Episode 72 - The Tempest

<p>“Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.”</p> <p>In almost every way this play is Shakespeare's swan song, and a heartfelt goodbye to his time spent crafting entertainment and poetry for the people of London. Consequently, the play is very concerned with legacies, family, time, supremacy, and - perhaps most interestingly of all - colonialism. Despite being one of Shakespeare's shortest and most easily accessible plays, it manages to jam pack a whole lot of thought into the topics it does weave its magic on, so join us for a discussion about all things The Tempest in this, our final episode devoted to Shakespeare's work.</p> <p>Notes:</p> <ul><li>Aidan incorrectly named the date the play was performed in front of King James - it was actually done on November 1, 1611. <ul><li>He also incorrectly identified the date the play was put back into production - it was actually 1667, albeit under a different name with heavy adaptations.</li> </ul> </li> <li>Both Aidan and Lindsay highly recommend Barbra A. Mowat's <a href='https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/the-tempest/the-tempest-a-modern-perspective/'>A Modern Perspective</a> essay (a standby of this series) for an interesting look at how Shakespeare combines time, family, and the other themes of The Tempest into a nice little package.</li> </ul> <p>Ancient Bickerings:</p> <ul><li>If you were shipwrecked on an abandoned island and had to take 5 Shakespeare plays with you, does this one crack the list?</li> </ul>