[CAS-BHS] FRESHMEN -- Tempest Update for Week 7

[cas-bhs at lists.berkeleypta.org]

March 17, 2006

 

Dear CAS freshmen & families,

 

This week students are preparing scenes for The Tempest Acts II and III.  Anna Shneiderman has extensive experience in theater, acting and directing, and is helping me to move our Shakespeare study much more strongly into an acting workshop type of experience.  We are also, of course, having time to read aloud, enjoy the humor, and look at some of the themes.  

 

Students are working in groups.  We have created groups of students we feel can work each other and can balance their skills and talents.  Each group has one scene from Act II or III (we broke up II, i to two sections).  Students then read through their scene and prepare a translation to modern English.  Students will next perform their scenes for the rest of the class.  

 

We are partnering with the freshman media class, ICT, taught by Mr. Halpern.  Students will have a chance to rehearse their scenes, to rework their scripts.  While the scripts are in modern English, they will also be asked to work in at least of the main monologues in the language of Shakespeare.  We will videotape the scenes, which are bridged with a narrator.  Then the plan is to edit them together and have our own version of The Tempest as a final presentation.

 

We have done a number of handouts which are below (a character handout, a plot outline).  Students should have their POSTER, character profile of one character, in on Monday, March 20.

 

We are not doing Independent Reading in class - the participation was too uneven to justify the time.  But students are still expected to keep one independent reading book going and we will periodically talk and write about the book they are doing.  

 

 

Sincerely,

Rick Ayers & Anna Shneiderman 

CAS freshman English teacher



 

 

CAS freshman English

 

Poster Project

 

Make a poster / depiction of one of the main characters in The Tempest (Miranda, Prospero, Ariel, Caliban).  You can use paint, collage, digital photography, whatever form works for you.

 

Also on the poster must be:

The character's name

3 words that characterize the character

One quotation from the character that is typical of his or her identity.

Your name.

 

 

Due:  Monday, March 20, 2006

 

 

 

 

 

The Tempest - Plot Summary

Act I 

Scene 1:  The play begins on the deck of a ship that has entered a storm. This ship is carrying Alonso, the King of Naples, Ferdinand, his son, and Antonio, the usurping Duke of Milan, from the King's daughter's marriage in Tunis. This storm has been created by the sorcerer and rightful Duke of Milan, Prospero. When the first scene ends, it is doubtful whether or not anyone has survived.

Scene 2:  On the island, Prospero and his daughter Miranda have lived for twelve years. He has raised her in the company of their spirit slave Ariel and their servant Caliban. Prospero tells his young daughter of their expulsion from Milan at the hands of his traitor brother (Antonio). Ferdinand, having survived the wreck, is charmed by Miranda and is then controlled by Prospero, in order to be near his daughter.

 

Act II

Scene 1:  The second act begins with the remaining passengers on the ship. They move about the island debating whether or not Ferdinand has survived. Gonzalo, the counselor, tries to assuage his king. Ariel, at Prospero's bidding, puts all of them to sleep except for Antonio and Alonso's brother Sebastian. Antonio convinces Sebastian to kill Alonso and take his place as king. The two draw their swords but Ariel awakens everyone else. The entire group goes off in search of Ferdinand.

Scene 2:  Caliban is discovered by the drunk butler Stephano and the jester Trinculo. He tells them what the island is like and together they plot to kill Prospero as he sleeps. Ariel reports this plot to his master.

 

Act III

Scene 1:  Ferdinand hauls wood for Prospero as Miranda watches, pitying him. The youths admit their adoration for each other and express a desire to marry. Prospero watches with approval because this is according to his plan. 

Scene 2:  Meanwhile, Caliban and the two drunkards continue their plotting. Caliban tells them about Miranda's beauty and they consider her yet another reason to kill her father. They hear noises in the woods which they disregard at Caliban's bidding.

Scene 3:  On the other part of the island, Ariel creates a spectacle for the King and his companions. Ariel enters as a harpy and alludes to their respective crimes. The men are shocked and worried for their fate. They exit with swords drawn.

 

Act IV

Scene 1:  Ferdinand, Miranda and Prospero reenter the stage. Prospero has Ferdinand swear an oath not to sleep with Miranda before they are married. Ariel ushers in more spirits who play the parts of deities blessing their proposed union. Prospero remembers that there is a plot afoot against his life and he ends the charade. The conspirators reenter and are distracted by royal garments hanging in a tree. Caliban tries to warn them away from the clothing, but he cannot. Prospero uses his magic to attack them and chases them off.

 

Act V

Scene 1:  Prospero reenters the stage with Ariel and comes to the king and his companions. Alonso is in disbelief upon seeing Prospero alive, and Prospero forgives his brother for all of the sins against him. The penitent Alonso grants Prospero his kingdom back and rejoices when he discovers his son is still alive. He approves the marriage between Ferdinand and Miranda. Ariel reveals Alonso's ship to be in fine condition. Prospero promises to release Ariel from servitude. Caliban's plot is revealed to the king, but they all poke fun at the presumptuous trio. They all go to Prospero's lodging for the night, with plans to leave in the morning.

 

 

 

 

The Tempest - Character List

Prospero: The main character of this play, Prospero used to be the legitimate Duke of Milan. Unfortunately his treacherous brother Antonio stole his title and banished Prospero to a Mediterranean island with his daughter Miranda. A great lover of the arts and in particular books, Prospero has harnessed the powers of magic while in exile.

Miranda: Prospero's daughter. Attractive and young at the tender age of fifteen years, Miranda has lived with her father in exile for twelve years. Aside from her father, she has seen few men in her life, and quickly enchants the shipwrecked Ferdinand.

Ariel: An airy spirit, Ariel serves his master Prospero well in his many tasks of magic on Prospero's island. Once enslaved by a witch, Ariel wants his freedom now from Prospero. At the conclusion of this play Ariel is made free.

Caliban: Son of the witch Sycorax, Shakespeare describes Caliban as "a savage and deformed slave." Hating his master Prospero, Caliban works for him out of fear of Prospero's magic.

Iris, Ceres, Juno, Nymphs and Reapers: Spirits that appear by Prospero's will.

Characters who arrive at Prospero's Island by shipwreck:

Alonso: The King of Naples. When Prospero's brother Antonio, usurped (took) Prospero's dukedom, it was Alonso who recognized Prospero's brother, sealing Prospero's fate of living in exile. 

Ferdinand: The much-loved son of the King of Naples. Shipwrecked, but alive, Ferdinand falls instantly in live with Miranda, when he first sees her on Prospero's island.

Sebastian: The brother of Alonso, the King of Naples. He plots to kill his king and take his title with the scheming Antonio.

Antonio: The brother of Prospero, he took Prospero's title from him when Prospero trusted him to manage his affairs. Having replaced his brother, he now encourages Sebastian to do the same to his brother, Alonso.

Gonzalo: An honest old counselor. When Prospero was to have starved to death when exiled by boat, it was Gonzalo who provided food, clothing and books to comfort Prospero and the then three year old Miranda.

Stephano: A drunken butler, he attempts to kill Prospero and take the island for his own. Trinculo and Caliban, whom he fools into believing he is a God, help him.

Trinculo: A jester who tries to kill Prospero.

Master of a ship, Boatswains, Mariners: Sailors who fight Prospero's storm but are ultimately shipwrecked on his island.

 

 

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