of this scene? What bearing do the incidents of this scene have upon the main plot?

Act III—Scene III. What effect is the magic banquet to have on the persons who saw it? What was Prospero’s purpose in showing it? Did it contribute in any way to the success of his general plan?

Act IV—Scene I. What incidents in this scene are necessary, and what are introduced to give light and beauty to the play? What is the effect of introducing Caliban and his companions right after Ariel and the spirits have been entertaining Ferdinand and Miranda? What are Mountain, Silver, Fury and Tyrant, mentioned in this scene?

Act V—Scene I. What is the purpose of this scene? Is the plot brought to a satisfactory conclusion? Are there any characters left unaccounted for? Does every character in the play appear in this scene? Are they all on the stage when the curtain falls?

Make a list of the incidents which to you seem unnecessary, which could be left out without injury to the real story. Make another list of incidents that could not be omitted without spoiling the story. Find two little plots that make complete stories in themselves, but that help only in a moderate degree to make the main story clearer.

POETRY and PROSE. Do any of the characters speak always in prose? Do any speak always in poetry? Do some speak partly in prose and partly in poetry? Can you see any connection between each character and his method of speech? How many songs are sung in the play? Who sings them? Do you like any of the songs? What effect do the songs have upon the play? Can you find rhyming lines anywhere excepting in the songs? Does any character speak in rhyme?

CONCLUSION. If we study a play too long or continue to read it after our interest ceases for a time, we are liable to be prejudiced against it, and to feel that it is not worth the labor we have put upon it. If, however, a person will stop studying when he begins to lose interest and work seems a drudgery, he will come back a little later with renewed interest. Again, when we study a play minutely as we have been doing, and view it from many sides, we may lose sight for a time of the unity and beauty of the whole composition. This is peculiarly unfortunate, for the poet intends us to view his work as a whole, and to produce his effect with the whole. It is The Tempest that we will remember as a work of art, and, if our studies are fruitful, that will draw us back to it at intervals for many years to come. Before we leave it, we must take it and read it through in a leisurely manner, pausing merely to enjoy its beauty, to smile at its playfulness and to feel our hearts expand under the benign influence of the grand old man Prospero. Now Miranda, Ferdinand and Ariel have passed the line of mere acquaintances, and have become to us fast friends, who, though they may be forever silent, have yet given us a fragment of their lives to cheer us on our way.

OTHER Plays of Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote a great many plays, and all are not equally good; a few seem so inferior that many who study them think they were not written by the same hand that penned The Tempest. Some of the plays are more difficult than others, and some cannot be comprehended until the reader has had some experience in life. There are several, on the other hand, that may be read with great interest and profit by almost any one, while those who have read The Tempest as we have recommended, should find some measure of enjoyment in all. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a charming fairy story; The Merchant of Venice is a good story, contains fine characters and shows some of Shakespeare’s most beautiful thoughts, although some people are inclined to believe he has dealt too severely with the Jew. Much Ado About Nothing is a jolly comedy to match with The Comedy of Errors. Julius Cæsar, Richard III and Coriolanus are interesting historical plays, and Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet are among the best of his tragedies. If a person would read just the plays mentioned in the thoughtful way we have indicated here, he would gain a benefit whose great value never can be estimated, and thereafter all reading would seem easier and more delightful.